Tom Pavlik
Jeff Pavlik
January 20 - 24, 2010
** All pictures can be clicked to enlarge
Wednesday January 20, 2010
Our initial flight was direct from Detroit to Puerto Vallarta (PV) but the airline changed it about two weeks before. We ended up going through Minneapolis which cost us a couple extra hours on our arrival date. Regardless, we arrived without incident and easily got to the car rental (Dollar). The rental company, as all do, charge you the mandatory daily insurance which is typically around $15 per day. I also don't understand why the process is so time consuming. We spent at least 20 minutes at the rental booth in the airport going through the paperwork then took a shuttle to the off-terminal building only to go through another 20 minutes of paperwork. Don't these people know they're cutting into our birding time?
One of the nice things about driving here is there is only one main highway going north and south. We got on highway 200 heading north right from the car rental facility. About 30 minutes later we were out of the traffic and getting into some nice countryside. After being locked up in Michigan winter for too long it was also nice to drive with the windows down.
Not far out of town we recorded our first new bird - Sinaloa Crow. These turned out to be quite common and when you saw one you saw 50. We had about a two hour drive from PV to our Bed and get-your-own-breakfast in Miramar right on the shore of the ocean. I wanted to get fairly close and make sure we would make it before it got dark and difficult to find the place. We found a dirt road to the right not too far out of Las Vargas. Looked like a good place to explore. This turned out to be very nice. We had Painted Bunting and one of many before a noisy flock of birds came in. Not knowing the local bird calls we weren't sure what this was. Then the group of Yellow-winged Caciques came into a tree right above us. Not far behind them was a equally noisy group of Black-throated Magpie Jays. Off to a good start.
We made it to Miramar just south of San Blas shortly before dusk. We met the owner and got settled in. A seafoood restaurant was recommended just down the road on the beach. I wouldn't have eaten here 15 years ago and I'm sure it wouldn't pass many inspections in the US. However, the meal and cold beer while watching the sunset across the ocean was awesome. A Willet and Whimbrel were working the beach area not the least bit concerned about us.
Thursday January 21, 2010
We were up at dawn and walked around the small town of Miramar. Not much to see in terms of birds. We walked down to the beach and picked up a few expected birds: Heermann's Gull, Brown Pelican, and masses of Magnificent Frigatebirds.
We jumped in the car and headed for San Blas which was only about 20 km to the north. Not far out of town there was some activity along the road. We stopped and found a variety of birds working the tree tops. Some of the ruckus was no doubt caused by a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl sitting near the top of a leafless tree. Continuing north we came to our first side road. We ventured down and got out where there was some activity. My brother picked up a Western Long-tailed Hermit (hummingbird). Common-yellowthroat, Cattle Egret and the common Orange-fronted Parakeets were among the few birds here.
The morning was getting on and we wanted to get to San Blas. We got there quite easily but found it rather disappointing. Perhaps I had heard too many good things and my expectations were too high. After driving around town we found little of interest so we headed for the sewage lagoon just east of town. Who goes to a sewage lagoon on their Mexican vacation? Birders! The lagoon was loaded with list-building species but nothing too exotic. Waterfowl included Green-winged and Blue-winged Teals, Least Grebe and Brant. There were several herons/egrets including Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and Green Heron. Glossy and White Ibis were present as well as Roseate Spoonbill. Black Skimmers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Black-necked Stilts and American Avocet were also represented.
Black Skimmer
After spending a fair amount of time here and grabbing some photos we headed back towards Miramar. There were a couple of side roads we wanted to explore. The first was a typical side road that led to some small village. We stopped where the road allowed and walked up and down the road. There was a good group of birds including Red-billed Pigeon,White-winged Dove, Common Ground Dove, Broad-billed and Cinnamon Hummingbirds as well as the endemic Golden-crowned Emerald. At our second stop was perhaps the bird of the trip. My brother was walking down the road and something flushed up into the brush lining the road. Lesser Ground-Cuckoo! It froze for about 30 seconds allowing excellent views before heading off into a nearby brushy field.
Our next stop was down a road with a sign for a crocodile safari. That to us meant swamps which meant more birds. Less than a mile down we found open viewing of swamps on both sides of the road. Birds were everywhere. Cinnamon Teal, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks by the dozens, Snail Kite, Northern Jacana, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and many others.
Tri-colored Heron
Dinner was so good at the spot the night before and since options were limited, we choose the same place in Miramar. Two great fish and shrimp dinners, chips and salsa, a couple of beers and sodas for about $15 US. As the sun was setting a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron flew in near us to end an excellent day.
