08 - 12 October 2000

by William D. Moon
 

Scattered showers each day.  Make reservations for a rental car ahead of time if you plan to drive from Cancun airport.  There are several casa de cambios with good exchange rates along Hwy. 307, including Tulum.

Locations birded:

• Alfredo Barrera Botanical Garden-  $4.00 US admission fee.  No other visitors while I was there.  Bird the road directly across the highway if you arrive before it opens.

• Muyil- 17 peso admission fee.  About 30km. south of Tulum at the edge of Sian Kaan reserve.  As you head south from Tulum look for the Muyil sign-the ruins are on the left just past the sign.  Few people were around to disturb the birds.

• Coba-  Arrived early and birded the surrounding area prior to entering the grounds.  Tourists arrived fairly early.  This is probably not a good birding spot during the busy season.

• Tulum:  Cabanas Copal,  $13 and up for cabanas in low season.  The restaurant was decent but expensive.  There are plenty of places to eat in Tulum.  Pemex is just outside town on 307.

• Puerto Morelos:  Hotel Posada Amor, cheap, okay food, about 10 minutes from the botanical gardens.

There were very few raptors seen.  No real attempts at birding marsh/wetland  areas.

Birds seen:

Brown Pelican
Anhinga
Magnificent Frigatebird
Great Egret
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Plain Chachalaca
Roadside Hawk
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Red-billed Pigeon
Parrot Sp.
Ferruginous Pygmy-owl
Squirrel Cuckoo
Grooved-billed Ani
Swift Sp.
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Citreoline Trogan
Collared Aracari
Lineated Woodpecker
Pale-billed Woodpecker
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Golden-olive Woodpecker
Yucatan Woodpecker
Ladderbacked Woodpecker
Barred Antshrike
Rose-throated Becard
Masked Tityra
Great Kiskadee
Social Flycatcher
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Brown Jay
Green Jay
Yucatan Jay
White-browed Wren
Clay-colored Robin
Tropical Mockingbird
Rufous-browed Peppershrike
White-eyed Vireo
Yucatan Vireo
Worm-eating Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
American Redstart
Yellow-throated Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Orange Oriole
Yellow-backed Oriole
Black-cowled Oriole
Melodius Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Yellow-throated Euphonia
Red-throated Ant-tanager
Black-headed Saltator
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Bunting
White-collared Seedeater
Olive Sparrow

William D. Moon
The University of Houston
wmoon@uh.edu