2010 Tour Narrative
In Brief: Great weather and, as always, a very comfortable setting with great food and hospitality—plus fabulous birds, of course—made this year’s San Blas tour one to remember. “Male Varied Bunting above the two, no, three, Blue Buntings, and a male Painted Bunting to the right, by a male Black-capped Vireo…. Oh, there’s a Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow, left of the Happy Wren, just above three more Blue Buntings and another male Painted Bunting, below the Sinaloa Wren….” This was the dialogue at one small patch of brush, which typified the birdiness of San Blas and of western Mexico in general. Other highlights ranged from Bumblebee Hummingbird to Black-throated Magpie-Jay; from stunning male Rose-throated Becards and singing Brown-backed Solitaires to cryptic, silent, other-wordly Northern Potoos; from shrimp burgers and thirst-quenching “limonadas” to deserted beaches and enchanted mangrove tunnels; from truly Blue-footed Boobies to an elegant Laughing Falcon; and from refreshing siestas to dizzying flocks of caciques, thrushes, trogons, woodpeckers, vireos, tanagers, and parakeets swarming into fruiting fig trees.
In Detail: Some of us arrived in time for a little birding near the hotel the first afternoon, and all enjoyed a well-deserved sleep. The next day was a travel day, with some early morning birding near Puerto Vallarta before the drive to San Blas. Morning highlights included San Blas Jays, male Magnificent Frigatebirds with pouches inflated, and simply an appreciation for how “birdy” this area is in winter. After brunch we headed to San Blas, with stops that produced Red-breasted Chat, Black-capped Vireo, and lots of jacanas. After checking in to our wonderful hotel, we headed out to the fort overlooking town for some birding, history, poetry, a cool drink, and the sunset—not to mention walking into a huge fiesta laid on by the municipal president!
On our first morning in San Blas we simply walked from our rooms to areas around town. The great variety of birds around San Blas was typified by groups of Painted Buntings, an immature Great Black Hawk, beautiful Russet-crowned Motmots, spectacular Black-throated Magpie-Jays, plus orioles, warblers, seedeaters, wrens, and on and on. After lunch and a siesta, we took a boat ride along the Río San Cristobal and then through mangrove tunnels (an amazing experience) to La Tovara, staying out after dark in search of the bizarre Northern Potoo—of which we had point-blank views. Birding from a boat is just fun: waterbirds were all around, with close-range Wilson’s Plovers racing after crabs, lots of herons and egrets, Green Kingfishers darting into the mangroves, stunning Bare-throated Tiger-Herons, and a beautiful roosting Lesser Nighthawk.
The next morning we traveled a little farther afield, inland to the village of Singayta, which—“as usual”—produced a good variety of birds, starting with elusive Elegant Quail, Stripe-headed Sparrows in the road, fruiting trees with Masked Tityras and stunning male Rose-throated Becards, tiny Goodman’s Euphonias, handsome Fan-tailed Warblers, snazzy Black-and-white Warblers, and a bathing spot full of birds, including more Painted Buntings. After lunch and a siesta, we visited the marshes and farmland near town, where birds included a variety of raptors, waterbirds including stunning Purple Gallinules, and a selection of landbirds that included good views of White-throated and Willow flycatchers.
An early start the next day found us on the lower slopes of Cerro de San Juan, in beautiful pine-oak forests with very different birds from those we’d seen in San Blas. Highlights were many on this bird-filled day, starting with Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and Blue Mockingbird, followed by Nutting’s Flycatcher, Varied Bunting, and lots of warblers. Other birds on this amazing day included Brown-backed Solitaire in full song, unexpected Great Swallow-tailed Swifts at our picnic lunch spot, confiding Spotted Wrens, flashy Red-headed Tanagers, and lots of hummingbirds including the sought-after Bumblebee. We pulled away reluctantly and headed to the Mirador del Aguila, where we watched spectacular Military Macaws below us in a forested canyon while trucks roared by behind us… ah, Mexico!
After that “long day,” we took it easy the next morning with a quiet boat trip up the estero by the hotel before swinging “offshore” to Virgin Rock and its roosting Blue-footed Boobies. The variety of birds along the river included lots of Common Black-Hawks and Ospreys, as well as good views of skimming Black Skimmers, brilliant White-fronted Parrots, and more Boat-billed Herons. Lunch and a siesta were followed by the short trip across to Peso Island for a variety of birds and a very pleasant beach walk, with good studies of gulls and terns, Purplish-backed Jay, a majestic Peregrine Falcon, and plenty of chachalacas.
On our last two days we visited two very different sites in the foothills. The first day we headed inland to El Limon and spectacular tropical deciduous forest, where birds included Citreoline Trogons, Plain-capped Starthroat, Golden-crowned Emerald, Black-capped Vireos, another male Red-breasted Chat, and lots of wrens (some of them seen!). After lunch and a siesta we took another wonderful boat ride, this time upriver to a spacious lagoon with whistling-ducks, Roseate Spoonbills, Limpkins, and Snail Kites; also notable were Rufous-necked Wood-Rail and an eleventh-hour Collared Forest-Falcon.
On our last full day, we birded in humid, semi-evergreen “shade-coffee forest” near Tecuitata, where new birds continued to appear, including Colima Pygmy-Owl, Gray-crowned Woodpecker, incredible Laughing Falcons, and Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrows; the huge fig trees were swarming with caciques, jays, parakeets, parrotlets, thrushes, vireos, orioles, tityras, and on and on…. After lunch we had time to relax and pack before a wonderful last night’s dinner at the hotel.
Flight times allowed for a little pre-breakfast birding (including fabulous spoonbills and a group of Black Brant, very much a vagrant here) before we headed out, reluctantly, to Puerto Vallarta after a great week of birds, beaches, mountains, good company, and fine cuisine.
- Steve Howell
Updated: February 2010