Montebello Lakes Tour - Chiapas Birding Tour Trip Report - San Cristobal to Montebello 2024
Over 140 species observed on Chiapas birding tour from San Cristobal to Montebello Lakes in December 2024
Sabes Aves completed a trip from San Cristobal de Las Casas, travelling through the subtropical highlands of the Comitán area and ending in the stunning Montebello Lakes, taking in a total of 140 bird species, including endemics, migrants, and residents.
Along with three guests for the United Kingdom, birding higlights included the Pink-headed Warbler, Azure-hooded Jay, and Slate-colored Solitaire all giving excellent views.
The trip highlight was surely views of a pair of Pink-headed Warblers, found in the Montetik Nature Reserve viewpoints near San Cristobal on our final day. This highly threatened species, whose range is limited to neotropical pine-oak forests of southern Mexico and Guatemala, came within 5 metres of our group, capping off an unforgettable experience for our British guests.
Our trip began on 6th December, when our group arrived at Tuxtla Airport and swiftly moved to the town of San Cristobal de Las Casas. Getting ready for our early morning the next day, we filled up on a hearty local lunch including corn-based tlacoyos, the traditional Mayan drink pozol, and a Mexican staple, mole poblano. There was just enough time for an evening birding at the Cerrito de San Cristobal in the city centre, overlooking the church below and taking in the views of our first quasi-endemics, the Rufous-collared Robin and Black-headed Siskin.
Bright and early on the 7th of December, we took a two-hour drive to Comitan, having a tortilla and egg breakfast with a local family whose land overlooks the wetlands below. By joining families like this and supporting their small businesses, showing them that their wildlife is a true state treasure, Chiapas Birding Tours encourages local Chiapanecans to maintain the wetland habitats, which sadly come under so much threat. The reward: an array of waterfowl and endemics such as Northern Pintails, a Lesser Scaup, and Azure-crowned Hummingbirds.
We continued to Montebello Lakes for birding the following morning, 8th December, where the Azure-hooded Jay and Slate-colored Solitaire and Pinnated Bittern gave excellent views. The afternoon was host to a memorable encounter at the San Nicolás Orchid Gardens, a beautiful botanical project initiated by a group of Mexican women who were left distraught by the loss of threatened orchid species in the fires of 1998. They began rescuing many of the 176 species native to the area and, to this day, give tours of their beautifully preserved orchid garden.
Our group returned to San Cristobal on 9th December, stopping at the archaeological ruins of Chinkultic and spotting Yellow-breasted Chat, Sora, Ruddy Crake, and the Blue-and-white Mockingbird along the way.
The best was saved for last with our Montetik and Huitepec trips, the stunning Pink-headed Warbler, not to mention the Red-faced Warbler, Unicolored Jay, and so much more. See our full trip report on eBird, available here.