Friday January 22, 2010
We would be spending this night at Rancho Primavera an easy two hours south of PV. We checked out some side roads still in the Miramar area headed towards Las Vargas but our minds were on getting to higher elevations and near the ranch. One concern is that we were leaving the San Blas area and no San Blas Jay. That problem was solved before we got to Las Vargas. We saw a group of Black-billed Magpie Jays and decided to stop for a view. We pulled off along Highway 200 and walked back along the road. A mixed group of San Blas Jays, Yellow-winged Caciques and Black-billed Magpie Jays were working the area. Excellent views of each.
We continued south through PV (very busy) and eventually got south enough where the traffic lightened and you could pull off here and there. Very little happening in the heat of early afternoon. We continued towards El Tuito and found Rancho Primavera without much hassle. Hmmm.... a little skeptical? Lots of birds here? As we crossed the small stream and headed towards the obvious residence of Bonnie and Pat things looked up a bit. A few birds here and there. Walking up the drive to their house we noticed a couple feeders including hummingbird feeders. These ended up producing Broad-billed and Cinnamon Hummingbird as well as Plain-capped Starthroat (my 125th hummingbird specie). The Stripe-headed Sparrows were neat too.
Stripe-headed Sparrow
We were greeted by Pat and Bonnie (and four lovable dogs) who easily became our new best friends. After an orientation from Bonnie she showed us to our hacienda on the far end of the property -WOW - very nice. Fridge, microwave, coffee w/coffee maker a beautiful balcony overlooking a small lake. I was in love with Rancho Primavera.
The ranch has several micro-habitats that provides a diverse group of birds. There is open field, acres of jungle habitat, other small segments of woodlots and ponds. No wonder groups of birders have recorded more than 100 species in a day.
After unpacking we worked our way back up to Pat and Bonnie's. There were a couple of ponds to check on (Ringed Kingfisher, Black-crowned Night-Heron,White Ibis, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron). Once back at the house we sat and watched the feeders for a while. San Blas (common) and Black-throated Magpie Jays made an appearance. More Yellow-winged Caciques and Golden-cheecked Woodpeckers. Suddenly, a Blue Mockingbird made a brief appearance. After checking on the feeders we took one of the jungle trails. Overall it was fairly quiet in the late afternoon. However, we did manage to find a single Thicket Tinamou. We met up with Bonnie upon our return and she walked us over to another woodlot that has been reliable for Rosy Thrush-Tanager. With just the two of us and remaining as quiet as possible we heard something scratching in the woods off the path to the left. That was an easy find. The Thrush-tanager gave us all the looks we needed. Not sure why others choose to use tapes to lure the birds in. A little patience and keeping quiet seems to do the trick.
Pale-billed Woodpecker
After that short walk we headed into the town of El Tuito. Bonnie recommended a pizza joint and the recommendation was right on.
Saturday January 23, 2010
The plan was to bird Bioto Rd. which has become well known to the relatively few birders that have been to this area. This is only about 8 km west of El Tuito on the way to the ocean. So, after birding the ranch grounds for an hour or so, we headed in that direction. So far, we had been missing the endemic Russet-crowned Motmot. As good fortune would have it, my brother spotted one in a large shrub as we crossed a bridge heading out of town. Pictures were taken and we were on our way to Bioto Rd. One significant problem was developing - wind, and lots of it. By the time we got to Bioto Rd. the wind was 20 mph with gusts probably close to 30 mph. We worked down the road but little was calling. We stopped here and there but not much. We heard the occasional parrot squawking as they flew over and assumed it was Lilac-crowned but never got good enough looks. Looking up from the road the surrounding woods only provided a small ribbon of space to get s glimpse. Finally, after about the fourth group and at the proper angle from the sun, we could confirm Lilac-crowned Parrot.
Russet-crowned Motmot
We headed back to the main road and made our way to Tehualmixtle which is a very small village on the shore of the ocean. Again, we stopped at spots that looked like they may be productive but again the wind and now heat of the day was making birding a challenge. At one stop however, we got our first looks at a nice male Blue Bunting as well as Greenish Elaenia. Rufous-backed Robins became more common as well. Butterflies were also plentiful at many of our stops and took some of the sting away from the tough birding. Just a couple kilometers short of Tehualmixtle and after several kilometers of no bird sightings whatsoever, a flash of green went across the road. We knew they were trogons. Excellent - a pair of Citreoline Trogons.
