3 – 17 March 2009 led by Colin Bushell with assistance from Local guides.
Western Mexico offers a great diversity of habitats and wildlife and throughout this tour we’ll be able to explore a variety of habitats from pine-oak forests on the slopes of volcanoes in Colima and Jalisco, to arid coastal forest in Sinaloa. This will enable us to see a number of Mexican endemic species during our travels and our bird list will be enhanced by visiting some wetland habitats including coastal mangroves near San Blas, surely one of Mexico’s most famous and popular birding sites. The grand finale to our tour will be an excursion up the Durango Highway to see the highly localized Tufted Jay.
Expect hot and sunny weather with a slight chance of showers. A fleece jacket and gloves will be required for early mornings at the Tufted Jay Reserve. It should be dry underfoot and walking boots or shoes will be sufficient. We may experience some mosquitoes near San Blas so bring repellent.
Group size: Maximum of 8 participants.
Price: £1935.00 Guadalajara / Mazatlan.
Single room supplement: £225.00.
Includes: All services Guadalajara / Mazatlan, accommodation in hotels, ground transport, meals, and services of Toucan Birding Tours leader and local guides, tips to drivers and local guides.
Not included: International flights Guadalajara / Mazatlan (contact us for information regarding flights), airport departure tax, drinks.
ITINERARY.
Day 1. Arrival in Guadalajara and transfer to the Hotel El Tapatio.
Day 2. Morning drive to Ciudad Guzman via Laguna Zapotlan. We may spend a little time in the attractive hotel grounds this morning for an introduction to Mexican birds. We have seen Cedar Waxwings, Curve-billed Thrashers and Black-vented Orioles in the gardens here. Hummingbirds could include Violet-crowned and Broad-billed Hummers and we have seen Yellow-throated Warblers too – a rare bird in Jalisco. Making our way out of the city the marshy lakes and ponds near Ciudad Guzman are the winter home to large numbers of waterfowl in the northern winter and we can expect to see most of the following species: White-faced Ibis, Snow Goose, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Mallards of the Mexican Duck subspecies (quite distinctive here), Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teals, American Coot, Northern Jacana, Black-necked Stilt, Long-billed Dowitcher, Caspian Terns, Cassin’s Kingbird, Marsh Wren, Loggerhead Shrike, Violet-green Swallow, Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. We should arrive in Ciudad Guzman in time for lunch.
This afternoon we’ll make our first visit to Volcan de Nieve, birding the lower part of the volcano where we could see White-eared Hummingbird, White-striped Woodcreeper, Tufted Flycatcher, Bushtit, Grey Silky-Flycatcher, Mountain Trogon, Painted Redstart, Red Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, Olive Warbler and Black-headed Siskin. We have seen the shy Crested Guan here and on the way back into town we’ll keep an eye out for Lesser Nighthawks. Overnight in Ciudad Guzman.
Day 3. A full day birding Volcan de Nieve today. Unlike the nearby Volcan de Fuego that faces the sea and intercepts moisture-laden winds, Nieve is more arid with open pine-oak forests. Birds we’ll hope to see today include Mountain Pygmy-Owl, Magnificent and Calliope Hummingbirds, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, the endemic Spotted Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Brown-backed Solitaire, Blue Mockingbird, Mexican Jay, Olive, Red-faced, Crescent-chested and Golden-browed Warblers, Slate-throated Redstart, Dwarf Vireo, Stripe-headed Sparrow, Canyon Towhee, the endemic Rufous-capped and Green-striped Brush-finches, Buff-breasted Flycatcher and Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer. The striking Aztec Thrush is a possibility here, but more common species may include Yellow-eyed Junco, Mexican Chickadee, and Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets. Overnight in Ciudad Guzman.
Day 4. Another day to explore Volcan Nieve or we may visit Volcan Fuego. The lower roads of Fuego can be alive with birds in the early morning and we’ll be alert for Banded Quails and our first Russet-crowned Motmots. Mixed-species feeding flocks higher on the slopes in the pine-oak forests may contain four sought-after Mexican or regional endemics: Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo, Grey-collared Becard and Dwarf Vireo. Skulkers like Golden-browed Warbler and Russet Nightingale-Thrush may keep us busy, but relief should come in the form of the 15 species of “hummers” occurring here, including the regional endemic Amethyst-throated Hummingbird. Other birds we can hope for today include Rufous-bellied Chachalaca, Squirrel Cuckoo, Ladder-backed and Arizona Woodpeckers, Rose-throated Becard, Happy Wren, Ruddy-capped Nightingale-Thrush, Colima Warbler, Black-vented and Dickey's Orioles.
In the late afternoon we’ll make our way to Colima, more than likely seeing our first Yellow-winged Caciques on the way.
Day 5. An opportunity to search for birds in the countryside surrounding Ciudad Colima today. Just outside Colima we’ll search for Black-chested Sparrow and White-throated Magpie-Jays and with luck we’ll find Lesser Ground-Cuckoo and Lesser Roadrunner before doing some night birding in search of Balsas Screech-Owl, Colima Pygmy-Owl and Buff-collared Nightjar. Overnight in Colima.
