The group at the Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal. Photo by Brian Rapoza
Trip Leaders
Alexander Dzib, ornithologist and Yucatan bird guide
Brian Rapoza, Tropical Audubon Society Field Trip Coordinator
Trip Participants
Tanya Burnett (PA), Barbara and Ted Center (FL), Anna and Michael James (CT), Penelope Jarrett (FL), Karen Lawrence (FL), John Mangold (FL), Ann Wiley (FL), Sharon Wohl (FL)
Ten birders joined me for this tour, which began on Cozumel and ended in Merida, we visited five different Mayan archeological sites, each one more spectacular than the one before. Along the way, we saw or heard over 200 different birds, including twenty species or subspecies that are endemic or near-endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula: Black-throated Bobwhite, Ocellated Turkey, Mexican Sheartail, Cozumel Emerald, Yucatan Woodpecker, Yellow-lored Parrot, Yucatan Flycatcher, Cozumel Vireo, Yucatan Vireo, Yucatan Jay, Ridgeway’s Rough-winged Swallow, Yucatan Gnatcatcher, House (Cozumel) Wren, Carolina (White-browed) Wren, Yucatan Wren, Black Catbird, Orange Oriole, Yellow (Golden) Warbler, Rose-throated Tanager and Gray-throated Chat.
Other primarily neotropical species we encountered during the trip include Thicket Tinamou, Plain Chachalaca, Singing Quail, American Flamingo, White-crowned and Red-billed Pigeon, Ruddy Ground-Dove, White-tipped, Caribbean and White-winged Dove, Groove-billed Ani, Pheasant, Squirrel and Mangrove Cuckoo, Lesser Roadrunner, Common Pauraque, Northern Potoo, Green-breasted Mango, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Canivet’s and White-bellied Emerald, Rufous-tailed, Buff-bellied and Cinnamon Hummingbird, Ruddy Crake, Rufous-necked and Russet-naped Wood-Rail, Limpkin, Wood Stork, Neotropic Cormorant, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Reddish Egret, Boat-billed Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, King and Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Snail Kite, Common Black-Hawk, Roadside, Gray and Short-tailed Hawk, Middle American Screech-Owl, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Mottled Owl, Black-headed and Gartered Trogon, Tody, Lesson’s and Turquoise-browed Motmot, White-necked Puffbird, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Keel-billed Toucan, Ringed, Green and American Pygmy Kingfisher, Golden-fronted, Ladder-backed, Smoky-brown, Golden-Olive, Chestnut-colored, Lineated and Pale-billed Woodpecker, Olive-throated Parakeet, White-fronted Parrot, Collared Forest Falcon, Laughing and Bat Falcon, Northern Schiffornis, Masked Tityra, Rose-throated Becard, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Northern Bentbill, Eye-ringed Flatbill, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, Greenish, Caribbean and Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Bright-rumped Atilla, Yellow-olive, Boat-billed, Social, Vermilion and Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Tropical and Couch’s Kingbird, Tropical Pewee, Barred Antshrike, Olivaceous, Ruddy, Tawny-winged and Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Lesser Greenlet, Mangrove Vireo, Brown and Green Jay, Mangrove Swallow, White-browed Gnatcatcher, Spot-breasted and White-bellied Wren, Tropical Mockingbird, Clay-colored Thrush, Scrub and Yellow-throated Euphonia, Olive and Green-backed Sparrow, Yellow-billed Cacique, Black-cowled, Hooded and Altamira Oriole, Melodious Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, Yellow (Mangrove) Warbler, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Western Spindalis, Blue-gray and Yellow-winged Tanager, Blue Bunting, Blue-black and Yellow-faced Grassquit, Bananaquit, Morelet’s Seedeater and Black-headed and Cinnamon-bellied Saltator.
