Birding in Peña Alta Nature Reserve

During our recent visit to the Comunidad Presa de San Franco, ANP Peña Alta Nature Preserve, Guanajuato Birding Adventures’ Tour Leaders, and local conservationists Aurora Hernández, Paola Rangel, Don Felipe, Doña Tere, and Yolanda Hernandez, pulled out an excursion to look for Wild Turkeys and other regional endemics such as Buff-breasted Flycatchers, Bridled Titmice, Black-backed Orioles, and Crescent-chested Warblers.

Thanks to the expertise of our guides and the insider-knowledge of the preserve’s forest rangers, we were able to spot our target birds and also find a new species for the preserve: The Williamson’s Sapsucker.

The vast territory of the Peña Alta Nature Preserve comprises more than 32 thousand acres of oak and pine forests, semi-arid scrubland, grasslands, and several reservoirs like San Franco and San Diego dams.

Ejido (communal land) owners and members of the San Franco community (Ecoturismo Peña Alta) manage the preserve and offer different services for visitors, for instance: Guided hiking tours, kayak rental, camping areas, camping gear rental, food, etc. We highly recommend visiting this Natural Protected Area.

A big shout out to every person that helped us to make this adventure happen, especially to our great Tour Leaders: Alvaro Rivera, Luis Mena (Luisave), Eduardo Maya, José Ojeda, and Juan Miguel Artigas.

Checklists of birds:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S76262327
https://ebird.org/checklist/S76316239