Puerto Vallarta - Jungle Birding El Nogalito

I stayed at the marvellous Casa de los Monos in El Nogalito, run by charming hosts Lorena and Blas. What a fantastic place! The hotel overlooked the jungle valley and was absolutely brimming with birds. Each morning, I had a pre-breakfast stroll, and picked up an amazing collection of top-quality jungle birds.

Small flocks of Orange-fronted Parakeets regularly screamed overhead. They fed on the tree right outside the balcony of my hotel room!

What a tree! I couldn't tell you what kind it was, but I knew that, during my stay, I picked up the following species of birds in it: Masked Tityra (see below), Rufous-backed Robin, White-throated Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Warbling Vireo, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Happy Wren, Sinaloa Wren, Greyish Saltator, Wilson's Warbler, Social Flycatcher, Golden-cheeked Woodpecker and an Empid. sp.

El Nogalito is magical. Jungle birding is sometimes quiet, but then there will be a flurry of activity. This happened on my first morning. A Black-and-white Warbler and some Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers were making a racket in the undergrowth. A moment later, I saw why - a gorgeous Ferruginous Pygmy Owl was perched up menacingly close..

On the Friday morning, I walked up to the Jungle Restaurant. En route, I heard a loud 'double-tap'. I thought at first that it might have been a Mexican worker hammering away at something. Then I spotted a huge male Pale-billed Woodpecker smashing away at a tree trunk. All the while, the endemic San Blas Jays and Yellow-winged Caciques torpedoed through the canopy.

Up at the restaurant, I found a much rarer Jay. Despite their status, this group of Green Jays come right up to the tables to feed off scraps.

The best sightings came from my breakfast table at Casa de los Monos. I couldn't concentrate on the food, the birding was so good. Firstly, a Citreoline Trogon alighted at the top of a nearby tree. Trogons are surely one of the finest families of birds, found across Africa and Asia as well as the Americas. The Citreoline is endemic to Western Mexico. My attention was soon drawn to a strange screeching in the sky, though. Two small Falcons were hunting. Once they landed I had plenty of time to get my scope on them and identify them as Bat Falcons!

The final highlight came on the last morning. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two huge birds bombing over the valley. Their sheer size meant only one thing - one of the most sought after Mexican birds, Military Macaws!