Birding the Americas Trip Report and Planning Repository

Sinaloa state - Mazatlan, Celestino, Barranca Rancho Liebre

Nayarit state - San Blas, Cerro San Juan

Jalisco state - Mismaloya (Puerto Vallarta)

28 June - 12 July 2007

By Russ Namitz

I went on a 2 week birding trip to central Pacific Mexico in July. Beside one hellacious thunderstorm and another smaller one, it didn’t rain for the trip duration. Birding commenced mostly in the mornings and rarely in the afternoons as I had to juggle rental car logistics with the 3 surfers & non-birding spouse that I was traveling with.

Trip Itinerary

Thur (6/28)    Sinaloa           Mazatlan

Fri (6/29)       Sinaloa           Mazatlan, Celestino

Sat (6/30)       Sinaloa           Celestino

Sun (7/1)        Sinaloa           Cosala, Durango Hwy, Panuco Rd.

Mon (7/2)      Sinaloa           Panuco Rd., La Petaca, Barranca Rancho Liebre

Tues (7/3)      Sinaloa           Barranca Rancho Liebre

Wed (7/4)      Sinaloa           Cosala

Thur (7/5)       Nayarit          Punta de Mita

Fri (7/6)          Nayarit          San Blas, La Bajada, Tecuitata, Cerro San Juan

Sat (7/7)          Nayarit          Cerro San Juan

Sun (7/8)         Jalisco           Mismaloya

Mon (7/9)       Nayarit          Tecuitata, Punta de Mita

Tues (7/10)     Jalisco           Mismaloya

Wed (7/11)     Nayarit          San Blas (Roca Elefante pelagic)

Thur (7/12)     Nayarit          Fly home

I logged 206 species that included 15 heard-only species. Although I didn’t use his services, Mark Stackhouse of Westwings Birding Tours (www.westwings.com) offers quality guided tours of the area and gave me some great tips for localized species in the area.

OWLING: Owling at night is difficult due to night traffic & the general prevalence for loud noise in Mexico. I would suggest owling in the 2 hours before daylight, starting at 3:30am or 4am. This would increase ones chances of finding a caprimulgidid feeding on the road as well.

Breeding endemics recorded for the area, but NOT seen by me include:

MEXICAN PARROTLET

LILAC-CROWNED PARROT

GREAT SWALLOW-TAILED SWIFT

MEXICAN WOODNYMPH

GRAY-CROWNED WOODPECKER

AZTEC THRUSH

BLACK-VENTED ORIOLE

I birded a few places not mentioned in Howell’s Bird-Finding Guide. They are as follows from north to south.

Cosala, Sinaloa: An old mining town in the foothills northwest of La Cruz de Elota (which is 89 kilometers north of Mazatlan). The road up to Cosala has multiple pull-offs and can be birded safely until mid-morning when bird activity decreases. This was the only place I found Purplish-backed Jays.

Celestino, Sinaloa: Located at Km 78 on Hwy 15 north of Mazatlan, this is an under-developed surfing location with some good scrub along local farming roads.

Tecuitata, Nayarit: La Bajada (Site 6-2) is being cleared for bananas which is less attractive for birds. Tecuitata is a nice alternative and should produce the same mix of species. To get to Tecuitata, follow the directions in Howell’s book to Cerro San Juan via Matanchen, p. 125. At the turn off for Las Varas & Puerto Vallarta, mark zero and drive 7.1 km until you see a dirt road going up a small arroyo to the left. If you come to the sign "Tecuitata" that marks the entrance to the small village, you've gone about 200 m too far. The entrance is a bit rough, but after that the road is passable in a car without much trouble. Stay on the main track as the road passes upwards through various orchards. At 1.9 km from the main highway, you'll come to a place where you can park on the right under a large tree, and the road forks just beyond. This is a good place to start walking. The road to the left is the main track, and reaches a summit at 3.4 km from the highway. Rosy Thrush-Tangaer can be found 50m down either fork.

Mismaloya, Jalisco: Located 12 kilometers south of Puerto Vallarta on Hwy 200, the small town marks the beginning of a pleasant river valley that has excellent birding. A 7 km dirt road runs up to El Eden, the site of Arnold Schwartzenager’s Predator. San Blas Jays were extremely common with at least 6 family groups seen along this road.

Thursday (6/28) Mazatlan

Arrived @ 1:30pm and drove around looking for a hotel. Common birds seen today were seen almost every day since like vultures, doves, grackles, sparrows & SINALOA CROWS.

