This report describes a recent trip to the Yucatán Peninsula with my BORDERLAND TOURS group from Dec. 1-11, 2006.  Our main trip, "Birds and Ruins," began with a visit to Cozumel Island, then moved on to Tulum, Cobá, Punta Laguna, Río Lagartos, Chichén Itzá, and Uxmal.  Most of the participants continued on to Part II, "Yucatán Biospheres," from Dec. 11-17, 2006.  This itinerary included Celestún, Laguna Silvituc, Calakmul, Morocoy Road, and the Vigia Chico, Muyil and Punta Allen Roads in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere.  Altogether we saw 274 species, including most of the Yucatán endemics, and many species that are generally rare in Mexico.

Isla Cozumel was devastated by Hurricane Wilma in the fall of 2005 and I was very interested to see if the avifauna had rebounded.  The answer is a categorical yes.  On a one day visit in early December 2005 we found no Cozumel Emeralds on the island (indeed, no flowers), but this December, on a two day visit, flowers were plentiful and Cozumel Emeralds were fairly common.  Similarly, endemic Cozumel Vireos and Cozumel Wrens were much easier to find.  As expected, there was no sign of the endemic Cozumel Thrasher.  The thrasher had been in critically low numbers since Hurricane Gilberto in 1988, and Hurricane Wilma may have dealt this species the coup de grace. 

During our short visit in December 2005 I estimated completely unscientifically that nearly 75% of all species and 75% of all populations had either fled from or perished on Cozumel during the hurricane.  In December 2006 Cozumel seemed very "birdy."  Two tanager species continued to elude us:  Western Spindalis and Rose-throated Tanager.  Probably both are present, but in low numbers.  Also in low numbers but at least found were Yucatán Flycatcher, Bright-rumped Attila, and Rufous-browed Peppershrike;  all three represent distinctive Cozumel Island subspecies.  On a more positive note, Caribbean specialties such as White-crowned Pigeon, Caribbean Dove, Yucatán Vireo, Black Catbird, "Golden" Yellow Warbler, Bananaquit, and the Cozumel Island form of Yellow-faced Grassquit appear to be common again.  The only pair of Yellow-lored Parrots seen during our 17 days in the Yucatán were also on Isla Cozumel. 

New for me, on this my seventh visit to Cozumel since 1986, was a female Vermilion Flycatcher.  In his appendix for Cozumel Island, Howell, 1995, categorizes the species as hypothetical based on an old specimen from Gaumer.  Also new for me for the Yucatán Peninsula was a Eurasian Collared-Dove in Playa del Carmen in the parking area where we collected our van for the mainland portion of the tour.  According to Barbara MacKinnon de Montes, an authority on the birds of the Yucatán, the Vermilion Flycatcher probably is new for that location and Eurasian Collared-Doves were first noticed on the Peninsula in 2002. 

At Tulum we had wonderful views of Orange Orioles,  but nothing else particularly noteworthy.  Other species there, such as Yucatán Jays, would be seen repeatedly for the duration of both tours.   There were, as usual, many species of birds at Cobá.  Unfortunately, the lake water level has returned to normal (last year the parking area was submerged under two feet of water) and the tour buses from Cancun and other points on the "Mexican Riviera" have resumed their onslaught on this otherwise comparatively undeveloped archaeological site.  Tour groups of 40+ bicyclists streaming by at high speed make the main trail to Nohoch Mul a scary proposition after about 10 a.m.  

Nonetheless, there are still many quality birds at Cobá.  Among our finds were Bat Falcon, Spotted Rail, Limpkin (at least 10 on the perimeter of the lake!), Northern Potoo (a couple on the Nuevo X-Can Highway), Black-headed Trogon, Olivaceous, Northern Barred-, and Ivory-billed Woodcreepers (the latter two at a swarm of army ants), Yucatán Flycatcher, 4 Cedar Waxwings (perched on the antenna tower at the Club Med), our only 2 Rose-throated Tanagers as well as our only Yellow-winged Tanagers on the first tour, Blue Bunting, Black-cowled Oriole, and Yellow-billed Cacique.

At nearby Punta Laguna we encountered the largest single mixed flock on Part I of the entire tour.  Among these were Wedge-tailed Sabrewing (several), White-bellied Emerald (several), Violaceous Trogon, Eye-ringed Flatbill, Tropical Pewee, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, and Gray-breasted Martin (rare in the Yucatán in winter; Howell, in fact, does not include the Yucatán in the winter range of this species).  Our best sighting was a totally out-of-range, probable adult male Golden-cheeked Warbler.  Unfortunately this bird stayed in the treetops and was impossible to photograph.

Perhaps the best bird we encountered on Part I was at Río Lagartos.  A couple miles south of town about 9 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 6 I shouted for our our driver David Salas to stop the van.  A large gray shape stood in wet savanna about 100 yards off the highway.  As soon as we stopped it materialized into the first Sandhill Crane seen on the Peninsula since 1949—and the first ever for the state of Yucatán!  We were able to document this bird with photographs and video.  The crane apparently stayed for at least two weeks, and we heard later that Barbara MacKinnon was able to bring a group of birders all the way from Mérida to enjoy this anomaly.