We also saw many North American breeders that winter in the Yucatan Peninsula, including Blue-winged Teal, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Black-bellied Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Herring Gull, Caspian and Forster’s Tern, American White Pelican, American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Great-crested, Yellow-bellied, Least and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireo, Tree Swallow, Gray Catbird, Wood Thrush, Orchard and Baltimore Oriole, Worm-eating, Black-and-white, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hooded, Magnolia, Yellow, Palm, Yellow-throated and Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Summer Tanager, Rose-breasted and Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting.
In addition, ten mammals were seen and identified during the tour: Collared Peccary, Jaguarundi, Yucatan Squirrel, Black Howler Monkey, Central American Agouti, White-nosed Coati, Gray Fox, Four-eyed Opossum, Northern Tamandua and Bottle-nosed Dolphin.
Daily Summaries (names in bold indicates the group’s first encounter with that species)
Day 1 – Thursday, January 20
I accompanied eight of the ten participants on the flight from Miami to the island of Cozumel, off the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Upon arrival at Cozumel International Airport, we were shuttled to Hotel Villa Blanca, our beachside home for the next two nights. Two other participants had arrived in Mexico a couple of days earlier and met us at the hotel. We were also met at the hotel by our local guide, Alex Dzib, and our driver, Tino.
After receiving our room assignments, a few of us birded the hotel grounds before dinner and had our first glimpses of Cozumel Emerald, a hummingbird found only on Cozumel. Other birds found around the hotel included White-crowned Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove, Green-breasted Mango, Black Vulture, Cattle Egret, White Ibis, Yucatan Woodpecker, Tropical Kingbird, Yucatan Vireo, Tropical Mockingbird, Melodious Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Tennessee, Magnolia, Yellow and Yellow-throated Warbler and Bananaquit. We also checked out the beach across the street, adding Ruddy Turnstone, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern and Brown Pelican to our trip list. Dinner was at a rooftop restaurant just a short walk from the hotel.
Day 2 – Friday, January 21
While assembling the group for our morning outing, we spotted a few birds around the hotel grounds not seen yesterday, including Ruddy Ground-Dove, White-fronted Parrot, Great Kiskadee, Black Catbird and Yellow-faced Grassquit. Our exploration of Cozumel began along a road at the north end of the island, not far from the airport. Ruddy Crake, a species of rail more often heard than seen, was very conspicuous there; we spotted several scurrying across the road. This stop also produced our only Cozumel Wren, a subspecies of House Wren endemic to Cozumel. Other birds seen in this area included Cozumel Emerald, Black-necked Stilt, Snowy Egret, Turkey Vulture, Yucatan Woodpecker, Olive-throated Parakeet, Black Catbird, Western Spindalis, Common Yellowthroat and Palm Warbler. We also saw a few Collared Peccary along the road, our first mammal of the trip.
We then visited San Gervasio, an archeological site in the interior of the island. During Mayan times, this site was the religious and administrative center for all of Cozumel. We kept an eye out for birds while touring the ruins and found several in surrounding forest, including another Cozumel endemic – Cozumel Vireo. Other birds recorded there included Cozumel Emerald, Northern Beardless Tyrannulet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black and Gray Catbird, Worm-eating, Black-and-white, Hooded and Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Cardinal and Yellow-faced Grassquit.
After lunch in San Miguel, the main town on Cozumel, we visited an area near the southern end of the island. New birds encountered there included Caribbean and Yellow-bellied Elaenia, Common Ground-Dove, Groove-billed Ani, Lesser Goldfinch, Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting. We then returned to our hotel, where Alex gave a presentation on a possible new subspecies of Yellow Warbler he discovered on Cozumel. After the presentation, we had dinner at a restaurant near the main plaza in San Miguel.
Day 3 – Saturday, January 22
We added a few new trip birds this morning before leaving Cozumel, including a Couch’s Kingbird at the hotel, Caribbean Dove, Mangrove Cuckoo and Rufous-browed Peppershrike during a walk around an abandoned subdivision south of the hotel and Magnificent Frigatebird, Osprey (Ridgeway’s race) and Rock Pigeon on the drive to the ferry terminal in San Miguel. The ferry ride to the mainland took less than an hour; A few Sanderlings on the Playa del Carmen ferry dock were the first new birds seen upon arrival.
