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Octavia & Daniel

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Octavia Jolley and Daniel Brewer are long term residents of the Sayulita area. Both share an interest in studying the plant and animal life of the region and creating a forum for the public to learn. Daniel is involved in SayulitaVerde which is a group that is working on planting trees in various areas of town, as well as creating a nursery and propagating native trees and plants. Octavia is a mom as well as a Sayulita business owner of Sayulita Sea Camp, Break Fast Café and BeBe Baby Gear Rental. Contact Authors Here.

Sayulita Nature Corner is a focus on the unique species both plant and animal that residents and visitors may see in their daily exploration of this pueblo. The idea of this column is to learn about the natural environment around us so that we know how to identify what we see and can appreciate how it fits into the larger ecosystem. The hope is that by learning and understanding, we can help preserve what we have.

Stories from Octavia & Daniel

The Green Iguanas in Sayulita
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Amongst the hustle and bustle of downtown Sayulita, there is still a spot of calm tranquility that exists. It is on the road towards Los Muertos Beach, as you turn the corner of Calle Delfin , right next to Tierra Viva Restaurant. It is a designated Iguana Sanctuary and taking a moment to gaze into the canopy to locate a sedentary iguana is a moment that inspires you to slow down and remember that nature still lives among us.

Masters of Flight in Sayulita
Octavia & Daniel
Thursday, January 12th, 2012

With its long pointed wings and deeply forked tail silhouetted against the sky the Magnificent Frigatebird is one of the most remarkable seabirds; with its almost pterodactyl form, with a wingspan of more than 2 meters and the weight of a medium sized duck, the Frigatebird has the largest wingspan in comparison to its body of any bird in the world, which accounts for its astounding agility in the air, swooping and diving to catch food on the wing.
Local Reef Surveying
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

Any environmentally conscious human is always hoping they can do something to help save the planet. We all are aware of current situations in our daily lives where environmental quality is being threatened by the influences of humans and our actions. When it comes to coral reefs, it seems like an overwhelming situation since the rampant decline of reef habitats is alarming.
Oil Palms in Sayulita
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

On a walk almost anywhere in the local jungle around Sayulita, one cannot help but remark on the numerous tall palm trees that occur singly or in small groves, their long fronds waving gracefully in even the slightest breeze. One of the most prominent native trees in our jungle, these palms which occur naturally throughout Central American tropical and subtropical forests, have in the past been a valuable source of oil for Mesoamerican cultures both precolombian and modern

Porcupine Fish in Sayulita
Octavia & Daniel
Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Have you ever noticed the quantity of washed up spiny fish on the beach as you take your morning walk? The other day as I was jogging along the shore line on a beautiful, brisk morning this week, I painfully stepped on one of the scattered spines, and it reminded me of a conversation I recently was having with a client as to why there is such a prolific amount of dead "puffer fish" on the beach at any given time.

El Tapacamino
Octavia & Daniel
Friday, November 18th, 2011


If you were to stroll out of town some evening, just at dusk, to enjoy a walk on the road to Carricitos for example, in the orchards and open lands just before you enter the jungle, you might hear the sharp call of a nocturnal bird called a Pauraque, a common member of the Nightjar (Caprimulgidae) family.

Leaf Cutter Ants
Octavia & Daniel
Friday, November 4th, 2011

It's amazing, completely astounding actually, that one of the simplest and smallest living beings on the planet can be so highly complex. Get a load of this: a small ant living in socialized structured caste systems, foraging on leaves to feed a mutualistic fungus that grows within its cavernous nests, polygamous queens mating with multiple drones to collect millions of sperm, and building tunneling nests that can reach down to 18 feet deep to house up to 8 million inhabitants. Convinced that these are living marvels? I am!!
Eco Sayulita
Octavia & Daniel
Friday, October 21st, 2011

Imagine you are a large bird, a pelican or a frigate bird for example, flying high along the coast where the land meets the ocean, between Punta Mita and San Pancho. What would you see?
Pelicans of Sayulita: The Brown Pelican
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

In many cultures around the world birds are seen as messengers from the spirit world, and people often feel that they identify with a particular kind of bird, and come to understand that this bird has something to teach them.
Ranchito Lifestyle in Sayulita
Octavia & Daniel
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

While many assume that life in Sayulita is always tranquilo, many families still maintain their rancho in the outskirts of town, their "escape" from the busy-ness of town life. Living in the centro can get exhausting with the blaring sound systems selling the variety of goods for everyday life, the parade of tourists cruising through town, and the hubbub of friends and fellow townspeople doing their daily rounds.

