General

This was primarily a family holiday with my wife Sarah and our 17-year olds Rachel and Joe. We chose the Yucatan peninsula because we could fly relatively cheaply from the UK to Cancun and because we thought there would be plenty of interest for everyone – for me this included the possibility of seeing some good birds. We weren’t disappointed – we had great weather, the people were friendly and helpful, and the Mayan sites were interesting and beautiful. Although the English pound was low, we found petrol and food were still cheap compared to prices in Europe.

Itinerary

We were based mainly in a villa near Puerto Morelos, which is 30 minutes south from Cancun airport. We made day trips from here to Tulum and Coba (in the same day) and explored the area near Puerto Morelos. At the end of our week we drove to Chichen Itza, where we stayed a night before heading back to Cancun for our return flight.

Travel

Our flight with Thomsonfly from Gatwick (London) to Cancun was very good – the seats were spacious and the food and service good. Nearly everyone else on the flight was on a Thomson package, staying in one of the hotels in Cancun or along the Mayan Riviera, but we booked flight only. Our hire car was a Chevrolet 4x4 from Avis, which was ideal. A 4x4 is not really essential but we were glad of it, especially when driving along unmade tracks to beaches and cenotes.

Driving

The roads were good, but we were glad we’d read about driving in Mexico so that we were more prepared for the speed bumps (‘topes’), and for the volume of manic traffic on the coast highway from Cancun to Tulum.  No-one takes any notice of speed limits except where they have to slow down for a tope. The toll road from Cancun to Merida, which goes via Chichen Itza, is very good and fast.

Reference books

To keep the weight down I only took one field guide: Collins Birds of Mexico and Central America by Ber van Perlo. This was perfect for my purposes. It has illustrations and maps for all the birds of the region and was small enough to fit in my pocket. This was my first visit to Mexico but I’d been recently to Costa Rica. Van Perlo enabled me to identify most birds on the spot.

Birds new to me are shown in capitals in the report.

Daily Log:

Day one

We arrived at Cancun mid-afternoon so picked up our hire car and set off southwards on the coast highway. We stopped briefly at a Pemex station for petrol and at the Oxxo store next to it for some basic groceries, then went to Casa Stella Maris, our villa on the beach about three miles north of Puerto Morelos, on the Caribbean coast. As we settled into the villa a couple of brown pelicans and some magnificent frigatebirds soared over the beach.

Day two

I got up before dawn and went out at first light (6.00) to bird the area around the house before the rest of the family got going. On the beach were some semipalmated plovers and a couple of western/semipalmated sandpipers. Behind the house was an extensive mangrove swamp where lots of large wading birds were flying over: great egrets, tricoloured herons, snowy egrets, white ibises and anhingas.

The most obvious birds around the house were great-tailed grackles and tropical mockingbirds.  The weird sounds of the grackles were to accompany us everywhere we went. Outside our front door a gorgeous YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER flitted about in a palm tree. This was a bird I’d missed in Florida last August so I was ecstatic to see it.

After this good start we went to Dr Alfredo Barrera Marin Botanic Gardens, a few miles down the road in Puerto Morelos. Although Sarah and the children aren’t interested in birds, they enjoy walking through places like this and often spot birds I don’t see. We arrived at the gardens shortly after it opened at 8.00. The first half hour or so was very lively, with five or six YUCATAN WOODPECKERS, a party of GREEN JAYS, a glimpse of a PLAIN CHACHALACA, a rufous-browed peppershrike, an ALTAMIRA ORIOLE, a couple of YELLOW-BILLED CACIQUES, plus commoner birds like great kiskadee, tropical kingbird, boat-billed flycatcher, and brown jay .

Most of the small birds were wintering North American birds such as magnolia warbler, black-throated green warbler and American redstart, but I also saw a YUCATAN VIREO and a couple of MANGROVE VIREOS (which I initially disregarded as white-eyed vireos, even though they didn’t have white eyes)

We all had great views of spider monkeys swinging through the trees, as well as iguanas and a coati. I was impressed with the gardens and decided to come back.

In the afternoon we drove to Cancun to stock up our villa from a supermarket.  Although I am probably the slowest driver in England – and was easily the slowest in Mexico – I managed to get stopped by the police for speeding, which cost me a $500 on-the-spot fine (actually I think it may have been a bribe, technically speaking).

