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Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur

Belding's Yellowthroat Geothlypsis beldingi ©Dubi Shapiro Website

Baja California Sur is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal entities which make up Mexico. It is also the ninth-largest Mexican state in terms of area at just under 74,000 km2 (28,500 square miles). It occupies the southern half of the Baja California Peninsula, south of the 28th parallel, plus the uninhabited Rocas Alijos in the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered to the north by the state of Baja California, to the west by the Pacific Ocean, and to the east by the Gulf of California. The state has maritime borders with Sonora and Sinaloa to the east, across the Gulf of California. Its largest city and capital is La Paz with about 250,000 inhabitants, a little less than a third of the c.800,000 populous of the state.

The territory is primarily mountains or mountain ranges and coastal plains. The mountain ranges parallel the coastline and are of volcanic rock. The local name for the main mountain range is the Sierra de la Giganta and the highest peak is the Sierra de la Laguna at 2080m above sea level. The coastal plains are significantly wider on the Pacific side, averaging about 40 km, with some much wider plains such as those of Santa Clara, Berrendo and Magdalena y Hiray. These areas are dominated by sedimentary rock, especially limestone of marine origin.

The state is divided into five regions: Central Desert, La Serranía, the Vizcaíno Desert, the Magdalena Plains and Los Cabos. The Central Desert has desert plants, with vegetation springing up during short and irregular rains. The La Serranía is the high mountain areas with significant tree cover, some species of which are commercially valuable. The Vizcaíno Desert runs along the Pacific coast around the Ojo de Liebre and San Ignacio lagoons; it contains lower mountain ranges such as the San Francisco, San Alberto, Las Tinajas de Murillo and El Serrucho, along with the El Azufre and Las Vírgenes volcanos. The Magdalena Plains is a large, flat area near the Pacific coast, and the Los Cabos region is distinguished by microclimates determined by the geologic change in the area and rain patterns.

Bahía de Loreto National Park – ©josephwaynebarrett, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The climate of the state is dry, with an average annual temperature of 18 to 22 °C and average annual rainfall of less than 200mm. The lower elevations are the driest and hottest, with summer daytime temperatures above 40 °C; wintertime temperatures may fall below freezing. The exception to desert conditions is the Los Cabos region, classified as semi-moist because of Pacific hurricane activity which affects the region. In the spring, prevailing winds are from the west and in the summer from the south and southwest. In the autumn, they are from the northwest and in the winter from the north and northwest. Most of the surface water is in the form of seasonal streams, which are fast-flowing and only active during stormy weather. Most of these drain into the Pacific Ocean, with a number flowing south into the Bahía de Ballenas.

The main geological feature of the state is its coastline on three sides, which measures 2230 km, making it Mexico’s longest with 22% of the total. It also has the most islands, mostly in the Gulf of California. There are three in the Pacific, Natividad, Magdalena and Santa Margarita (the largest). In the Gulf of California, they include San Marcos, Coronados, Carmen, Montserrat, Santa Catalina, Santa Cruz, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Partida, Espiritu Santo and Cerralvo. Major bays include Sebastian Vizcaino, Magdalena, La Paz, Asunción, Ballenas, Concepcion and San Carlos. Estuaries and lagoons including those at Puerto Escondido, Nopoló, Balandra as well as the San José estuary at Cabo Colorado, the San Ignacio Lagoon and the Ojo de Liebre.

The lower elevations are dominated by desert and arid condition plants. This includes the world’s largest species of cactus, the cardón cactus, which can reach heights of 15m. Other plant species include mesquite, chironola, lechuguilla, nopal and barrel cactus, choyas, paloadan and pitahaya. The higher elevations have forests of pine and holm oak with some deciduous forests, with leaves falling in the dry season, generally no taller than fifteen meters. Wildlife in the desert areas is restricted to birds, reptiles and small-to-medium mammals such as rabbits and coyotes. Upper elevations with more vegetation can have wild sheep, pumas and other wild cats, raccoons, deer, and foxes. Marine species include whales, seals, dolphins, grey whales, manta rays and sea turtles.

Cabo Pulmo National Park – ©Francisco Reynoso, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Baja California Sur has the largest protected surface area in Mexico, 38% of the state in 10 official protected areas: such as Bahía de Loreto National Park of over 510,000 acres, Cabo Pulmo National Park, Espíritu Santo Archipelago National Park more than 120,000 acres) El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve nearly 6,300,000 acres, Ojo de Liebre Lagoon Bioshere Reserve at 196,000 acres, Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve, Balandra Protection Area of Flora and Fauna and Cabo San Lucas Protection Area of Flora and Fauna. Also, the islands located in Baja California Sur coastline on the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California are protected under Pacific Islands of the Baja California Peninsula Biosphere Reserve with Baja California, and Islands of the Gulf of California Protection Area.

