[Colin Bushell]

I've just come back from a birding tour to Mexico. This isn't a complete birding tour report (although I'll post one later), but I thought I'd submit some current info and a brief summary of our sightings. I am inexperienced regarding Mexico birding so please forgive any errors or anything not particularly interesting.

We (Dave Severn, Ian Prophet, John and Jane Hopkins and myself) started in Guadalajara on 16th Jan where we stayed in the Hotel Tapatio. Karel Beets of the Puerto Vallarta based Ecotours de Mexico www.ecotoursvallarta.com was our driver. Karel knew all the birding sites fairly well between Guadalajara and San Blas and the ground arrangements were generally fautless. I'd read Rich Hoyer's Colima and Jalisco notes (Jan 05) on Blake Maybank's site prior to our trip so it was interesting to note that we also had our only Yellow-throated Warbler in the grounds of the same hotel. This hotel (the Tapatio) would make a nice place for a group to meet up as it's a bit of an oasis and has plenty of common birds in the gardens.

Arriving in Ciudad Guzman we headed straight out to the Nevado de Colima and only about 5 kms up the road we encountered a good mixed flock containing our first Grey-collared Becard of the trip - a nice female. The following day we had a full day on the same road. The most noteworthy birds being Dwarf Vireo, Green-striped Brushfinch, Cinnamon-bellied Flowerpiercer (a landslide on the left as we came down at 2500m) and a pair of Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireos at 2300m.

On 18th we birded the Atenquique road up Fuego. Recent reports of the deterioration of the road quality were quickly confirmed but we made it up to 2300m before turning back. Highlights included Banded Quails, Blue Mockingbird and another good mixed flock just above the Microondas side road containing a male Grey-collared Becard and a pair of Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireos. On the lower stretch of the entrance road (c.1200m) we saw our only Russet-crowned Motmots of the tour. I expected to bump into a few more of these to be honest given our itinerary.

Does anyone still bother with Fuego, or is the Nevado de Colima the road to do nowadays?

Moving down to the coast on 19th I can add little to what's already available in Howell's excellent bird finding guide, but Playa del Oro was disappointingly quiet that morning. Barranca El Choncho was good that afternoon though and very "birdy". We had great views of San Blas Jays, Sparkling-tailed Woodstar, Orange-breasted Bunting, and Golden-crowned Emerald and got some West Mexican Chachalacas at the eleventh hour as we made our way back to the bus.
We returned to the Barranca the next morning where it was quieter. Flammulated Fly' did respond to playback but frustratingly never gave itself up. We set off for the long drive to San Blas, stopping off in Puerto Vallarta where we got some Elegant Quails before crossing into Nayarit.

To be honest the San Blas section was a little disappointing and didn't really live up to its reputation. Admittedly we were unaware of the condition of the lower Singayta track where we spent just about the whole morning in degraded habitat. La Bajada was quite good though, especially the upper section. We saw 3 Grey-collared Becards along the trail despite spending nearly an hour helping some folks out of trouble with their vehicle that had slipped off road. We got the Northern Potoos easy in the mangroves near San Blas, but only the briefest of Rufous-necked Wood-Rails despite encountering a very vocal bird quickly.
Cerro San Juan was good though, despite some diabolical weather. Bumblebee Hummingbird, Mexican Woodnymph and Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow were seen on the lower slopes and the first big flock held Grey-crowned Woodpecker.
That night (23rd) we met up with Carolyn Felderhof of Sendero Mexico www.senderomexico. com accompanied by Bob Adams who would join us for our Durango Highway section of the trip.

Next morning Carolyn drove us to a track where Bob quickly found our first Rufous-bellied Chachalacas of the trip. We set off up the highway stopping by Cerro de Elefante and the lower Panuco road. It was soon obvious that we were in good hands as Carolyn was very familiar with the birding sites of Sinaloa and their birds. On the Durango Highway Carolyn stopped the car suddenly in a convenient lay-by as some birds flashed across the road near km 216. Amazingly we had bumped into a flock of at least 8 Aztec Thrushes and obtained great views of this enigmatic bird at close quarters. This was particularly welcome, as we had failed to locate Aztec Thrushes earlier in the trip on Volcan Colima or Fuego. We made our way to our cabins at the Tufted Jay Preserve www.tufted-jay- preserve. org where we spent the following two nights. Carolyn and her husband Paul are working with the local Palmito community here and on arrival we were introduced to Santos, who would be our local guide. The cabins are very comfortable with good beds (double quilt covers – it’s cold up there!) and hot water. At present there’s no electricity, although installation is planned and we had plenty of light using lamps anyway. The food provided by Carmen and her assistants from Palmito, was excellent too.
The next day we walked in Barranco Rancho Liebre where we saw at least 5 Tufted Jays after a bit of a walk plus another flock of about 10 on the way back. We saw plenty of other birds in the Mesa de los Alisos area during the day too, including Russet Nightingale- Thrushes and Blue Mockingbirds.
On our last full day in Mexico we had another look along the Panuco Road where we saw Orange-billed Nightingale- Thrush and several Military Macaws before trawling the outskirts of Mazatlan for Mexican Parrotlet (successfully) .

