Birdwatching in San Blas

Home to the International Migratory Bird Festival, San Blas, Nayarit, situated on the Pacific coast in between Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta, has long been regarded as one of Mexico’s and the world’s prime birdwatching locations. With over 300 species of birds occurring there, including quite a few endemics, San Blas and its environs has numerous ecosystems which support and harbor terrestrial birds, shore/wetland birds, and ocean birds. These habitats include ocean, fresh water rivers, mangroves, estuaries, springs, tropical jungle, palm forests, thorn forests, scrub, tropical deciduous and temperate cloud forest, and pine/oak forest.

As a relatively new yet passionate birder, it is my goal to visit this “birder’s paradise” once a year; so far, I have done so twice. Once there, there are many potentially productive birding sites to choose from. In and around town those sites include Sewer Ponds Trail, the cemetery and fort, Peso Island, and the fishing harbor. On the rivers, boat trips include La Tovara, Laguna de los Pajaros, and Estero el Pozo while those out to sea include Virgin Rock and Elephant Rock. Nearby, within a few kilometers, are Shrimp Pond Road, Chacalilla, Mecatan, Matanchen Bay and its beaches, and Singayta. Further out is the hillside shade coffee plantations of La Bajada and the recently accessible ejido plantations/lands of Tecuitata. About an hour from San Blas are the pine/oak forests of Cerro de San Juan and El Mirador del Aguila with its opportunity to view pairs of military macaws in flight.

On my two visits to San Blas, I have enjoyed immensely the majority of the sites mentioned above. For example, some of my “birdy” highlights consist of the following: seeing approximately 76 species of birds including blue mockingbirds, rose-throated becards, masked tityras, red-faced warblers, Mexican woodnymphs, and ivory-billed woodcreepers at Cerro de San Juan; seeing the awe-inspiring macaws at the mirador; seeing American oyster catchers, black skimmers, and a walking Colima pygmy owl while on Peso island; viewing lineated woodpeckers, squirrel cuckoos, great black hawks, black-throated magpie jays, and San Blas jays along with hearing but alas not seeing a large flock of orange-fronted parakeets at Tecuitata; While on the truly “must do” late afternoon/early evening "jungle boat" to La Tavara, viewing most birders' “target” bird Northern potoos, bare-throated tiger herons, boat-billed herons, American redstarts, lesser night hawks, and snail kites- as I have one at home, I was beyond thrilled to see in the wild a pair of orange-fronted parakeets perched on a branch preening each other; seeing scores of different kinds of shorebirds/wetland birds including reddish egrets and two American white pelicans on the ponds along Shrimp Pond Road; seeing a large flock of Mexican parrotlets at sunset while at the San Blas fort; seeing a solitary and cartoonishly enchanting yellow-crowned night heron and dozens of brown pelicans perched on the rusting/scrapped fishing boats while numerous magnificent frigate birds soared above the harbor; seeing mangrove warblers, painted buntings, citreoline trogons, and plenty of whimsical-looking white ibis scavenging at MatanchenBay/Las Islitas beach.

However (and most birders may not agree as they have there own different favorites depending upon their priorities), my favorite birding location in San Blas is the aptly named Sewer Pond Trail. It could be because of the authentic tropical and village “feeling” of the setting. Or because as the sun was rising at the small pond about a quarter of a mile from the actual beginning of the trail, I was enthralled upon viewing over 400 birds in the water, rocks, trees, and fences including at least 75 each of roseate spoonbills and wood storks along with great egrets, snowy egrets, anhingas, black-necked stilts, Northern jacanas, green herons, little blue herons, great blue herons, neotropic cormorants, American coots, white ibis, and Northern shovelers. Or because of the misty swampy area across from the pond with all sorts of birds perched on its upturned trees protruding from the water. Or because, even before reaching the road/trail, along with loads of raucous great-tailed grackles flying about, seeing perched on the electric wires such neat birds as tropical kingbirds, white-tailed doves, and Sinaloa crows.

Moreover, upon actually reaching the approximately 3/4 of a mile trail itself, it could be because of the tree I saw full of look-a-like social flycatchers and great kiskadees. Or because of the fruiting trees, milk weed (great for butterflies also), palm trees, and other vegetation attracting birds that I saw like golden-cheeked woodpeckers, streak-backed orioles, orchard orioles, bronzed cowbirds, rufous-backed thrushes, blue-grey gnatcatchers, at least 3 species of hummingbirds, yellow-winged caciques, groove-billed anis, yellow breasted chats, tropical parulas, vermillion flycatchers, white-collared seedeaters, crested caracaras, common black hawks, short-tailed hawks, and of course, turkey and black vultures. Or it could be at the manmade concrete embanked sewer ponds themselves not only seeing many more Northern Jacanas and black-necked stilts but also seeing seven sunbathing turtles and a floating crocodile. Or because (despite being very “buggy” as can be much of San Blas) of the numerous side trails by the ponds yielding good looks at all sorts of birds including green kingfishers. Or it could be all of the birds that I heard but could not see hidden by the dense vegetation.

Consequently, for me the Sewer Ponds Trail and the other birdwatching locations in the San Blas area deserve the non-hyperbolic assignation of being a birdwatchers paradise. Although, from my home in the Western Central Highlands of Mexico it takes me by bus about 12 hours to reach San Blas, I plan to return there every January. To pass the time on the journey there I can always daydream about the birds that I have seen and those that I did not get to see on my previous visits but may “next time” like russet-crowned motmots, lilac-crowned parrots, and blue-footed boobies!