Location
This report, or more accurately, mini-report, covers a very small area: the southern coastal zone of the Yucatan Peninsula from Tulum to Felipe Carillo. It will perhaps be of interest as an update to those who have already seen more extensive reports from the region, or looked at Howell’s “Where to Watch Birds in Mexico”.
Context
It’s best to admit upfront that I have become, due to limited fault of my own, quite middle-aged. My last truly serious birding escapade ended in April 2005, although it did start in January of 2003 (a 27 month birding trip – from Bonaire to Kenya – it was quite fruitful). Since then, I have produced two children, and there have been no more truly hardcore avian adventures, other than one attempt to construct a bird table from IKEA. So this (return) trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in May 2012 was more about teaching infants how not to drown; preserving my marital status; and pursuing a personal goal to extract maximum value from the pre-paid bar service at Dreams Resort, Tulum, than serious birding.
That said, I managed a few excursions which produced at least 114 species. Whenever I set out birding, I was at least able to focus on that pursuit alone, so the information below is from dedicated field visits, manhandling Swarovskis, rather than opportunistic sightings, manhandling a pushchair.
Travel information
I’ve had a look through other trip reports, and I know that it can be popular to tell tales about which airline I squeezed myself into for a saving of a dollar or two, which hotel I stayed at, and where I had the best nachos. But, having checked back through my…err, travel ‘itinerary’…I am pretty certain that there is really very little virtue or value to anyone else in me revealing which website I used for my own cheap flights. BUT my one seriously useful tip is this: BEWARE the Mexican Police hire car flag-down scam. Luckily, I read about this before leaving for the Yucatan, which was fortunate, as it happened to us.
Basically, the police, at least, those on the principal highway which parallels the coast along the Yucatan Peninsula, target rental vehicles as alleged ‘speeding violators’. These guys make it their business to get to know the cars fairly well - especially near the airport at Cancun – and pull you over at a roadblock, telling you that you have been caught speeding. As the traffic is usually solid, clearly you haven’t. But, it’s their word against yours, and they know that you have a flight to catch, plus they expect that you will be scared. They will suggest a price that you pay in order to avoid being prosecuted, and they will take your passport and driving licence. Our personal head policeman (I suspect they rotate the position) started the bidding at just $200US, and then casually opened the rear doors of the cars to say “hola” to my 3 and 5 year old children, cowering in the back. What a pal.
First: stay cool. You know you weren’t speeding. DO NOT give over any money. They are looking for an easy target. So, play a little harder to get. Here’s the good news: you cannot be charged for any offence without paperwork, so ask for it in writing. This might lead the canny officer to try and bluff you by saying that you will need to accompany them to their local station. They know that you will be worried that you will miss your flight, but agree to this. Even, as I did, insist on it. Bring up the suggestion yourself. At this they will glance off to the distance, spit out a pistachio nut shell, and scrape the dirt with one of their regulation boots. Maybe even slump their shoulders a little, as it’s quite hot out there. There is no way that, without any evidence, they will try to book you officially.
They really, really, do NOT want you in their precinct, and on their books. Scams don’t look good in official records, and the officers don’t get to share out the money. Remember that, with a political framework acutely aware of charges, especially from abroad, of corruption, no ‘official’ money should ever change hands without paperwork. So, if the nice officers still insist on instant financial gratification, ask, nicely, for an official police receipt. Say that you are quite happy to go with the officer to collect it. Maybe you need it for your employer, rental agency, or insurance agent (really? well, anything to test the legitimacy of their claim). Don’t let them persuade you otherwise – ask for a proper record. They are very likely, as they did with us, to want rid of you rapido. You are now a time-waster, an inconvenience, and no longer a soft target. Other soft targets are speeding by, unmolested. You are proving to be a problem, and they will want to get rid of you. Now, back to birding.
Resources
I always allow luggage space for hefty birding tomes, so defaulted to Howell and Webb and the Peterson field guide. The former is heavy, but very, very useful for the small print on vocalisation, ranges, habitat and behaviour. A very good synopsis of useful field books is here: http://bit.ly/ZsHcHU. I also took a source which showed images/descriptions of many US summer migrants, as these are often not shown on Mexican guides, and I would emphasise that this is very important (National Geographic Birds of North America) if you are not familiar with what are so often (irritatingly) called ‘American migrants’, which ignores the fact that this whole continent is the Americas, and that migration tends to be a two-way process.