Friday (6/29) Mazatlan, Celestino

We picked up the other 2 surfers and headed north 89 kilometers to the town of La Cruz de Elota. We went to Celestino to check out the surf break.

Saturday (6/30) Celestino

After dropping the surfers off at the beach, I birded some local farm roads. I quickly logged BLACK-THROATED MAGPIE-JAY, ELEGANT QUAIL, RUFOUS-BELLIED CHACHALACA, PLAIN-CAPPED STARTHROAT, WHITE-COLLARED (CINNAMON-RUMPED) SEEDEATER. I also noted a soaring WHITE-TAILED HAWK which a little south of their posted range in the book. Also obvious were HAPPY WREN, GILA WOODPECKER, BLUE-BLACK GRASSQUIT, & STREAK-BACKED ORIOLE.

Sunday (7/1) Cosala, Durango Hwy, Panuco Rd.

This morning I headed up towards Cosala (about an hour from the coast) and saw some PURPLISH-BACKED JAYS feeding along the road, so I pulled over, of course. This was where there was a dry stream bed and a bridge (one of many such locations along this road). There was lots of bird activity including CITREOLINE & ELEGANT TROGONS, RUSSET-CROWNED MOTMOT, SCRUB (GODMAN’S) EUPHONIA, NUTTING’S FLYCATHER, CRANE HAWK, WHITE-FRONTED PARROT, ORANGE-FRONTED PARAKEET, MANGROVE CUCKOO, CINNAMON & BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD, YELLOW-GREEN VIREO, BLUE & VARIED BUNTINGS and YELLOW-WINGED CACIQUE among others.

After lunch, I headed up the Durango Hwy, stopping at Km 265 at the Cerro Elefante. Access is difficult and as noted in Martin Reid’s 2004 report, the access roads into good thorn forest here are private property. I did manage to hear a FAN-TAILED WARBLER & FLAMMULATED FLYCATCHER between traffic, but trying for the flycatcher might be more productive on La Noria Rd. (Site 5.3).

Along the Panuco Rd., I heard a COLIMA PYGMY-OWL & an IVORY-BILLED WOODCREEPER before the sun set.

Monday (7/2) Panuco Rd., La Petaca, Barranca Rancho Liebre

The early morning bird chorus along Panuco Rd. included BRIGHT-RUMPED ATTILA, RUSTY-CROWNED GROUND-SPARROW, GOLDEN-CROWNED EMERALD & BERYLLINE HUMMINGBIRD and NORTHERN BEARDLESS-TYRANNULET. An odd HAPPY WREN seemed to be molting its head feathers and appeared “white-headed.” It was difficult to get a good look, but the bird did not appear leucistic in any way.

From there I birded the first coupe kilometers of the road to La Petaca. Hummingbirds were notable absent and most species seen here were also seen at other locations. BLACK-HEADED SISKINS were easy to see low down here. It was a pleasant birding experience and MILITARY MACAWS were calling and flew high above the cliffs.

My first of 5 sightings of TUFTED JAY came along the highway around Kilometer 218. A few kilometers later (Km 215?) there are some microondas (microwave towers) on the left (north) side of the highway. I briefly birded this dirt road and picked up BRIDLED TITMOUSE, PAINTED REDSTART, YELLOW-EYED JUNCO, WHITE-STRIPED WOODCREEPER & BROWN SOLITAIRE. Mark Stackhouse told me after the fact that the left fork of this microonda road is a good place to look for EARED QUETZALS, better than the Barrance trail.

As Marin Reid notes in his 2004 report, the parking area for the Barranca is located at 201.5, not 200.5 as in Howell’s book. There was another family group of TUFTED JAYS here. The Barranca trail could actually be classified as a rough 4x4 road; a good driver in a high-clearance jeep could make it to the top. In other words, it is an easy trail to find and stay on. A little over halfway to the top, there is a large concrete slab on the right with 2 pipes protruding. It must be a spring as one can hear water bubbling up.

There was great birding around here including MOUNTAIN TROGON, CHESTNUT-CAPPED & GREEN-STRIPED BRUSH-FINCH, HEPATIC, FLAME-COLORED & RED-HEADED TANAGER, GOLDEN-BROWED, RED & CRESCENT-CHESTED WARBLERS, SLATE-THROATED REDSTART & RUSSET NIGHTINGALE-THRUSH. Further up the trail at the orchard, there were GRACE’S WARBLER, SPOTTED TOWHEE, GREATER PEWEE, BLUE MOCKINGBIRD, DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER & SCOTT’S ORIOLE. On the way back down the trail, downslope of the concrete-covered spring, an EARED QUETZAL flew across the trail and landed uphill in a pine tree.