Birding Baja California Sur

Baja California Sur hasn’t been a known birding hotspot for a couple of pretty good reasons; want of information because all major promotion is for other activities, and ease of access is recent and yet a touch rustic for many. Not, repeat, NOT for want of birds. The peninsula’s southern half hosts dozens of waders and pelagic species, three doves, multitudes of raptors and scavengers, hummingbirds, swallows, thrashers, quail, flycatchers, orioles, woodpeckers, wrens, cardinals, sparrows, waterfowl, corvids, and many, many others. There are endemics and migrators, nesters and vagrants, the bold and the very shy. The northernmost major town in the state is Guerrero Negro, whose vast wetlands are seasonally alive with Black Brant, ducks and teal, and all the waders and fish chasers found on the central stretch of the Pacific coast. At the other end, San Jose del Cabo is divided by an estuary that is already one of the very few regularly visited birding spots in the state. Between lie more than a thousand miles of coastline, both Pacific and Gulf, that have been pretty much off the path of birders.

Espíritu Santo Archipelago National Park – ©Sam Beebe/Ecotrust, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Bahia Magdelena is hundreds of square miles of salt water between barrier islands and mangrove channels and supports an astounding number and variety of birds. Mulegé is on the Gulf of California at the mouth of the river of the same name and is another flyway stopover and year-round water bird haven. Loreto is where we can see it almost literally rain pelicans, boobies, terns, cormorants, and gulls as they bombard huge shoals of sardines all along the waterfront every morning and evening. The islands of both the Pacific and especially the Gulf teem with seabirds. The desert and mountains that separate the seas are not a sprawl of sameness as many believe but are varied in elevations, micro climates, and vegetation zones providing habitat for large populations of wildlife, including birds, birds, and more birds. This recently opened up setting is perhaps different than the regular birder is used to. If you like to prop your scope on the hood of your car and spot in comfort and ease, BCS is perhaps not your dish. If you know about rough trails, good shoes, and proper hydration, you may have found here that magical place where you’re not standing right where some other person has stood and looking at the same bird.

Contributors

  • Tom Haglund

    | bcsbirds@cox.net

Number of Species

  • Number of bird species: 478

    (As at August 2024)
Endemics

  • Number of endemics: 2

    Belding’s Yellowthroat Geothlypsis beldingi
    Baird’s Junco Junco bairdi
  • However, there are a further three species confined to the peninsular. They are:

    Cape Pygmy Owl Glaucidium hoskinsii
    Gray Thrasher Toxostoma cinereum
    Xantus’s Hummingbird Basilinna xantusii

    Other potential future splits in Baja may include:

    Vizcaino Thrasher Toxostoma (lecontei) arenicola
    San Lucas Robin Turdus migratorius confines

Checklist

  • Avibase

    PDF Checklist
    This checklist includes all bird species found in Baja California Sur , based on the best information available at this time. It is based on a wide variety of sources that I collated over many years. I am pleased to offer these checklists as a service to birdwatchers. If you find any error, please do not hesitate to report them.

  • Mexico Birding

    PDF Checklist
    Field Checklist of the Birds of Baja California Sur, Mexico

  • eBird

    PDFChecklist
    This checklist is generated with data from eBird (ebird.org), a global database of bird sightings from birders like you. If you enjoy this checklist, please consider contributing your sightings to eBird. It is 100% free to take part, and your observations will help support birders, researchers, and conservationists worldwide.
Useful Reading

  • Birds of Mexico and Central America

    | By Ber Van perlo | Princeton University Press | 2006 | paperback | 336 pages, 98 plates with colour illustrations; b/w illustrations, b/w distribution maps, colour maps | ISBN: 9780691120706 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • Mexico Field Guides: Baja California

    | (Sea of Cortez - Pacific Coast: Sea and Shore Birds) By Robert Dean | Rainforest Publications | 2002 | Unbound | 2 pages, colour illustrations | ISBN: 9781888538366 Buy this book from NHBS.com
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • *Protected areas of Baja California Sur

    InformationSatellite View
    Two national parks, a biosphere reserve and other areas...

  • BR El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve

    InformationSatellite View
    With an area of over 24,930 km2 it is the largest wildlife refuge in Mexico and borders the northern edge of the Valle de los Cirios Protected Area of Flora and Fauna. The Vizcaíno is also the habitat of the desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, and dozens of resident and migratory birds. Of special importance: the ospreys, cormorants, herons, and gulls—and four species of sea turtles. On the coastline and islets there are many marine mammals, such as northern elephant seals, California sea lions, dolphins, and gray whales.

  • NP Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park

    InformationSatellite View
    Protected coral reef and wetlands

  • WR Isla Espíritu Santo

    InformationSatellite View
    Espíritu Santo, Partida, and the sea around them are in protected areas. Birds include brown pelicans, great blue herons, snowy egrets, turkey vultures, and hummingbirds. A large sea lion colony resides on Los Islotes, off the north tip of the islands.
Sightings, News & Forums

  • eBird

    Sightings
    aVerAves es un proyecto colaborativo manejado por CONABIO
Guides & Tour Operators

  • BirdQuest

    Tour Operator
    WESTERN MEXICO – The ultimate itinerary in the region: Sierra Madre Occidental, San Blas, Colima, Jalisco & Baja California

  • Birding Direct

    Local Tour Operator
    Baja Birding Pelagic

  • Birding Los Cabos

    Local Tour Operator
    Let the local Birding Los Cabos experts' guides help you accomplish your life-list, Will be a great honor to show you around and the birds through Tours, Journeys

  • Boletas

    Tour Operator
    We will explore the unique deserts and foothills of the Cape District, including Sierra La Laguna National Park in southern Baja California for its endemic birds. In La Paz and Sea of Cortez we’ll explore its rugged coast lines and stay in a paradisiac island, surrounded by whales where seabirds and shorebirds are abundant along with a visit to the famous Magdalena Bay for close encounters with majestic whales and other marine life.