I’ve probably missed a few things out and as I’ve already hinted, I’ll post a full report soon and a few pics on my blog (when I can access the site!).

[martinf]

Colin,
sounds great. Feeling jealous reading about trip!

[Edward woodwood]

Fantastic Colin

A trip i must do one day, Aztec Thrush is a bird i'd love to see.

I also think we have a mutual good friend in Dave E. from Norwich...?

atb
Tim

[Chris Benesh]

Originally Posted by Colin Bushell

On 18th we birded the Atenquique road up Fuego. Recent reports of the deterioration of the road quality were quickly confirmed but we made it up to 2300m before turning back. Highlights included Banded Quails, Blue Mockingbird and another good mixed flock just above the Microondas side road containing a male Grey-collared Becard and a pair of Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireos. On the lower stretch of the entrance road (c.1200m) we saw our only Russet-crowned Motmots of the tour. I expected to bump into a few more of these to be honest given our itinerary.

Does anyone still bother with Fuego, or is the Nevado de Colima the road to do nowadays?

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the good report. I still visit the Fuego road when I do my Colima tours, though I miss the days when one could still get quite high along it. Still, the lower slopes are great for Banded Quail and numerous other odds and ends, and there is often a really nice mixed flock such as the one you encountered there near the Cerro Alto microondas turnoff. I've only been going up the Nevado de Colima road for three years now, but while great for many things, there are some birds I've not encountered yet, e.g., Long-tailed Wood-Partridge, which I've had much better luck with on the fuego road (as well as occasionally at El Jacal de San Antonio). At the moment, I'm opting to spend a day on each.

Chris

[Dave B Smith]

Hi Collin,
Good report. I've only birded west coast Mexico once and your report reminds me I need to get back!
Thanks,

[Chris Benesh]

Hi Colin,

It just occurred to me that you were in the other birding group we ran into a couple of times in Colima and Jalisco (on Nevado de Colima and La Cumbre). I was the guy driving the white Ford van for the other birding group. Anyway, glad your trip when well, and I hope that you had better luck with the Balsas Screech-Owl than we did this time around.

Chris

[Colin Bushell]

Originally Posted by Chris Benesh

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the good report. I still visit the Fuego road when I do my Colima tours, though I miss the days when one could still get quite high along it. Still, the lower slopes are great for Banded Quail and numerous other odds and ends, and there is often a really nice mixed flock such as the one you encountered there near the Cerro Alto microondas turnoff. I've only been going up the Nevado de Colima road for three years now, but while great for many things, there are some birds I've not encountered yet, e.g., Long-tailed Wood-Partridge, which I've had much better luck with on the fuego road (as well as occasionally at El Jacal de San Antonio). At the moment, I'm opting to spend a day on each.

Chris

Many thanks Chris,
I'll stick with a day on Fuego next year then and see how it goes.

Colin

[Colin Bushell]

Originally Posted by Chris Benesh

Hi Colin,

It just occurred to me that you were in the other birding group we ran into a couple of times in Colima and Jalisco (on Nevado de Colima and La Cumbre). I was the guy driving the white Ford van for the other birding group. Anyway, glad your trip when well, and I hope that you had better luck with the Balsas Screech-Owl than we did this time around.

Chris

Hi again Chris,

Yeah, that was us! Actually La Cumbre was a big disappointment (but thanks for the tips). We heard the screech-owl once (sure it wasn't you!) and it failed to respond. Apart from that evening and Singayta I thought the sites we visited were very "birdy" and plenty going on. Really enjoyed Mexico and can't wait until the next visit.

Colin

[Colin Bushell]

Originally Posted by Tim Allwood

Fantastic Colin

A trip i must do one day, Aztec Thrush is a bird i'd love to see.

I also think we have a mutual good friend in Dave E. from Norwich...?

atb
Tim

Hi Tim,

Thanks. OK, I've been trying very hard but can't recall a Dave E - can you throw some more light on that one Tim?

Cheers,
Colin

[Colin Bushell]

Just put some of the pics from the Mexico trip on my blog - full report to come.

Colin

[Colin Bushell]

Hi All,

A trip report for the Wetsren Mexico tour mentioned in this thread can be seen at http://www.toucantours.co.uk/reports...o_Jan_2007.htm

Comments welcome.
Thanks,
Colin

[ionemosia]

Hi Colin,

Excellent report and I'm glad that the last minute changes to your itinerary worked out so well. Having been to Mexico five times on vacation, once to west coast, it's about time I did some proper birding there. Just had a taster so far and there sure is a lot to see.

Cheers,
Iain

[Colin Bushell]

Originally Posted by ionemosia

Hi Colin,

Excellent report and I'm glad that the last minute changes to your itinerary worked out so well. Having been to Mexico five times on vacation, once to west coast, it's about time I did some proper birding there. Just had a taster so far and there sure is a lot to see.

Cheers,
Iain

Hi Iain,

Absolutely right, can't wait to go back! Hope to see you soon.

Colin