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MEXICO -- QUINTANA ROO & YUCATAN

22 - 27 October 1997

by Mark Lockwood

My wife and I spent six days visiting archeological sites and birding in Quintana Roo and Yucatan during late October 1997.  The primary reason for the trip was to visit Tulum, Coba and Chichen Itza.  Therefore, the species list is smaller that what one might expect on a strictly birding trip to the region

We arrived about noon on 22 October at Cancun, rented a car and drove south toward Akumal.  The primary birding location of the day was the Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marin Botanical Garden located on the south side of Puerto Morales.  There is a nominal entrance fee and is well worth the stop.  The botanical garden covers about 60 ha, with the vast majority of that being forested.  There is approximately 2 km of trails.  We stayed at Vias Mayas in Akumal.  The accommodations were nice, but the food was expensive and the worst of the trip.  The grounds of Vias Mayas offered little in the way of bird habitat and we saw very little within the grounds.  The best bird we observed at the hotel by far was a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.

On the 23rd we traveled to Tulum in the morning.  It is very important to reach the archeological sites as early as possible in the mornings to avoid crowds.  Tulum overlooks the Caribbean and is basically surrounded by mangroves.  From the parking lot to the ruins there is good habitat, although all we saw were Yucatan Jays.  There is a road that leads from the bus turnaround at the ruins southward.  We visited the ruins first and birded this road from about 10 am to noon.  Even this late in the morning, it offered fairly good birding.

We traveled to Coba on the 24th.  We did not take the time to bird around Lake Coba, however Ruddy Crakes can be found there.  The birding within the ruins was good, although species diversity was lower than expected.  Climbing the tall pyramid offers an excellent view of the canopy.  The only bird of note we observed from there was a White-tailed Kite.  After birding the archeological site we travel to Chichen Itza.

We stayed three nights at the Hacienda Chichen, which I highly recommend.  It borders the archeological site and there are trails from the hotel into Old Chichen, which contains unexcavated sites.  This area has great promise for birding, however we found the areas surround the hotel to have the best diversity of birds.  We spent one morning at Chichen Itza and one day (the 26th) on a day trip to the Rio Lagartos area; otherwise we birded the area surrounding the hotel.

The trip to Rio Lagartos was nice, but we were unable to locate most of the northernmost Yucatan Peninsula specialties.  We did find a male Mexican Sheartail and saw about 300 Greater Flamingos, but were unable to find any of the other target birds.  Apparently, the area north of Merida is better for these birds, or we just had bad luck.

We birded the botanical garden at Puerto Morales on our last morning before returning to Austin.  Below is an annotated list of the species observed during the trip.

Itinerary in Brief:

22 Oct.- Traveled from Cancun to Akumal, birding for two hours at the Jardin Botanical Garden (JBG), Puerto Morales

23 Oct.- Birded Tulum in the morning and around Akumal in the afternoon.

24 Oct.- Traveled to Chichen Itza via Coba, birded ruins at Coba and grounds of Hacienda Chichen.

25 Oct.- Birded Chichen Itza and Hacienda Chichen, including Old Chichen (forest adjoining ground of the hotel that includes some ruins).

26 Oct.- Day trip to Rio Lagartos area, including Las Coloradas and San Felipe) some birding around Hacienda Chichen in late afternoon.

27 Oct.- Traveled to Cancun, birded Jardin Botanical Gardens for three hours in the morning.

Species List:
 
