Colima & Jalisco Photo Workshop Itinerary

Daily Itinerary

Day One – February 13:  Arrive Puerto Vallarta. Folks arrive independently into Puerto Vallarta (PVR). After getting everyone settled into our hotel, we’ll enjoy a late afternoon outing for birding/photography. Night near Puerto Vallarta.

Day Two – February 14:  Puerto Vallarta Botanical Garden to Rancho Primavera. After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll visit a series of canyons and valleys a short distance south of our hotel. Holding Military Macaws and a number of interesting species, this relatively small area is always a fun one to visit. In addition to the macaws, we’ll search for Lilac-crowned Parrot, Rufous-capped Warbler and Black-headed Siskin. On a recent visit here we had one of the more interesting sights we’ve ever experienced in Mexico—a male Grace’s Warbler in the same binocular view as a male Yellow-throated Warbler! Not an everyday occurrence to be sure, but it does demonstrate the potential of this locale. This inland site holds a great variety of birds such as West Mexican Chachalaca, Lilac-crowned Parrot, Colima Pygmy-Owl, Mexican Hermit, Flammulated Flycatcher, White-throated Magpie-Jay, Red-breasted Chat, Sclater’s Wren, Black-chested Sparrow, “Godman’s” Euphonia and Blue Bunting amongst a wide range of possibilities. 

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl – Photo by Rick Bowers ©.

As midmorning approaches, we’ll depart for one of the more interesting birding areas of the Puerto Vallarta area, the colorful, and bird-filled, Puerto Vallarta Botanical Garden. Of primary interest to us are those birds which seem to be more easily photographed here than any other location we visit on this itinerary. Rufous-bellied Chachalaca, Colima Pygmy-Owl, San Blas Jay and various hummingbirds capped by Mexican Hermit and orioles. This area is a pleasant way to spend the remainder of our morning and the variety of habitats we visit insure a productive photo outing.

We’ll eat lunch during a break in the birding activity at the botanical garden before traveling to our home for the next three nights, the lovely Rancho Primavera. After getting settled in our rooms we will have the late afternoon and early evening hours to begin exploring some of the many areas around the ranch to photograph. Night Rancho Primavera.

Golden-cheeked Woodpecker male. Photo by Rick Bowers ©.

Days Three & Four — February 15-16:  Rancho Primavera, Cabo Corrientes.  A variety of feeders at Rancho Primavera provide close photographic opportunities for some spectacular Mexican endemics. Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, San Blas Jay, Black-throated Magpie-Jay, White-tipped Dove, Rufous-backed Robin, Blue Mockingbird, Grayish Saltator, Stripe-headed Sparrow, Yellow Grosbeak, Yellow-winged Cacique, and Black-vented and Streak-backed Orioles are frequently captured subjects. For two days we’ll photograph at our strategically located feeders and various set-ups around the Ranch as well as in adjacent areas of Cabo Corrientes, the peninsula south of Puerto Vallarta. At the Ranch we’ll work on photographing Green Kingfishers and Least Grebes from blinds at one of the ponds. Cinnamon Hummingbirds are common and set-ups on colorful flowers they visit frequently produce pleasing images. If we’re very lucky, the shy endemic Mexican Hermit may visit the same flowers! Russet-crowned Motmots are confiding, and we should get pleasing images of these flashy tropical birds. Ivory-billed Woodcreeper is another common resident that we will target during our stay.

There are two sets of feeders at the Ranch. One, near the owner’s home, draws Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, San Blas Jay, Black-throated Magpie-Jay, White-tipped Dove, Grayish Saltator, Stripe-headed Sparrow, Yellow Grosbeak, Yellow-winged Cacique and Black-vented and Streak-backed Orioles. Another, near one of the rental homes on the property, attracts Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, Rufous-backed Robin, Blue Mockingbird, Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush, Stripe-headed Sparrow, Grayish Saltator and Streak-backed Oriole. Often other birds are attracted to fruit offerings at these feeders so you never know what might pop in for a snack! In addition, we’ll target birds that do not come to feeders such as Sinaloa Wren, Nutting’s Flycatcher, Greater Pewee, Great Kiskadee and Godman’s Euphonia.

Blue Mockingbird. Photo by Rick Bowers ©.