Day three

As we left our villa to head south, I got my first proper view of a MELODIOUS BLACKBIRD. The drive to Tulum took longer than we expected because of the volume of traffic and bridge building near Playa del Carmen. Even so, we got to Tulum before the worst of the crowds arrived. We loved wandering through the ancient Mayan site and the views of the sea are stunning. Zooming around Il Castilio, the big fortress-like building on the clifftop, were five or six CAVE SWALLOWS. Otherwise the only birds I saw were a yellow-throated warbler (how quickly that ‘only’ has crept in), the omnipresent boat-tailed grackles and tropical mockingbirds, and lots of orioles which I think were hooded, but I was still struggling to tell them apart at that stage.

Walking back from the site to the car park/tourist shop area we had superb views of a party of YUCATAN JAYS in the mangroves, just by the road. I was delighted to get these stunning birds under my belt (so to speak).

We then drove inland to Coba - a much easier drive than the coast road – and as we were a little behind schedule decided to have an early lunch before seeing the ruins. The restaurant we chose had great views over the lake, so we were able to watch an American crocodile and a party of social flycatchers while we ate. Around the lake were some neotropic cormorants, a double-crested cormorant, least grebes, great blue heron, great egret, and a mangrove swallow.

Coba ruins were also terrific, but it was hot, busy with tourists on foot and on bikes, and the bird life was very slow in the heat of the day. I climbed the big pyramid and though I didn’t see anything from it, it was worth it for the pictures. I saw few birds at the ruin site - a black-throated green warbler, a mangrove vireo, an ovenbird and a CITREOLINE TROGON.  This was probably the bird of the trip, but it caused some difficulty. I heard a trogon call and Rachel quickly found it, nowhere near where I was looking – they are evidently ventriloqual. Though it was close I only had its back view at first. I nearly got knocked over by bikes and pedestrians as I stood in the track trying to check its face pattern and undertail. The illustrations in van Perlo are poor but when I got home I was able to confirm the i.d. easily from photos on the internet.

After the big pyramid we were hot and tired so we decided if you can’t beat them, join them: we hired a couple of bicycle taxis to take us back to the site entrance. Worth every peso.

The drive back to our villa was long and tedious. We broke it with a visit to the rocky coast at Akumal. A bit like Cornwall, only with washed up coral and fossilised coral in the rocks.

Day four

Most mornings I got up before dawn and went out at first light (6.00) to have a look in the mangroves behind the villa. This morning, as well as tropical mockingbirds and great-tailed grackles, I saw a couple of northern waterthrushes, an American redstart, and a hooded oriole. Other mornings I saw common yellowthroat, magnolia warbler, yellow-throated warbler, palm warbler, tropical kingbird, blue-winged teal, Wilson’s snipe, and sora rail in one little corner of the mangrove swamp.

We drove up the Ruta de Cenotes which heads inland from Puerto Morelos opposite the botanic gardens. We visited the Cenotes de Sete Cenotes and swam in the underground cave system. There is good forest round here and along the entrance road a few minutes’ stop produced a party of green jays and an IVORY-BILLED WOODCREEPER.

In the afternoon we went snorkelling from Puerto Morelos, which was excellent. We saw big shoals of yellow snapper and some green turtles, sting rays and a barracuda.

Day five

We drove south to find a beach at Punta Bete, north of Playa del Carmen, which we read about in a guide book. Unfortunately the guide books haven’t caught up with the scale of hotel development that has taken place along the coast from Cancun to Tulum. The beach itself was nice but it was difficult to get away from the hotels and sun loungers.

Along the track down to the sea I’d noticed some orioles so while the others relaxed on the beach I went back and refound the flock, which contained some exciting birds. There were six or more hooded orioles, and around them were an Altamira oriole, a YELLOW-BACKED ORIOLE, one or two GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKERS, a ROSE-THROATED BECARD,  a YUCATAN FLYCATCHER, a least flycatcher, a rose-breasted grosbeak, and a plain chachalaca.

As we returned to the car from the beach an OLIVE-THROATED PARAKEET flew into a nearby treetop.

