Tropical Birding tour report: The Yucutan and Palenque
Collared Aracari - Iain Campbell
31 Jan:
An
early morning start had us outside R??o 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 Yucat??n
(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 Yucat??n 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
Yucat??n Wren.
1
Feb:
This
morning we enjoyed leisurely strolls around the grounds at the
Cob?? 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. |
