Hola audubonistas, Judy here. A week-long trip driving my family from one side of the Yucatan Peninsula to the other to visit Mayan ruins allowed time for a bit of birding too. The one real birding stop was the fishing village of Celestun on the gulf coast where american flamingos enjoy the rich plankton of Ria Lagartos. We hired a boat at the bridge and enjoyed a two-hour excursion that included a ride through and a stop in the mangroves where bare-throated tiger herons and mangrove warblers can be found. We stayed at a lovely new guest house, Casa de Celeste Vida, right on the beach on the outskirts of town. The rooms were spotless and the kitchens were well-equipped. Hosts Ken and Karen Strauss of Saskatchewan couldn't have been nicer. I only wished that we could have stayed longer. If you head that way, check out their website: http://www.celestevida.ca/
Below are the 43 Yucatan species that I could identify. My favorite was the immature Yucatan jay at Tulum.
MERIDA
1. Great-tailed Grackle
2. Orange Oriole
CELESTUN
3. Great Flamingo
4. Brown Pelican
5. White Pelican
6. White Ibis
7. Great Blue Heron
8. Little Blue Heron
9. Wood Stork
10. American Coot
11. Black-neck Stilt
12. Cormorant (Neotropic or Double Crested)
13. Osprey
14. Bare Throated Tiger Heron (heard)
15. Great Egret
16. Snowy Egret
17. Turkey Vulture
18. Black Vulture
19. Crested Caracara
20. Least Sandpiper
21. Aztec Parakeet
22. Tropical Mockingbird
23. Belted Kingfisher
24. Black-and-White Warbler
25. Mangrove Warbler
UXMAL
26. Common Black Hawk
CHICHEN ITZA
27. Melodious Blackbird
28. Gray Hawk
29. Yucatan Woodpecker
30. Clay-colored Robin
31. Yellow-throated Warbler
COBA
32. Black-and-White Warbler
33. Yellow-rumped Warbler
34. Mexican Jay
35. Chestnut-sided Warbler
36. Squirrel Cuckoo
37. Black Headed Trogon
TULUM
38. Western Sandpiper
39. Golden-fronted Woodpecker
40. Hooded Oriole
41. Magnificent Frigatebird
42. Tri-colored Heron
43. Yucatan Jay (immature and adult)
judy
