Birding the Americas Trip Report
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MEXICO -- JALISCO
(PUERTO VALLARTA)
20 - 23 April 2002
by Steve Charleton
Fellow Montreal birdwatcher, Pete Mitchell (and president of Aves Borealis
Birding Inc) and myself flew for a week of R&R with our wives to Puerto
Vallarta. This was NOT a birdwatching trip, and although we brought binoculars,
we did not bring our scopes. However, we had planned to get a day or so of
good birdwatching in while we were there.
Our accommodations were at the Mayan Palace complex in Nuevo Vallarta, where
we lucked out. We were at the far end of the “red building”, on the 4th floor,
closest to and overlooking the adjacent property to the south which was still
undeveloped, and covered with scrub forest. The 2 properties were separated
by a yet-untouched estuary, so we saw many local birds from the comfort of
our balcony, called “Day 1” in the listing below.
Prior to leaving Montreal, we had arranged for a 2-day “private” bird trip,
up to San Blas and back, through a local tour operator. Although OpenAir Tours
(www.vallartawhales.com) specializes in marine & whale-watching trips,
it also does nature hikes and 3 different day-long birding trips (coastal,
Marietas Islands, & forest), at $50US per participant. Pete and I arranged
a 2-day trip through the owner, Isabel Cardenas, as follows: Monday am do
most of the “forest birding” trip, then drive to San Blas (3 hours); sleep
overnight at our expense; Tues am take the San Cristobal mangrove boat trip,
do some additional birding afterwards (time permitting), then drive back to
PVR.
Our guide and driver was excellent. Jorge was a young and enthusiastic birder
from Tepic and knew the San Blas area as a boy. Now doing the bird tours for
OpenAir, he also knew various hot spots around PVR, and took us to one of
his favourites on the first morning, where new birds kept coming in as we
stood and watched! Then we walked and had to dig a bit for the skulkers (trogons,
motmots, etc.). On the way we made a seaside stop for boobies.
The trip to San Blas seems long and dull, although according to Peter Alden’s
book Finding Birds in Western Mexico, we passed through prime birding territory,
and obviously another day in and around San Blas would have been extremely
productive if we had had the time. We chose a cheap grungy hotel to sleep,
but as compensation chose to eat well at the Hotel Garza Canela, whose restaurant
(and probably the rooms too) is highly-recommended. The San Cristobal boat
trip was wonderful. We were just the 3 plus pilot, and we passed just one
other boat during the entire morning. The boat was quiet (electric motor),
and we saw just about everything we wanted, including 4 separate individuals
of that most-wanted bird, the Boat-Billed Heron, all of which were wary but
did not fly. We also saw 2 Potoos well, at oars-length.
All-in-all, it was an excellent 2 days. We certainly highly recommend both
Jorge and OpenAir!
Birds seen: (list extracted after-the-fact from
updated records in Birdbase software)
Day 1 “Nuevo Vallarta” (view from window & grounds of Mayan Palace
hotel) Apr 20,21/2002
Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
Brown Booby
Sula leucogaster
Neotropic (Olivaceous) Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Magnificent Frigatebird
Fregata magnificens
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Great(Common,American)Egret Ardea alba
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Tricolored (Louisiana) Heron
Egretta tricolor
White Ibis
Eudocimus albus
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna autumnalis
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
American Coot
Fulica americana
Northern Jacana
Jacana spinosa
Killdeer
Charadrius vociferus
Black-bellied(Gray)Plover
Pluvialis squatarola
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Willet
Catoptrophorus semipalmatus
Marbled Godwit
Limosa fedoa
Black-necked Stilt
Himantopus mexicanus
Heermann's Gull
Larus heermanni
Laughing Gull
Larus atricilla
Royal Tern
Sterna maxima
Common Tern
Sterna hirundo
Least Tern
Sterna antillarum
Black Skimmer
Rynchops niger
Mexican(Blue-rumped)Parrotlet Forpus cyanopygius
Green Kingfisher
Chloroceryle americana
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis
Yellow Warbler
Dendroica petechia
Yellow-winged Cacique
Cacicus melanicterus
Great-tailed Grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
Day 2 - “Mismaloya” (south of PVR, with Jorge) Apr 22/2002
am only
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
