THE YUCATÁN and PALENQUE
Birding the Mayan Empire

29 January – 8 February 2007 

Guide: Michael Retter

A TROPICAL BIRDING CUSTOM TOUR 

"Yucatán"--the word conjures images of endless turquoise seas and ancient Mayan ruins hidden beneath dense jungle. On this private tour, we visited a wide array of habitats, from mangrove-lined salt flats and desert scrub to lush canopy rain forest and tropical savannah. An archaeologists's dream, we also visited an extensive list of spectacular Mayan ruin sites: Chichén Itzá, Tulum, Calakmul, Palenque, Bonampak, and Yaxchilán. The pristine tropical rainforest surrounding them yielded incredible species like Keel-billed Toucan, White-collared Manakin, Black Hawk-Eagle, Ocellated Turkey, King Vulture, and both howler and spider monkeys. Overall, the weather was very good, but an strong norte literally dampened our birding around Palenque one day. 

29 Jan: After meeting at the airport and checking into our hotel this evening, we enjoyed the easy-going Cancún atmosphere over some of the most delicious tacos I’ve ever had in Mexico. 

30 Jan: The first stop this morning was the nearby botanic gardens. Just a few minutes after arriving we were finding Yucatán endemics: Yucatán Woodpecker, Yucatán Vireo, White-browed Wren, and Black Catbird. Flocks of Neotropical migrants were quite conspicuous. Northern Parula, American Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, and “Myrtle”, Black-throated Green, “Western” Palm, and Black-and-white Warblers made up the bulk, with small numbers of Lesser Greenlet, Bananaquit, and White-eyed Vireo. Roving flocks of Brown Jays screamed as they passed overhead, loosely associated with a nice mix of orioles: Altamira, Black-cowled, and Hooded. Green-backed Sparrows and Red-throated Ant-Tanagers called from the undergrowth. Large flocks of migrant Indigo Buntings had some “Eastern” Blue Buntings and Yellow-faced Grassquits mixed in. A very confiding Ivory-billed Woodcreeper gave us our first looks at that tropical family. 

After a leisurely lunch we headed west to Chichén Itzá. The main attraction here, El Castillo, is amazing and incredibly intact for such an old structure. We spent most of our time here simply enjoying the ruins rather than outright birding, but we did see a few birds along the way. Yellow-backed Oriole, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Scrub Euphonia were noted. 

31 Jan: An early morning start had us outside Río Lagartos by sunrise. Immediately we found both Couch’s and Tropical Kingbirds singing away. A family of Orange Orioles showed nicely in the warm morning light as Yucatán (Black-throated) Bobwhites sang nearby. We had nice looks at a stunning male Mexican Sheartail. Aztec Parakeets and White-fronted Amazons were both common and conspicuous as they flew about in noisy flocks. A Laughing Falcon perched up high while a pair of Crested Caracaras flew by. Investigation of piercing screaming calls turned up a pair of Limpkins perched on a dead snag, seemingly out-of-place in the dry desert scrub. They were using nearby marsh habitat, though, and we soon encountered other marsh birds like Crane Hawk and Tricolored Heron. 

By mid-morning were we headed out onto the lagoon. The main attraction, flame-colored “American” Greater Flamingos, did not disappoint. We leisurely watched a nice flock as a pair of Peregrine Falcons flew overhead, flushing a mixed flock of shorebirds: Semiplamated Plover, “Western” Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Ruddy Turnstone, and Marbled Godwit among them. Close inspection of gulls on a nearby mudflat proved very fruitful. We found numbers of Laughing, Ring-billed, Herring, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A Kelp Gull and a Kelp x Herring Gull hybrid were special treats. Traveling slowly along the mangroves gave us some superb looks at a male Painted Bunting, “Mangrove” Yellow Warblers, over ten Common Black-Hawks, half a dozen Boat-billed Herons, and two Bare-throated Tiger Herons. Wading birds on the way back to the dock included Roseate Spoonbill, White Ibis, Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, and Black-crowned Night-Heron. Just before we landed we were entertained by a flock of Black Skimmers perched in front of a Pepsi machine and a Laughing Gull with a bright red bill and legs. 

