Conference Birding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (Dec 2014) (1 Viewer)

1 December
This flying visit to the Pacific coast of Mexico was built around a two day conference into which, this being my first visit to Mexico I was eager to cram in as much birding as humanly possible and still stay awake for the business part of the trip, all the while battling the killer jetlag of a 14 hour difference in timezones.
It started well with a daytime flight south from LA and along the west coast of Mexico, passing over some glorious–looking coastal wetlands and seeing the ghosts of others in the remnant oxbow lakes among the fields.

Arriving In Puerto Vallarta over the mountains that surround the town I was slightly disturbed to see two large raptors with a distinctive white spot in an otherwise dark wing pass just one or two hundred metres below the plane about one minute from landing - Crested Caracaras - and, as we taxied back from the runway, the first Turkey Buzzard of the trip floated majestically across the runway on which we had just landed. There were also four or five Great-tailed Grackles and numerous other small and unidentifiable birds in the grassy fringes, all auguring well for the next few days.

Having checked into the Fiesta Americana hotel I was rather blown away by the group of 20-odd Magnificent Frigatebirds cruising casually over the beachfront and even the pool – often coming to within ten metres of the building! Looking a bit further out to sea numerous splashes hinted at a healthy population of dolphin (they are Bottle-nosed here) , and even better a couple of adult Blue-footed Boobies wandered a little offshore from the frigatebirds and the odd Brown Pelican.

I had seen some patches of promising looking habitat (immediately to the south of the Rio Pitillal) from the taxi as we approached the hotel, and with ninety minutes of daylight remaining I walked back north to see what I could dig out. A score or more of Great-tailed Grackles and eight wonderfully prehistoric Groove-billed Anis were all over the roadside verges and as I ducked under the barbed wire and onto a the remnants of a grassy track that headed towards a line of trees the birds started appearing almost immediately.

First up was one of many yellow and grey warblers that perched long enough for me to see a dark mask, broken eyering and grey breast that I eventually worked out was a male MacGillivray’s Warbler. Having had extremely limited exposure to the American warblers previously this group provided an enjoyablechallenge that I slowly unraveled over the course of the stay, adding several Nashville Warblers and the more distinctive Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, but also having to leave plenty more unidentified.

The next conundrum were a number of heavy-billed finches in dowdy winter plumage that eventually revealed themselves as Blue Grosbeaks – which proved to be abundant in the scrubby habitat. More exciting, and surprisingly easy to see were a group of 20-odd Mexican (aka Blue-rumped) Parrotlets(E) discussing their day among the upper branches of one of the larger trees, which they shared with a couple of impressively large Iguanas, loafing utterly immobile among the branches, and a roosting Great Blue Heron that ignored me completely despite being less that 20 metres away.

I was delighted to find a couple of Vermillion Flycatchers perched close to the path; first a subdued female: ochre-bellied, grey-backed, dark-tailed and streaky-breasted and then the staggeringly bright red male. This beautiful but common species has great sentimental value as it was first described to me by my Mexican penfriend from her garden using the local name of brasita de fuego – the burning ember – some 25 years earlier.

A larger olive-coloured bird that popped up onto a weed stem showing a black moustache, white brow and throat was the first of some 30 Grayish Saltators, which kept dropping off the top of the trees and into the further line to the north and I had my first Great Kiskadee (a giant yellow-bellied flycatcher with a rufous tail and humbug-striped head), a pale bellied Ashy-throated Flycatcher and a couple of Tropical Kingbirds in a rather bewildering but wonderful two minute introduction to large flycatchers.

On the deck first a grey-faced Lincoln’s Sparrow and then a very showy ginger-browed Grasshopper Sparrow popped up and sat long enough to be photographed before disappearing back into the long grass as a couple of tiny Inca Doves, long-tailed and delicately scaled flew up from the path (and reminding me to include the several White-winged Doves that scooted overhead). During this time I was unable to pin down a whistling raptor-like call high in the trees, but this did draw my eyes to a pair of Black Vultures, a trio of Turkey Vultures and an Osprey consuming a new caught fish as it enjoyed the last rays of the sun. I lingered into the dusk, hoping unsuccessfully for an owl or nightjar but headed back to the hotel capturing one final oriole sp. as the gloom deepened.

Cheers
Mike

Excellent start MK. Can't beat the old work trip/birding combo. Reckon I owe work over 200 species on my life list!

