San Blas Sunrise
Venture to San Blas and Durango Highway, Mexico
February 3-14, 2005
San Blas - While not a really well known birding destination, it has long been popular with birders heading down to western Mexico. A 10 day trip down to San Blas, Nayarit and adjacent Sinaloa is a wonderful birding escape during the northern winter.
One major surprise on our Venture this year was the rain, a real surprise at this time of the year- and it even rained again when we were up on the Durango Highway. Every year is indeed different. Our trip certainly started with a bang with a small flock of San Blas Jays in the trees over the hotel in PV. Although the Casa Iguana is a half hour drive from the airport, it is certainly a nice spot with a stream and surrounding forest. By basing ourselves at this location, it gave us an opportunity to head south to El Tuito and to bird in a nice patch of pine forest. It was here that we had our only Spotted Wrens of the trip, plus our first look at some of the western warblers that winter down here, including Black-throated Gray, Wilson's, Orange-crowned and Nashville.
Rain dogged us most of the way to San Blas, but a roadside stop along the way produced our only White-throated Flycatchers and Purple Gallinules of the trip, as well as the first of many, many Painted Buntings. There is so much birding to do in the San Blas area - from walks down the sewer ponds trails, boat trips through the mangroves and the freshwater marshes to shorebirding along the shore and forest birding at La Bajada and at Lower Singayta. In our week there we did all of this and more. The birds did not disappoint us and highlights in the forested areas included multiple Citreoline Trogons, scope views of Colima Pygmy-Owl, Blue Mockingbirds and several vireos, including Black-capped, Golden and Bell's. Most of the forest surrounding San Blas was badly damaged when Hurricane Kenna came ashore back in October 2002. Evidence was still very apparent and the forest will take many years to recover, but the birding was still terrific. As well as birding the lowland forests, we took the opportunity to head into the mountains - barely an hour away. Cerro de San Juan lies just above the city of Tepic, the state capital of Nayarit and a day trip into the forests produces quite a few birds that we don't see lower down. Today was no exception and we spent all day just driving the roads and enjoying the roadside flowers. Hummers were fairly common, especially Berylline and White-eared, but we were also lucky to find a male Calliope and three Mexican Woodnymphs, the latter uncommon at best. As we climbed the mountain, we passed Brown-backed Solitaires singing their breezy songs and small flocks of Yellow-rumps bouncing off the roadsides, all the while listening for call notes indicating a passing flock. Luckily the latter did materialize and we enjoyed a whole blizzard of warblers, including Red-faced, Rufous-capped, and Crescent-chested and the normal western US selection. Boat trips through the mangroves are also an excellent way to see the birds and both of our excursions took us into great birding habitat in freshwater marshes and mangroves. Of course the highlights were many but included a splendid pair of Collared Forest-Falcons, Northern Potoo, Boat-billed Herons and hundreds of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks.
It's always hard to leave the incredible hospitality at the Garza Canela in San Blas, but we headed up the highway towards Rosario and the Durango Highway. Driving is always a challenge in Mexico, but we did manage to get to the hotel before dark so had the chance to relax before heading out into a nearby patch of thorn forest in the morning. As this area is so close to the hotel we made a second visit, which was actually much better birding. The mewing calls of Black-capped Gnatcatcher easily distinguished these from the vast numbers of Blue-grays and we spent some time sorting out the Myiarchus flycatchers in the thorn scrub before deciding that most of them were Nutting's Flycatchers. An immature male Red-breasted Chat that worked its way up some roadside bushes had to be the bird of the morning, but it had some competition with the male Blue Bunting that played hide and seek with us along the roadside.
Our day along the Durango Highway was plagued with clouds and rain, but we did not let this stop us. A pair of Mountain Trogons gave us great views along the roadside, and one roadside flock really had us excited as it contained a single Red Warbler - spectacular. One cannot mention the Durango Highway without mentioning the outrageous Tufted Jay. It did take us a little while to find them, but I was not too worried as I predicted that we would find them by 9 AM! Actually it turned out to be 7:45AM - phew.
