Viva Natura: The revival of a Mexican field guide classic
Petr Myska probably didn't think that the book he was writing would be threatened with extinction even before some of the species that were featured in his publication. Myska's work was published in 2007 as A Field Guide to the Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals of Western Mexico. In short form, it is known as "Viva Natura." Only 2000 copies were published...
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Isla Isabel, Mexico's answer to the Galapagos
Isla Isabel is located 34 kilometers (21 miles) off Mexico's west coast. It is a National Park and wildlife refuge with a population of some 42,000 birds and, in 2003, was named a World Heritage Site. ...
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Adventurous Mexico - exploring Mexico's outdoors - self-guided tours, mountains, volcanoes, hiking, camping, sailing, fishing, kayaking and more
Climbing Mexican mountains, volcanoes and caves.
Climbing Mexico's volcanoes
Pico de Orizaba (Citlateptl) 5700m 18,700ft
Popocatepl 5452m 17,887ft
Iztaccihuatl 5286m 17,342ft
...
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Did you know? Mexico's vultures have very different eating habits.
Vultures (zopilotes in Spanish) are among the most conspicuous birds in many parts of Mexico. Commonly misidentified as eagles, these blackish scavengers can be seen almost anywhere, often in large flo...
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Morelia: A land of adventures for children
Morelia is a colonial city, capital of the Mexican state of Michoacan, which is well-known for its majestic buildings, squares (plazas), gardens, an aqueduct of wondrous proportions and all of this ...
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Monarch Butterflies Tour - Mexico
Monarch Butterfly excursions -
Please note that Tony Burton is no longer organizing Monarch Butterfly excursions.
The area is well described in Tony's book on the region, " Western Mexico - A T...
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Did you know? Mexico is home to more than fifty hummingbird species
Who hasn’t been amazed by the acrobatic antics of hummingbirds? What stunt flyers! They are able to fly not only forwards, but backwards and even briefly upside-down. They can also hover for extended...
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Did you know? Dinosaur bones in Mexico
Thousands of dinosaur bones have been found in northern Mexico.
Bones literally litter the ground. Here's a femur; there's a tibia; vertebrae, ribs, skulls...
Dozens of dinosaurs, including the world...
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Butterflies by the million : the Monarchs of Michoacán
Every winter, more than one hundred million monarch butterflies fly into Mexico from the U.S. and Canada. On arrival they congregate in a dozen localities high in the temperate pine and fir forests of ...
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Did you know? Mexico has over thirty UNESCO-designated biosphere reserves
A surprising percentage of Mexico's land area is protected in one form or another. A very large number of sites of archaeological or historical importance are managed by the National Institute of Anthr...
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Did you know? Mexico's largest bird is the American White Pelican
The American White Pelican is Mexico's largest bird, while its relative the Brown Pelican is one of the most fun to watch.
White Pelicans on Lake Chapala;
photo: John Mitchell, Earth Images Foundat...
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Following The Monarch Butterfly To The Highlands Of Mexico Monarch Butterflies Tour
Following the Monarch Butterfly to the Highlands of Mexico
E. Pluribus Gehrlein.
The other side of the coin
First published in the Adirondack Mountain Sun, Volume 10, Number 19, Februa...
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Baja communities play a key role in conservation
Those moments when you can spontaneously interact with a wild animal, one on one, in their environment - whether it's under the ocean, on a mountain, in the middle of the desert - are pretty special, life changing even.
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The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck
Back in 1940, just before Pearl Harbour, John Steinbeck and his marine biologist friend, Ed Rickets, chartered a fishing boat, the Western Flyer, in Monterey, California, and sailed down the coast around the Baja into the Sea of Cortez. Their six-week mission was to collect specimens of marine life in the area. They jointly wrote a book about the voyage, largely about marine biology, which was published in 1941. A decade later, Steinbeck himself wrote this more personal book. The result is a mixture of travel writing, journalism, diary-keeping, philosophy, meditation and, yes, there's a lot of stuff about the marine life of the area. After all, the author was something of an authority in that field.
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Bugs on the net
Journalist and savvy webmaster Ron Mader sifts through the web to find the most interesting and unusual Mexico-related websites. Ron is the webhost of the popular Planeta.com: Eco Travels in L...
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Whale watching while you surf (the web)
Whale watching has become a million-dollar business around the globe. Mexican operators along the Pacific coast and in the Baja Peninsula have seen their businesses expand as more and more people flock...
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Migration Minded
Mexico experiences one of nature's loveliest gifts each winter when billions of Monarch butterflies descend on the warm forests of the country's central highlands.
The Monarch is known for its lo...
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Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila
Sitting in bathtub-warm water in the middle of the desert looking at the surrounding mountains under a deep blue sky is a delightful experience. We are in the Cuatro Ciénegas Nature Preserve just outs...
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Four Wings and a Prayer: Caught in the Mystery of the Monarch Butterfly by Sue Halpern
Monarchs are genuinely fascinating creatures and here's a book that really does justice to their story. The travel accomplished by Monarchs is simply mind-boggling. They fly forty miles a day on average but sometimes - depending on winds and weather - they can manage up to 200 miles between dawn and dusk. Those born to the East of the Rockies usually go to Mexico. Those born to the West mostly go to California. All flying is done in daylight - never at night.
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Lake Chapala: 2001 follow-up to saving Mexico's largest lake
This article is Part 3 of Tony Burton's series:
"Can Mexico's Largest Lake be Saved?" .
Part 1: May, 1997 - Can Mexico's Largest Lake be Saved?
Part 2: M...
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Lake Chapala: 2000 follow-up to saving Mexico's largest lake
This article is Part 2 of Tony Burton's series:
"Can Mexico's Largest Lake be Saved?" .
Part 1: May, 1997 - Can Mexico's Largest Lake be Saved?
Part 3: M...
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Almost an Island: Travels in Baja California by Bruce Berger
Bruce Berger is an excellent guide to the Baja. He’s been going there since the mid '60s, having driven the length of the peninsula at least three times when that meant travelling more than 1,000 kilometers of single lane dirt road. One could drive for a day and meet only one other car. And you would never dream of leaving without taking plenty of food, water and gasoline plus whatever extras and spare parts you might need to fix auto problems along the way.
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The Majestic Monarch Butterfly
The amazing phenomena of the Monarch butterfly migration is with us again. At the end of summer hundreds of millions of monarchs fly an incredible average of 1,800 miles from the United States and Cana...
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Eat, drink and be merry: Mexican hummingbirds migrate to Canada
Each year, in late March, the visitors from Mexico arrive in southern Canada. They knock lightly on all the windows to let me know of their return. I know that they expect a good breakfast, lunch and d...
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Hike to a coffee plantation in San Blas, Nayarit
When tourists visit tropical Mexico, they are sometimes invited to visit a coffee plantation. My invitation came when I was camping with my family near Aticama, a small village on the Nayarit coast, 10...
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