 
SPECIES WHERE OBSERVED
Pied-billed Grebe two at Coba on the 24th
American White Pelican five near San Felipe on the 26th
Brown Pelican  common at Puerto Morales, Tulum and the Rio Lagartos region
Double-crested Cormorant three at Akumal on the 22nd
Neotropic Cormorant one at Lake Coba on the 24th
Magnificent Frigatebird  common at Puerto Morales, Tulum and the Rio Lagartos region
Great Blue Heron one at Akumal on the 23rd
Great Egret common in freshwater marshes
Little Blue Heron four near Rio Lagartos on the 26th
Tricolored Heron one at San Felipe on the 26th
Reddish Egret one near Rio Lagartos on the 26th
Cattle Egret common at Tulum and Rio Lagartos
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron two each evening at Akumal
White Ibis four at Akumal on the 22nd and two near Rio Lagartos
Black Vulture abundant, seen in large numbers at all locations
Turkey Vulture far fewer that Black Vultures, but seen at all locations
Greater Flamingo about 300 in the lagoon directly south of Las Coloradas and one imm. at San Felipe on the 26th
Osprey four at Akumal on the 22-23, including one apparent P. h. ridgwayi (white headed)
Hook-billed Kite one male at Chichen Itza on the 25th
White-tailed Kite one adult at Coba on the 23rd
Crane Hawk one adult at JBG on the 22nd
Gray Hawk commonly observed en route between sites
Roadside Hawk one near Old Chichen on the 25th and 26th
Short-tailed Hawk one near Coba (23rd) and one near JBG (27th)
White-tailed Hawk two imm. near Rio Lagartos on the 26th
Zone-tailed Hawk one at Coba (23rd) and one near Tizimin (26th)
Crested Caracara five near Rio Lagartos on the 26th
American Kestrel one or two seen daily
Merlin one near Las Coloradas (26th) and one near Cancun (27th)
Peregrine Falcon one near Rio Lagartos on the 26th
Plain Chachalaca several heard near Hacienda Chichen on the 24th and about five seen en route to Cancun on the 27th
Snowy Plover 20 to 30 near Las Coloradas on the 26th
Wilson's Plover five near Las Coloradas on the 26th
Black-necked Stilt three near Rio Lagartos on the 26th
Greater Yellowlegs two near Las Coloradas
Willet 10+ near Las Coloradas
Spotted Sandpiper one at Akumal on the 23rd
Ruddy Turnstone three at Akumal on the 22nd
Western Sandpiper 15+ near Las Coloradas
Least Sandpiper 30+ near Las Coloradas
Dunlin 20+ near Las Coloradas
Stilt Sandpiper three near Las Coloradas
Laughing Gull four at San Felipe on the 26th
Herring Gull two at Las Coloradas
Gull-billed Tern one at Las Coloradas
Royal Tern several at Akumal
Rock Dove common in towns
Red-billed Pigeon 10-15 daily at Chichen Itza
White-winged Dove two at Coba on the 24th
Zenaida Dove three near Las Coloradas on the 26th
Common Ground-Dove two near Las Coloradas on the 26th
Ruddy Ground-Dove common in disturbed areas, especially near Coba and the grounds of Hacienda Chichen
White-tipped Dove three at Hacienda Chichen on the 25th
Olive-throated Parakeet 2 near JBG (22nd) and 6 at Coba (24th)
White-fronted Parrot six at Hacienda Chichen on the 25th and four on the 26th, flocks of unidentified Amazona were seen around Chichen and en route of Cancun
Squirrel Cuckoo singles at JGB and Coba, several were seen around
Chichen Itza
Groove-billed Ani common
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl one at Akumal (23rd) and JBG (27th)
Vaux's Swift abundant at Chichen Itza with 20+ daily
Cinnamon Hummingbird singles at Hacienda Chichen, Chichen Itza and JBG
Mexican Sheartail a male near Las Coloradas on the 26th
Black-headed Trogon one at Coba (24th) and two at JBG (27th)
Violaceous Trogon one at Chichen Itza on the 25th
Blue-crowned Motmot two at Chichen Itza (25th) and Hacienda Chichen (26th)
Turquoise-browed Motmot one at JBG (22nd) and 2-3 at Hacienda Chichen daily
Belted Kingfisher one near Akumal on the 22nd
Collared Aracari two at Hacienda Chichen on the 24th
Keel-billed Toucan one flew over the road near JBG on the 27th
Red-vented Woodpecker two at JBG (both visits), and one at Tulum
Golden-fronted Woodpecker common at all sites except Rio Lagartos
Golden-olive Woodpecker one at JBG on the 27th
Lineated Woodpecker two at Akumal (23rd), one at JBG (27th)
Pale-billed Woodpecker two at JBG on the 22nd
Northern Barred-Woodcreeper one at JBG on the 27th
Ivory-billed Woodcreeper three at Coba (25th) and JBG (27th)