The van that awaited us in Playa del Carmen was a tight squeeze for the group and all our luggage (this would be resolved tomorrow), but we made the best of it as we made the long drive south to Chetumal, near the border with Belize. To save time, we had lunch (sandwiches and cold drinks) while we drove. We made a couple of birding stops along the way; the first was at Vigia Chico Road, which provides access to Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. Unfortunately, it began to rain not long after we arrived, so we didn’t have an opportunity to experience this area for as long as hoped. We still managed to find a few new birds, including Russet-naped Wood-Rail, Collared Forest-Falcon, Tropical Pewee, Least and Social Flycatcher, Scrub Euphonia, Rose-throated Tanager and Gray-throated Chat.
Our second stop was at Siijil Noh Ha, located south of the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto on Ocom Lagoon. Fortunately, it stopped raining just before we arrived. Birds found there included Squirrel Cuckoo, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, White-bellied Emerald, Roadside Hawk, Black-headed Trogon, Smoky-brown Woodpecker, Barred Antshrike, Lesser Greenlet, Mangrove Vireo, Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Ridgeway’s race) and Yellow-billed Cacique. We also had much more satisfactory looks at both Russet-naped Wood-Rail and Gray-throated Chat. We arrived after sunset at the Fiesta Inn in Chetumal, our base for the next two nights, and had dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Day 4 – Sunday, January 23
The birding locations we visited today (in a more spacious van delivered overnight) were all north of Chetumal, so we had to backtrack on the same road we drove yesterday. A Red-billed Pigeon was seen near the hotel before we left. Our first stop was in the village of Pedro Santos, which provided both a restroom break and several new trip birds, including Plain Chachalaca, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Masked Tityra, Boat-billed Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Clay-colored Thrush, Altamira Oriole, Summer Tanager and Cinnamon-bellied Saltator.
We then continued north to the Noh-Bec Lagoon area, which brought more new birds, including Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Northern Shiffornis, Northern Bentbill, Yellow-throated Vireo, White-browed Gnatcatcher, Spot-breasted Wren, Black-cowled Oriole, Blue Bunting and Black-headed Saltator, plus much better views of Rose-throated Tanager. We had a picnic lunch beside the lagoon, where we added Limpkin, Neotropic Cormorant and Blue-gray Tanager.
After lunch, we headed back towards Chetumal, stopping at Bacalar Lagoon, known as “The Lake of Seven Colors.” We took a boat ride around the lagoon, adding Caspian Tern, Roseate Spoonbill, Snail Kite, Belted and Green Kingfisher and Mangrove Swallow to our growing bird list. Dinner tonight was at a restaurant near the hotel.
Day 5 – Monday, January 24
Today was another travel day, this time crossing state borders (as well as time zones) as we drove west from Chetumal in Quintana Roo to Xpujil in Campeche. The drive was shorter than two days earlier, though, so we had more time for birding. On the drive to our first birding stop at Caobas, an area of tropical forest close to the border with Belize and Guatemala, a Ringed Kingfisher was spotted on the side of the road. We turned around so everyone could see it, and found several other new birds, including Hooded Oriole, Blue-black Grassquit and Morelet’s Seedeater. Not long after, while taking a restroom break at a gas station, Alex found a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
We eventually reached the forest near Caobas; on the road into the forest, some in the van spotted a Jaguarundi running across the road in front of us. At our first birding stop, Alex heard an Ornate Hawk-Eagle calling and quickly spotted this magnificent raptor circling overhead. Other birds seen there included Canivet’s Emerald, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Gartered Trogon, Bat Falcon and Bright-rumped Atilla. We next stopped in an area where Alex had found Tody Motmot in the past. He found one, but it took some effort to get everyone on it. A Black-headed Trogon was also seen there. At our last stop, a known area for Rufous-tailed Jacamar, we eventually found one and had great looks, but it once again took a little longer than expected. A couple of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were also present.