We went back to the desert scrub mid-afternoon, and we did indeed find some new species. We found a nice covey of Yucatán Bobwhites along the road on the way. White-bellied Wren, Groove-billed Ani, Zenaida Dove, and Northern Cardinal were all new for the trip, as was a very noisy pair of the extremely localized Yucatán Wren. 

1 Feb: This morning we enjoyed leisurely strolls around the grounds at the Cobá and Tulum ruins, mainly taking in the architecture. Along the roads, we found both Short-tailed and Roadside Hawks. We got our first taste of lowland rainforest birding in the early afternoon along the road at Felipe Carillo Puerto. Mixed flocks contained a nice mix of northern migrants and resident birds: Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Yellow-throated Vireo, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Magnolia Warbler, Summer Tanager, Hooded Warbler, and the gorgeous Gray-throated Chat. Garrulous flocks of Black-headed Saltators were conspicuous most of the afternoon, as were Tropical Pewees calling from high up in dead trees. Roadside flower banks provided food for Canivet’s Emerald and Wedge-tailed Sabrewing. Two countersinging male Black-headed Trogons put on quite a show. After supper we drove the road for night birds and had nice looks at a few Common Pauraques. 

2 Feb: Daybreak found us on the FCP road again, where we were greeted by a dawn chorus of Little Tinamou, Plain Chachalaca, and White-tipped Dove. Flocks of Collared Araçaris and Yucatán Jays passed through the trees and over the road. Both Black-crowned and Masked Tityras assembled in the tops of trees. Mixed flocks contained some new birds like Smoky-brown Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Rose-throated Becard, and Rufous-browed Peppershrike. Barred and Great Antshrikes sang from the tangles alongside the road. 

Midday we drove south and east to Xpujil. We stopped along the way, finding Mangrove Swallow, Blue-gray Tanager, Olive Sparrow, Squirrel Cuckoo, Vaux’s Swift, and a massive Great Black-Hawk. 

After checking into the hotel, we birded the road into Calakmul, where we encountered a large flock of pretty little Yellow-throated Euphonias. Finally, just before dusk we found an incredibly cooperative flock of Ocellated Turkeys, including a displaying male! The nearby Cecropia trees appeared to be a pre-roost staging area for a dozen or so Collared Araçaris.

Birding Calakmul

3 Feb: Slowly driving the entrance road at daybreak yielded nice looks at Great Curassow and Slaty-legged Tinamou. Collared Forest-Falcon and Common Potoo were seen flying across the road. If I had to think of one word to describe Calakmul it would be “awesome”. Picture walking through lowland rainforest and stumbling upon a decaying stone staircase. The vegetation is thick, and you can only see the first twenty stairs or so. As you ascend the stairs, you’re completely surrounded by layers of canopy. Finally, you reach the top of the staircase and turn around to see untouched rainforest in every direction, studded by a half a dozen ancient pyramids, peeking their heads out above the canopy. Awesome—in both senses of the word! As said by a participant, “It’s pristine jungle with no sign of man, except for the odd thousand-year-old pyramid here and there!” Birding the unexcavated grounds of Calakmul is very productive, especially at the resident army ant swarms. We found many species attending the swarms, including Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Great Crested Flycatcher, Gray-headed Tanager, Gray-throated Chat, and Worm-eating, Kentucky, and Swainson’s Warblers. Mexican Antthrush was also a nice find. 

About 10:00, we ascended another pyramid to look for raptors and were rewarded with amazing looks at a Black Hawk-Eagle, whistling as it soared just above our heads. Later in the day, another pyramid top served as a lovely base for digiscoping a very friendly group of Keel-billed Toucans. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to digiscope from the top of a pyramid, let me tell you, it’s pretty incredible! 

We spent more time in the afternoon with antswarms, where Northern Barred-Woodcreeper, Stub-tailed Spadebill, and Bright-rumped Atilla were new. 

