WESTERN MEXICO January 2007
Leader: Colin Bushell.
Participants: John and Jane Hopkins, David Severn and Iain Prophet.
ITINERARY (All dates refer to January 2007).
15th: Arrival in Guadalajara with KLM and AA (Iain only). Put our watches back 6 hours from GMT. Meet up with Karel Beets, our driver/guide and transfer to the plush Hotel Tapatio.
16th: Breakfast and birding in the grounds of the Tapatio. Various migrants seen (mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers) but notably a Yellow-throated Warbler (apparently rare in Jalisco). Departure for Ciudad Guzman stopping en route in wetlands of Sayula and Zapotlan. Lunch at Hotel Colon and the afternoon birding Nevado de Colima road. Black-headed Siskin seen on lower approach road while watching our first Spotted Wrens. Excellent bird flock approximately 5 km up the road with Grey-collared Becard. Crested Guan seen as the light faded at our highest point on the road (km 7, 2400m).
17th: Full day birding the Nevado Colima road. Good selection of birds today including Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer, Dwarf Vireo, Pine Flycatcher, Grey-breasted (Mexican) Jay, Red Warbler, Painted Redstart, Red-faced Warbler, Mountain Pygmy-Owl and best of all a pair of Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireos.
Drove to Colima for the night where we stayed in the Hotel Reina Victoria on the edge of town.
18th: Birded the Atenquique – Volcan de Fuego road. Lower road (1200m) very “birdy” in the early morning with Banded Quail, Blue Mockingbird and Russet-crowned Motmot all seen. Drove up beyond the microondas side road and found a mixed species flock including a male Grey-collared Becard and another pair of Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireos. Progressed as far as 2300m before road became too rough, so stopped for picnic lunch there. Returned to Colima and then onto La Cumbre seeing our first Yellow-winged Caciques, White-throated Magpie Jays, Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers and Black-chested Sparrows as Fuego blew out plumes of smoke in the distance! Disappointing nightbirding on the hill despite immediate responses by Balsas Screech-Owl and Colima Pygmy-Owl.
19th: Drove to Playa del Oro Road. Plenty of birds first thing, but quietened quickly as morning warmed up. Citreoline Trogon, Blue Bunting, Thick-billed Kingbird, Nutting’s Flycatcher, Golden Vireo, White-bellied Wren, Happy Wren and Sinaloa Wren seen. Stopped briefly at Manzanillo Airport marshes before moving on to Barra de Navidad and Hotel Cabo Blanco for lunch. Afternoon at Barranca El Choncho which was very good indeed (especially for an afternoon session). San Blas Jay, Sparkling-tailed Woodstar and Plain-capped Starthroat seen immediately on entering the barranca. Lilac-crowned Parrots overhead and feeding Orange-fronted Parakeets in tall trees, Orange-breasted Bunting and Golden-crowned Emerald found in the forest-covered slopes of the barranca before we retraced our steps and located West Mexican Chachalacas.
20th: Early visit to Barranca El Choncho where we struggled with a Flammulated Flycatcher for some time, before starting the long drive to San Blas. Stopped for lunch at Altimira (very cold and windy), before moving to Puerto Vallarta where a brief stop produced Elegant Quails. Crossed into the state of Nayarit (putting our watches back another hour) and drove to Hotel Paraiso Miramar just south of San Blas.
21st: Early morning at La Bajada driving up to 400m where we stopped for breakfast. Mexican Hermit seen on arrival and Rosy Thrush-Tanagers belting out their explosive song from the undergrowth. Pale-billed Woodpecker and a mixed flock of White-throated and Rufous-backed Thrushes seen in emergent fruiting tree before we started to descend, hitting our first decent flock of the morning including a pair of Grey-collared Becards. Lower still we pick up our only Fan-tailed Warbler before birding is postponed for a while as we help a bunch of Canadian folks who’ve managed to get their vehicle off road. Another Grey-collared Becard, this time a crisp plumaged immature male, seen in the last patch of mature secondary forest before the plantations started. Stopped near Miramar to search through the gulls (mainly Heerman’s and Ring-billeds, with a few American Herrings, Laughing and Bonaparte’s) and watch the waders, herons and terns before lunch.
Afternoon in the La Tovara mangroves for Northern Potoo.
22nd: Morning at the lower Singayta track. Very disappointing with biting insects and very few birds. Upper Singayta produces a brief fly-by of a Mexican Parrotlet flock but little else. Afternoon in the mangroves again with the briefest of views of a Rufous-necked Wood-Rail.
23rd: Full day at Cerro San Juan stopping at Mirador del Aguila for breakfast in poor light and drizzle. Despite the conditions we see several Military Macaws, albeit distantly. Black-throated Magpie-Jays a bonus here too. Stopping in promising areas on Cerro San Juan we see Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow, Bumblebee Hummingbird, Mexican Woodnymph, Grey-crowned Woodpecker plus a good selection of migrant warblers, flycatchers and buntings. A good birding locality that would have produced more in more favourable weather. Dinner at the hotel in Miramar with Karel and Carolyn Felderhof and Bob Adams (our guides for the Durango Highway).
24th: Our earliest start of the tour (0500 hrs) for the Durango Highway, stopping for Purplish-backed Jays en route. Panaltitlan track for Rufous-bellied Chachalaca and then Panuco Road for lunch. Climbing the Durango Highway an unscheduled stop at km 216 produces a flock of at least 8 Aztec Thrushes! Arrival at the Tufted Jay Reserve, Mesa de los Alisos. Overnight in the cabins with excellent food.
25th: Walk into Barranca Rancho Liebre for Tufted Jays. At least 3 seen there and another group of 10 on the way out. A flock of Thick-billed Parrots were heard in the barranca but we could not find these rare birds.
26th: Most of day birding the Panuco Road. First stop produces Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush, Blue Mockingbird and best views of Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow. At least 7 Military Macaws seen at our lunchtime stop and then decided to head for Mazatlan to get Mexican Parrotlet. Overnight in Hotel Playa Mazatlan.
27th: Early transfer to Mazatlan Airport for flights to Guadalajara and Mexico City with connections to the USA and Europe.
28th: Afternoon arrival UK.
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