The YUCATÁN, the LACANDÓN, & COZUMEL
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The YUCATÁN, the LACANDÓN, & COZUMEL: a Tropical Birding private tour. 8–19 February 2010 Leader: Michael Retter Photos and report by Michael Retter This private tour is very similar to our set- departure Yucatán tour combined with its Cozumel extensi on, but it was more target-intensive, faster-paced, and included only one morning on Cozumel. We also cut out visits to a couple ruins sites as the participants had already visited the locations. Still, we hit sites like Calakmul and Bonampak that are as famous for incredible ruins as they are for stunning rainforest wildlife. above: Turquoise -browed Motmot Itinerary 8 Feb Arrival in Cancún with night in Valladolid 9 Feb Río Lagartos and Felipe Carillo Puerto 10 Feb Felipe Carillo Puerto to Xpujil 11 Feb Calakmul 12 Feb Calakmul to Palenque, via the Usumacinta Marshes 13 Feb Bonampak 14 Feb Yaxchilán 15 Feb Bonampak and Las Guacamayas 16 Feb Las Guacamayas 17 Feb Palenque to Cozumel 18 Feb Isla Cozumel 19 Feb Departure from Cancún The Yucatán, the Lacandón, & Cozumel: 8–19 February 2010 - 1 - Summary The weather was nearly perfect the entire 12 days of the trip. We experienced cloudy skies and temperatures between 55 and 75°F throughout. Combined with ubiquitous antswarms, this meant that midday bird activity was much higher than normal. Indeed, it was impossible to eat lunch a few days without being distracted by some new exciting flock. Our only rainy day was birding the Usumacinta marshes, but no matter, since birding there is mostly from the car anyway. We began birding near Río Lagartos in xeric thorn forest and desert scrub, a habitat we wouldn’t see for the remainder of the trip. Here we scored all the wanted endemics: Yucatán Wren , Yucatán Bobwhite , Mexican Sheartail , Lesser Roadrunner, and Orange Oriole . After a seaside brunch we spent a relaxing few hours cruising the Ría Lagartos ( río means river; ría means estuary), famous for its coral -red flocks of American Flamingos. We spent the late afternoon driving to Felipe Carillo Puerto, where there is a nice stand of relatively dry rainforest. A quick ev ening survey of the forest yielded multiple antswarms, but it was a bit late in the day for much bird activity. We returned very early the next morning, hoping for the two endemic nightjars. Wishful thinking, as it would turn out, but our early start did yield a Great Curassow , a Northern Potoo, and a Mottled Owl. This proved to be one of the best days of birding, as we literally moved from antswarm to antswarm. This allowed us close and prolonged views of exciting birds such as Gray-throated Chat (at righ t), Long- billed Gnatwren, and Black Catbird . It was painful to leave that afternoon, but we had to get to Xpujil in time for dinner. The Yucatán, the Lacandón, & Cozumel: 8–19 February 2010 - 2 - We rose early the next morning to slowly drive the entrance road to Calakmul in the dark. The chance of seeing a jaguar or an ocelot is more than enough to get me to set my alarm for 3 a.m., and Calakmul is as good as place as any to see one. There were no kitties on the road, but we did see hundreds of Wood and Clay-colored thrushes, a few dozen Ocellated Turkeys , five Grea t Curassows , and half a dozen Ruddy Quail -Doves. The turkey is ridiculously easy to see here, as they beg for scraps from any two -legged primate. We came across a huge flock of Yucatán Jays chock full of curious immatures. There were more exciting antswarm s inside the ruins site, making it easy to add species such as Ruddy Woodcreeper, Collared Forest -Falcon, and Swainson’s Warbler to our trip list. On the way out of the reserve we had a close encounter of the chicken kind, and spent quite a while watching a rather territorial group of bachelor Singing Quail . After another morning at Calakmul, we drove east to the Usumacinta marshes. While combing through hundreds of Black -bellied Whistling-Ducks and Northern Jaçanas, we came across relatively more exciting species such as Bare-throated Tiger -Heron , Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, and Fork-tailed Flycatcher. A downpour cut our visit a bit short, but we’d be returning on the way back to Cancún in a few days. We spent the night in Palenque. Since everyone had visited Palenque on previous trips to the region, we opted to skip it and start off in the dark and drive deep into the Lacandón rainforest, the eastern “point” of Chiapas that juts into Guatemala. In every previous visit to Bonampak, I’d never made it to the ruins themselves because