After lunch at a restaurant in Xpujil, we drove a few more miles west to Chicanna Ecovillage Resort, where we would stay for the next two nights. A pair of Pale-billed Woodpeckers and a noisy flock of Brown Jays greeted us at the entrance. After checking in, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Mayan archeological site adjacent to the resort. Among the birds found there were Olivaceous and Ruddy Woodcreeper, Kentucky Warbler and Red-throated Ant-Tanager. Dinner was at the restaurant at the lodge
Day 6 – Tuesday, January 25
Today was devoted to an exploration of Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, located just north of the Guatemala border and part of the largest expanse of neotropical forest outside of the Amazon Basin. Our visit required an early start, a boxed breakfast and a picnic lunch. We arrived at the entrance gate at dawn, ate breakfast, then transferred into another van for the 60-kilometer drive to the reserve’s impressive Mayan archeological site. Just past a checkpoint about 20 km from the entrance, we encountered our first group of Ocellated Turkey. Though these birds were undoubtably wild, they fearlessly strutted right up to us! We saw three other groups of these colorful t urkeys during the drive. Other birds encountered during stops along the road included Keel-billed Toucan, Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Yucatan Jay and Carolina (White-browed) Wren. Mammals spotted along the road included Central American Agouti and White-nosed Coati.
We spent the rest of the morning touring the archeological site and searching for birds, adding White-tipped Dove, Common Gallinule, Green Heron, King Vulture (circling over the pyramids), Short-tailed Hawk, Mottled Owl (day roosting near one of the pyramids), Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Stub-tailed Spadebill (heard), Eye-ringed Flatbill, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Yellow-throated Euphonia, Baltimore Oriole and Northern Waterthrush. We also had great looks at a troop of Black Howler Monkeys.
After the tour, we were driven back to the entrance gate, had lunch, then drove back to the lodge, where some rested while others birded the grounds. A White-necked Puffbird was among birds seen around the lodge. Before dinner, Alex gave a presentation highlighting the resident and migrant birds of the Yucatan. After dinner, some in the group went night birding with Alex around the lodge; we found a Northern Potoo perched on the lodge’s observation tower overlooking the swimming pool.
Day 7 – Wednesday, January 26
We began today with some pre-breakfast birding around the lodge. Birds encountered this morning included Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Keel-billed Toucan, Lineated Woodpecker, Yellow-lored Parrot, Rose-throated Becard, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Green-backed Sparrow, Yellow-winged Tanager and Orange Oriole, (in a feeding flock with four previously seen orioles: Black-cowled, Hooded, Altamira and Baltimore). We also heard a Thicket Tinamou calling in the forest.
After breakfast, we loaded the van and began our drive north to Uxmal. The drive on an old, narrow road took us through agricultural areas in the midsection of the peninsula, with areas of forest transitioning from tropical to dry. Birds spotted along the road included Little Blue Heron, Gray Hawk, Laughing Falcon, American Kestrel, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Fork-tailed Flycatcher. We also saw a couple of Gray Fox during the drive. At mid-day, we visited an archeological site at Hochob, where we birded while exploring the site, then had lunch. Birds seen during our visit included Lesser Roadrunner, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Gray-crowned Yellowthroat and Morelet’s Seedeater. A Ladder-backed Woodpecker was heard.
Upon arrival in Uxmal, we checked into the Hotel Maya Uxmal, our base for the next two nights. A Vaux’s Swift was seen over the hotel grounds by one participant. Dinner this evening was at the hotel.
Day 8 – Thursday, January 27
Just like yesterday, our first birding excursion of the day was before breakfast, a pattern we would follow for the rest of the trip. We birded along a road not far from our hotel. Not long after we arrived, we heard a Pheasant Cuckoo calling and walked down a dirt track to see if we could find it. It never came into view, but we had glimpses of our first Green Jay while there. We also found fresh Jaguar tracks in this area. Other birds seen along the road included Plain Chachalaca, White-bellied Emerald, Lineated Woodpecker, White-fronted and Yellow-lored Parrot, Rose-throated Becard, Yucatan Flycatcher, Yucatan Jay, Cave Swallow, Orange and Altamira Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. A Turquoise-browed Motmot was spotted by one sharp-eyed participant on the drive back to the hotel; after turning the van around so that everyone could see it, we re-found it perched on an electrical wire across the street from where it was initially seen.
