Our base was the Hotel Mante in Ciudad Mante which is about 300 miles south from Harlingen, Texas. Ciudad Mante is in the southern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. We crossed the Rio Grande at Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros. After stopping to exchange dollars into Pesos, we drove south on Mexican highway 101 to Ciudad Victoria. We then continued southwest on Hwy. 101 to Jaumave to look for Military Macaws but did not see any. Joanne did get good looks at Yellow-throated Euphonia and Scrub Euphonia. We returned to Cuidad Victoria and took highway 85 south to Cuidad Mante. We arrived at about 8:00 pm and went directly to dinner. After dinner we checked into the Hotel Mante.

On Tuesday we birded La Florida for several hours. The rest of the day was spent at Bocatoma. We took a boat ride (groups of 8 or 9) on the river to look for the Boat-billed Heron (good looks) and the Sun Grebe (missed this species). In small groups, we hiked the path around the canals. Some of the species we saw were Social Flycatchers, Boat-billed Flycatchers and Aztec Parakeets.

Wednesday we drove by bus to Gomez Farias and then took four wheeled drive trucks to Alta Cima. In our opinion, this is a premier birding location (the cooler weather experienced here may explain the abundant number of birds). We saw Golden-crowned Warbler, Olivaceous and Ivory-billed Woodcreepers, Barred Antshrike, plus many more species not captured in our photographs. Owling was a bust. None heard, none seen.

Thursday we headed towards Tula with stops at Ocampo and La Laguna de San Isidro wet lands. Hiking alongside the road in Ocampo was productive. Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Black-headed Nightingale Thrush and Blue Mocking Bird were some of the species seen.

Friday we drove to various locations on our way to El Naranjo. We birded along the road. Highlights included looks (quick) at Red-crowned Ant Tanager and Red-throated Ant Tanager near Agua Zarca. We saw a White-collared Swift at a scenic overlook stop on the way back to Cd. Mante.

Saturday morning we birded El Nacimiento. We saw White-throated and Clay-colored Robins and one Amazon Kingfisher. We birded this area by bus. The rest of our trip home was uneventful...as far as birding goes. We got back into Harlingen around 8:00 pm-tired, but happy with the birds we had seen, and the good times we'd experienced.