Of course the stellar attraction at Río Lagartos is the Caribbean Flamingo.  We had close-up views of these from a boat ride we took up the estuary, and again with a spectacular sunset for a backdrop on the edge of town itself.  But there were many other special birds in the precincts of Río Lagartos.  Among these were Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Hook-billed Kite (actually about 15 miles south of the village), Great Black-Hawk, White-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk (this species is regular but uncommon in the Yucatán in winter, and these were our only two on either tour), Laughing Falcon (several), Black-throated Bobwhite, Piping Plover (2 of these on a sandbar island in the estuary), Lesser Black-backed Gulls (3 adults), Gull-billed Tern (2, one oddly seemingly attending a nest in early December!), Zenaida Dove, Lesser Roadrunner, Mexican Sheartail, Red-vented Woodpecker, Yucatán Wren, and White-bellied Wren.

A pair of Ocellated Turkeys within 50 yards of the Hacienda Chichén Itzá the afternoon of Dec. 8 came as a real surprise.  Our driver and fellow birder David Salas, a professional archaeology guide who visits this site often, speculated they were perhaps the first seen at Chichén Itzá in several decades, and Barbara MacKinnon confirmed later he is probably correct.  As hunting pressure declines Ocellated Turkeys are apparently returning to areas around the Yucatán where they've been extirpated for generations. 

The Hacienda Chichén grounds were also good for White-fronted Parrots, both Turquoise-browed and Blue-crowned Motmots, Golden-olive Woodpecker, and both Louisiana (photo) and Northern Waterthrushes at the little chapel.   Louisiana Waterthrush is generally considered a migrant only on the Peninsula, so finding one in December was an unexpected bonus.  Another sweetheart find was a pair of Gray-throated Chats on a trail behind the ruins.

Our last stop on Part I was Uxmal.   As usual, our primary birding venue was the San Simon Road.  No fewer than five Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls within the ruins themselves, however,  seems noteworthy.  The San Simon Road produced a Collared Forest-Falcon, Yucatán Poorwill, Canivet’s Emerald, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Barred Antshrike, and the “White-browed” form of Carolina Wren, among other new species.  At the conclusion of Tour I we had seen 225 species of birds.



At Mérida we bade farewell to one participant and picked up two more for our further adventures in some of the Yucatán’s premier birdwatching locales.  Before we had even left town however, we recorded another new trip species—a female Merlin perched majestically on a downtown tower. 

Our first destination was the Biosphere at Celestún.  Famous for its easily seen Caribbean Flamingos, it is also renowned among Mexican birders as a great location to find the diminutive American Pygmy Kingfisher.  We were not disappointed.  A three hour cruise produced 3 Pygmies, as well as 2 Boat-billed Herons, and a Central American Spider Monkey.  Spider Monkeys are seldom encountered at this location.  A regional rarity lent a dash of interest to our picnic lunch.  As we stopped at the old town pier on the Gulf side of Celestún, participant Barbara Bickel spotted a female Red-breasted Merganser.  Other Celestún species included Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Gray-necked Wood-Rail, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, and Yucatán Wren.  Then, just as we were departing, participant Hermann Staengle spotted another rare exotic--at least for the Yucatán.  His find was a pair of European Starlings commingling with a flock of Great-tailed Grackles.

Most of the next day was devoted to travel. . To access the Calakmul Biosphere we elected to take the longer, coastal route via historic Campeche city, a World Heritage Site.  Naturally, however, we stopped a few times to glance around for birds.  A pair of Crane Hawks, practically in the suburbs on the north side of Campeche occasioned our first screeching halt.  Then, after sedate strolls through the beautiful inner city and the fortress museum on the south edge of Campeche, we found another “good bird” before we even struck the coastal highway.  Underscoring their comparative rarity in the Yucatán, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher constituted a new state bird for David Salas’s personal list. 

Beyond Escárcega we stopped at one of the largest freshwater bodies in the Yucatán, Laguna Silvituc.  The big lake produced a nice array of birds that are usually not associated with the arid Peninsula.  Among these were approximately 75 Fulvous Whistling-Ducks (outnumbered 2:1 by Black-bellies), 12-15 Snail Kites, and a dozen or so Purple Gallinules.  We also saw the first of a half-dozen Limpkins recorded on Part II.

On the home-stretch to our accommodation at Chicanná we saw a number of other interesting birds, including Laughing Falcon, Pale-billed Woodpecker, and literally hundreds of parrots belonging to the genus Amazona streaming overhead at dusk, but there was no time to stop—even if the parrots would have permitted a view.  Singing Quail chortled through a few quick choruses upon our arrival.

The next morning we were up in time to catch an errant Barn Owl on the road into Calakmul.  As the light came up, participant Ken Archambault spotted a Thicket Tinamou just off the entry road.  Tinamous were calling in all directions.  Then a Tawny-winged Woodcreeper flew in to see us.  It was the beginning of a glorious day!

