Norfolk Birders

 

              Mexico Trip Report                 

(Yucatan Peninsula)

 

August 16^th 2008 – August 31st 2008

 

Sue Bryan and Paul Jeffery

 

 

                                                              

 

 

                                                                                                  Paul and Sue at Chichen Itza

 

Introduction

 

This trip was to be our main birding holiday of the year even though we had been lucky enough to have several others during the year. Paul was ‘chief in charge' of research of birds and sites whilst I (Sue) did all the booking via the internet.

 

Itinerary

 

16^th Aug    Fly from Gatwick to Cancun (via Philadelphia). Drive to Playa Del Carmen

17^th Aug    Playa Del Carmen to Cozumel Island via car ferry from Caliga

18^th Aug    Cozumel

19^th Aug    Cozumel via car ferry to Caliga. Drive to Rio Lagartos

20^th Aug    Rio Lagartos

21^st Aug    Rio Lagartos to Felipe Carrillo Puerto

22^nd – 23^rd Aug   Felipe Carrillo Puerto

24^th Aug   Felipe Carrillo Puerto to Palenque

25^th – 27^th Aug  Palenque

28^th Aug    Palenque to Coba

29^th Aug   Coba

30^th Aug   Coba to Cancun to Charlotte (USA)

31^st Aug   Gatwick

 

 

Flights

 

Gatwick to Cancun booked with lastminute.com (www.lastminute.com ) at a cost of £684 each via Philadelphia (USA) on the way out and Charlotte on the return journey. Connecting flights are always problematical when connecting through the USA as you have to re-connect with your luggage and enter/exit customs and immigration. With finger printing, iris photographing and extra form filling this always takes an extraordinary amount of time and hassle!

 

Climate

 

As expected for the tropics at this time of year it was exceedingly hot and humid (even for seasoned travellers as ourselves) with temperatures well above 100 degrees F every day.

 

Habitat

 

Most of the Yucatan Peninsula was covered with trees and scrub which was mainly inaccessible except where tracks or roads intersected the forest. Birding at the Mayan temple edges was good with thick jungle-like vegetation. Some trails were possible.

 

Logistics

 

We pre-booked a car from Cancun airport using Alamo www.alamo.com at a cost of £423 for the fortnight, which for the smallest car possible we thought was expensive. It is essential to have air-conditioning.

 

Accommodation

 

We had decided to only book the first night's accommodation (necessary for form filling) to give us the freedom we required for Paul's itinerary. Our first night was pre-booked in Playa de Carmen at the Luna Sol Hotel. www.lunasolhotel.com This was a basic hotel located in a busy street, but was clean and comfortable. It was in the middle of renovation surrounded by bags of cement. There were no food/drinks available in the morning. However we only required a bed for the nihght. Cost for the two of us amounted to £38.

 

Other accommodation was found at the end of each day. On the whole we had a lot of choice as this was not the high season for tourism. As this was our main holiday we tended to choose better quality hotels where there was choice, with air-conditioning being a priority at this time of year.

 

Cozumel (an expensive tourist resort island). We stayed at the Fiesta Americana Hotel www.fiestamericana.com at Cozumel Dive Resort which was a large hotel on the seafront. This was an expensive option at around £75 a night for a double room. All the meals were extra and not particularly good.

 

Rio Lagartos – We stayed at The Hotel Tabasco Rio www.freewebs.com/tabascorio which was a basic hotel, that was clean and comfortable. No food was available. Because we were returning fairly late in the day, eating in the village was a problem as all restaurants were closed. We managed to find a very basic ‘hot-dog’ type meal from a food take away place in the village square. We existed from basic supplies bought in the village shops.

 

Felipe Carrillo Puerto – We stayed at Hotel ‘El Faisan y el Venado’ (Tel 01 (983) 834 07 02) which was basic but once again clean and comfortable.  This hotel had a good restaurant where all meals could be had for a reasonable cost. It was popular with the locals.

 

Palenque- by the time we reached here, with us both unwell and a nine hour drive behind us, we booked in to the first hotel we found. We stayed at the Hotel Maya Tulipanes www.mayatulipanes.com.mx another fairly expensive hotel with swimming pool at a cost of around £60 a night for the double room, with all meals at extra cost. The hotel had a good restaurant and the biggest bed in a hotel that I have ever seen!