4 Feb: We started a bit later this morning since we saw the curassow the day before, but we were still treated to a Ruddy Quail-Dove on the road as we reentered Calakmul. We were greeted by the friendly Ocellated Turkey flock at the gate again, and the parking area was quite active as well. Three Black-headed Trogons were flying around as we got out of the car, and we soon after found a Lineated Woodpecker nest! We watched the woodpeckers for a quarter hour or so, changing guard to keep the eggs warm every few minutes. Just inside the ruins, we flushed about a hundred White-fronted Amazons from their roost—talk about noisy! The same location was home to a pair of spectacular Pale-billed Woodpeckers, whose nest we also found. More time at the antswarms yielded Ovenbird, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Painted Bunting, and even a Roadside Hawk in attendance. Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, White-collared Seedeater, and Golden-olive Woodpecker were also new. Gray-throated Chats proved to be curiously common here, as we saw as many as ten throughout the day. 

Finally, we headed east into the Usumacinta marshes, which were loaded with birds. The fields were full of white and pink, as we drove by flocks of egrets, stilts, spoonbills, storks, and ibis numbering into the hundreds and even thousands. A quick scan at a mudflat turned up dowitchers, yellowlegs, and most notably, over a thousand Stilt Sandpipers. Raptors were in abundance, with Aplomado Falcon, White-tailed Hawk, White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, and Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture the most noteworthy. Flashes of florescent yellow-green were ubiquitous, as abundant Northern Jaçanas flew from one puddle to the next. Graceful Fork-tailed Flycatchers were joined by their more gaudy Vermilion cousins on the power lines, while a flock of over 1,000 Grassland Yellow-Finches swirled overhead. We had to stop a little early today because of heavy rain, but we were very pleased with the day’s birding regardless. 

5 Feb: We’d planned an early morning at Palenque today, but the rain kept up all night and into the morning—a norte was upon us, a fairly rare event this far south. We waited out the downpour and eventually made it to Palenque to bird in the lighter rain. A Bat Falcon greeted us right away. He continued to entertain us throughout our time here, alighting atop various temples between hunting forays. Great Kiskadees and Boat-billed and Social Flycatchers perched conspicuously in the tops of dead trees and gave us some nice studies as we discussed the ID of these three similar species. Flocks of Neotropical migrants yielded Wilson’s Warbler, Summer Tanager, and Orchard and Baltimore Orioles. A Stripe-throated Hermit attracted our attention alongside the edge of the ruin grounds, where we also found Great Antshrike, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Thrush-like Schiffornis, White-breasted Wood-Wren, Clay-colored Robin, and Olive-backed Euphonia. A nice Violaceous Trogon was perched on a power line as we left the site. 

6 Feb: Today was fast-paced. We changed our minds and decided to end the tour with a trip to Cozumel, so we had to take in both Bonampak and Yaxchilán in one day. We pulled it off nicely, but both of these incredible areas really do deserve more time than this. 

Just after dawn, we were birding the entrance road into Bonampak, which was incredibly birdy. Though Mexico’s avian diversity is amazing, it is here that you really feel like you’re in the tropics, as most birds and indeed bird families you see are completely alien to North American eyes. A spectacular male Chestnut-colored Woodpecker perched on a dead snag offered incredible views—one of my favorite moments of the tour. A White-whiskered Puffbird perched on a power line, while a male White-collared Manakin flew back and forth across the road, displaying to a female. Montezuma Oropendolas sang their bizarre song from the tops of tall trees while Scaly-throated Leaftossers and Mexican Antthrushes seemingly answered from the forest floor. Birds in the undergrowth included Orange-billed Sparrow, Gray-headed Tanager, Thrush-like Schiffornis, and the ridiculous-looking Long-billed Gnatwren. The mixed flocks here were amazing, featuring Tropical Gnatcatcher, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Green Shrike-Vireo, Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Dusky Antbird, Dot-winged Antwren, Barred Antshrike, Plain Xenops and a host of woodcreepers: Strong-billed, Streak-headed, Wedge-billed, and Olivaceous. During the walk back from the ruins we heard some very loud bell-like notes from inside the rainforest—a Rufous Piha! Eventually we found him and watched him sing for a few incredibly loud minutes. A Double-toothed Kite flew over the road.

