My earlier blog post very briefly covered the birding that was a very small part of the trip Cindy Bailey and I took to Italy in October this year. There was little birding on that trip, but since I had only birded a single half day in Europe (Hungary) more than 20 years ago, I did add 15 species to my World Life List and photos to my world photo list. I had not been paying attention at the time, but at the end of that trip I had seen 918 species worldwide in 2023, thanks largely to great trips to Tanzania and Indonesia as well as far less active than usual birding in my home state of Washington.

Shortly after returning from Italy, I successfully chased a King Eider that was being seen at the Tokeland, WA marina and it was accompanied by a Surfbird, hardly a rarity, but I had missed it at the Edmonds Marina, a mile from my home, and in this very reduced year of birding in the U.S., I had not seen one previously. Again at the time unbeknownst to me, my 2023 Year List was thus at 920 species. I don’t recall the specifics of how it came up, but in a conversation with good friend and very good birder, Jon Houghton, he asked how many species I had seen in 2023. When I finally looked it up and saw that number, the wheels started turning. This was already a new milestone for me, as the most species I had seen in any previous year was 811 last year due to a great trip to Ecuador (450+ species), my usual 320+ species in Washington, a 3 day trip to Texas (75+ species) and some birds in both British Colombia and Maine with some overlap of course. Passing 900 was nice, but somehow the lure of round numbers instantly said – how can I get to 1000? 

It was October 23rd and I had seen only 228 species in Washington. Normally there would have been 300 or more and I would already be past 1000, but especially as there was a complicating factor, I could not do a mad chase around Washington and find another 80 species – too late. And the complicating factor limited other options as well. Cindy had some elective surgery on her foot and she would be unable to do a lot of walking for some time afterward as well. She is a trooper and would have been ok around the house, but I would have to take on the daily dog walks plus shopping etc. Originally we thought this meant I would be a “free agent” on November 27th, but this later changed to December 2nd. I would be able to get for short trips in Washington before then, but not more. And then what? Assuming I could add maybe 10 or so birds locally, I would still need 70 species to hit the mark. A bunch of rarities were being seen in Texas so that was the first option that came to mind. In January 2022 I had 77 species there in just 3 days. December 2023 should have similar species available – especially for a longer trip – maybe even 5 or 6 days. But it wasn’t 77 species that mattered, it was how many would be new for the year and then the list shrank to just over 40. With another 3 days, 70 was certainly possible but it was not guaranteed, What next?

My only birding in Mexico was a trip to Oaxaca with Cindy in November 2021. In 10 days we had seen 171 species of which more than 110 would be new for 2023. So how about somewhere else in Mexico. Jon Houghton had birded in the Puerto Vallarta area – with a local guide that in fact we had been with in Oaxaca. I checked the Ebird lists and it looked like a great option. I contacted the guide and he was unavailable, but he gave me several names. Luckily one was available for several days starting November 27th. I signed on and made hotel and flight reservations using Alaska Airlines miles. It was only after that we learned that Cindy would still be constrained until December 2. Fortunately the guide could accommodate the change, the hotel reservation was cancelable and I found new flights. Cindy convinced me to add another day and the flight to PV got in early enough to add that half day as well and a later departing flight added a half day then as well. When all was said and done, I was onboard with a 5+ day guided tour with Greg Homel whose company is Natural Encounters Birding Tours. Don’t know how it would have gone with any of the other guides, but Greg was fantastic and the trip was terrific.

With only a couple of exceptions, my foreign birding trips have been with big companies, not with pre-arranged independent guides. Whatever worries I might have had disappeared quickly with great exchanges with Greg by email and the wondrous ability to call for free on WhatsApp. After our earliest exchange, it was pretty clear that getting past 1000 would not be a problem. I was excited and I got even more excited when Greg sent me a gorgeous photo of a Black and White Owl, a species that had not been on my target list nor his reply – because one had never been reported in the area before. He had just located a breeding pair and was pretty sure he could show them to me. But that added to my concern when I had to change the dates. Yes, Greg could accommodate the date change but I heard nothing further about the Black and White Owl – a truly awesome species and definitely a lifer for me.

Since I would be the only person on this trip, the cost was higher than a trip with more birders. Additionally, in my head I had originally conceived of a trip with guide for maybe three days only – get the needed number of species and get back home – and all in the immediate area of Puerto Vallarta in the Mexican State of Jalisco. After talking with Greg and with encouragement from Cindy, we had redesigned and to some degree re-purposed the trip to be 5+ days with lots of birding in the neighboring Mexico state of Nayarit, which includes the birding area around San Blas. This would not only mean more species for the year but also new World Lifers, new World photo ops and some pretty awesome birds. And the air travel cost would be the same – go we decided to go for it.

But there was still Cindy’s surgery and recovery – about a month before I would head south. As stated, no chance for big trips as I could not leave before walking Chica (around 7 a.m.) and I had to be back in time for the afternoon walk – not later than 4 p.m. A number of rarities were being seen regularly at Neah to Bay and I probably could have added maybe even a dozen species if I could have made that trip for a couple of days. Not possible, but now thinking of a big world year list, I chased some good birds that were close to home. There were Canvasbacks at the Everett Sewage Lagoons and a pair of Gray Crowned Rosy Finches appeared at Brackett’s Landing in hometown Edmonds and stayed for several days. I somehow managed to get my scope on a Cassin’s Auklet from our living room which has a view of Puget Sound. I picked up a Lincoln’s Sparrow and a Northern Shrike at Port Susan about 45 minutes north of me and then added two pretty uncommon birds on November 21st, a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker at a stakeout in Mt. Vernon (an hour north) and a Northern Waterthrush that Ryan Merrill had found in Carkeek Park (about 15 minutes south of me) with a Fox Sparrow thrown in as a bonus – hard to believe I had not seen one earlier. On November 25th, I squeezed in a trip to Greenlake in Seattle with friend Tom St. John to see a very rare Black and White Warbler – only my second in Washington and then on the 27th – the earlier planned day of departure, Tom and I did a longer trip first to the Langus Riverfront Trail in Everett to see the Tropical Kingbird that was hanging out there – another rarity – and then to Barnaby Slough in Skagit County looking for a very rare for the area Winter Wren (only the second Washington record). We missed the Wren (relocated about 30 minutes after we left) and dipped yet again on American Dipper on the way, but we did find a Swamp Sparrow and a very unexpected Northern Pygmy Owl.

Great birds for a usually slow time of the year and as my departure date finally came on December 2nd, my year list was now at 932 species. I got to the airport well in advance of my early departure time, breezed through security and boarded with a carry-on suitcase and small pack filled with camera gear, my computer, binoculars, and clothing to cover temperatures that might range from the high 30’s in the mountains to the mid 90’s in the coastal lowlands. Needing only 62 species to get to 1000, I was now thinking more about lifers, photos, and specialties. The day before Greg had seen the Black and White Owls again and we would be looking for them this night. The non-stop flight was around 4.5 hours and it being two hours later in Puerto Vallarta than in Seattle. If all went well, I would be through security and immigration and looking for Greg Homel around 1:00 pm local time. There is always a moment of trepidation landing in a foreign country, not knowing the language, and counting on being met by someone you have never met before at the airport. Greg said he would be easy to find since he would be wearing binoculars. I said the same thing to him. I was somewhat taken aback by the number of people at the fairly small airport – lots of tourists, locals visiting and relatives and friends meeting them and dozens of cab drivers looking for fares. Fortunately there was one guy in the crowd wearing binoculars. ”Hola Blair”. ”Hola Greg” and we were off.