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Birdwatching trip report - MexicoPeriod: 21.1.2007-26.1.2007Author(s): Robert Cates Key sites visited: Yucatan This trip took place in 2007. My wife and I took a one-week trip to Yucatan in January 2007 to give us a chance at birding and non-birding activities. As a result, the birding results will appear a bit anemic compared to other postings for this area but I hope the additional information will prove useful to those planning trips to this wonderful area. This was the first trip to Yucatan for myself, the first time in 20 years for my wife. I was the only birder among us and we were not able to link up with the local bird authorities recommended by others due to scheduling conflicts. Better luck next time. This trip consisted of a series of day trips centering on Merida and therefore concentrates more on the western Peten rather than the more extensively travelled Cancun to Chetumal sites. We are saving that for a special trip. Sites visited on this trip were: Merida metro area Week of Jan 21 to 26, 2007 Chichen Itza Jan 22 Celestun Jan 23 Progresso Jan 24 Uxmal Jan 25 Jardin Botanica Jan 26 Scheduling limited my time in the field and much of the birding I was able to do was, unfortunately, between the hours of 11:00 am and 3:00 pm. (not optimal bird activity times) on each of the days. Early mornings were taken up with other matters and evenings were spent in Merida. TRAVEL I will not repeat the generally helpful information contained on other postings except to say that I found those postings to be generally accurate for our stay. We flew in on Continental from Houston, evading a bad snow storm the whole way from Albuquerque. Travel in and out of the Merida airport was efficient and pleasant. My experience with Continental was perhaps the worst I have had with them in years for many reasons that are not really helpful to others who would be reading this report. Just be persistent with them when weather interferes with your travel plans and travel as light as you can when it comes to carry-ons on the planes. We stayed at the Hotel Dolores Alba in Merida the whole week. We debated whether to exchange one or two of our nights for a stay at their sister hotel at Chichen Itza but ultimately decided to stay put. The accommodations were nice, reliable and the staff helpful. Cost was about US$40/night double occupancy, but there are add-ons for meals (breakfast buffet cost us $2 each per day) and there is an 8% charge for payment by foreign credit card. Next time we would pay the bill with all our remaining Mexican pesos and then the difference on the credit card. This would save some of the 8% surcharge and also reduce the 20% loss in the exchange rate at the Houston Airport (USD to Pesos: $10.00; Pesos to USD: $12.00). It would have saved us nearly $100 in the transactions! We found prices for most things we bought (food, drinks, gifts, etc) comparable to the same items in the US (we live in Albuquerque, New Mexico). The hotel stay was probably the only real price bargain. Gas cost some less, and we had no problems with fabled attempts to falsely reset the gas pumps or other tricks at the Pemex stations. We only filled up in town where that is less likely anyway. Taxi from the airport to the hotel was for a pre-set rate of $13 so there was no risk of having the fare run up. We encountered no problems of any kind with theft, price gouging, panhandling, high pressure street hawkers, con games or condo scams. We found the people of Merida to be a joy and even though we were in the middle of a bustling city with busy traffic, the city runs more efficiently than many similarly sized cities in the US. I drove over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) on this trip without incident, traffic ticket or mordita. I do not speak much Spanish (enough to get by) and my wife, who is Hispanic from Santa Fe, is fluent in the dialect from the US but rusty on how Spanish is spoken in Mexico. (New Mexican spanish has sometimes been compared to Elizabethan English, its correct but oddly out of date compared to how modern Spanish is spoken elsewhere in the world). A steady diet of watching Mexican novellas beforehand is, I am told, the best preparation. I highly recommend Merida as an antidote to the slick overbuilt feel of Cancun. Birding Resources Prior to this trip I visited this site for the first time, and purchased Steve Howell's Bird Finding in Mexico. I also used Peterson and Chalif's Mexican Birds, and to a lesser extent Skutch's guide on Costa Rican birds and Wheatley and Brewers Where to Watch Birds in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. I did not have good materials on bird sounds for the areas and my list reflects that. Overall Birding Conditions Conditions were excellent with some light rain midweek, generally partly cloudy, temps in the range of 90 degree F, and humidity in the 90% range. My wife felt the humidity slowed her down, I did not notice it. Where we live the temps were 15 degrees for overnight lows, altitude of 5,000 ft and humidity is typically 10%. Yet, the differences did not seem to impair our travels. We were in Yucatan during the dry season and found few insects, blooms limited to two or three native trees and lots of bougainvilleas in gardens. We experienced very few species observable from the roadways. Other than vultures overhead we found almost no species on power lines, power