Trip Itinerary
Itineraries are guidelines; variations in itinerary may occur to account for weather, road conditions, closures, etc. and to maximize your experience.
Sun., Jan 19 Arrival in Puerto Vallarta | Rancho Primavera
Please plan to arrive in Puerto Vallarta today. We gather the group and drive 90 minutes—past the busy cruise ships, hotels, and resorts—to the small pueblo of El Tuito and our base at Rancho Primavera. Check in and enjoy some leisure time before sunset, followed by dinner in El Tuito, just 10 minutes away.
Accommodations at Rancho Primavera (D)
Mon., Jan 20 Birding Rancho Primavera
Enjoy a thorough and very relaxing introduction to the ranch, from the feeders at the main house to the ponds at Santa Monica. Breakfast is early today at the porch of the main house while we watch the morning feeding. Expect a frenzy of special birds, including the resident (rehabilitated and released) Military Macaws, plus our first West Mexican endemics, like Blue Mockingbird, Streak-backed Oriole, and Golden-cheeked Woodpecker. Common hummingbirds at the feeders typically include Cinnamon, Broad-billed, and Plain-capped Starthroat.
After breakfast, we walk various trails in search of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Elegant Trogon, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Golden Vireo, and an amazing diversity of flycatchers, including Social Flycatcher, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, Greenish Elaenia, and Bright-rumped Attila. After lunch in Tuito, we head back to the ranch for a break before afternoon and evening birding on the ranch trails. We stay alert for mixed flocks of migrant songbirds, including Wilson’s, Nashville, and Black-throated Gray Warblers; Warbling and Plumbeous Vireos, Western and Dusky Flycatchers, and Western and Summer Tanagers. Dinner tonight is in Tuito.
Accommodations at Rancho Primavera (B,L,D)
Tues., Jan 21 Vallarta Botanical Gardens
After breakfast at the ranch feeders, we drive 30 minutes the renowned Vallarta Botanical Gardens. The gardens are a fantastic place to enjoy birds, besides the beautiful collection of orchids, succulents, and other amazing flora. Here, we see some of the familiar species from the ranch, such as Masked Tityra, Orange-fronted Parakeet, and Cinnamon-bellied Saltator. Other songbirds in the gardens may include Painted, Varied, and Blue Buntings, plus any number of flycatchers. We also watch for a variety of hummingbirds, with reasonable possibilities for Mexican Woodnymph, Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird, Golden-crowned Emerald, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, and Mexican Hermit.
After lunch at the on-site restaurant, we stay for the 1:00 PM bird feeding, where we watch for Green and San Blas Jays among the many Yellow-winged Cacique, Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, Rufous-backed Robin, and the goofy West Mexican Chachalacas.
We return to the ranch for our daily break, followed by birding along the ranch entrance road and the Tuito River. The river typically hosts wintering Spotted Sandpiper and Louisiana Waterthrush among many other possibilities.
Accommodations at Rancho Primavera (B,L,D)
Wed., Jan. 22 Mayto & the Costalegre
We have an early breakfast this morning before we depart for the southern coast of Cabo Corrientes and the northern edge of the Costalegre, a long stretch of beaches and headlands that reaches south to the state of Colima. We cross through transitional habitats and down into the coastal thorn forest in search of a new suite of birds that specialize in this region. Just a few of these include Citreoline Trogon, Flammulated Flycatcher, Red-breasted Chat, Orange-breasted Bunting, Lesser Ground-Cuckoo, White-throated Magpie-Jay, and White bellied Wren.
For lunch, we visit the beach-side restaurant at Mayto, offering exquisite seafood plates like aguachile, ceviche, and pescado a la plancha. After lunch, we visit the lagoons at Aquiles Serdan to enjoy an amazing diversity of waterbirds. We return to the ranch in the afternoon for a short break, followed by some evening birding at the ranch ponds and a dusk search for night birds like Mottled Owl, Common Pauraque, and Northern Potoo. Accommodations at Rancho Primavera (B,L,D)
Thurs., Jan 23 Los Arcos & Yelapa
We again head out early, this time heading north toward Puerto Vallarta. As soon as we hit the coast, we drop into the seaside pueblito of Boca de Tomatlan. We enjoy breakfast by the beach before embarking on a boat trip up and down the coast. Our main destination is another coastal pueblito called Yelapa that is reachable primarily by sea. But first, we head up the coast to the Los Arcos Marine Reserve.
Los Arcos is a collection of offshore rocks—some with arches—that host many waterbirds. From the boat, we look for Blue Footed Booby, Magnificent Frigatebird, Brown Pelican, and more. Once we have cruised around the rocks, we head south and a bit farther from shore to look for marine mammals. This region serves as calving grounds for Humpback Whale, and we frequently see mothers with their small offspring. We could also see any of several different dolphins, and possibly sea turtles.
On the northern edge of Cabo Corrientes, we enter Yelapa Bay and disembark at the Yelapa dock. We spend the rest of the morning birding the beach and lagoon here, which collectively mark the mouth of the Tuito River. Birds here might include Caspian and Elegant Terns, Laughing and Heerman’s Gulls, White-faced Ibis, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, and any of several shorebirds. We enjoy a seaside lunch in Yelapa, followed by an afternoon stroll along the river, where we could see big flocks of Orange-fronted Parakeet and many Military Macaws, plus Pale-billed and Lineated Woodpeckers, Masked Tityra, Elegant Trogon, and Common Black and Zone-tailed Hawks, with the real possibility for a Black Hawk-Eagle.
We return to Boca de Tomatlan and make the 45-minute drive back to the ranch for some afternoon birding.
Accommodations at Rancho Primavera (B,L,D)
Fri., Jan 24 Provincia Road & Yelapa-Tapa
On our last full day, we have breakfast at the ranch, followed by a 20-minute drive into the pine-oak forest up the Provincia Road. Provincia gives us an introduction to the montane habitats of Cabo Corrientes and a chance to see several new bird species. Just a few of the possibilities include Grace’s and Golden-crowned Warblers, Painted and Slate-throated Redstarts, Acorn and Arizona Woodpeckers, and Hepatic and Flame-colored Tanagers.
We head back to Tuito for lunch, followed by an afternoon drive out onto the edge of Cabo Corrientes, where we look down on Yelapa Bay. From the Yelapa-Tapa overlook, we have a chance to see the rare Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, as well as Black Hawk-Eagle and any of several other raptor species. We also walk the road in search of Colima Pygmy-Owl, Green Jay, San Blas Jay, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, and Boat-billed Flycatcher, as well as several possible swifts and swallows. We return to the ranch for a break before a final celebratory dinner.
Accommodations at Rancho Primavera (B,L,D)
Sat., Jan 25 Morning at the Ranch & Departures
We spend a final leisurely morning at the ranch, birding the feeders and trails before heading off to the airport. In addition to the species mentioned above, we look for several other local specialty birds, including Crested Guan, Rosy Thrush-Tanager, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Fan-tailed Warbler, Nutting’s Flycatcher, Berylline Hummingbird, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Orange-billed Nightengale-Thrush, and Lilac-crowned Parrot.
We have plenty of time to change clothes for traveling. (B)