the birding along the entrance road was so amazing. The morning’s birding was no different. Little Tinamous sang all around us, and one did come out to play. So did a stunning male Slaty -tailed Trogon , a Thrush-like Schiffornis, and a pair of Rufous Pihas. We’d be The Yucatán, the Lacandón, & Cozumel: 8–19 February 2010 - 3 - returning in a couple days, though, so we forced ourselves to the end of the road. At the ruins themselves, the birding was just as good if not better. An antswarm was making its way through the vendors’ area, and it was attended by a pair of Dusky Antbirds, a Tawny-winged Wood- creeper, a Kentucky Warbler, and a very hungry White-whiskered Puffbird (left). The edges of the airstrip were alive with birds: Blue -black Grosbeak, Great Antshrike, White-collared Manakin , Pain ted Bunting, Blue Seedeater . And then a pair of King Vultures flew over at low altitude. And it wasn’t even time for lunch yet! There were lots of flowers and fruit around the ruins, providing food for a cadre of orioles, tanagers, honeycreepers, and hummi ngbirds (including the electric green Purple-crowned Fairy). And then there are the ruins themselves. Though nothing to sneeze at from the outside, Bonampak is best known for its stunning and well -preserved murals. Interesting depictions include a group of women piercing their tongues with needles to sacrifice blood to the gods, and a bound prisoner having his fingernails pulled out— ouch! We spent the night in Frontera Corozal, on the banks of the Río Usumacinta opposite Guatemala. Sunrise found us slicing through the mist as we headed down the Usumacinta to Yaxchilán. We arrived well before the ruins officially opened, and I planned to bird the airstrip until then. As luck would have it, the very nice site administrator let us into the ruins early, and we had the place to ourselves for quite awhile. For sheer ambiance and wonder, this has to be one of the best Maya ruins. You enter the site via the Labyrinth, a building with a dank, dark, passageway filled with the high- pitched twitters and faint breezes generated by passing bats. If you don’t know what howler monkeys sound like, this can be a pretty frightening place, as their other -worldly roars echo through the hollows of the Labyrinth. Following the light The Yucatán, the Lacandón, & Cozumel: 8–19 February 2010 - 4 - ahead, you take a few steps up and out into the large main plaza, complete with massive, stately fig trees. You never know what will be feeding in the figs, and today’s surprise was a male Western Tanager, a bit lower and further east than expected. Other critters coming to dine on the tree’s bounty incl uded Golden- hooded Tanager , Gartered Trogon, Keel-billed Toucan , Mealy Parrot, Short-billed Pigeon, White -winged Tanager, and Plain Chachalaca. A coral bean tree was in bloom on the main plaza, and it was closely guarded by a Scaly-breasted Hummingbird . A Long-billed Hermit did manage to steal a few sips before being chased away, though. The tell -tale whistles of a Black Hawk-Eagle directed our gaze skyward, where the massive raptor was soaring in tight circles. There’s never enough time here, and soon we had to head catch our boat to head back upriver to the hotel where we had an early night. The next morning was an early one, as we wanted to get out into the good forest at Bonampak before first light. Hearing a Great Potoo and a number of Great Tinamous singing should have been thrilling, but they were hard to hear over the monotonous drone of half a dozen troops of howler monkeys. But our early rise was well worth it. As dawn broke, an Accipiter started calling, and soon thereafter flew over our heads. I tried some playback, and almost immediately a Bicolored Hawk flew up and perched in a dead snag. Its mate also made a pass. Bicolored Hawk is an exceptionally rare bird in Mexico, and we were having stellar views —what a treat! Daytime birding was fast -paced here, as usual. A large flock of noisy Dot-winged Antwrens busily scoured the middle levels of the forest. I was especially happy to see a group of three rusty -naped Gray-chested Doves running along a trail ahead of us; I had only heard this species bef ore. An all-gray male Rose-throated Becard caused some momentary confusion. Though I was familiar with this plumage from further south, I The Yucatán, the Lacandón, & Cozumel: 8–19 February 2010 - 5 - wasn’t aware that it occurred in Mexico. We had even better luck with King Vulture (below) today, seeing a pair both at Bonampak and later in the day over the highway near Benemérito de las Américas.