We made it to Tehualmixtle. This was a very nice little village built around a cove of the Pacific Ocean. We watched some of the locals try their hand at fishing. Brown Pelicans and Herrmann's Gulls were abundant but there was little else in the way of birds.
We back-tracked towards El Tuito. The wind seemed to be dying down a little. A Crested Caracara was nice to see. The thorn forest was thick and any chance of seeing Orange-breasted Bunting seemed distant as well as Red-breasted Chat. We made it back to Bioto Rd. around 3:00pm and decided it was worth another shot. Maybe we didn't go down far enough. Our first stop was a couple km down the road. There was a little activity when my brother spotted something that looked new. After working it's way out of a bundle of leaves a Red-breasted Chat was visable. Whew - another target bird.
We continued down the road to where a small pull-off was available just before crossing a stream. This looked like it held possibilities. Another Golden-cheecked Woodpecker and add Pale-billed Woodpecker too. We navigated over the stream only getting a little wet. About 100 feet up and to the left was a large brush pile with some activity. Some more female drab "seed birds" - probably White-collared Seedeaters. My brother, once again picking out the target bird, called out "Orange-breasted Bunting. Bottom-right of the brush pile". Once on it, this bright orange male stuck out like a light bulb.
Golden-cheecked Woodpecker (female)
We walked back on Bioto Rd.which now rose again. This turned out to be a nice surprise because by the road inclining and the slope down to the river on the left we were birding at canopy level. Better looks at parrots, woodpeckers and a few flycatchers in the area. What looked liked a difficult birding day ended up being quite productive.
Sunday January 24, 2010
We had to head back to PV to catch our plane home. However, we had a couple hours in the morning. Bonnie suggested a road to Provincea which was in the general direction of PV anyway. This would be our best chance at Mountain Trogon and we still didn't have Military Macaw either. The road to Provincea provided another habitat that we hadn't birded yet - Pine-Oak. Our first stop produced several warbler species: more Black-and-White, Graces, Black-throated Green, Rufous-capped (my brother only) and Black-throated Gray warblers.
At our next stop we had an awesome view overlooking an expansive valley. A group of Rusty Sparrows were foraging on the ground and a male Hepatic Tanager was just over the edge of the slope. At the next stop we were trying to get on the hummingbirds working a group of flowering trees. More Cinnamon Hummingbirds. Walking back towards the car we heard the distinct call of a Macaw. A single Military Macaw was flying over the valley. Perfect! Of course, 10 minutes later a pair flew right over the car. Unfortunately, the time had come to start heading to the airport. We headed back on the dirt road and suddenly saw an obvious trogon fly in front of us and disappear into the woods. We got out and tracked the bird. Unfortunately, not a Mountain Trogon but there's no such thing as an unwanted trogon. This one was an Elegant (Coppery-tailed) Trogon. One last stop on our way up highway 200 produced an endemic we had forgot about - Happy Wren.
A special note on Rancho Primavera
Bonnie and Pat do not advertise. Everything is by word-of-mouth. For the most part they only want birders but any nature lovers are welcome. What is considered by many as the premier bird tour company, Victor Emmanuel Nature Tours (VENT), has recently discovered Rancho Primavera and a few Audubon groups have enjoyed the ranch as well. It's not intended to be a secret and it won't be for long. I recommend at least three days. Feel free to send them an email at: bonniejauregui@gmail.com
I ended with 169 species of which 22 were new for me. The more interesting birds:
Thicket Tinamou
Least Grebe
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron
Common Black-Hawk
Rufous-bellied Chachalaca
West Mexican Chachalaca
Military Macaw
Orange-fronted Parakeet
Mexican Parrotlet
Lilac-crowned Parrot
Lesser Ground-Cuckoo
Golden-crowned Emerald
Plain-capped Starthroat
Citreoline Trogon
Elegant Trogon
Russet-crowned Motmot
Golden-cheeked Woodpecker
Gray-crowned Woodpecker
Pale-billed Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker
Greenish Elaenia
Rufous-backed Robin
Black-throated Magpie-Jay
San Blas Jay
Sineloa Crow
Red-breasted Chat
Rosy Thrush-Tanager
Scrub Euphonia
Stripe-headed Sparrow
Rusty Sparrow
Grayish Saltator
Yellow Grosbeak
Blue Bunting
Orange-breasted Bunting
Streak-backed Oriole
Black-vented Oriole
Yellow-winged Cacique