I used Steve Howell’s “Where to See Birds in Mexico” although it’s not that imperative in this region. Good sites tend to fall into three categories: posted and protected reserves; archaeological sites; and little-used and undisturbed track-ways. The first two can be found by anyone, as they are mapped and signed, and the latter by feeling your way around the area, as I did – assuming that you have a vehicle. Dive down any solid looking road off the one arterial route, Carretera Federal, (the Mexico 307), and you are likely to find something of interest. Bear in mind that I am talking about the stretch south of the busy, and expanding, town of Playa del Carmen. Nowadays labelled the Riviera Maya, this ribbon of land has recently become the domain for one after another all-inclusive super-resorts. Roads which do not lead into quite extensively developed areas are few and far between – but they are there if you look for them.
Sites
Tulum (TU)
As described here, TU, denoting Tulum, refers to the area around the town of that name, not the archaeological site of the same name. I didn’t venture into the Mayan ruins simply because I didn’t want the company of so many other visitors. TU is a collective term for the town itself and its immediate environs, which included my own all-inclusive resort. Did I mention that the drinks were pre-paid? Never mind that – my focus was always accurate.
If you choose to vacation at such a resort around Tulum, you will find that most are embedded into sparse, sandy coastal scrub, rather than the dense mangroves north of Playa del Carmen. The Mayan Riviera is far less developed than the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula around Cancun, and the habitat is far less disturbed. Resorts tend to be spaced out, with quite extensive stretches of beach and dry scrub between them. Birding can be hot, and exposed, but it’s still worth setting out. That said: it is still pretty degraded. This zone feels more like land which will soon become another complex than a habitat which qualify for conservation status. Beaches are strewn with urban jetsam, but at least there aren’t that many people. Shorebirds still stop by (Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings were all the rage in late April), a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl was hunting from a palm tree beside crashing surf, and I was surprised by a Black-billed Cuckoo in the thickets just a couple of hundred metres inland from the beach. It’s worth the effort to get out, but it might not be a must-see destination.
On the other, inland, side of the highway, the coastal environment rapidly gives way to dry, mid-height broad-leaved forest. Species mix here is markedly different from the seaside bush.
Within the extensive grounds of our resort (Dreams Tulum), I was able to see, with relative ease, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Yucatan Woodpecker, Yucatan Jay, Altimira Oriole and Yellow-throated Euphonia. Literally just across the highway, by foot, a number of trails afforded Plain Chachalacas, Lesser Nighthawk, Black-headed Trogon and Spot-breasted Wren along with the more expected locals.
Vigia Chico Road, Felipe Carrillo Puerto (VCR)
This site is as described in Steve Howell’s ‘Where to watch birds in Mexico’. The good news is that, since Howell wrote about this as long ago as 1996, the environment appears to have changed little. However, in terms of directions, it is important to note that as you approach the settlement of Felipe Carrillo from Tulum on the main Cancun – Chetumal Highway (Carretera Federal 307), go straight over the first ‘glorieta’ (roundabout) that you encounter – do NOT take the left as Howell appears to indicate. It will lead you into suburbs, and confusion, maybe even mild sweaty panic if the sun is about to rise and you are now lost. As you approach the town centre, the second roundabout is where you take the third exit (left). This is quite a major junction, unlike the first roundabout, which I suppose has been built since SH toured the area more than twenty years ago.
The road is still un-surfaced, and still starts to get very interesting immediately at the edge of town (about 1km from the roundabout, still exactly as described in Howell). I arrived at about 6am, and it was still a little bit too blurry and dim to be able to reliably separate species. However, once the light breaks, it can be almost intimidatingly busy as doves, saltators, woodpeckers, sparrows and orioles flit consistently and noisily from one perch to the next. Unfortunately, this is also the most populous part of the trail, and it seems that Mexican schoolchildren, and their dogs, do need to get on the road really quite early.
It takes a few kilometres to get into the taller trees, where activity subsides. It’s worth staying out of the trees for a little while if you are trying to separate Blue from Ruddy Ground-Doves – both found moving carefully in the nearby scrappy fields - often together, and Olive from Green-backed Sparrow. These two species are less likely to be together and require immense vigilance as they tend to skulk low down in dense vegetation or right on the ground – even when it has been burned (where I saw the more populous Olive Sparrows). Once you are into the long, tree-lined avenue, visibility is restricted, and little has changed from the narrative in Howell. This is good – it goes on for kilometres. Even the descriptions of the side-routes are still accurate, and you are still only accompanied by one or two vehicles an hour.
