Site Report: Tepic - Cerro de San Juan, Mexico

Cerro de San Juan refers to a partially forested road outside the city of Tepic in Nayarit state. It is one of the sites mentioned in Howell's A Bird Finding Guide To Mexico I made a short visit to this site as a detour on my trip to the Puerto Vallarta Airport from San Blas on the morning of January 10, 2008. Birding here entails walking on a dirt road through pine/oak forest and some agricultural land. Please note that for the first couple of kilometers, the road was not in very good condition, but it got better further up the hill. This area had a good variety of open country and forest birds. While walking on the road, I saw Yellow Grosbeak, Eastern Bluebirds, Grey Silky, Flame-colored and Western Tanagers, Spotted Wren, Greater Pewee, Pine Siskin, White-eared Hummingbirds, House Finch, and a good collection of migratory warblers. Unfortunately, I felt rushed (due to my flight later that day), and I was unable to track down a hammering woodpecker. I barely made it into the forested area before I had to turn back. The road was very dusty, and to add to the dust issue, a vehicle passed by about every 15 minutes. People in the cars were friendly and curious about my activity.