Yucatan Tour Report
by James McConnell
11-19 February 2001
Leaders: Jim McConnell & Mike Haldeman

Our Yucatan tour was truly blessed. A great sense of camaraderie developed among us all and the new experiences and birds kept coming and never let up for the full nine days. Just 30 minutes after leaving the airport a Great Black-Hawk flew into a mangrove bush. As we stood watching it, a flock of Olive-throated Parakeets buzzed by. The ensuing days were so productive you would practically expect a rainbow to conclude the events and, guess what? As we drove toward the airport at the end of the trip that's just what met us: a beautiful rainbow.

The birding enthusiasm was high among the participants so we hit the ground running on Cozumel Island with good looks at Ruddy Crake right at our feet the first evening. The next morning we could not get out of the Mayan ruins parking lot for almost an hour because of the bird activity. Great looks at male and female Stripe-headed Tanager, Bananaquit (Cozumel race), Yucatan Vireo, Cozumel Vireo, Cozumel Wren, Cozumel Emerald, and Green-breasted Mango brought more than a few 'aaahs'. Worm-eating and other warblers put on a show as they readied themselves for the flight north. We were surprised by a very obliging Bright-rumped Attila along the trail.

From Cozumel it was only a short ferry ride and a 2-hour drive to the Club Med Hotel on the Coba Ruins Lake. At breakfast there was plenty of time to discuss the intricate map of the region's cenotes (crystal clear waterholes fed by underground streams) which someone had painted on the wall of the restaurant. We had just stopped at one cenote and seen a bright male Orange Oriole, one of the region's endemics, which somehow eclipsed the Yellow-throated Euphonia, which we all saw better at Sian Ka'an on another day. Birding at Coba was even better than expected with the highlight being an army ant swarm by the trail that hosted Northern Barred, Tawny-winged, Ruddy, and Olivaceous Woodcreepers. We saw an Ivory-billed Woodcreeper only moments before the swarm so all five Yucatan Woodcreepers were in evidence. Also at the ant swarm was a Gray-throated Chat, a pair of Gray-headed Tanagers, Yellow-billed Cacique, and Blue-crowned Motmot. Great looks at Stub-tailed Spadebill, Greenish Elaenia, Northern Bentbill, and Yellow-olive Flycatcher were just a bonus to the discovery of at least two calling Black-faced Antthrushes. We tried the trail known for Turquoise-browed Motmot and instead turned up an adult Gray-headed Kite perched close by and affording great looks. We naively thought that we already had the number one bird of the tour.

The next day we returned to this trail and the adjacent high pyramid and had close views of an obliging Turquoise-browed Motmot and the endemic Rose-throated Tanager. Tropical Gnatcatcher, Black-cowled Oriole, Zone-tailed Hawk, Lesser Greenlet, Philadelphia Vireo (a neat surprise), and Cinnamon Hummingbird were some of the additional species found. A night excursion produced an excellent view of a perched Yucatan Poorwill that originally flew in from a considerable distance and settled into a thicket. Mike soon spotted him with the light and we trekked into the brush for unparalleled views.

The food rivaled the birds at Sian Ka'an Refuge, where the now famous dish of panuchos kept us going. Highlights here included Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, fabulous looks at Barred Antshrike, Violaceous and Black-headed Trogon, Long-billed Gnatwren, Collared Aracari, Masked Tityra, and others. We stood right next to a calling Collared Forest-Falcon at dusk, as Little and Thicket Tinamous formed a prelude to Yucatan Poorwill and Pauraque.

Our next destination was Calakmulīs EcoVillage Hotel, but there was much to see en route. A stop at the lagoon at Muyil Archaeological site yielded good looks of Brown-crested Flycatcher to augment the Yucatan Flycatcher and Dusky-capped Flycatcher already garnered at other sites (and the Great Crested later at Calakmul). Grayish Saltator showed off here, to add to the many Black-headed Saltators seen elsewhere. Yucatan Parrot and Yucatan Jay made for a little more endemic excitement. Well before our usual lunch time arrival at Laguna Bacalar, we sat under the shade of the lagoon restaurant dock and, as the breeze refreshed us, enjoyed dockside frolics of Snail Kites and ubiquitous Mangrove Swallows. For lunch, few could resist swimming at the 90 meter deep Cenote Azul where Ringed Kingfisher and Neotropic Cormorant share aquatic privileges.