We reluctantly left Bonampak and headed to Frontera Corozal to get lunch and catch a boat upriver. King Vultures were soaring overhead along the way, dwarfing Blacks and Turkeys on the same thermals. We stopped to look at a perched Great Black-Hawk and a troop of black howler monkeys. The latter seemed to tempt fate by playing in an exposed tree. Surely they’d have been easy lunch for a Harpy Eagle. (Regrettably, we did not see one.) 

Upon entering the Yaxchilán complex (after feeling your way along a dark passageway through a pyramid) we were thrilled to find a huge fruiting Ficus (fig) tree. We spent most of our time atop a nearby pyramid scanning the roving numbers of birds. Here we found Yellow-throated Euphonia, Golden-hooded Tanager, Green Honeycreeper, Yellow-winged Tanager, Blue-gray Tanager, Bananaquit, Cedar Waxwing, Short-billed Pigeon, Mealy Amazon, Brown-hooded Parrot, and Keel-billed Toucan gorging on fruit. Eventually a troop of spider monkeys crashed into the tree, scaring away the more wary birds, but the toucans stood their ground. A Chestnut-sided Warbler moved through the tree. Other birds noted in the area include Gray-breasted Martin, Long-billed Hermit, Blue Ground-Dove, Blue-crowned Motmot, and Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, our main target! As we left the site before dusk, a very noisy troop of howler monkeys came through the ruins. Watching the babies cling to their mothers while the dominant male howled at us in defense was particularly memorable.

Just when we thought the day can’t get any better, we found three White Hawks along the road back to Palenque. These living ghosts are an incredible sight against a backdrop of dark green rainforest.

7 Jan: We briefly birded some scrubby areas near Palenque at dawn and were rewarded with Violet Sabrewing, Yellow-billed Cacique, and Crimson-collared and Passerini’s Tanagers. Another brief stop in the Usumacinta marshes produced our two targets: Black-collared Hawk and Jabiru. The rest of the day was spent traveling, driving back to Cancún and getting a ferry to Cozumel.

8 Jan: We felt lucky today, finding all of Cozumel’s endemic species (save the nearly extinct thrasher) in under two hours! The first thing one notices about birds on Cozumel is how exceptionally common Black Catbirds and Yucatán Vireos are here compared to the mainland. Cozumel Vireos scolded at us from the undergrowth and proved to be quite common and confiding, providing very nice views of their odd orangey plumage. A fruiting vine attracted a small flock of Western Spindalis and “Cozumel” Banaquit. Caribbean Dove and White-crowned Pigeon also reminded us of the Caribbean nature of the island. The grayish endemic subspecies of Rufous-browed Peppershrike was very vocal and cooperative; we found a few family groups. Cozumel Wren was easier than expected as we found a couple without much trouble. Cozumel Emerald on the other hand was much tougher than it should have been, but we eventually prevailed, finding a stunning male with long tail streamers. We also found the curiously resident subspecies of Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. On the way back to the car we found “Golden” Yellow Warblers and a very cooperative Mangrove Cuckoo.

We were so thrilled with our success that we took an earlier ferry to the mainland, which gave us a couple hours to kill back at the botanic gardens. It took a lot of work, but we finally did find a Rose-throated Tanager. An immature male Black-cowled Oriole provided a good lesson in oriole ID.

After enjoying a final delicious meal of Mexican food, we returned to the hotel and said our goodbyes. Given the short amount of time we spent at some very productive locations, we had 290 species making for an incredibly successful trip!

BIRD LIST

BOLD-endemic to Mexico and N Cen. Am.
*--endemic to Mexico
(Y)--endemic to Yucatan area
(C)--endemic to Cozumel