wildlife in and around Yelapa

Be on the lookout for some fascinating creatures, and bring binoculars if you have them. Here are some of the animals we’ve seen on our trips to Yelapa:

• On your water taxi from Puerto Vallarta to Yelapa, look out for humpback whales spouting. We’ve also seen dolphins, sea turtles, and manta rays in the bay.
• Iguanas are often seen sunning themselves on palm fronds, or climbing up trees. Geckos and other lizards are also very common.
• At some times of year, toads make quite a racket near the lagoon in Yelapa, and they are regularly seen hopping around on the paths in the village.
• Birds you’re likely to see without even trying include magnificent frigatebirds, yellow-winged caciques, great-tailed grackles, and brown pelicans.
• If you go looking, you might also see some of the following species: san blas jay, orange-fronted parakeet, great kiskadee, black-throated magpie jay, white ibis, herons (green, tricolored, little blue, great blue, bare-throated tiger, yellow-crowned & black crowned night heron), egrets, osprey, various hawks, vulture (black or turkey), woodpeckers (golden-cheeked, lineated, or pale-billed), vermilion flycatcher, groove-billed ani, squirrel cuckoo, various types of hummingbird (including the golden-crowned emerald with flashy forked tail on the males), elegant trogon and citreoline trogon, military macaws, and others.
• If there’s enough interest, we may arrange for a local guide to take a group of guests on either a boat tour to the Marietas islands, where blue-footed boobies and brown boobies may be found, and/or a birdwatching walk up the river, so let us know if you’d be interested in either or both of those opportunities.
• Now that we’ve been to Yelapa several times, and have gotten very helpful advice from a local wildlife expert, we have a sense of where & when you might see certain bird species, and can provide a list of common species and some routes for your own birding walks on request.
• In addition to wildlife, there are also domesticated animals all along the river–mules, horses, burros, pigs, geese, chickens, and goats–and dogs making the rounds in town and on the beach.
• The Nature section of the PV Mirror includes an article on Los Arcos marine reserve in Puerto Vallarta and a three-part series on the Marietas islands, as well as detailed features on birds and marine life in the area – check it out at www.pvmirror.com/nature.

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