  • BookAllSafaris

    Local Tour Operator
    7 Day Bird-Watching Tour in Los Cabos to See Baja Sur Endemics

  • FieldGuides

    Tour Operator
    This exciting tour in the Field Guides schedule, inaugurated in 2020, promises top-notch birding from mountains and meadows around Mexico City to the coastal deserts and mangrove lagoons near the tip of Baja. Along the way we'll search for some sweet endemics (Xantus's Hummer, Belding's Yellowthroat, and Sierra Madre Sparrow, to name a few) and a multitude of other Mexican specialties.

  • Independent Guide - Maria Elena M

    Guide
    I lead bird-watching groups based in Cabo san Luca to see the endemics such as the Belding's Yellowthroat. La Paz is a charming community with a great diversity of birds, I will take you to enjoy them we will encounter at least 80 species such as gulls, terns, shorebirds, sparrows , warblers, woodpeckers , hummingbirds , flycatchers, egrets, herons and many more among them will be some endemics and sub-species , just book the tour you won't regret.

  • Legacy Tours

    Tour Operator
    MUST-SEE ENDEMICS of the Cape District include: CAPE PYGMY-OWL, XANTUS’ HUMMINGBIRD, BAIRD’S JUNCO, GRAY THRASHER, and BELDING’S YELLOWTHROAT.

  • Pitta Nature Tours

    Tour Operator
    The 770-mile long Baja Peninsula is a unique extension of the familiar Sonoran Desert of the American Southwest. With 4-endemic bird species (+ several future splits coming) and a Whale Shark excursion this will be a memorable tour.

  • Todos Santos Eco Adventures

    Local Tour Operator
    Over 430 bird species have been spotted in Baja California Sur, and it is home to six endemic species as well. In this trip we hike, kayak and boat through the estuaries, dunes, coastlines, mountains, islands, deserts, oases, bays and mangroves that make Baja such a magnet for birds, exploring all these incredible habitats which are in such wonderfully close proximity to each other. We enjoy Birding in Baja California so much that we published a book with that title!

  • WINGS

    Tour Operator
    Mexico: Baja California’s Cape Region
Trip Reports

  • 2018 [01 January] - Rob Gordijn & Helen Rijkes

    PDF Report
    After visiting Yucatan in 2008 we decided to come back to Mexico but this time bird the Western part of the country.We hired a car in Mexico City and birded the main West Mexico sites (around the cities of Mazatlan, San Blas, PuertoVallarta and Colima) and as an addition we extended the trip to Baja California and added some places around MexicoCity

  • 2019 [02 February] - Greg Smith

    PDF Report
    Annotated list

  • 2019 {02 February] - Greg Smith - Sea of Cortez

    PDF Report
    As we walked out of the HI, we had Hooded Oriole and White-winged and Common Ground-Doves in the stable, and a myriad of water-related birds on the Estero San Jose banks and mudflats. As with any desert setting, water attracts birds, a pretty amazing diversity of birds. Raptors, waders, shorebirds and passerines. Probably the highlight of birding the estuary was that there were birds everywhere.

  • 2022 [03 March] - Greg Smith - Sea of Cortez

    Annotated list
Places to Stay

  • Club Cabo Hotel Resort & Campground

    Accommodation
    We hope your stay will be very pleasant as we invite you to stay with Club Cabo Hotel and Campground Resort, a very unique place to stay. We are nestled under a canopy of mesquite trees in the center of a bird sanctuary, close to the beach.

  • Hotel Oasis

    Accommodation
    Hotel Oasis has been the sport fisherman's and nature enthusiast's favorite since being established in 1960. Located right on the beach at the South end of the main boardwalk (malecon) in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Hotel Oasis offers easy access to local shops, restaurants, and historic sites. The town's international airport is only 4 miles away and has a daily flight from Los Angeles through Aerocalifornia.

  • Rancho Cacachilas

    Accommodation
    The ornithology team has documented 102 different species of birds in the Sierra Cacachilas, of which at least two were previously thought to only occur in Sierra La Laguna.
Other Links

  • Baja California Sur Birds

    Website
    Bird watchers and naturalists can reference Baja California Sur Birds, Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Other Animals by selecting pictures from a thumbnails page to view larger photographs and textual information about the selected Bird, Butterfly, Dragonfly, or Other Animal.

  • Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California

    Website
    Wedged between the peninsula and the mainland of Mexico is the Gulf of California

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