My personal highlight was two Keel-billed Toucans landing to examine me from just 10 metres away, and a Rose-throated Tanager diving to the road to performing a quite bizarre dust-spraying routine to no doubt attempt lead me away from her nest. Olive-throated Parakeets were seen easily, as was Canivet’s Emerald, and Golden-fronted, Yucatan, Smoky-brown, Pale-billed and Lineated Woodpeckers. Yucatan Flycatcher was also simple, and I was pleased to see both White-bellied Wood-wren and White-browed Wren as well as Dicksissel, which I had not expected in early May.
There appears to have been little development along the road, although I didn’t explore every track. I didn’t make it as far as the gate to Sian Ka’an because activity had really died off by 11.30, and it had taken me five hours to drive, stealthily, about 18 kms.
Muyil (MY)
Muyil is one of the less significant (apparently) archaeological sites on the Yucatan. I had heard that some of the historical sights did not charge entry on Mondays, and I don’t know if that is true, but there was no-one on the gates of Muyil by 6am. You are surrounded by small stone structures and open, well-tended spaces as soon as you are inside the perimeter, unlike sites such as Coba which have long introductory avenues. Sight-lines across the cleared areas are good, although there is little in the way of decent ground cover.
As the gates were open, I had the place to myself (in human terms, at least). The immediate area is surrounded by tall trees, so the light takes a while to penetrate through, but it is worth waiting a while in the central plaza – reached after only about 3 minutes – as it soon becomes frenetic with avian life. Many species here are the more common flycatchers, Brown Jay, Clay-coloured and Swainson’s Thrush, and the common grackles, blackbirds and orioles.
The grounds are not extensive, and can be toured in a vaguely circular route. One interesting single-track trail located at the far left (north) edges of the site dipped out of bounds through dense low-level thickets, clearly heading towards the mangroves and the sea. Mosquitoes were only a problem in this area, although, sadly, their numbers increased in directly opposite proportions to the amount of birdlife. However, I suspect that there will be species present here that would not be so apparent in the main, taller-treed and drier complex grounds.
Between 6am and 8.30am there were quiet spells. Even a vast ant swarm attracted no morning feeders, and this site is probably never going to be amongst the most productive in the region. However it was the only place where I saw Collared Aracari and Eye-ringed Flatbill. Worth a visit, if not the highlight of your trip.
Thicket Tinamou
Plain Chachalaca
Brown Pelican
Magnificent Frigatebird
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Little Blue Heron
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Gray-headed Kite
Grey Hawk
Royal Tern
Laughing Gull
Black-bellied Plover
Spotted Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Laughing Gull
White-winged Dove
Common Ground-Dove
Ruddy Ground-Dove
Blue Ground-Dove
Red-billed Pigeon
Olive-thrtd Parakeet
Black-billed Cuckoo
Groove-billed Ani
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
Lesser Nighthawk
Vaux's Swift
Wedge-tailed Sabrewing
Canivet's Emerald
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Black-headed Trogon
Collared Trogon
Turquoise-browed Motmot
Belted Kingfisher
Keel-billed Toucan
Collared Aracari
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Yucatan Woodpecker
Smoky-brown Woodpecker
Pale-billed Woodpecker
Lineated Woodpecker
Northern Bentbill
Eye-ringed Flatbill
Eastern Wood-pewee
Yellow-bellied Elaenia
Bright-rumped Attila
Yucatan Flycatcher
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Northern Beardless-tyrannulet
Great Kiskadee
Streaked Flycatcher
Social Flycatcher
Tropical Kingbird
Couch's Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Black-crowned Tityra
Rose-throated Becard
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Northern (Ridgeway's) Swallow
Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Green Jay
Brown Jay
Yucatan Jay
Spot-breasted Wren
White-bellied Wood-wren
White-browed Wren
Tropical Gnatcatcher
Clay-colored Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Tropical Mockingbird
Lesser Greenlet
Mangrove Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow-green Vireo
Rufous-browed Peppershrike
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Gray-crowned Yellowthroat
Yellow-throated Euphonia
Red-throated Ant Tanager
Rose-throated Tanager
Red-legged Honeycreeper
Greyish Saltator
Black-headed Saltator
White-collared Seedeater
Olive Sparrow
Green-backed Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Dickcissel
Melodious Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Bronzed Cowbird
Black-cowled Oriole
Altamira Oriole
Orange Oriole
Yellow-tailed Oriole