Because we were ahead of schedule we took a detour to see the 6-foot tall masks at the ruins of Kohunlich. Red-capped Manakin, Ochre-bellied and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, and Least Grebe were some of the delights by the ruins. Then, it was on to the EcoVillage Hotel. I enjoyed the pool but an enthusiastic participant kept at it and soon had most of us hooting back at a Mottled Owl that, before long, flew right through our spotlight beam.

We awoke early and headed into Calakmul Reserve well before daylight. A Vermiculated Screech-Owl flew in front of us. After an hour or so we reached a downed tree across the jungle road just a few kilometers from the ruins. It was daybreak so we loaded drinks and lunches in packs and set out on foot. A Central American Agouti shared the road with us before it headed back into the forest. Keel-billed Toucan and Collared Trogon were some of the glamour birds enjoyed on the walk, while others claimed male Gray-throated Chat and Red-capped Manakin as the kings of beauty. White-whiskered Puffbirds called alongside us. As we attempted to see them a family of Smoky-brown Woodpeckers put in an appearance. Good looks were had of Scrub Euphonia, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, male and female Red-crowned Ant-Tanagers, White-browed, Spot-breasted, and White-bellied Wrens, and Blue Bunting. A Ruddy Quail-Dove was seen well by some but others saw it only as it flushed. We were all happy to get to the ruins and settle down for some lunch while officials moved the downed tree and chauffeured Mike to pick up the car. The grounds of the tall ruins were spectacular. As Black Howler Monkeys competed with a Laughing Falcon and Ornate Hawk-Eagle for the 'Who can scream loudest?' contest, a Black Hawk-Eagle mounted into the air and circled near our position atop the ruins. For 360 degrees you could see unbroken jungle. The walk back to the parking lot produced two Pale-billed Woodpeckers, a nice comparison with the Lineated Woodpecker that was taking a dust bath at Coba. The highlight of the drive out was not the Ocellated Turkey flock that simply wouldn't get out of our way, but three close views of Great Curassow at three separate places. Which was more impressive, the male or the female? Hard to say. Everyone thought the day was over when a small rain shower produced puddles for a Gray-necked Wood-Rail to frolic in right in front of the car. We were swerving to miss the bats as dusk led us back to the hotel and another dip in the pool.

Because of the success at Kohunlich, we decided to bird it again early the next morning and we were glad we did. A flock of Fork-tailed Flycatchers put on a tail show as we arrived and who could have predicted a small roadside pond would have a pair of Bare-throated Tiger-Herons? At the same pond, someone looked up from the herons and found a female Green-throated Mango sitting on a nest just a few feet above us. We were standing in the Kohunlich parking lot when two White-crowned Parrots flew to the top of a nearby palm. Quickly, we trained the scope on the pair for fabulous views. The red undertail coverts were quite obvious. Both Yucatan Parrot and White-fronted Parrot were already on our scoped list. At the entrance to Kohunlich's turnoff from the main highway we enjoyed local fare for breakfast. After posing for pictures with pigs, sheep, and a very considerate shepherd boy playing mumbly peg with his machete, we looked up to see a nearby circling hawk: it was a Crane Hawk, a nice addition to the list. We knew we were close to our projection of 230 species for the trip so we were delighted with views of Peregrine Falcon, Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, Blue-black Grassquit, Laughing Falcon, an apparent Yucatan Bobwhite flying across the road, and Common Ground-Dove (we already had good looks at Blue Ground-Dove and Ruddy Ground-Dove). A Short-billed Pigeon flying by our windshield and a Red-winged Blackbird and Louisiana Waterthrush near the airport boosted our final tally to 233 species.

I would be remiss to fail to mention some of the non-avian excitement. A medium-sized Boa Constrictor held up traffic on the small road into Coba but our fearless guide Mike lifted it by the tail to safety. Several looks at Coatimundis were a great diversion, the first being a mother with a young. Butterflies were striking and had there been a photographer or artist along, I doubt we would have progressed more than a few feet an hour.

Our next Yucatan Tour is scheduled for February 2002.