Blue-footed Booby
Sula nebouxii
Brown Booby
Sula leucogaster
Neotropic (Olivaceous) Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Magnificent Frigatebird
Fregata magnificens
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Red-billed Pigeon
Columba flavirostris
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macroura
White-winged Dove
Zenaida asiatica
Inca Dove
Columbina inca
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Columbina talpacoti
White-tipped Dove
Leptotila verreauxi
Orange-fronted Parakeet
Aratinga canicularis
Lilac-crowned Parrot
Amazona finschi
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Cynanthus latirostris
Elegant(Coppery-tailed)Trogon
Trogon elegans
Russet-crowned Motmot
Momotus mexicanus
Gray-crowned Woodpecker
Piculus auricularis
Golden-cheeked Woodpecker
Melanerpes chrysogenys
Pale-billed Woodpecker
Campephilus guatemalensis
Ivory-billed Woodcreeper
Xiphorhynchus flavigaster
Bright-rumped Attila
Attila spadiceus
Rose-throated Becard
Pachyramphus aglaiae
Masked Tityra
Tityra semifasciata
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Thick-billed Kingbird
Tyrannus crassirostris
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
Myiodynastes luteiventris
Social Flycatcher
Myiozetetes similis
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Brown-crested(Wied's)Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Myiarchus tuberculifer
San Blas Jay
Cyanocorax sanblasianus
Sinaloa Wren
Thryothorus sinaloa
Happy Wren
Thryothorus felix
White-throated Thrush
Turdus assimilis
Swainson's Thrush
Catharus ustulatus
Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush Catharus aurantiirostris
Warbling Vireo
Vireo gilvus
Nashville Warbler
Vermivora ruficapilla
Tropical Parula
Parula pitiayumi
Streak-backed Oriole
Icterus pustulatus
Yellow-winged Cacique
Cacicus melanicterus
Bronzed(Red-eyed)Cowbird
Molothrus aeneus
Western Tanager
Piranga ludoviciana
Grayish Saltator
Saltator coerulescens
Yellow Grosbeak
Pheucticus chrysopeplus
Stripe-headed Sparrow
Aimophila ruficauda
Day 3 - “San Blas” (early am Tues Apr 23 until noon)
Least Grebe
Tachybaptus dominicus
Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalis
Neotropic (Olivaceous) Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus
Anhinga
Anhinga anhinga
Magnificent Frigatebird
Fregata magnificens
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Great(Common,American)Egret Ardea alba
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax
nycticorax
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nyctanassa violacea
Boat-billed Heron
Cochlearius cochlearius
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron
Tigrisoma mexicanum
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
Northern Shoveler
Anas clypeata
Black Vulture
Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Gray Hawk
Asturina nitida
Great Black-Hawk
Buteogallus urubitinga
Common(Lesser)Black-Hawk Buteogallus anthracinus
Rufous-bellied Chachalaca Ortalis wagleri
Limpkin
Aramus guarauna
Common Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus
Semipalmated Plover
Charadrius semipalmatus
Black-bellied(Gray)Plover Pluvialis
squatarola
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Greater Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleuca
Short-billed Dowitcher
Limnodromus griseus
Long-billed Dowitcher
Limnodromus scolopaceus
Caspian Tern
Sterna caspia
Rock Dove
Columba livia
Red-billed Pigeon
Columba flavirostris
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macroura
White-winged Dove
Zenaida asiatica
White-tipped Dove
Leptotila verreauxi
Groove-billed Ani
Crotophaga sulcirostris
Common(Gray)Potoo
Nyctibius griseus
Black Swift
Cypseloides niger
Broad-billed Hummingbird Cynanthus latirostris
Cinnamon Hummingbird Amazilia rutila
Citreoline Trogon
Trogon citreolus
Green Kingfisher
Chloroceryle americana
Lineated Woodpecker Dryocopus
lineatus
Masked Tityra
Tityra semifasciata
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Social Flycatcher
Myiozetetes similis
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Mangrove Swallow
Tachycineta albilinea
Green Jay
Cyanocorax yncas
Black-throated Magpie-Jay Calocitta colliei
Sinaloa Crow
Corvus sinaloae
Swainson's Thrush
Catharus ustulatus
Nashville Warbler
Vermivora ruficapilla
Yellow Warbler
Dendroica petechia
Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
Wilson's Warbler
Wilsonia pusilla
Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Steve Charlton
Montreal
s.charlton@sympatico.ca