Now we could relax, enjoy the scenery and wend our way back to Puerto Vallarta and our flights back to the US; another great trip to San Blas and western Mexico.
| Birds Seen or heard: | ||
| Common Loon | Mourning Dove | Blue Mockingbird |
| Least Grebe | White-winged Dove | Spotted Wren |
| Magnificent Frigatebird | Inca Dove | Sinaloa (Bar-vented) Wren |
| Blue-footed Booby | Common Ground Dove | Happy Wren |
| Neotropic Cormorant | Ruddy Ground-Dove | House Wren |
| Anhinga | White-tipped Dove | Canyon Wren (H) |
| American White Pelican | Military Macaw | Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
| Brown Pelican | Orange-fronted Parakeet | Black-capped Gnatcatcher |
| Fulvous Whistling-Duck | White-fronted Parrot | Brown Creeper |
| Black-bellied Whistling-Duck | Mexican Parrotlet | Mangrove Swallow |
| Muscovy Duck | Squirrel Cuckoo | Violet-green Swallow |
| American Wigeon | Groove-billed Ani | Gray-breasted Martin |
| Gadwall | Colima Pygmy Owl | Northern Rough-winged Swallow |
| Green-winged Teal | Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl | Cliff Swallow |
| Blue-winged Teal | Northern Potoo | Bank Swallow |
| Cinnamon Teal | Lesser Nighthawk | Barn Swallow |
| Northern Pintail | Common Paraque | Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
| Northern Shoveler | Chestnut-collared Swift | Mexican Chickadee |
| Lesser Scaup | White-throated Swift | Bridled Titmouse |
| Reddish Egret | Vaux’s Swift | House Sparrow |
| Tricolored Heron | Broad-billed Hummingbird | Black-headed Siskin |
| Little Blue Heron | Mexican Woodnymph | Lesser Goldfinch |
| Snowy Egret | White-eared Hummingbird | House Finch |
| Great Blue Heron | Berylline Hummingbird | Golden-winged Warbler |
| Great Egret | Cinnamon Hummingbird | Orange-crowned Warbler |
| Cattle Egret | Violet-crowned Hummingbird | Nashville Warbler |
| Green Heron | Lucifer Hummingbird | Lucy’s Warbler |
| Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Blue-throated Hummingbird | Crescent-chested Warbler |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | Ruby-throated Hummingbird | Tropical Parula |
| Boat-billed Heron | Calliope Hummingbird | Yellow Warbler |
| Bare-throated Tiger-Heron | Rufous Hummingbird | “Mangrove” Yellow Warbler |
| White Ibis | Mountain Trogon | Yellow-rumped Warbler |
| White-faced Ibis | Elegant Trogon | Black-throated Gray Warbler |
| Roseate Spoonbill | Citreoline Trogon | Townsend’s Warbler |
| Wood Stork | Belted Kingfisher | Hermit Warbler |
| Black Vulture | Green Kingfisher | Black-throated Green Warbler |
| Turkey Vulture | Russet-crowned Motmot | Grace’s Warbler |
| Osprey | Acorn Woodpecker | Black-and-white Warbler |
| White-tailed Kite | Golden-cheeked Woodpecker | American Redstart |
| Snail Kite | Gila Woodpecker | Ovenbird |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | Ladder-backed Woodpecker | Northern Waterthrush |
| Cooper’s Hawk | Arizona Woodpecker | Louisiana Waterthrush |
| Crane Hawk | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | Kentucky Warbler |
| Common Black-Hawk | Red-naped Sapsucker | MacGillivray’s Warbler |
| Great Black-Hawk | Gray-crowned Woodpecker | Common Yellowthroat |
| Harris’s Hawk | Lineated Woodpecker | Hooded Warbler |
| Gray Hawk | Pale-billed Woodpecker | Wilson’s Warbler |
| Broad-winged Hawk | Ivory-billed Woodcreeper | Red-faced Warbler |
| Short-tailed Hawk | White-striped Woodcreeper | Red Warbler |