I camped off the highway at Km 212 along a drivable that a forks after about 50 yards. The left fork goes to a private residence. The right fork continues downhill, but I did not follow it very far. Birds noted here were WHITE-EARED HUMMINGBIRD, TUFTED FLYCATCHER, ELEGANT EUPHONIA, SPOTTED WREN & PINE FLYCATCHER.

I tried owling along the Durango Hwy and heard a STYGIAN OWL at Km 208 and saw another fly across the road at Km 211. I heard a WHISKERED SCREECH-OWL at my campsite at Km 212.

Tuesday (7/3) Barranca Rancho Liebre

I got up early and made it to the canyon rim by daybreak. I stayed here for about 3 hours hoping for a fly-by of THICK-BILLED PARROTS, but no such luck. I did hear a flock of TUFTED JAYS below and BLUE MOCKINGBIRD that was mimicking PARAQUE, WHIP-POOR-WILL & EARED POORWILL. A CRESTED GUAN flew across a small gap while a ORANGE-BILLED NIGHTINGALE-THRUSH sang. A mixed species flock came by with MEXICAN CHICKADEES leading the way. Flying high above was a flock of CHESTNUT-COLLARED SWIFTS with a single BLACK SWIFT in the mix.

There are numerous pullouts around Km 211 to view cliffs above & below the road. There were MILITARY MACAWS calling & flying below. The biggest find, however, was nesting SINALOA MARTINS in the cliff right above the road. They were nesting next to a RED-TAILED HAWK’S nest. In fact, an adult came in carrying a Ctenosaur in its talons, but was bombarded by some Myarchius species that actually prevented the hawk from delivering prey to its screeching young. Also detected at this stop were CANYON WREN & WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS.

I stopped at the Pantitlan dirt road at Km 285 to try for the RED-BREASTED CHAT, but didn’t have any luck. I spent the afternoon driving back to La Cruz de Elota.

Wednesday (7/4) Cosala

I quickly birded a little bit higher on the road to Cosala, but did not find any new species. We drove 7 hours to Punta de Mita, Jalisco just north of Puerto Vallarta.

Thursday (7/5) Punta de Mita

Most of the day was lost to people being sick and changing hotels. I was able to go out mid-morning and hear a singing FLAMMULATED FLYCATCHER at Km 6.

Friday (7/6) San Blas, La Bajada, Tecuitata, Cerro San Juan

I got up at 3:30am to arrive in San Blas at daybreak. About an hour into the drive, one of the worst thunderstorms I’ve ever seen came through and driving was actually suspended due to lack of visibility. The lightening actually helped me to see the road and fortunately, it was frequent. A problem soon developed as water started leaking in through the surf racks. I had to pull over, unlash them and pull them inside and in the short time it took to do that, all 4 seats were soaked.

I arrived at La Bajada (Site 6.2) at 6am, but it was still raining, so I slept until 8:30am and then drove into San Blas. I saw WHITE-TIPPED DOVES and one RUDDY QUAIL-DOVE on the way out. It was still raining, so I figured I would pay my condolences to Mark Stackhouse who was in town at the time. We chatted and shared information (him more than me) and then I was off to Tecuitata at 11:00am. Even at this late hour, the birds were still active. I taped out a ROSY THRUSH-TANAGER. The noisiest flycatchers were GREAT KISKADEE, BOAT-BILLED FLYCATCHER, THICK-BILLED KINGBIRD & SOCIAL FLYCATCHER. Other common species were GRAY HAWK, GOLDEN-CHEEKED WOODPECKER & WHITE-THROATED ROBIN. At the top of the hill, I whistled out a THICKET TINAMOU.

I then drove up to Cerro San Juan. On the gravel road up, I heard an EARED QUETZAL at Km 4. I would have passed this off as a COOPER’S HAWK had not Mark Stackhouse told me that he’s had numerous sightings of quetzals here. While I’m not 100% sure, I believe it was a quetzal and not an accipiter. I dove into the forest and played recordings for each species, but got no response. Other birds on the way up include GOLDEN VIREO, GRAY-COLLARED BECARD, MASKED TITYRA & TROPICAL PARULA. At the La Noria Ranch at the top of the hill, I saw CASSIN’S KINGBIRD, CHIPPING SPARROW, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, ACORN WOODPECKER & NORTHERN FLICKER.