In my trip report for the previous year I described birding at Calakmul as not altogether different from the not-so-distant Mayan sites of Chan Chich in Belize and Tikal in Guatemala.  Like the other two, Calakmul is great for Ocellated Turkeys.  We saw by actual count 75 Ocellated Turkeys between the highway and the archaeological site.  We also saw the two big cracids, Crested Guan and Great Curassow (2 males, 2 hens, and 2 poults).  Here, too, were Keel-billed Toucans, and the two big red-crested woodpeckers, Lineated and Pale-billed.  Most of the smaller birds were associated to a greater or lesser extent with swarms of hunting army ants.  These were attended by five species of woodcreepers and roving flocks of vireos and warblers.  With every army ant swarm there were invariably pairs of Gray-throated Chats.  This may mean that Gray-throated Chats are generously sprinkled across the entire Calakmul Biosphere, or it simply may mean Gray-throated Chats follow army ants.  Doubtlessly they are most conspicuous when snapping up prey stirred out of hiding by the onslaught of thousands of voracious ants. 

Other birds at Calakmul included Barred Forest-Falcon, Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, Northern Bentbill, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Yucatán Flycatcher, Red-capped Manakin, Tawny-crowned and Lesser Greenlets, Red-crowned and Red-throated Ant-Tanagers, and Montezuma Oropendola.  We also recorded two species of birds at Calakmul that are scarcely known for the state of Campeche.  On Dec. 13 an unseen but well-heard Central American Pygmy-Owl was vocalizing at K35 on the entry road.  When I played the calls of this species on my iPod it immediately came to the tree directly in front of the group, but we were never able to actually see the tiny raptor in the dense foliage.  Spotting the Pygmy-Owl was further complicated by the swarm of small birds that roared in to mob it.  According to Barbara MacKinnon, there is a previous report of Central American Pygmy-Owl for Calakmul, but it was not accepted.  The next afternoon on Dec. 14 we had a Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner.  Two members of our group did glimpse this bird as it called at us for at least five minutes from a point on the entry road about five miles north of the core ruins zone.  Apparently Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner has been recorded for Calakmul, according to Barbara MacKinnon, but it is considered rare.  

Unlike 2005 when we intercepted a band of 25 White-lipped Peccaries on the entry road, we detected no unusual mammals at Calakmul.  We did, however, have wonderful views of both Central American Spider Monkeys and Yucatán Black Howler Monkeys.  The howlers actually alerted us to an imminent, brief but heavy shower in mid-afternoon.  Two Gray-necked Wood-Rails sallied out onto a service road during the rain to bath in the de facto stream created by the downpour.

After two full days birding at Calakmul we began to work our way towards the Sian Ka’an Biosphere on the Caribbean coast.  Our first stop was the Morocoy Road.  The cut-over habitat along this narrow strip of pavement comes as a sharp contrast to the virtually pristine forest at Calakmul, and therefore offers a very different community of birds.  During our short visit we saw Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Red-vented Woodpecker, Barred Antshrike (several, but a black-and-white banded male within inches of a Ladder-backed Woodpecker in the same dead tree was utterly unforgettable!), Bright-rumped Attila, White-bellied Wren, a small flock of 7 adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Blue Bunting, and Yellow-billed Cacique. 

The next day found us birding the Vigia Chico Road out of Felipe Carrillo Puerto at dawn.  While the birds we saw were the same as on past visits, the road in December 2006 had far less traffic than I’ve seen in previous years.  A local in one of the few vehicles we encountered told us that the government had basically ceased maintaining the road.  Although riddled with potholes, clearance was never an issue and the birding was excellent.  Among the many species we encountered were Green-breasted Mango, Canivet’s Emerald, Greenish and Yellow-bellied Elaenias, Black-crowned Tityra, Philadelphia Vireo, Long-billed Gnatwren (a pair at an army ant swarm), Black Catbird, Gray-throated Chat (several, all females), Rose-throated Tanager, and Yellow-faced Grassquit. 

We were well inside the Sian Ka’an Biosphere when it began to rain again. That was excuse enough to retreat to the main highway, since we also wanted to bird the short Muyil Road. 

At Muyil we had the first Tropical Kingbird by voice that I was absolutely certain about since we’d left Celestún.  Oddly, Couch’s were the only species of kingbird vocalizing in the entire southern Yucatán Peninsula.  While Muyil can be very good, the only new avian species we recorded on our brief afternoon visit were a pair of Gray-headed Tanagers.  Also seen were a group of 3 Coatis.

Our final night was at a lodge on the Punta Allen Road along the spit south of Tulum.  Owing to early flights from Cancun, birding our last day was confined to visiting the Visitor Center for the Sian Ka’an Biosphere.  Here our final new trip bird was a subspecies.  At the end of the short boardwalk we found an adult male “Mangrove Warbler” with a solid chestnut head, as well as an immature male with an orange-flecked face.  Because this unique race of Yellow Warbler is morphologically, spatially, temporally, and ecologically distinct from the nominate form during breeding season, it seems possible that it may be eventually split as a full species.

At the end of the six-day-long Biospheres tour we had found 219 species of birds, of which 49 were different from Part I in the Northern Yucatán.  Our combined total for both tours was 274 species of birds.

--Rick Taylor