James

Great trip. Must agree with the work trip/birding combo, most of my US species come from working/conferences in the States.

Many thanks James and Stuart - and totally agree on the benefits of work-based travel for birding!


2 December
Next morning a short pre-breakfast walk on the beach delivered the first Brown Pelican gliding effortlessly just above the surface of the sea and three Snowy Egrets flying in to feed on the beach as a presumed, but unconfirmed Yellow-crowned Night Heron garked once as it flew by. With 90 minutes before work I headed back to the same spot, but this time followed the river downstream and was delighted immediately find a flock of 15 Black-necked Stilts impossibly elegant in their black hoods and white eye spots, four soft grey Willets and a handsome Greater Yellowlegs on the tip of a shingle bank just below the bridge.

I was distracted by three flyover White Ibises and then my first confirmed Yellow-crowned Night Heron lurking in a branch just under the bank below me as four or five Neotropical Cormorants hunted their way downstream in the clear water three or four Snowy Egrets strutted by and a Tricloured Heron marched through before dematerializing as my attention flipped between too many options in just a few minutes.

If this were not enough a female Wilson’s Warbler with a friendly open-faced expression and a Yellow Warbler with a few telltale streaks of red on the flanks were good to pick out from the various other yellow and green warblers and vireos (including one with two strong white wingbars I suspect of being Yellow-throated) that I could not work out.

A Northern Mockingbird plonked on top of a bush presented fewer problems, but the chocolate-backed wren that popped up from time to time presented more of a challenge given the bewildering array of possibilities. Securing an ID was not helped by the superb rose beetle-shiny Green Kingfisher, complete with white spotted wings, that zapped into the water, then landed in bright sunshine on the other side of the river to devour its catch. Still reeling from this beauty it was followed across the river by a lovely adult Green Heron that perched in the same bright sunshine in the reeds across the channel showing the lovely deep maroon neck that makes it so different from Striated Heron of Asia from which it has been split. A Spotted Sandpiper on a bare branch marked the furthest extent of my walk towards the sea and crossing the road and looking north from the bridge an immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron had me wondering about Black-crowned before I was shocked to discover a kingfisher perched above the river was a larger and greyer Belted Kingfisher!

It was almost a relief to head back into the familiar territory of yesterday’s pathway through the grassy scrub where I was greeted by the first of two Tropical Kingbirds and four House Finches, including a lovely red male. The highlight here was the flock of 30-odd Mexican Parrotlets that had descended from the trees to feed on the fruit of a large-leaved plant until I was distracted by another good endemic –a Golden-cheeked Woodpecker flashing a black mask and yellow nape above a white barred black upperparts as it hung from the foliage to feed. A Yellow-winged Cacique flashing black and yellow zipped into the upper branches of the same tree and resolving yesterday’s question about the mystery call a Grey Hawk perched beautifully in the upper branches offered the most wonderful views.

Back on the ground an ‘Audubon’s’ Yellow-rumped Warbler perched nicely on a thistle (or similar) for a photo and a couple of male Chestnut-bellied Seedeaters resolved the question of what the small stubby-billed greenish finch-like birds of yesterday might be. As I headed back to the hotel a couple of red-brown male Orchard Orioles and a brighter orange Streak-backed Oriole perched in competition with a Great Kiskadee, rounding off a terrific session.

In the afternoon I took the road just to the south of this area, which turns right just before an Argentine Restaurant. The bare field opposite held Inca and Ruddy Ground Doves which showed lovely coppery wings as the flew off. The road passes through much the same habitat and many of the same species again showed well, but I was delighted to add an Elegant Quail – proudly displaying a rufous plume that pointed straight up from its forehead and a group of five Rufous-backed Robins that fed unconcerned on the grassy verge as the cars zipped by. I was intrigued by a Kingbird sp. that looked like the Tropicals I had been seeing, but showed an odd pale bill with a dark band a little back from the tip. My field guide (van Perlo) shows no pale-billed kingbirds . . .

Cheers
Mike

3 December
As I stepped out of the hotel onto the street a Yellow Warbler popped up and showed beautifully in a roadside tree and a Hooded Oriole was in the tree next door – a great way to start the day! I returned to the Rio Pitillal where the Black-necked Stilts and Willets were again on the shingle bank by the bridge along with a Great Blue Heronand a Tricoloured Heron plus a gaggle of Neotropical Cormorants. I was surprised to find three Great Kiskadees picking through the garbage in a couple of dumpsters in the car park, but enjoyed the close approach their disgusting habits allowed!