After breakfast, we toured Uxmal’s Mayan archeological site, arguably the most awe-inspiring of all the ruins we visited. Though we saw hundreds of Cave Swallows soaring above us as we explored the palaces, pyramids and courtyards that made up this sprawling site, we found few other birds there, as most of the surrounding forest was behind fences that prevented access. A pair of Masked Tityra, spotted in the parking lot as we were leaving, was the only species of note.
After lunch at a nearby restaurant, we returned to the hotel for the afternoon. Some of the group chose to take advantage of the hotel’s pool, while others joined Alex for some birding around the hotel and along a dirt road that led into the surrounding forest. Most of the birds seen were species recorded previously, but two were not: Lesson’s Motmot, the third of the three motmots possible on this tour, and Singing Quail, a bird heard much more often than seen. The individual we saw was seen well enough to be photographed.
Before dinner, Alex gave a presentation on bird conservation and education efforts in the Yucatan. After dinner, some of us joined Alex for some night birding along the same road we explored that morning. Unfortunately, a light rain kept bird activity down. We found a Common Pauraque along the road and heard a Middle American Screech-Owl in a roadside patch of forest, but we failed to find two other target birds: Yucatan Nightjar and Yucatan Poorwill.
Day 9 – Friday, January 28
As we assembled this morning for another walk around the hotel grounds, at least two Pheasant Cuckoos were calling nearby, but neither could be found. We eventually ended up on the same dirt road taken yesterday afternoon. Three new birds were added there: Golden-olive Woodpecker, giving us the eighth of the eight possible woodpeckers on this tour, Greenish Elaenia, the third of the three possible elaenias, and Olive Sparrow, whose “bouncing ball” song was heard, but it never came into view. When we returned to the hotel, we made one last attempt to find a Pheasant Cuckoo. This time, some of us were able to obtain partial views of one!
After breakfast, we packed up the van and began the drive to Celestun, a coastal community in the northeast corner of the peninsula, and Alex’s hometown. On the way, we briefly stopped in the village of Chunchucmil, where, in habitat similar to that around Hochob, a Ladder-backed Woodpecker was heard, and a Gray-crowned Yellowthroat was seen. Closer to Celestun, we saw a Northern Tamandua (a type of anteater) crossing the road.
Along a mangrove forest near the Celestun River, we found a rather elusive Rufous-necked Wood Rail that kept running ahead of us through the mangroves as we struggled to obtain satisfying looks. Several other birds were seen there, including Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Boat-billed Heron and an adorable American Pygmy Kingfisher. Even more birds were found at an overlook on the north side of the Celestun River bridge, including Blue-winged Teal, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Little Blue and Tricolored Heron, Reddish Egret, Mangrove Vireo and Yellow Warbler (Mangrove race).
After lunch at a beachside restaurant in Celestun (where we saw a Bottle-nosed Dolphin frolicking offshore), we drove to an area of coastal dune habitat north of town. Just as we arrived, Alex spotted a small covey of Black-throated Bobwhite just off the road, but by the time we backed up the van, they had disappeared. While exploring this area, we heard one in the distance, but we never saw one. As consolation, we saw all of our other targets in this habitat, including Mexican Sheartail, Yucatan Gnatcatcher and Yucatan Wren. Other birds seen in this area included Groove-billed Ani, Canivet’s Emerald, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Olive-throated Parakeet, Ladder-backed Woodpecker (finally seen!) and Vermilion Flycatcher.
