Our trips
Day
1: After going through customs from your
afternoon arrival at Manzanillo Airport.you will be met by Burton and Balcazar.
Immediately we will begin birding the airport marshes with special emphasis on
finding the Collared Plover, Ruddy Crake, Rufous-necked Woodrail, Snail Kite and
other raptors and caimans and in the nearby scrub, Orange-breasted and
other buntings
Airport marshes species: Ruddy Crake, Purple Gallinule, Little Blue Heron, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Snail Kite, Comon Black Hawk, Snail Kite, Zone-tailed Hawk
At Manzanillo you will spend the night at Club Santiago.
Day 2:
An early morning (6.30 a.m.) start will get us to the gate to the new Playa de
Oro Road where we
will begin the day by calling for Ferruginous Pygmy Owl and then begin our
search for the local endemics of the coastal thorn forest such as West-Mexican
Chachalaca, Laughing Falcon, Crane, Roadside and Short-tailed hawks, Citreoline
Trogon, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Rufous-backed Robin, Flammulated Flycatcher,
White-throated Flycatcher, Orange-breasted and Blue buntings, Yellow-winged
Cacique.
When
bird activity drops,. we will depart Playa de Oro back to your hotel for
breakfast, checkout, and to depart for the the lagoons of Cuyutlan where we will
take a boat trip on the very smooth and shallow mangrove-lined lagoons that will
enable excellent views of Least Grebe, Northern Jacana, Snail Kite, Limpkin,
Boat-billed Heron and two species of whistling ducks. Forty species are easy,
including six species of herons. See the endangered sea turtle species recovery
ponds (a full day with possibly 70 species.)
Following the Cuyutlan boat trip we will drive to Colima City where you book into the superb Fiesta Americana Inn for the next 4 nights:
Day
3: An especially early morning start (5.00 am) in order to reach the
beginning of the Atenqueque to Volcan de Fuego road taking the Colima to
Guadalajara autopista. Here we aim to drive quickly to the mid-elevation humid
pine-oak forests stopping only for species such as Lesser Roadrunner, Banded
Quail, and Long-tailed Wood Partridge before parking the vehicle at the start of
the humid pine-oak forest. We will then walk for approximately one kilometer and
search for Gray-barred Wren, Brown-backed Solitaire, Russet Nightingale Thrush,
Aztec Thrush, Red Warbler, Olive Warbler, Slate-throated Redstart, Mountain
Trogon, Greater Pewee, Tufted Flycatcher, Gray Silky Flycatcher,.Collared
Towhee.
On return to the vehicle we will have lunch and then begin our descent of the volcano to now bird the lower elevations of the Atenqueque – Volcan de Fuego road in the late afternoon. Rusty-crowned Ground Sparrow, Canyon Towhee, Scott's Oriole. (a 60 species day is reasonable)
Day 4: An early morning start (5.30 a.m.) will
get us to remote tiny hamlet of Agua Fria in
the Sierra Perote
mountains behind the iron ore
town of Minatitlan. Here we will focus of endemics of the tropical deciduous
forests and gallery forest of Colima, concentrating on 60 species such as
Thicket Tinamou, West Mexican Chachalaca, Great and Common Black-Hawk, Gray
Hawk, Long-tailed (Mexican) Hermit Social, Great Kiskadee and Boat-billed
Flycatchers, Squirrel Cuckoo.
On the return drive to your hotel we will stop at a site known as “Agua Dulce” for sightings of Colima Pygmy Owl, Blue Seedeater. (a 50+ species day is reasonable)
After
relaxing during the afternoon we will begin birding again leaving the hotel at
4.30 p.m, for the La Cumbre for owling (Balsas Screech Owl and Colima Pygmy Owl
Buff-collared Nighjar). We are leaving well before dark in order to search for
Quail, White-faced Magpie Jay, Black-chested Sparrow, Painted, Varied and
Orange-breasted Buntings
Day 5: An early morning start (4.45 a.m.) is required to get us before first light to a side road that comes off the San Marcos to Nevado (Volcan de Nieve) road where we will attempt to locate Stygian Owl before beginning birding for such species as Groove-billed Ani, Lesser Roadrunner, White-eared and Berylline Hummingbirds, Cassin's Kingbird, Curve-billed Thrasher, Blue Mockingbird. …..
Breakfast/lunch will be at “La Meson” restaurant at the base of the mountain. We will then return to your hotel via the raptor rich autopista with White-tailed, Harris's Short-tailed Hawks. Afternoon, you may relax around the pool of Fiesta Americana before a short evening of owling on the La Cumbre road. (a 60 species day is reasonable)
Day
6: We now depart Colima and the hotel with early morning (6.00 a.m. start)
birding in the nearby thorn forests of La Salada. White-tipped Dove,
Orange-fronted Parakeet, Plain-capped Starthroat and Cinnamon hummingbirds.
Around 9.30 – 10.00 a.m. we will now head for the outflow of the thermoelectric
plant near to Manzanillo with its up-close and feeding seabirds. Lunch of local
seafood at the locally famous Tepalcates restaurant - named because of the
abundance of prehispanic pottery found in the area. .
After lunch we begin the drive up the coast to Barra de Navidad in the adjacent State of Jalisco where you will check in to the Sands Hotel before driving the 12.7 kms to Barranca el Choncho (now renamed by Burton as Barranca “EL TIGRE”, due to finding fresh Jaguar spoor on the dirt road running through the canyon). Here we will look for Collared Forest Falcon, Citreoline and Elegant trogons, San Blas Jays, Golden-crowned Emerald and Cinnamon Hummingbirds, Greenish Elaenia, Bright rumped Attila, Golden Vireo, Scrub Euphonia, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Black-vented Oriole. A species list of 50+ species is reasonable.
On return to the hotel we will go over our bird lists and have a last nighttime margarita before hitting the sack for one final early morning of birding.
Day 7: Leaving bags in the rooms we will make an early morning start (5.30 a.m.) for Barranca “El Tigre” (x-choncho) in order to play calls for Mottled Owl at the entrance to the barranca (canyon) and also be at first light for Collared Forest Falcon. We will then concentrate on species not seen the evening before and depart at 9.30 a.m. for the hotel where you will be able shower again before your flight and have breakfast. As the hotel restaurant looks over the estuary of the Rio Marabasco you can expect excellent views of Royal Terns, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Laughing and Heerman's gulls, Mangrove Swallow.
By 12.30 p.m. we will depart the hotel for the easy drive to the Manzanillo airport for your flight home.