About us

Director and Founder

Jonathan Vargas is a Mexican ornithologist specializing in conservation, a bird guide for 15 years, and a nature photographer. He is originally from San Blas, Nayarit, where his love for birds and nature began while surfing at Playa del Borrego, although he currently resides in Morelia, Michoacán.

During his undergraduate studies in biology at the Autonomous University of Nayarit, he conducted research on migratory shorebirds at the Weber State University Bird Ecology Lab in Utah and at Point Blue Conservation Science in California, USA. Jonathan also holds a Master's degree in Marine and Coastal Sciences from the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur, a certification as a Nature Interpreter from the National Association of Interpretation (NAI), and a Diploma in Ecotourism Destination Development from the University of the Environment in Mexico.

From Morelia, Michoacán, he founded “San Blas Jay-Birding Tours” focused on offering specialized birding and photography tours in Mexico and promoting sustainable and regenerative development through community ecotourism and environmental education.

Jonathan Vargas has participated in various bird festivals: the San Quintín Bay Bird Festival in Baja California, the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival in Texas, the Chiapas Bird and Photography Festival, and most recently the Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival in Cordova, Alaska in 2025.

In 2018, he launched the Urban Bird Program in Ensenada, Baja California, and expanded it in 2024 to Lake Cuitzeo, Michoacán, where last year he successfully established the Christmas Bird Count circle.

As a fellow of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Coastal Solutions program, he has led shorebird conservation efforts in Todos Santos Bay, Baja California, since 2019. He has promoted and strengthened strategic alliances with the private sector, academia, civil society organizations, government authorities, and local communities, making a decisive contribution to the recovery of the snowy plover, a threatened species in Mexico.

Jonathan is an active member of the Snowy Plover Monitoring Network in Mexico, the Migratory Shorebird Project, and the Mexican Motus Network. He has conducted aerial surveys of shorebirds in the Colorado River Delta with the National Audubon Society and Pronatura Noroeste, and has contributed as an eBird reviewer for the Baja California Peninsula, and since last year as a hotspot reviewer for the state of Michoacán.

Jonathan created “Pajareando y Conservando,” a project focused on applied research for bird conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources through birdwatching tourism.

In the las year, he worked a bird conservation project using birdwatching tourism and citizen science in the Magical Town of Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila, and is seeking funding to continue his research and conservation work at Lake Cuitzeo, Michoacán.

His conservation work has been recognized by the Ensenada City Council in 2021 and by the Los Cabos City Council in 2022, highlighting his commitment to the protection of birds and coastal ecosystems.