Away from the ranch, we’ll work thorn scrub and coastal areas harboring a different sets of birds. Red-breasted Chat and Orange-breasted Bunting are stunning West Mexican endemics and with work and patience we should be able to photograph these amazing birds at close range! Each species in the tropics has its own unique behavior. Squirrel Cuckoos are spectacular skulkers, Golden Vireos are often more confiding, while Citreoline and Elegant Trogons are sometimes elusive even in plain sight! Field sessions with small groups utilizing our extensive experience make every effort to get you shots of these colorful tropical birds. Nights Rancho Primavera.

Day Five – February 17: Rancho Primavera to Barra de Navidad. Our final morning’s schedule will be determined by what remains unphotographed by the group. We’ll enjoy a leisurely morning tracking down those species most desired by our group of photographers.

Our afternoon hours will be spent traveling south to Barra de Navidad. There are a few areas we would like to visit as time and conditions allow and a favorite thorn forest spot has always been productive for us on previous visits and some of the wetlands can hold absolutely amazing numbers of birds. If time allows, a visit to nearby Barranca el Choncho is planned. A winding tendril of tropical forest surrounded by thorn forest, El Choncho is an island of habitat offering an interesting assortment of birds, plants and butterflies. West Mexican Chachalaca, Lilac-crowned Parrot, a nice assortment of hummingbirds and songbirds like Flammulated Flycatcher, San Blas Jay, Fan-tailed Warbler, Rosy Thrush-Tanager and the West Mexico race of Red-crowned Ant-Tanager to name but a few. Night in Barra de Navidad.

Flammulated Flycatcher. Photo by Rick Bowers ©.

Day Six – February 18:  Playa del Oro Road, La Cumbre, Ciudad Colima. Today we visit one of the better thorn forest areas to be found during our trip. The habitat found along the Playa del Oro road is an unbroken expanse of thorn forest holding a great number of our highly desired species. Topping this list are Flammulated Flycatcher, West Mexican Chachalaca, Mexican Parrotlet, Lilac-crowned Parrot, Golden-crowned Emerald, White-bellied Wren, Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Red-breasted Chat, Orange-breasted Bunting and Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater. This has proven to be one of the most reliable locations for Flammulated Flycatcher found along our tour route and we will make a concerted effort for this retiring endemic. Commoner species in the area include Say’s Phoebe, Savanna Sparrow, Audubon’s (Dickey’s) Oriole and Grey-collared Becard amongst others. We plan to have a picnic lunch near the beach as we search for Brown Boobies, Red-billed Tropicbirds, Heermann’s Gull, and perhaps a pelagic species or two, or maybe a Surfbird nearby. Following lunch we leave the coast behind us as we turn inland on our drive to Ciudad Colima. After getting checked into our hotel we plan to visit some of the nearby birding areas, staying out until after dark. Of particular interest is a small patch of remnant thorn forest on the flanks of a hillside near town. We’ve never missed Colima Pygmy-Owl here and it will serve as our best back-up location for this species. At this point all of the birds we are seeing should be old friends to us. At least until the sun sets. After dark this area is haunted by the presence of two of our highly desired nightbirds – Balsas Screech-Owl and Buff-collared Nightjar. We hope to find both of them before we return to the city for dinner. Night in Ciudad Colima.

Day Seven – February 19: Laguna La Maria, Volcan de Fuego,   The twin volcanos of Volcan de Fuego & Volcan de Nieve (literally Volcanoes of Fire and Volcano of Ice) that dominate the skyline above Colima are, in our opinion, perhaps the single greatest birding area in Mexico. Our exact daily itinerary for today and the following three depend entirely upon weather conditions and which bird species we hope to photograph. That caveat in mind, we expect our days to follow the basic agenda described here beginning with an early morning departure for areas on the north and northwest slopes of Volcan de Fuego. We first pass through agricultural areas with an opportunity to find Banded Quail and Lesser Roadrunner, then roadside flower banks with a variety of wintering hummingbird species and finish in a variety of more tropical-type habitats. One area with bamboo covered slopes held Slate-blue Seedeater on a previous visit and we will check any seeding bamboo areas for this bamboo specialist. We should be birding all day with lunch in the field. Goal birds would include West Mexican Chachalaca, Mexican Parrotlet, Great Swallow-tailed Swift, Grey-barred Wren, Grey-breasted Wood-Wren, Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo, Spotted, Happy and Sinaloa Wrens, Fan-tailed Warbler, Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow and Abeille’s (Black-backed) Oriole. Staying in the area until dusk for Eared Poorwill, Colima Pygmy-Owl and Mottled Owl is possible. Night in Ciudad Colima.