Woodpeckers in Sayulita
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

Family: Pacidae

Woodpeckers are a family of birds that are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Zealand and Madagascar, which happen to be all large islands with very different and unique flora and fauna.

Coral Reefs
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

When I was first accepted to the DUOY Coral Reef Ecology Course, sponsored by the Gulf of Mexico Foundation and NOAA, that was to be held at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico, my friends chuckled asking me, "Didn't the Deepwater Horizon spill kill everything?" "What's there to see out there?" To my delight, and to many people's surprise, about eight hours off the coast of Galveston, Texas, sits an amazing coral reef ecosystem, in the middle of one of the most highly productive oil extraction regions in the world.
Dragonflies in Sayulita
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, July 13rd, 2011

Insect order: Odonata-Anisoptera

A few weeks ago, I happened to see what appeared to be a large swarm of green dragonflies, all heading north as if in migration. This sighting sent me to the internet to find out more about these amazing insects.

American Crocodiles
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Anyone know what the Spanish name is for Crocodile Dundee? It could come in very handy one day, as this beautiful area of the Bay of Banderas is prime crocodile territory, and the legacy of this ancient creature still exists, sometimes in our very own backyard. This time of year, as the rains revive the rivers, the emigration of the crocodile becomes more active.
Dogs of Sayulita: Then and Now
Octavia & Daniel
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

The following was written 9 years ago for a one-time publication and some may ask what differences are there between a dog's life in Sayulita now and back then?

Visitors to Sayulita will soon notice that dogs play a rather prominent and pro-active role in the life of the town. Indeed, they do have a life of their own, conspicuously woven into the fabric of Sayulita. The town is truly a community of dogs and people, and friend or foe, you can no more avoid dogs than you can people.

Turtle Season is Back
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

As summer approaches and the arrival of the sea turtles begins, turtle camps around the Bahia de Banderas are getting organized for the long work ahead. Two weekends ago, a symposium was held in Rincon de Guayabitos that brought together those who work in various camps around the area, from Mayto to Nuevo Vallarta to Litibu to Playa Naranjo

El Duende
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

One morning in late April about 40 years ago, when Pepe was barely a toddler, his mother Consuelo was inside the house preparing something to eat when she heard a commotion from the front patio, like the voices of children laughing and chattering. Having left the little boy to play alone when she had gone inside, she wondered who had come to play with him. When Consuelo came out of the house to see what was happening, she saw her son disappearing around the corner of the neighbor's house, one arm held high as if taking someone's hand. By the time his mother reached the corner of the house, Pepe was nowhere in sight, nor did she see any of the other children she had heard. Consuelo looked everywhere in the colonia for her son, asked all her neighbors but no one had seen him.

Sayulita Tide Pools
Octavia & Daniel
Friday, April 22nd, 2011

If you ever want a science-fiction experience, a walk down to Sayulita's local tide pools might hit the mark. On a recent low tide day, accompanied by a group of ocean explorers, we headed down to the rocky shore area between Villa Amor and Casa Los Arcos. Squatting and bending, we hovered over areas of the rocks and were able to find quite an assortment of invertebrates (animals with no backbones) that transported us to an underwater world where small volcanoes covered the planet and spiky creatures roam.

A Catchy Tune From The Bright-Rumped Attila
Octavia & Daniel
Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Out in the jungle near the beach, each and every morning, early, this damn bird sits really high up in the top branches of a large higuera tree next to my house and belts out his "catchy' tune.
Mexico City - Nature Awaits
Octavia & Daniel
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Although living in an idyllic beach town is a great place to be, sometimes the need to explore more of the bigger world nags at me. On a recent weekend I gave into that temptation, jumped on a plane out of Puerto Vallarta with one of my best girlfriends, and headed to a place completely the opposite of Sayulita, one of the largest cities in the world - Mexico City. Our goal was to drown ourselves in culture, art and all those metropolitan things that I miss after months of only seeing the beach.