poles, tree tops or other conspicuous perching areas. When we did encounter birds they were more likely in singles or pairs and not flocks of any size (except the ubiquitous Grackles). Add to this the fact most birding was done in the middle of the day and our numbers are lower than others who have posted for this area. Another factor kept our numbers down: I am terrible at birding by ear. I never seem to sort out even common species, let alone trust my judgement in an unfamiliar environment. All species listed are confirmed by sight only. Had our guide been able to link with us it likely would have been twice as large. David Bacab did his best to link up with us and to find an alternate when we couldn't get the dates right, and he was readily accessible by email. Next time I am down there I will make sure to look him up. Birds observed. MERIDA. Despite the fact it was a bustling city of wall to wall concrete buildings, even the city held promise on this trip. Our hotel had only two large trees but that was enough to record: Great tailed Grackle, Groove-billed Ani, Ruddy Ground Dove (at your feet during breakfast in the courtyard), White winged Dove, Yucatan (Red-vented) Woodpecker, Rufous tailed Hummingbird, Tropical Mockingbird, Black Vulture and flights of Ridgeways Rough winged Swallow overhead. A couple blocks away at the main square the evening is a riot of raucous Grackle whistles and singing that nearly drowns out the city noise. One flock of Aztec Parakeet seemed to regularly visit the palms at the nearly Hidalgo square at dusk. We did not visit the City Zoo but I have to think that would be a productive location. CHICHEN ITZA. Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures along the way. Most birding was in the parking lot. Social Flycatcher, Clay colored Robin, Brown Jay, Groove billed Ani, Orange Oriole, Ruddy Ground Dove, White winged Dove, Grackles, while in the park were Melodious Blackbird, a small flock of Indigo Bunting and a Yellow-throated Warbler. CELESTUN. Took the boat tour from the visitor center docks (pay boat fee at the gate) and located during the one-hour tour the following: Belted Kingfisher, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Common Loon, Pied billed Grebe, American Coot, Magnificent Frigatebird, Royal Tern, Gull billed Tern, Double crested Cormorant, Tricolored Heron, Green Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Great Black Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Zone tailed Hawk, Black Vulture, Black necked Stilt, and the star of the show: American Flamingo (the boats approach to 100 feet, bring a zoom lens). A nice mangrove tour is included but we struck out on new species there. Mangrove Warbler and Tiger Heron are listed as species to be expected. PROGRESSO. This was a day of swimming and sunbathing for us. Managed to see a Willet, Magnificent Frigatebird, Royal Tern, Gull billed Tern, Laughing Gull, Brown Pelican. Along the lakes on the way back was Plain Chachalaca. UXMAL. The tour here greatly exceeded our expectations. Not as touristy as Chichen Itza, no vendors beyond the gates, and you get to climb the pyramid. Howell's does not mention it but if you continue beyond the ruins group on the west side there is a nice forest trail that went at least a half mile and gave us most of our bird finds, many that are not on his lists for the area. With more time and a better time of day this could be a very productive route. Species include: Violaceous Trogon, Turquoise browed Motmot, Hooded Oriole, Orange Oriole, Vermilion Flycatcher, Golden fronted Woodpecker, Squirrel Cuckoo, Spotted Wood Quail, Yucatan Jay, Cave Swallows, White winged Dove, Social Flycatcher. JARDIN BOTANICA. We drove the toll road from Merida to Playa del Carmen and back. This entail paying four tolls to a grand total of US$52! The free road costs less but makes a much longer day. Unfortunately, the Jardin was VERY QUIET when we were there so few of the finds others reported from this location. We did see Barred Forest Falcon, Palm Warbler, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Black Catbird, Hermit Warbler and American Redstart. Four of these were lifebirds for me but given the expense and miles travelled, I felt this was the big missed opportunity of the trip. The forest is largely dead from the Yucatan/Quintana Roo state line to the east along the toll road. I have found nothing on the Internet that mentions or accounts for this, but as compared to Yucatan the condition of the forest is as if it were hit by widespread manmade (Milpa farms?) or ecological disaster (Hurrican Wilma? Fungus? Beetles?). I am still curious to know what caused this die off. OVERALL this trip added 20 species to my Lifelist (now at 548); bumped my Central American list to 175 (based on three trips); and includes seven endemics or near endemics. Six of my lifebirds came from downtown Merida! Based on this trip, I have to conclude that Grackles represent half the avian biomass on the peninsula. But that's okay because they are a bird from my childhood so I have always had a soft spot for them. I hope this trip report proves useful to those planning a trip to the area, especially if you are looking for an alternative to the Cancun experience. This was a week well spent for us and we will have very fond memories of the area. Robert G. Cates, Esq. Albuquerque, New Mexico USA |
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