Following an overnight flight via Mexico City we
eventually arrived in the charming resort of Puerto Vallarta shortly after 8am.
Everyone had decided to fly out two days early and get fully recharged before
the tour officially commenced and so, of course, we began our birding
immediately after meeting up with our excellent guide Kim Risen. Driving south
out of the town we followed the coast road and made our first stop opposite a
couple of large offshore rocks where lots of Brown Pelicans were nesting, several Magnificent Frigatebirds soared against the clear blue sky and we
saw loads of Royal Terns fishing
offshore. All of a sudden a Citreoline
Trogon flew past us and landed in a nearby large tree. How bizarre! As we
followed this beauty a pair of Greyish
Saltators were found, followed by Nashville
Warbler, San Blas Jay and an Ivory-billed Woodcreeper.
A short drive further along the coast road took us
to the Botanical Gardens and this turned into a very productive session. Just
below the car park we saw a large feeding flock containing Hooded Orioles, maybe 10+ stonking Varied Buntings (a bird I really wanted to see after missing it in
west Texas & Arizona), several Nashville
Warblers, Orange-crowned Warbler,
a close Black-throated Grey Warbler,
Wilson’s Warbler and the first of
many Yellow-winged Caciques.
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| Not a great photo, but it's my first Varied Bunting.. |
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| Nashville Warbler is very common here.... |
We
headed down to the restaurant, where we were due to have lunch and spent a very
enjoyable time watching the feeding station below us. Once some fruit was
placed on the large ‘bird table’ a group of Yellow-winged Caciques flew in and provided us with much
entertainment, although the presence of several superb Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers proved something of a distraction, as
did a pair of Godman’s (Scrub) Euphonias.
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| Godman's (Scrub) Euphonia |
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| Golden-cheeked Woodpecker (endemic) |
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| Yellow-winged Cacique |
A MacGillivray’s Warbler decided to
ponce around out in the open below the feeding station, a few Green Jays also put in an all-too brief
appearance, and both Plain-capped
Starthroat and Cinnamon Hummingbird
were drawn to the hummer feeders here.
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| Cinnamon Hummingbird |
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| MacGillivray's Hummingbird |
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| Plain-capped Starthroat |
Lunch was very nice and during this time
we could observe the feeders, as well as a fruiting “Gumbo Limbo” tree which
drew in Orange-fronted Parakeets, Plumbeous Vireo, Social Flycatcher, several Rose-throated
Becards, 5+ Masked Tityras, and
a Lineated Woodpecker. Phew! But for
me the best sighting was the obliging pair of Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrows that appeared below the feeders, although my photo isn't the best...
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| Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow (another endemic) |
Leaving here we walked along some of the trails and
found a Golden-crowned Emerald and a
cracking Grey-crowned Woodpecker.
But by now it was well after 2pm so we decided to drive the 10 minutes to our
wonderful lodge and just chill out for the remainder of the day. Needless to
say the draw of new birds had us watching the surrounding forest and gardens
from the verandah immediately upon arrival…! This was another cracking area and
we had a fantastic view of the garden and surrounding forest and from the comfort of our chairs could
observe our first Grey-crowned Becard,
Bright-rumped Attila, Streak-backed Oriole, Thick-billed Kingbird, Golden Vireo, and also get closer views
of the Orange-fronted Parakeets.
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| Orange-fronted Parakeet |
Things got even better once we began walking
around the garden with the major highlights being an uncharacteristically showy
Blue Mockingbird and a Russet-crowned Motmot perched on a
large boulder in the middle of the stream.
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| Blue Mockingbird (endemic) |
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| Russet-crowned Motmot (near-endemic) |
Other goodies along the river
included several female Blue Buntings,
Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Louisiana Waterthrush, Sinaloa Wren, several Audubon’s Warblers and a close Wilson’s Warbler. In the garden an Ivory-billed Woodcreeper showed well,
several Stripe-headed Sparrows gave
their jangling song, and our first Rufous-backed
Thrushes were much appreciated. There was also a Clay-coloured Robin, Yellow-breasted
Chat, Greater Pewee, several Berylline Hummingbirds, and a Black-throated Grey Warbler.
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| Blue Bunting (female and near-endemic) |
The checklist on the veranda was continually interrupted by the ridiculously obvious Blue Mockingbird, some flyover Lilac-crowned Amazons, and a Rufous-backed Thrush. Oh and I forgot
to mention the Green Kingfisher seen
along the stream. Boy, I’m loving the birding here in West Mexico and it’s
great to share this with such an enthusiastic group and an equally enthusiastic
and knowledgeable guide. Can't wait for tomorrow…
