Wildlife

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. Dolphins, whales, and sometimes rays can be seen from shore at times, especially from the Point.
• Iguanas are often seen sunning themselves on palm fronds, or climbing up trees. Anoles 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.
• On the Marietas islands, and other rocky islands or shorelines, blue-footed boobies and brown boobies may be found.
• Now that we've been to Yelapa several times, and have gotten very helpful advice from a local wildlife expert (who unfortunately returned to Alaska in 2009), we have a sense of where & when you might see certain bird species, and can provide some routes for your own birding walks on request. Download a bird list (PDF), or we'll have one and a bird book for reference during the weekend.
• 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.