| Swainson’s Hawk | Northern Beardless- Tyrannulet | Painted Whitestart |
| Zone-tailed Hawk | Greenish Elaenia | Slate-throated Whitestart |
| Red-tailed Hawk | Tufted Flycatcher | Fan-tailed Warbler |
| Crested Caracara | Greater Pewee | Rufous-capped Warbler |
| Laughing Falcon | Willow Flycatcher | Yellow-breasted Chat |
| Collared Forest-Falcon | White-throated Flycatcher | Red-breasted Chat |
| American Kestrel | Pine Flycatcher | Olive Warbler |
| Merlin | Least Flycatcher | Lincoln’s Sparrow |
| Peregrine Falcon | Hammond’s Flycatcher | Chipping Sparrow |
| Rufous-bellied Chachalaca | Cordilleran Flycatcher | Stripe-headed Sparrow |
| Crested Guan | Pacific-slope Flycatcher | Lark Sparrow |
| Elegant Quail | Black Phoebe | Savannah Sparrow |
| Sora | Vermillion Flycatcher | Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow |
| Purple Gallinule | Bright-rumped Attila | Yellow-eyed Junco |
| Common Moorhen | Dusky-capped Flycatcher | Rufous-capped Brush-Finch |
| American Coot | Ash-throated Flycatcher | Green-tailed Towhee |
| Limpkin | Nutting’s Flycatcher | Grayish Saltator |
| Northern Jacana | Brown-crested Flycatcher | Yellow Grosbeak |
| Whimbrel | Tropical Kingbird | Hepatic Tanager |
| Marbled Godwit | Cassin’s Kingbird | Summer Tanager |
| Greater Yellowlegs | Thick-billed Kingbird | Western Tanager |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | Social Flycatcher | Red-headed Tanager |
| Solitary Sandpiper | Great Kiskadee | Blue-hooded Euphonia |
| Spotted Sandpiper | Rose-throated Becard | “Godman’s” Scrub Euphonia |
| Willet | Masked Tityra | Blue-black Grassquit |
| Ruddy Turnstone | Steller’s Jay | “Cinnamon-rumped” Seedeater |
| Long-billed Dowitcher | Green Jay | Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
| Short-billed Dowitcher | San Blas Jay | Black-headed Grosbeak |
| Wilson’s Snipe | Purplish-backed Jay | Blue Bunting |
| Sanderling | Black-throated Magpie-Jay | Blue Grosbeak |
| Least Sandpiper | Tufted Jay | Indigo Bunting |
| Stilt Sandpiper | Sinaloa Crow | Varied Bunting |
| American Oystercatcher | Common Raven | Orange-breasted Bunting |
| American Avocet | Bell’s Vireo | Painted Bunting |
| Black-necked Stilt | Black-capped Vireo | Yellow-winged Cacique |
| Black-bellied Plover | Cassin’s Vireo | Black-vented Oriole |
| Semipalmated Plover | Plumbeous Vireo | Hooded Oriole |
| Wilson’s Plover | Hutton’s Vireo | Scott’s Oriole |
| Killdeer | Golden Vireo | Streak-backed Oriole |
| Laughing Gull | Warbling Vireo | Baltimore Oriole |
| Ring-billed Gull | Loggerhead Shrike | Bullock’s Oriole |
| Heermann’s Gull | Gray Silky-flycatcher | Orchard Oriole |
| California Gull | Cedar Waxwing | Red-winged Blackbird |
| Gull-billed Tern | Brown-backed Solitaire | Eastern Meadowlark |
| Caspian Tern | Russet Nightingale-Thrush | Great-tailed Grackle |
| Royal Tern | Swainson’s Thrush | Bronzed Cowbird |
| Elegant Tern | Hermit Thrush | |
| Common Tern | White-throated Robin | |
| Black Skimmer | Rufous-backed Robin | |
| Rock Pigeon | Eastern Bluebird | |
| Red-billed Pigeon | Northern Mockingbird | |
San Blas Sunrise
Election
Time
Group on Boat Trip
The very comfortable Hotel Garza Canela
BLack-throated Magpie Jay
Colima Pygmy-Owl
Group watching the Colima Pygmy-Owl
Black-vented Oriole
Gull Flock on the beach
Sewer Ponds
Pale-billed Woodpecker
Purplish-backed Jay (imm)
Group at Mirador del Aguilar
White-eared Hummingbird
Thick-billed Kingbird