A quick scan upriver from the bridge added Yellow-crowned Night Heron and my first Little Blue Heron of the trip lurking in the same tree, before I followed the tree-lined towpath-cum jogging track. The star birds here were two American Redstarts, the second of which, a 1st winter male I tried hard to turn into something else, and my first Black-throated Grey Warbler – elegantly striped in grey and white – which pished in very close and loitered helpfully. I also had my first male Wilson’s Warbler, having yet again had a female on the other side of the road

I also found what looked like a smaller-billed version of Great Kiskadee, with the same lemon yellow belly, rufous wings and tail and black-and-white striped head and – Social Flycatcher. Later in the day I had four perched together on some bare branches. A grey–brown juvenile White Ibis was wading in the river along with an almost all-white adult. I was also pleased to nail down one of the more nondescript passerines as Warbling Vireo. On reflection this habitat was not as productive as the grassland, but did provide enough new species to be worthwhile.

Cheers
Mike

3 December part II

In the afternoon, with the conference done, I tried to organize a visit to the mangrove wetland Estero de Salado. This turned out to be a frustrating waste of time as the scheduled boat trip was cancelled and the promised walking trails were non-existent, putting paid to any chance of connecting with either Boat-billed Heron or Bare-throated Tiger Heron. In what little birdable area there was I got the butt end of a small rail walking off between the mangrove roots, never to be seen again, plus another each of Wilson’s Warbler and American Redstart, plus the first Black-and-white Warbler of the trip. Other birds here included a Great Kiskadee, a Greyish Saltator, and a bunch of Turkey Vultures soaring overhead along with a a couple of hawks that I thought looked rather short-tailed. I ddi also flush a black buteo that most likely was Common Black Hawk, but as with the above raptor I never really got enough to sort it out.

I then got on a bus . . . that went off in a different direction to the one I expected. However as it was still travelling broadly parallel to the coast as it wiggled through various small neighbourhoods, I watched for the bus to cross the Rio Pitillal, figuring I could follow the towpath back to the hotel. This worked out well and a check of the river from an upstream bridge revealed some 30 Great-tailed Grackles abluting vigorously in the shallows. I also had another Black-throated Grey Warbler, a couple of Blue-grey Gnatcatchers, three Social Flycatchers perched up with with a Tropical Kingbird, a marvellous male Varied Bunting dazzling in its plumage of crushed blackcurrants and raspberries that popped up onto a bare branch above the grass, and then flipped away as a juvenile Gray Hawk landed above it, giving cracking close views as it peered hungrily around.

I had another chance to enjoy the gawky weirdness of a flock of Groove-billed Anis, scuttling about in the grass like a flock of shiny-black long-tailed mice and occasionally poking a cro-magnon head up to look about or lurching heavily away into cover when feeling insecure. A small group of the Mexican Parrotlets from the neighbouring field shrieked in, three Greater Yellowlegs picked their way downstream and a small tufted flycatcher sp. (any thoughts on ID gladly received) with a point on both the front and rear edge of the eyeing(any thoughts gladly received), and the final bird of the afternoon was a brilliant male Vermillion Flycatcher.

Cheers
Mike

But day was for from done. I had agreed to meet Alejandro Martinez of Birding Mexico to go and look for night birds close to the city. We made two stops in the forested hills above the old town as dusk was turning to darkness. The first bird we saw was a very uniform and rather small Lesser Nighthawk, which flew over once with calling. Just as Alejandro played the call of Mottled Wood Owl a bird called from about 30 metres away on the hill behind us, and a short while later two birds flew right over us and landed in a tree silhouetted against the sky. Clearly curious, the bird moved and called a few times but it was not possible to see much more than the size and general shape.

Even so, well satisfied we headed onto another spot – the driveway to a hilltop restaurant where we found two different Pauraques, a larger nightjar with a broad white bar across the outer wing, perched on and hunting from the surface of the road. With the lights of the car shining directly onto them I was able to walk silently up to within six feet without disturbing them, and once again the trusty SX50 showed its amazing quality in nailing a great image with the little pop-up flash, just as it had done with my recent Sri Lanka Frogmouth a month earlier.

