Tropical Birding tour report: The Yucutan and Palenque
Ocellated Turkey - Iain Campbell
THE YUCAT??N and PALENQUE
Birding the Mayan Empire
29 January ??? 8
February 2007
Guide: Michael Retter
A TROPICAL BIRDING
CUSTOM
TOUR
"Yucat??n"--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: Chich??n
Itz??, Tulum, Calakmul,
Palenque, Bonampak, and Yaxchil??n. 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 |
