Puerto Vallarta – Mexico

About

Puerto Vallarta is a resort city in Jalisco, Mexico. It is on Mexico’s Pacific coast and it is known for its beaches, nightlife, and its Malecon, a beachside promenade. Tourism in Puerto Vallarta makes up 50% of the city’s economic activity. Puerto Vallarta offers a wide variety of activities from tours, and excursions from swimming with dolphins, whale watching, scuba diving, horseback riding to bird watching. Being located within the Banderas Bay, and being part of the Western Sierra Madre, the flora and fauna are abundant and diverse within Puerto Vallarta. It is surrounded by a variety of ecosystems. Marine and coastal birds are abundant in the bay’s beaches, islands, and mangroves, while the rainforest, pine, and oak forests offer another variety of species. There are 23 different species of pine, 200 species of oak, 300 species of rare orchids, colorful bougainvillea, monarch butterflies, a large number of mammals, reptiles, and more than 350 species of birds alone within the Sierra Madre. Though, more than 135 species of birds are common to the Puerto Vallarta region, which include 20 endemic species like the Yellow-winged Cacique, Golden-crowned Emerald, Mexican Woodnymph, Sinaloa Wren, Black-throated Magpie Jay, Colima Pygmy-Owl, and the Blue-footed Booby. You have many choices when it comes to birding in Puerto Vallarta from their beaches, mangroves, mountains, and the tropical rainforests. Puerto Vallarta is truly a hidden gem when it comes to birding in Mexico! Owen traveled to Puerto Vallarta in 2007 and photographed over 100 birds from the Yellow-winged Cacique, Yucatan Vireo, Anhinga, Bumblebee Hummingbird, Golden-cheeked Woodpecker, and the Mexican Woodnymph.