A Bird-Watchers Paradise in San Blas on Mexico's Pacific Coast Eileen Ogintz - Taking the Kids
go to original May 8, 2015

A pair of Blue-Footed Boobies spotted near San Blas

How many birds can you count?

Different species of birds… on a good day, 120 species, says our naturalist guide Francisco Nombre, who happens to hold Mexico’s title this year for seeing the most different species in a 24 hour period.

People come to San Blas in the Riviera Nayarit from all over the world to see birds — as well as to surf the famous breaks. We are in a boat, mangroves on either side in La Tovara National Park where we see Tropical Kingbird, magnificent Frigate Birds, White Ibis, Cattle Egret, Green Heron, the Rufous-bellied Chachalaca, hummingbirds, the Great Kiskadee… the list goes on and on.

The birder in our group is thrilled. The rest of us are having a good time too — also checking out the crocs in the water!

But how do you get kids interested? I ask Francisco, the father of an eight year-old and five year-old. Forget the binoculars, he says—they can make it harder for kids to spot the birds. A scope is easier.  Also it helps if you have a fun fact or two about the birds you are seeing. Did you know this bird dies of a broken heart after his mate dies? Did you know the Boat Billed Heron is so named because his beak looks like an upside down boat?

And then there are contests. How many different species do you see? How many colors can you count on the birds — yellow, red, black, white, green? How many birds with red beaks do you see?

Within 45 miles of San Blas along the Pacific Coast in Riviera Nayarit there are 500 species of birds. Check out the giant termite nest, the male bird sitting on the nest, the cinnamon hummingbird, the white tipped Dove. Did you know they care for the baby birds as a whole community?

Most of the birds here are native to the region though there are many who migrate here in the winter when most of the birders come, staying in hotels like the 45-room Garza Canela, owned by the same family and run now by four sisters and a brother. One sister, Betty Vazquez Gonzalez, is one of the best known chefs in Mexico — a reason their Restaurant El Delfin is so well known and respected.

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