After dark, I tried owling. I heard MOTTLED OWL & EARED POORWILL, but no MEXICAN WHIP-POOR-WILL. I also heard an odd owl species that I believe was a probable MEXICAN BARRED OWL. As someone who studied Spotted Owls in the US for 3 seasons, I am well aware that owls have many vocalizations for which there are no recordings. The sound that I heard was like the “you’all” in the “Who cooks for you’all” mnemonic device of the US subspecies of the BARRED OWL. This note was repeated 3x in slow succession. This happened twice and then the owl shut up. This was around Km 5. I was a bit biased as Mark Stackhouse told me that Steve Howell had heard and seen a MEXICAN BARRED OWL up here recently.

Sat (7/7) Cerro San Juan

I got up before sunrise in hopes of catching a caprimulgidid on the road. I was in luck, as an EARED POORWILL was feeding just downhill (towards Cuarenteno) from the La Noria south gate. I turned around and headed back down the hill towards Cuarenteno. I heard that a great spot for hummingbirds was the big, open right curve just past the blue altar (statue with gate & candles inside). It might be around Km 10? I saw only BERYLLINE HUMMINGBIRDS, but the flowers were all mostly dead and gone. I saw a small hummer zoom by that could have been a BUMBLEBEE HUMMINGBIRD. I also noted lots of RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLERS & WHITE-THROATED ROBINS.

I spent the afternoon driving back to Punta de Mita.

Sun (7/8) Mismaloya

Just a few kilometers south of Puerto Vallarta, I spied a SAN BLAS JAY along the roadside looking for food. After another few kilometers, I spied another. About 12 Km south of Puerto Vallarta at the town of Mismaloya, I turned left into the town before crossing over the river. After a kilometer or two, you get out of the town and head up the river valley. Stopping anywhere along this road can be productive. I saw at least 6 different family groups of SAN BLAS JAYS along this 7 Km dirt road. One of the most common bird species was the ORANGE-FRONTED PARAKEETS. It seemed like they were in every tree. Curiously, they were the only psitticid seen or heard. Just after Chino’s Paraiso, the road climbs up to a small hill. From here, I was able to command a decent view of anything flying up or down the valley. Birds seen here included ELEGANT TROGON, BAT FALCON, COLLARED FOREST-FALCON (heard), WEST MEXICAN CHACHALACA (probably intergrade), FERRUGINOUS PYGMY-OWL, SINALOA WREN and ORANGE-BREASTED BUNTING.

At the end of the public road is the green gate to El Eden, a restaurant with a zip line and site of the filming of part of the film Predator. Just before the gate is a nice spot to pull off the road. Here I found RED-CROWNED ANT-TANAGER, GREEN JAY & RUSTY-CROWNED GROUND-SPARROW.

Monday (7/9) Tecuitata, Punta de Mita

I returned to Tecuitata in hopes of finding MEXICAN PARROTLET, MEXICAN HERMIT or SPARKLING-TAILED WOODSTAR. I did not find any of them nor did I log any new species.

In the afternoon, I tried birding a side road along the Punta de Mita peninsula road at Km 11. This roads goes to a house of a carpenter from San Diego and goes through some nice habitat in the short 2 Km stretch. This is where I found my only RED-BREASTED CHAT. Finally!

Tuesday (7/10) Mismaloya

I returned to Mismaloya in hopes of finding MEXICAN PARROTLET, MEXICAN HERMIT or SPARKLING-TAILED WOODSTAR. I did not find any of them nor did I log any new species.

In the afternoon, we packed up and drove to San Blas. I arranged a pelagic to Roca Elefante (12 kilometers, $125 US). In the evening, I did a quick trip to the shrimp ponds and racked up the normal waterbirds.

Wednesday (7/11) San Blas (Roca Elefante pelagic)

We left at 6:30am and leaving the harbor saw HEERMANN’S & LAUGHING GULLS, ROYAL & LEAST TERNS and BROWN PELICANS. Our first stop was the Virgen Rock (also Piedra Blanca) where we saw BRIDLED TERNS, BLUE-FOOTED & BROWN BOOBIES. MAGNIFICANT FRIGATEBIRDS were all over of course. I saw nothing save a lone BROWN NODDY en route to Roca Elefante. On the rock were numerous individuals of the same species mix as Virgen Rock. I did see (3x) a RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD…the main reason for the trip. There was also a lone RED-FOOTED BOOBY on the rock as well as a fly-by flock of 15 BROWN NODDIES. Unfortunately, no shearwaters or storm-petrels were seen.

We drove the 4 hour drive back to Mazatlan.

Thursday (7/12) Fly home

BIRD SPECIES DETECTED: 207 species (bold = lifer; * = heard only)

Coos Bay, OR
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