We then visited a section of Celestun River Biosphere Reserve, where we found our first American Flamingos! Four birds were quite close; we also saw several large flocks in the distance flying to their nighttime roosting area. Other birds seen there included Mexican Sheartail, Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling, Laughing and Herring Gull, Caspian, Forster’s and Sandwich Tern, Double-crested Cormorant, Brown and American White Pelican and Merlin. With darkness descending, we headed back to Celestun. First, we stopped at the B & B Alex runs, where we met his family and watched several videos Alex helped to create about his work with flamingos. We then checked into our hotel (Hotel Don Gonzalo) and had dinner at the same restaurant where we had lunch.
Day 10 – Saturday, January 29
We returned this morning to the coastal dune area we visited yesterday, hoping to find a Black-throated Bobwhite, but they continued to elude us. We had no problem finding most of the other species seen there yesterday, including Mexican Sheartail, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Vermilion Flycatcher, Yucatan Gnatcatcher and Yucatan Wren.
After breakfast at the hotel, we drove down to the Celestun River and boarded two boats that would take us to an area upriver where flamingos congregated during the day. The tide was low, so the river was teeming with wading birds, gulls, terns, cormorants and pelicans, including Laughing Gull, Royal and Sandwich Tern, Wood Stork, Double-crested and Neotropic Cormorant, Brown and American White Pelican, Great and Snowy Egret, Great Blue, Little Blue and Tricolored Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis and Roseate Spoonbill. As the boatmen sped us upriver, we could see long ribbons of pink in the distance. In a matter of minutes, we were upon them; thousands upon thousands of American Flamingos feeding in the shallows. Even more breathtaking was when something unknown spooked the flock and they rose into the air in a blizzard of pink, only to settle down again minutes later.
After soaking up the flamingo spectacle, the boatmen took us through a narrow channel to a boardwalk that provided access into the interior of the mangrove forest lining the river. Birds seen in this area included Magnificent Frigatebird, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Common Black Hawk, American Pygmy and Green Kingfisher, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Black-cowled Oriole and Northern Waterthrush.
After checking out of our hotel and lunch at another beachside restaurant in town, we drove east to Merida, the largest city on the Yucatan Peninsula. We made two birding stops along the way. One stop was at a location known for Yellow-tailed Oriole, but after walking a short but muddy trail to a sinkhole, the only bird seen was a Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet. Our second stop was one last try for Black-throated Bobwhite. We struck out again on the bobwhite; birds we saw included Olive-throated Parakeet, Vermilion Flycatcher, Scrub Euphonia, Lesser Goldfinch and Altamira Oriole.
Upon reaching Merida, we checked into our hotel (Hotel Casa Balam). Before dinner, those of us flying home tomorrow (three participants were not) were given a Covid test, as required for entry back into the U.S. Thankfully, all of us tested negative. Our farewell dinner was at a restaurant that was walking distance from the hotel.
Day 11 – Sunday, January 30
All of us flying home today were on the same mid-afternoon flight to Miami, so after breakfast, Alex took some of us on a walking tour that included a visit to Merida’s Grand Plaza. We took our binoculars, of course, and found several birds in the tree-lined plaza, including White-winged Dove, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Social Flycatcher, Tropical Mockingbird, Clay-colored Thrush, Hooded and Orchard Oriole, Yellow-throated Warbler and Summer and Blue-gray Tanager. It was a nice way to end the trip.
By trip’s end, we had produced a trip list of 216 birds. A list of the birds seen on this tour, along with eBird checklists for every location visited can be viewed at TAS Yucatan Tour - eBird Trip Report.
Thanks to Tanya Burnett for her photographs imbedded in the checklists, and to Ted Center and John Mangold, whose photos are viewable on their Flickr pages. Ted's photos are here, and John's photos are here.
Thanks to Holbrook Travel, and in particular Specialty Travel Consultant Debbie Jordan for making all the arrangements for this tour, and especially for hiring Alex and Tino as our guide and driver. Both worked tirelessly for us. Alex not only demonstrated to us his exceptional skills as a bird guide, but he also shared with us at every opportunity his vast knowledge of Mayan history, culture and cuisine, as well as his passion for protecting the Yucatan’s wildlife and the habitats where they are found.