In the afternoon I went to the Alfredo Barrera Marin Botanic Gardens. I arrived at 3.00 and was surprised how active the birds were at this time of day. I saw the same birds as on the first visit, plus Kentucky warbler, black-and-white warbler, HOODED WARBLER,  indigo bunting, rose-throated becard (a female this time, to match the male I saw in the morning) and a CARIBBEAN DOVE. Towards closing time at 5.00 there seemed to be spider monkeys and white-nosed coatis everywhere.

Day six

I’d been looking forward to making a morning visit to some of the best areas near the villa. Most days we made outings in the morning but today we’d left free for everyone to do as they pleased. I set off early to explore the Ruta de Cenotes, which sounded good from a previous trip report. The road was extremely busy with construction traffic and I found it difficult to get away from traffic noise. After an hour I returned to the car having only seen some indigo buntings, a couple of ruddy ground doves, and a Yucatan vireo. As I left, compensation arrived in the form of a pair of WHITE FRONTED PARROTS that flew into a tree nearby. With hindsight I should have driven further inland and parked in a track in the forest leading to one of the cenotes.

I thought it would be worth making one last visit to the excellent botanic gardens. I arrived before opening time at 8.00 but the place was strangely quiet in comparison to the day before.  I saw several hooded warblers and northern waterthrushes along the paths, and another yellow-throated warbler, but nothing else. 

It started to rain as I returned to the villa and we spent the rest of the day there and in Puerto Morelos. This was the only rain we had during the week and it didn’t last long. Puerto Morelos is a delightful fishing village which has kept its old charm (it was the original Margaritaville of the Jimmy Buffet song) and, while it has shops and restaurants for tourists, it hasn’t grown into a huge anonymous resort.

Day seven

We said goodbye to Leonardo and Esmeralda, who looked after the house, and drove inland to Chichen Itza. En route we stopped at the Spanish colonial town of Valladolid, which with its 16^th century church and convent, wide streets, and friendly Mayan people, was one of the highlights of our trip. You’ve got to hand it to those Spanish conquistadores: Hernan Cortes overcame Moctezuma and the Aztecs in 1519; by 1560 the Spanish settlers and missionaries had built towns, churches, monasteries, farms and haciendas in numberless quantities and in style.

We’d booked to stay the night at the Hacienda Chichen hotel, so that we could visit Chichen Itza in the afternoon and the next morning, to miss the worst of the crowds. As soon as we arrived at the hotel I could tell it was going to be good for birds. The grounds are mature tropical forest/plantation. A noisy party of social flycatchers were right outside reception, and the first birds I saw when I stepped on to our porch were a flock of BLACK-HEADED SALTATORS. A few more minutes in front of our bedroom produced green jay, scrub euphonia, golden-olive woodpecker, Yucatan woodpecker, groove-billed ani, clay-coloured robin, cinnamon hummingbird, an unidentified all-dark hummingbird (perhaps male green-breasted mango) and an unidentified flycatcher (see later).

The ruins at Chichen Itza were fantastic. We took hundreds of photos and talked of what we’d read about the customs of the Toltec people who built most of the structures there.  I didn’t take a lot of notice of the birds as we went round the ruins, but Yucatan and green jays, melodious blackbirds and white-winged doves were obvious. While the others visited the older, Mayan structures to the south of the site I hung around and saw a turquoise-browed motmot and an ORANGE ORIOLE.

In the evening we went to the sound and light show, which was included in the admission price. To be honest, it was naff and as we were too stingy to pay for the English translation we didn’t understand the commentary, but it was fun seeing the structures lit up in psychedelic purple and electric blue.

Day eight

Early morning I walked back to the Chichen Itza ruin site, seeing yellow-backed oriole, greyish saltator, and golden-fronted woodpecker along the way. There was no-one around so I was able to walk into the ruins, but I only saw masked tityras and the usual wintering warblers, mostly magnolia and black-throated green. A green jay came out in the open - usually they preferred to hide.

After breakfast we decided we’d already done justice to the ruin site, so I explored the hotel grounds while the others stayed round the pool. I really enjoyed strolling round the beautiful gardens in the early morning sunshine. I saw Vaux’s swift, white-throated parrot, RIDGWAY’S ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, white-eyed vireo, squirrel cuckoo, cinnamon hummingbird, yellow-faced grassquit, SUMMER TANAGER, yellow-throated euphonia, and orange oriole.

