Birding Puerto Vallarta

A great and safe place to bird in Mexico is around Puerto Vallarta and San Blas, West Mexico. Just don't do it in the summer like I did. Not the greatest decision on my part. It's one hot, humid and bug filled miserable experience. I always felt that while I was hitting bugs, I would forget about the American Crocodiles that just quietly sat on the edges of the mangroves waiting for an idiot birder like myself to step on them. 

On this day, out to the border between the states of Nayarit and Jalisco, we went to look for a few lifers. Or just get better looks at some birds. It was a beautiful overcast morning with some warm humid breezes along the shore. 

A Tricolored Heron hung out in the river that separated the 2 states.  The Nayarit side is overdeveloped while the Jalisco side was wild, buggy and stinky.  The stench of garbage was overwhelming at times. And the mangrove was beautiful and full of birds and crocs. 

We had nice views of a Peregrine Falcon taking down a juvenile Least Tern.  I felt that one.  Poor thing.  Least Terns are endangered and so this falcon had a "rare" treat.  Nature can be fascinating and cruel at the same time. 

We searched the beach up and down for the Collared Plover without any luck.  There was little habitat for these birds to move around....especially on the Nayarit side where the clumps of vegetation had been removed for development. However, there were a few great spots near the river.  We didn't have any luck, but we did have great views of the Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater. 

We decided to move to the Jalisco side and make an attempt.  While doing so, we encountered a pair of Elegant Quail taking a dirt bath on the road. 

We drove through some beautiful wetlands into the mangrove area of Jalisco where locals loved to get together for a seafood buffet.  It's a great spot for birds as well, especially around the dumpsters.  My gag reflex took over as the smells of rotten seafood permeated everything.  Even looking at this pic triggers the memory.  So gross but I do love Black Vultures, Magnificent Frigatebirds and White Ibis. 

We scanned the ocean for the now named Cocos Booby and found several around the fishing vessels. But with no luck on the Collared Plover, we moved on. 

Driving back, we saw the same pair of Elegant Quail taking a dirt bath. I enjoy observing quail. We proceeded to another area for birds chasing an Orange-breasted Bunting. It wasn't a lifer for me but my partner needed to see it for his list. We eventually got poor looks at one in the shadows. A few can be found around the Puerto Vallarta area. 

Having seen the Orange-breasted Bunting well on my trek to Chiapas in 2015, I dedicated my photography to the Citreoline Trogon.  While filming the bird, I fell into a hole in the road.  That's how focused I was.  I had a few scrapes and thankfully that was all. 

Trogons are cool and I love all their different "barks".  I then heard Stripe-headed Sparrows and got excited.  These are beautiful sparrows found in agricultural or grassy habitat near wet areas....and if you bird in the summer, like we did, full of chigger love. 

While I didn't find any lifers, I really enjoyed investigating the areas for rarely seen birds. It's always a treat to see former lifers doing new things. Antonio had one spot for us to check out on a highway that lead to the gardens.  There was a report of a Sinaloa Martin zipping around a hotel with many other Grey-breasted Martins.  This similar looking martin sounded like a fun challenge and would be a lifer for both of us. And I wouldn't have to go to Sinaloa to find the bird.  Sinaloa can be dangerous and if it meant spending time to find the bird in a safer locale, I would do it. It was worth the effort. 

The whole time I watched people enjoy the waters below while we looked for this bird in the humid weather.  I took so many photos to get that shot of a rare martin.  It was a lot of work.  Meanwhile, we could hear all the people having fun below at the beach in Mismaloya.  I was covered in sweat.  Was that it?  No.  Was that it? NO.  Then I spotted the bird!  The field marks were subtle but the blue color of the male stood out among the grey browns of the Grey-breasted Martins.  The sharp pointed tail and little line around the belly were also evident. Getting a pic was another story. We definitely saw one but there may have been as many as two.  On this trip, my camera began acting up from the humidity and as a result, I missed photos on several key species which included the Great Swallow-tailed Swifts.  Anytime we look for swifts, I know that trying to get pics of them will be difficult. The important part is finding them and observing them well, which we did. 

Also the places we go to see the birds makes everything that much better.  Coming up we'll explore more of Puerto Vallarta and San Blas. For what it's worth, it is pretty. Stay tuned for more.