Day 6. Today we’ll make our way to Manzanillo on the Pacific coast. In this area we’ll bird the Playa de Oro road before making our way to Barra de Navidad for the night. We’ll hope to see Rose-breasted Chat this morning as well as our first Citreoline Trogons and Golden Vireo. Sinaloa and White-bellied Wrens are on our list of birds to find and with luck we’ll encounter Collared Forest-Falcon as well. In the afternoon we’ll visit a small quebrada near Barra de Navidad area so we can search for Flammulated Flycatcher, West-Mexican Chachalaca, Orange-fronted Parakeet, Lilac-crowned Parrot, Mexican Parrotlet, Sparkling-tailed Woodstar, Plain-capped Starthroat and Golden-crowned Emerald. Other targets will include Broad-billed Hummingbird, Pale-billed and Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers, Nutting’s Flycatcher, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, the endemic San Blas Jay, White-throated Magpie-Jay, Blue and Orange-breasted Buntings. Overnight in Manzanillo.
Day 7. This morning we’ll continue our exploration of the Barra de Navidad area, searching for any birds we have may have missed so far (maybe birding the airport marshes) before heading off along the coast towards Puerto Vallarta.
Day 8. We’ll do some final birding near Puerto Vallarta before setting off for San Blas. We may stop in some dry thorn forest where Orange-breasted Buntings are frequently seen as well as Stripe-headed Sparrows. We should see our first Sinaloa Crows as we near San Blas. This fishing port is one of the most famous birding sites in Mexico and on arrival we’ll head straight out into the mangroves by boat. We’ll stay out until after dark for Northern Potoo (Mottled Owl is also a possibility here) but we could see Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Mangrove Warbler, Mangrove Vireo and Rufous-necked Wood-Rail. Overnight near San Blas.
Days 9 &10. Two full days to explore the San Blas area. We’ll birdwatch in some of the most productive sites in western Mexico: La Bajada, Cerro San Juan and the environs of San Blas itself. La Bajada is another opportunity to see Grey-collared Becard should we have missed it so far, but there are many other birds here too. Rosy Thrush-Tanagers sing from the undergrowth and we’ll be on the look out for Mexican Hermit here too. This is a good area for the handsome Rufous-backed Thrush and Fan-tailed Warbler is a distinct possibility as we descend through the forest.
We’ll devote a full day to the Cerro San Juan area, stopping at viewpoint for Military Macaws en route. On our last visit Black-throated Magpie-Jays were seen here too. Ascending through open country to the pine-oak forest of Cerro San Juan we’ll hope to find Bumblebee Hummingbird and Mexican Woodnymph. The forests are a good place to see Red-headed Tanager, Rufous-capped Warblers and White-striped Woodcreepers. The roadside scrub is a good place to see Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow.
We’ll undoubtedly be distracted on our journeys by costal birds as we travel between sites. The handsome Heerman’s Gull is common here and we’re sure to find some terns and shorebirds near our hotel.
Days 11 & 12. Today we head north towards Mazatlan and then turn east up the Durango Highway. Before we begin to climb the highway we’ll make a stop in some dry thorn forest where we have seen Rufous-bellied Chachalacas in the past and Purplish-backed Jay should be seen in the roadside habitats. Our destination will be El Palmito and the nearby Barranca Rancho Liebre but we’ll make some stops en route in the forest. We have been fortunate to see Aztec Thrush here before. The special bird here is of course the superb Tufted Jay and we’ll stay in the best area to see this range-restricted species. We may well see them near our cabins but there’s plenty to see here including Pine Flycatcher, Russet Nightingale-Thrush and Rufous-capped Brush-Finch. We’ll spend the nights in the Tufted Jay reserve cabins.
Day 13. We’ll take an excursion from the Tufted Jay reserve. Nearing our birding site we should encounter a variety of birds that may include Steller´s Jay, Eastern Bluebird, Chipping Sparrow, American Robin, Northern Flicker and Acorn Woodpecker. However our target here is the endemic Sierra Madre Sparrow. On the way back to El Palmito we’ll stop at an area to try for Eared Trogon but we’ll be very fortunate to see this rare bird here.
Day 14. This morning we’ll leave the Tufted Jay Preserve to bird the Panuco road en route back to Mazatlan. We have an opportunity to see a variety of birds of arid scrub along this road and it may include Berylline Hummingbirds, Gila and Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers and we have seen Military Macaws here too. We’ll stop in the outskirts of Mazatlan for Mexican Parrotlet if we haven’t seen it yet. Overnight in Mazatlan.
Day 15 This morning we’ll fly back to Guadalajara and connect with flight back to Europe, arriving the next day.
PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE YOUR FLIGHT TO MEXICO UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED DEPARTURE CONFIRMATION OF THIS TOUR FROM TOUCAN BIRDING TOURS.
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