San Sebastian Del Oeste

If you've never been to Puerto Vallarta in the summer, don't go:)  It's unbirdable by human standards(it's pretty but HUMID) and yet very birdy. Every day was one muggy miserable search for new data to add to ebird.  I highly recommend winter!  Western Mexican birding is spectacular!  We found birds and we added new data for ebird.  Park yourself in Puerto Vallarta or San Blas in the winter and go have fun.  It's like southeastern Arizona birding with a confluence of habitats all coming together around that area.  You'll have fun.  With that said, during our misery in the humidity with lots of bugs during the summer, friend and guide Antonio Robles took us up to cooler temps to find some amazing birds.  It was a VERY enjoyable day birding.  A little bumpy, maybe a little scary, but it was a super scenic drive and absolutely gorgeous. Definitely worth the effort. 

The place we were headed?  San Sebastian Del Oeste.  WOW!  It's a bumpy ride up the mountain to a secret cobblestone community in the forest full of Mountain Trogons, Transvolcanic Jays, Chesnut-sided shrike-vireos and White-striped Creepers.  Just to name a few. Not only do Mexicans hide away in this little village away from the world but apparently so do others from around the world who accidently found this little paradise. 

There are a few restaurants around the square.  We ate at one of them after we headed down from La Bufa, the very top of the mountain where it was misty and cold. 

Along the way to La Bufa, we stopped along the rocky and often muddy road to count birds and hike in the humid mountain forests.  One begins to see where the rain forest begins to take hold in North America.  

One of the first birds we heard in the forest was the White-striped Woodcreeper.  It's descending trill call echoed nearby our stakeout location. We carefully moved around the larger tree and spied this bird higher up.  I absolutely love the tail on this woodcreeper.  It looks like a caterpillar of some kind. 

One of my favorite birds from this trek happened to be the Collared Towhee.  While visually different from a Spotted Towhee, it sure vocalized like a Spotted Towhee. When I first got to PV, I couldn't figure out if I was actually hearing Spotted Towhees. It just didn't seem right that they'd be that far down into Mexico. And then upon study, I realized it was the Collared Towhee!!! My next question to myself was then, "Could a Spotted and Collared Towhee hybridize over an area where both species coexist since they like similar habitats?" And they do! Over the Trans-Mexican Belt!  Birds are awesome.  I love to study them.  I'm even more excited knowing that I'll be living in Mexico in the next few years to explore some unknown parts. Mexico is well studied unlike the US. There are still plenty of mysteries that need answers when it comes to birds.  

La Bufa.  I was still warm heading up the mountain.  And the road can be nasty.  But it's very scenic.  My SUV would go up the mountain but it doesn't have four wheel drive so if it rained, I'd be screwed.  Thankfully Antonio's jeep did the trick.  The higher we went; the more the habitat changed. Mid-level birds like the Transvolcanic Jays turned into Black-headed Siskins and Grey silky Flycatchers. We hung out on top enjoying the birds and views. Then it was back down. 

We still had a few more birds to find.  The Chestnut-sided shrike-vireo is one of the first four named neotropical birds to show up on the North American list of birds with long names as you move down into Central American birding. It's a stunning bird and it was a lifer. I'm lucky I even got the pic above as my camera base began to break down and freeze on me costing me a few pics of some good birds.  I since have a new camera to hold me over until I can get the mirrorless option.  When I got home, my camera said, "It has been my pleasure to serve you, but now I must die."  It went through some extreme temps and a few weeks ago, it just completely burned out with steam coming out from the viewfinder.  I just sat holding the camera in my hands remembering all the adventures we had together.  She was 10 years old. 

And finally after years of seeing many Slate-colored Redstarts but not ever getting great pics of one in the red morph, I got my shot of both subspecies now....yellow and red. These guys are very common in the montane forests of Mexico. I'd like to thank friend and bird guide Antonio Robles for a wonderful day somewhere different and outside of steamy Puerto Vallarta.  Antonio is available as a guide out of the Puerto Vallarta area.  San Sebastian Del Oeste and La Bufa are must visits.  From a non-birding point of view, I'd like to go back and just get a hotel and spend some time just exploring. So if you go birding in Puerto Vallarta, don't forget that just a few hours away in car is a magical little village in the middle of a much cooler montane forest.  Over the next couple years, you will see this blog become more infused with Mexican birding. Until next time....