Days Eight – Ten — February 20, 21, 22: Volcan de Fuego, Volcan de Nieve, Laguna Zapotlan, Laguna de Sayula, Laguna de Chapala. For three wonderful days, expect pre-dawn departures for the southern and southwestern slopes of Volcan de Fuego and eastern access points to Volcan de Nieve. These may well prove to be our most amazing birding days of the entire trip. Starting out on field and scrub covered lower slopes, we’ll work our way up in altitude covering a staggering array of habitats through fir forest and a complete list of the day’s possible birds would be far too long to include here. A partial list of desired specialties include West Mexican Chachalaca, Long-tailed Wood-Partridge, Singing and Banded Quails, Bumblebee Hummingbird, White-striped Woodcreeper, Grey-barred, Spotted, Happy and Sinaloa Wrens, Aztec Thrush, several nightingale-thrushes, Dwarf and Golden Vireos, Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo, Crescent-chested, Red, Rufous-capped and Golden-browed Warblers, Rufous-capped and Green-striped Brush-Finches and Black-vented, “Dickey’s” and Abeille’s or Black-backed Orioles. Another night outing will be offered for Eared Poorwill, Buff-collared Nightjar, Mexican Whip-poor-will and Whiskered Screech, Mountain Pygmy, Mottled and Stygian Owls. As always, our efforts are to be concentrated on finding those species we still have not encountered. Nights in Ciudad Guzman.

Buff-collared Nightjar. Photo by Rick Bowers.

In addition to our visits to Volcan de Fuego, we’ll also have early morning visits to Volcan de Nieve, which is slightly different in terrain and habitat, and holds a few species that are not easily found elsewhere. The scenery is worth the time and this remains the only spot I’ve found Spotted Owl on this itinerary. An afternoon visit to the marshes outside Ciudad Guzman should provide an incredible number of Yellow-headed Blackbirds that are present here in wintering flocks that can number in the hundreds of thousands! For those working on Mexico lists, highlights may include Eared and Clark’s Grebes, Snow Goose, a variety of ducks including Mexican Duck, Wilson’s Snipe, Wilson’s Phalarope, the “Chapala” Yellowthroat, Bicolored (the local form of Red-winged) Blackbird, American Pipit and, with luck, Sprague’s Pipit. Other after dark excursions to look for any needed nightbirds are possible. 

One afternoon brings us northward, visiting the nearly ephemeral Laguna de Sayula. If water levels are proper, we are likely to encounter a wonderful selection of wintering waterbirds, shorebirds and sparrows. We want to time our arrival at Laguna de Chapala for those magical birding hours before nightfall. Our primary goal is to obtain close-up views of Aztec (King) Rail, Chapala Yellowthroat and a large list of waterbirds in the warm late afternoon light. A farewell dinner and drinks at a typico Mexican restaurant will be a fine way to end our time near the Volcanos. Nights in Ciudad Guzman.

Day Eleven – February 23: Volcanes de Colima to Puerto Vallarta. Today is scheduled as a ‘clean-up day’. By that we mean our itinerary will not be preset and instead is planned to allow maximum flexibility in potential areas to be visited. Any birds we may not have yet photographed will determine where we search today. I expect that we may be glad we have the extra time in which to search for those more difficult or nomadic species. I include Long-tailed Wood-Partridge, Singing Quail, Banded Quail, Thick-billed Parrot, Aztec Thrush, Dwarf Vireo and Abeille’s (Black-backed) Oriole in this group of birds. An early afternoon departure for Puerto Vallarta is planned, and I expect that our group will enthusiastically agree that a farewell dinner and drinks at a typico seafood restaurant will be a fine way to end our last full day in Mexico. Night Puerto Vallarta.

Singing Quail by Kim & Cindy Risen ©

Day Twelve – February 24:  Depart. Folks transfer to the airport in ample time for departing flights this morning. During your journey home, your mind can focus on memories of colorful birds, people and scenery that fill your memory cards and hard drives. Please make your return flight reservations after 2pm today. Hopefully, enough to last until our next visit to Mexico!