On the way downhill from the restaurant we were delighted to find another Mottled Wood Owl perched on some telephone wires right by a street light which gave wonderful views for three or four minutes befor fading away into the darkness. I t was always too far away for the flash, so the available light pic was the best I could manage (0.6 seconds exposure was never going to be pin sharp!) Even so this was a wonderful close to the evening.

Cheers
Mike

Not a bad little trip list there Mike and you are supposed to be working !

I did all this AND worked Dave - it was sleeping that was the issue!

4 December

After a late start I headed in a cab (300 pesos) to the Vallarta Botanic Gardens, which were in the forested hills about 45 minutes out of town. The place was a refreshing change from the immaculate formality I expected. Basically there is an area with formal facilities built around a large open plan two-storey villa and a bunch of trails through the forest. I also liked that on arrival a hefty White-throated Thrush bounced out in front of me and stopped for a good long stare – very different from the creeping shyness of Asian thrushes! Similar to the Rufous-backed Thrushes of a few days ago they tended to hang out in rather confiding groups. Other birds on the lawns and ornamentals included my first group of White Striped Sparrows, Macgillivray’s and Nashville Warblers, and on the way out a fine Cinnamon Hummingbird. Perched on a shady snag and showing a long red bill it was a relief to have such an easy ID challenge – given the five pages of hummingbirds in the field guide!

A bird table on the slope beneath the villa attracted twenty-odd Yellow-winged Caciques(E)[/] – the close views revealing each had a fine headdress of longer black plumes, half-a-dozen San Blas Jays (E) whose wings were the deepest purple-sheen blue imaginable, and just before I left a trio of hefty Rufous-bellied Chachalacas (E) that had no qualms about bouncing up on the table – even though their visit seemed motivated less by hunger than by curiosity and the need to demonstrate that biggest was best.

The first trail I followed led down to the river and a couple of lovely bathing pools, whose rocks held a flycatching Black Phoebe and a Spotted Sandpiper. On the way down an odd-looking grey-white starling-sized bird with a pink wattle around the eye popped up on a fruiting tree – Masked Tityria. It was however rather quiet and I headed over to the forest trails on the other side of the gardens.

This started quiet but when it got going a couple of punk-crested Golden Vireo and a “what is says on the tin” Black-capped Vireo appeared along with a Happy Wren (E) that stayed deep in cover but flashed its dark cheeks and contrasting white throat every now and then, and a very understated Dusky Flycatcher that looked like a Warbling Vireo with a longer tail and an air of calm deliberation. A screeching in the canopy behind me signaled the arrival of a couple of Orange–fronted Parrots and, turning back again, a bouncing in some bare branches lower down the ridge revealed a couple of Black Vultures rearranging themselves – the heavily wrinkled bare grey skin of their head and wigs creating the impression of a full-bottomed judge’s wig.

I thought a squeal and a flash of rufous on a tree trunk was going to be some sort of woodpecker, but even better turned out to be a streaky-headed Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, my first of this uniquely Latin American family. I had another visit from the fearless White-throated Robins before crossing a short suspension bridge and watching a medium-sized flycatcher zip down from a perch and return with a large damselfly that was almost as long as its head and body combined. Any insights would be most welcomed.

A bit more straightforward was another wren which clambered about some creepers and drawing attention with noisy cheerfulness. Much plainer on the face than the Happy Wren seen earlier this was, I think, a Sinaloa Wren (E). Add to these a number of calls I never connected with an actual bird and a bunch of Blue-grey Gnatcatchers and other wood warblers this was a pretty birdy session and I left with some reluctance that was tempered by flash views from the taxi of a long rufous tail that can only have belonged to a Squirrel Cuckoo. I also added a quartet of Violet-green Swallows perched on roadside wires before returning to the hotel to pack.

The final birds of my visit to Puerto Vallarta were a couple of Turkey Vultures and a squadron of eight American White Pelicans soaring somewhat disconcertingly above the eastern end of the runway and, as we taxied out a distant kingbird sp. atop some reeds in a drainage ditch and flock of eighty or so more Pelicans that took off from the riverlands to the northwest of the runway and thankfully headed away from the airport.

In total I managed 90 species, including five whose identities may or may not be resolved from the photos. Not too shabby at all for a work trip! I'd be very happy to answer any questions from anyone planning a future visit to Puerto Vallarta.

Cheers
Mike

Some fantastic "Working" there Mike ;-)

Well said about the Asian thrushes. Without bribing them, it's hard to get them out of the undergrowth.