Caribbean Elaenia two at JBG on the 22nd
Eastern Wood-Pewee common in open habitats
Tropical Pewee one or possibly two at Hacienda Chichen
"Traill's" Flycatcher one at Hacienda Chichen on the 26th
Least Flycatcher observed at JGB (22nd), Akumal, Tulum and Hacienda Chichen
Yucatan Flycatcher one at Hacienda Chichen (25th)
Great Kiskadee four at Akumal and several in the Chichen Itza area
Boat-billed Flycatcher observed at Coba and Chichen Itza area
Social Flycatcher common at all sites except the Rio Lagartos area
Tropical Kingbird abundant
Rose-throated Becard female at Coba (24th and male at JBG (27th)
Masked Tityra six at Coba, four at Hacienda Chichen, and three at Chichen Itza
White-eyed Vireo common at JBG, Coba and the Chichen Itza area
Mangrove Vireo one at JBG on the 27th
Yellow-throated Vireo three at JBG on the 22nd and one on the 27th
Red-eyed Vireo three at Coba on the 24th
Yucatan Vireo two at Tulum on the 23rd and two at JBG on the 27th
Lesser Greenlet singles at JBG on the 22nd and 27th
Rufous-browed Peppershrike singles at Coba, Chichen Itza, and JBG (27th)
Green Jay common at JBG, Coba and the Chichen Itza area
Brown Jay ten outside Coba (24th) and 15+ en route to Cancun on the 27th
Yucatan Jay six at Tulum (23rd), four at Coba (24th) and two near Chichen Itza (25th)
Mangrove Swallow two at Las Coloradas on the 26th
(Ridgway's) N. Rough-winged Swallow 10+ at Akumal on 22nd and at last two at Hacienda Chichen on 26th
Bank Swallow one at Las Coloradas on 26th
Cave Swallow 30+ at Chichen Itza on the 25th
Spot-breasted Wren three at JBG the 22nd, on at Coba the 24th and another at JBG on the 27th
White-bellied Wren on at JBG on the 22nd and Coba on the 24th
House Wren common around Hacienda Chichen
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher one at Chichen Itza (25th) and JBG (27th)
Wood Thrush two at Coba on the 24th
Clay-colored Robin five at Coba (25th) and many in the Chichen Itza area
Gray Catbird uncommon in disturbed habitats
Tropical Mockingbird abundant in open habitats, the most commonly observed species
Blue-winged Warbler singles at JBG (22nd & 27th) and Coba (25th)
Tennessee Warbler three at Hacienda Chichen on the 25th
Northern Parula one at Chichen Itza on the 25th
Yellow Warbler one at Akumal on the 23rd
Chestnut-sided Warbler one at Chichen Itza on the 25th
Magnolia Warbler common
Black-throated Green Warbler several in the Chichen Itza area and two at JBG on the 27th
Yellow-throated Warbler common at Akumal, Tulum and Chichen Itza
Palm Warbler four at Akumal and two at Tulum on the 23rd
Black-and-white Warbler common
American Redstart common
Prothonotary Warbler singles at Coba and Hacienda Chichen
Worm-eating Warbler single at JBG on the 27th
Ovenbird common
Louisiana Waterthrush one at JBG on the 22nd
Northern Waterthrush one at Coba on the 24th
Kentucky Warbler one at JBG on the 22nd
Common Yellowthroat singles at JBG, Coba, and Hacienda Chichen
Hooded Warbler common
Red-legged Honeycreeper female at Coba on the 24th
Scrub Euphonia three at Chichen Itza on the 25th
Yellow-throated Euphonia five at Coba (24th) and two at JBG on the 27th
Yellow-winged Tanager two at Coba (24th) and seven at Chichen Itza (25th)
Red-throated Ant-Tanager female at JBG (22nd) and 10+ at Coba on the 24th
Rose-throated Tanager females at Coba (24th) and JBG (27th)
Summer Tanager female at Hacienda Chichen on the 25th
Yellow-faced Grassquit 15+ daily at Hacienda Chichen
White-collared Seedeater two at Lake Coba on the 24th
Grayish Saltator three at Coba (24th) and five in Chichen Itza area on the 25th
Black-headed Saltator 15+ at Coba on the 24th
Northern Cardinal five between Tulum and Coba
Indigo Bunting common in open habitats
Red-winged Blackbird one male at Rio Lagartos
Melodious Blackbird common
Great-tailed Grackle abundant
Bronzed Cowbird one flock of six outside Coba
Black-cowled Oriole single at Tulum (23rd), five at Coba (24th), two at Chichen Itza (25th) and one at JBG (27th)
Orchard Oriole one male at Hacienda Chichen on 26th
Hooded Oriole common
Yellow-backed Oriole one adult at Coba on the 24th
Yellow-tailed Oriole one adult near Coba on the 24th
Orange Oriole three near Coba and two others at the archeological site on the 24th
Altamira Oriole common at Tulum, Coba and Chichen Itza area

Mark Lockwood
(mwlockwood@juno.com)