Visit some of the marshes near the beach in Puerto Vallarta to get a first look at some local birds.

There is a large river bridge north of Puerto. Vallarta (the border between Nayarit and Sinaloa); go south over this bridge, and take the first exit on the right (west) – it’s about 1 km from the bridge, and signed to a small hotel (forget the name.) This is a fairly wide dusty road that goes 4.2 kms to the beach at the mouth of the river. The first part runs next to a series of wet marshy fields on the left that may be good for Ruddy-breasted Seedeater. In the last km it turns right/left, and runs next to mangroves. There are a handful of small bars (the booze kind) at the end of the road at the beach. You can walk out along the beach to the river mouth and look upstream to some miniature islands that birds seem to like to congregate and chill on (saw our only Black Skimmer there.)

The city of San Blas is located at the Pacific coast of Mexico, between Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. The San Blas area is a great location to visit many natural bird habitats, especially since it also serves as a vacation-style beach town. We went to see mangroves, mudflats, lagoons, offshore islands, thornscrub, and pine-oak woodlands. I would recommend checking out the Hotel Garza Canela in San Blas if you are looking for a place to stay. Be sure to leave plenty of time to bird watch at your desired pace because you will also have the opportunity to spend all of your daylight hours searching for the many Mexican endemics and specialties of the area. Or perhaps you’d like an afternoon break on their world-class beach, a surfing lesson, or a snooze by the pool.

Get familiar with the area by taking a morning walk to see the local Mexican lifestyle. There will be plenty of local culture, trinket shopping, and people watching. This will also be a great opportunity to see birds: Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, Happy and Sinaloa Wrens, the Black-throated Magpie-Jay, and Yellow-winged Cacique.

Boat ride on the river to La Tovara. This trip may produce some spectacular birds such as the Boat-billed and Bare-throated Tiger-Herons, Rufous-necked Wood-Rail, Mangrove Cuckoo, and the Northern Potoo.

La Bajada has this great coffee plantation where you can grab a fresh cup of local brewed coffee for a pleasant wake-up drink. This place is also a great place to bird watch the Gray-crowned Woodpecker and Golden Vireo, if you’re real lucky you’ll get a chance to see the Colima Pygmy-Owl, San Blas Jay, and Red-breasted Chat.

In La Palma just stay on the paved road to get to La Bajada. this involves a couple of right and left turns, and once you start up the longish straight, there is a store next to the speed bump that sells water and ice – and is open early (a rarity in these parts). We just kept driving up into the lower plantations and parked in one of the small clear-spots. This was the only place we found San Blas Jays.

Named for its animal-like rock formations and located at the westernmost end of Santiago bay, the massive boulders form a narrow cove ideal for boat swimming. Snorkeling enthusiasts find the marine life clearly visible in the still waters.

Unforgettable small rock island where we can catch the Blue-footed, Brown Boobies and Red-billed Tropicbirds.

“Roca Elephante” is an hour’s boat ride from the port of Manzanillo or a half-hour’s water journey from Las Hadas resort.

The afternoon is spent in the town of San Blas, visiting a great bird path that is home to many different species of wading and country birds, as well as raptors!

There is a large bridge over a broad river on the eastern side of the town; just west of this bridge is a crossroads (north is the Shrimp ponds road); turn south and then left to drive back towards the river. After about 200 yards you’ll get to the small dock on the right with all the tour boats. This is where the river/mangrove boat trips depart from. About 40 yards before this dock there is turning on the right that goes up a steep hill – Chencho’s house is the third or fourth house on the left up this hill – just ask someone. The current rate for the 5+ hour afternoon/evening trip to Tovares was 600 pesos – and still well worth it. Chenco has a huge Owling light and a small tape player, with some of the target birds on it – including Rufous-necked Wood-Rail (we did not see it.)

We took only one tour, the night river/mangrove ride. We sought out Chencho (ask at the boat dock in Matanchen, or go to his house: lime-green on the left heading up the steep road to the fort), and were very pleased with his efforts. The tour costs 500 pesos for the boat, about four hours. The boatmen are regulated by what appears to be a cooperative, so the price is set and paid to the co-op rather than to the boatman. We tipped Chencho some 20%+. He knows his birds and what birders are looking for, knows the English names, and was very considerate. The ride back after dark can be chilly, so take a jacket

Visit the pine-oak woodlands to see some very unique local birds such as the White-striped Woodcreeper, Red-headed Tanager, Crescent-chested, Red-faced, and Fan-tailed Warblers. Enjoy watching large flocks of birds bursting through the sky!