I’d wondered about the yellowish-brown flycatcher with a cinnamon tail I kept seeing high overhead. Surely this must be the ‘unmistakeable’ ROYAL FLYCATCHER? I could see nothing of the distinctive crest, but apparently it is rarely seen extended. Photos showing birds without the crest raised confirm the identification.

By mid-morning we needed to head back to Cancun for our flight. The only birds of interest were some more Ridgway’s rough-winged swallows at the toll booth on the road back.

Conclusion

This turned out to be an excellent trip. We all had a good time, and I saw 94 species (out of a theoretical possible of 377!), which I thought not bad for a week, given that I only did two-three hours birdwatching most days. Most of the birds were superb, colourful birds that I’d only seen a few times before and 26 species were lifers for me. The weather was perfect and the Mayan and Toltec sites and the colonial history gave it added interest. A week wasn’t really enough, so Sarah and I intend to go back, and will travel further afield next time.

Geoff Upton, Dorchester, England  April 2009

Birds seen in Yucatan 15 – 22 February 2009 (new birds marked *)

Species	Casa Stella Maris	Puerto Morelos	Ruta de Cenotes	Punta Bete	Tulum	Coba	Chichen Itza / Hacienda Chichen
Magnificent frigatebird	X	X		X
Least grebe						X
Brown pelican	X	X			X
Double-crested cormorant	X	X				X
Neotropic cormorant				X		X
Anhinga	X	X				X
Snowy egret	X			X
Little blue heron	X
Tricoloured heron	X	X
Great blue heron						X
Great egret	X					X
White ibis	X
Blue-winged teal	X
Black vulture	X	X				X	X
Turkey vulture	X	X			X	X	X
Osprey	X
Roadside hawk		X	X
Plain chachalaca*		X		X
Sora	X
Black-bellied (grey) plover	X
Semipalmated plover	X
Wilson’s snipe	X
Ruddy turnstone	X
Semipalmated or Western sandpiper	X
Sanderling	X
Laughing gull		X		X
Caspian tern	X
Royal tern	X	X		X
White-winged dove	X	X		X
Ruddy ground dove		X	X			X	X
White-tipped dove	X	X
Caribbean dove*		X
Olive-throated parakeet*				X
White-fronted parrot*			X				X
Squirrel cuckoo							X
Groove-billed ani							X
Cinnamon hummingbird							X
Citreoline trogon*						X
Turquoise-browed motmot							X
Belted kingfisher	X					X
Yucatan woodpecker*		X					X
Golden-fronted woodpecker*				X			X
Golden-olive woodpecker							X
Ivory-billed woodcreeper*			X
Great kiskadee	X	X					X
Boat-billed flycatcher		X					X
Social flycatcher						X	X
Tropical kingbird		X		X
Yucatan flycatcher*				X
Least flycatcher				X
Royal flycatcher*							X
Rose-throated becard*		X		X
Masked tityra							X
Mangrove swallow						X
Ridgway’s rough-winged swallow*							X
Cave swallow*					X
Yucatan jay*					X		X
Green jay*		X	X				X
Brown jay		X	X
Rufous-browed peppershrike		X
Blue-grey gnatcatcher		X
White-eyed vireo							X
Mangrove vireo*		X				X
Yucatan vireo*		X	X
Grey catbird							X
Tropical mockingbird	X	X			X	X
Clay-coloured thrush							X
Magnolia warbler	X	X	X				X
Black-throated green warbler		X	X			X	X
Yellow-throated warbler*	X	X	X	X	X		X
Palm warbler	X
Black-and-white warbler		X					X
Kentucky warbler		X
Hooded warbler*		X
Common yellowthroat	X
American redstart	X	X	X
Ovenbird		X				X	X
Northern waterthrush	X	X
Yellow-throated euphonia							X
Scrub euphonia							X
Summer tanager*							X
Greyish saltator							X
Black-headed saltator*							X
Rose-breasted grosbeak				X
Indigo bunting		X	X				X
Yellow-faced grassquit							X
Melodious blackbird*	X	X					X
Great-tailed grackle	X	X	X		X	X	X
Yellow-backed oriole*				X			X
Orange oriole*							X
Hooded oriole	X	X		X
Altamira oriole*		X		X			X
Yellow-billed cacique*		X
Totals per site (approx hours in field)	36 (8)	42 (6)	13 (2)	18 (2)	7 (1)	18 (2)	39 (6)