Try and make a special effort to see my favorite bird, the Bumblebee Hummingbird (the world’s smallest hummer). Throughout the day also try and see the Gray Silky-Flycatcher, and Brown-backed Solitaire. Pack a picnic if you wish, there are great spots to just sit around and enjoy the scenery.

El Mirador del Aguila is a fantastic Eagle Lookout Point. There are also spectacular views here. There is a trash-covered paved exit in the trees, that goes downhill at an angle (the trash is only near the entrance – you can drive through it.) This road drops down through some lovely forest, and goes for a good while; the paving ends pretty quick and soon the road almost touches the cuota road, you can slip onto the cuota road here.. This paved section reminded me of the road down to the stream at Virgen Del Socorro in Costa Rica, in that you can see stuff in the canopy at eye-level, to the left.

This is located on the libre/free H15, some 7.7 kms from the western end of this c. 27km section. Coming from the west you get onto a wide divided highway that eventually becomes the cuota/toll road. There is a well-marked left exit to the libre/free H15, and the Mirador is c. 7.7 kms from this exit. We found a great spot that is just 0.6kms on the libre road from this junction, on the right.

On the return to San Blas, there is an excellent chance to see a flock of rare Military Macaws.

Most of the day will be spent close to San Blas traveling across this great bird-watching dirt path. A excellent area to see local endemics such as the Mexican Parrotlet, Citreoline Trogon, Russet-crowned Motmot, and Red-breasted Chat.

Playas Hermosa and El Borrego are the town’s main beaches, two adjoining strands of silvery gray sand that extend for about a mile and a half from the foot of Calle Heroicó Batallon de San Blas. Borrego, at the west end, has numerous open air restaurants (ramadas) serving seafood snacks and meals.

Plan to leave the beach approximately an hour before sundown (about 5:30 p.m. in the winter months), when the mosquitoes and jejenes become active.

Just one small home on the bend, right next to the stony track going uphill to the Barranca; this pullout is located between Km 201 and 202. There is NO PEMEX in Las Palmitas – just a house on the left after the large restaurant, that sometimes sells gas – I advise you get gas at the PEMEX in La Concordia (c. km 274), where there is also an ATM on the main square (no ATMs in Copala or Las Palmitas).

At the Barranca del Libre pull-off on the Durango Highway

We only got to explore the first kilometer of the right track from the split, but i got the impression that both tracks travel the slope for a sufficient distance. You can expect to see Barranca del Libre birds, and we saw a few large mixed flocks plus our only Elegant Euphonias of the trip. Another good spot to check (on weekdays – it gets popular with the locals on weekends) is between Kms 209 and 208. There is a pull-off on the south side into a gently rolling clearing that is used as a picnic site (there is a sign on the turn-off warning about fires). We were able to catch some Tufted Jays here and because the trees are more-open than on the Barranca Del Libre trail, we got much better looks and photos.

One tenth of a kilomoeter west of the KM212 post (which is only on the eastbound side of the road – thus this location is just before this post, going eastwards, or uphill) there is a pull-off on the south side on a slight left bend. This drivable track enters a small level clearing, then drops down to the left where, in 50 yards, it splits into two drivable (but rough) stone tracks.

The road is now paved all the way to the village, thus negatively affecting the bird wildlife on this roadway. Some of the roadside vegetation has been cleared for this new surface, so it seems to have affected the density of hummers there (little was flowering much on our visit.) Nevertheless, this road is a reliable spot for Military Macaw; we saw them on each of our four visits there.

Lots of good thorn forest scrub here – may be good for the RB chat. We had Elegant Quail on the track here.

At KM 258.5 there is a turning (paved but a bit beaten-up) on the south side that drops down, turning sharply right, then enters a large paved area (no buildings) surrounded by scrub. You can park here then follow the track that exits on the right side and leads down to the river.

Get familiar with the area by taking a morning walk to see the local Mexican lifestyle. There will be plenty of local culture, trinket shopping, and people watching. This will also be a great opportunity to see birds: Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, Happy and Sinaloa Wrens, the Black-throated Magpie-Jay, and Yellow-winged Cacique.

In the morning and early afternoon we’ll have plenty of time for shopping and relaxing in the city before the flight home. A wonderful conclusion for a fantastic bird-watching trip.