 

Coba – choice was very limited here and we stayed at another up-market hotel Villas Arqueologicas – Coba , (Tel 01 (984) 206 7001) by the lake with a lovely swimming pool. The hotel was deserted and we almost had all the staff at our disposal. The hotel was badly signed and if it wasn’t for Steve Howell’s guide we would not have found it tucked away down a track by the lake. The hotel was set around a courtyard containing the swimming pool and restaurant tables, where we had some excellent meals. Cost for our 2 night stay including breakfast and evening meals came to around £157.

 

Guiding

 

We had no guiding at all but followed Steve Howell's excellent 'Where to watch birds in Mexico' book which has some excellent maps and good advice for all birders needs.

 

Money

 

We took Mexican Pesos for use in Mexico, American Dollars for use at American airports and we used credit cards for some hotel bills and purchases.

 

Food

 

The general standard of food was poor. We are not fussy eaters and will generally try anything local that fills us up. However, Paul had several days of food poisoning and I found that all meals were served with a brown liquidised 'bean mush' on the plate. I found this 'off-putting' but in reality it did not taste too bad! Local meals were best!

 

Daily Log

 

16th August

 

We  flew from Gatwick airport to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA. Standing at the airport window waiting for our connecting flight we watched Ring-billed Gulls and an Eastern Kingbird. Another flight took us to Cancun where the heat hit us as soon as we left the plane. After being transported to the car-hire place, we drove to Playa del Carmen, where I am glad that I had prepared a street map as signage was poor. Our hotel was a welcome sight after our long expanded day.

 

17th August

 

We had a bad start to the day when our hire-car would not start and there were no facilities for a drink or food. It was very early Sunday morning and most sensible people were still asleep. Our Spanish language knowledge amounted to two words and the chap on the reception desk spoke no English. Paul had been given instructions on how to start the car the evening before but the information had sailed straight through his brain without stopping. After losing his temper and me having failed dismally to make contact with the hire-car company on the telephone we thought we were in for a grim time. I thought I would have a go at starting the car in a little more calm manner than Paul had done. By pressing a variety of pedals it started! Paul had a few choice words to say to our 'Nice Little Car' and we were off!

 

Later in the day Paul spotted a notice emblazoned right in front of him on the windscreen! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

                                                                       Paul practising reading in our ‘Nice Little Car’

 

 

Our woes were not over as we had planned to put our ‘Nice Little Car’ on the ferry that morning to Cozumel Island. We had been told that the ferry sailed from Puerto Morelas, 20 miles back towards Cancun by local during breakfast at a beach-side restaurant. Upon arriving there we could not find a ferry terminal and were told that the ferry now sailed from Caliga just a couple of miles south of Playa del Carmen, right where we had just come from! Not a good start!

 

At Caliga because it was a Sunday, we had already missed the early morning sailing and would now have to wait until the evening sailing, so after a few more choice words we wandered around the ferry terminal. Hooded Orioles and Couch’s Kingbird entertained us as well as a White-tailed Deer.

 

Hooded Oriole

 

                                                Couch’s Kingbird

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a while, hunger set in and we re-traced our route back to Playa where we sought out another beach-side restaurant for some lunch. The temptation to swim was too great and I spent several hours in the very warm sea swimming and enjoying Pina Coladas!

Eventually we joined the queue back at the ferry terminal at Caliga for our evening sailing to Cozumel. We watched Great Kiskadees and Tropical Kingbirds hawking for insects and Magnificent Frigate birds wheeling around overhead.

 

Great Kiskadee

 

Our sailing to Cozumel was packed with locals but we enjoyed watching frigatebirds and White-crowned Pigeons on the crossing from the outside deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                              Caliga

 

 

Magnificent Frigatebird .

 

 

The crossing was only just over an hour but it was dark by the time we arrived. Cozumel is a small island that has one perimeter road (except for a few streets in the only town). We drove along the coast road and booked into a rather swanky-looking hotel as it was now getting late in the day to search for anything cheaper. (Cozumel is an American and big ocean-going cruise liner tourist-trap with many up-market jewellery shops)

 

 

 

 

 

18^th August

 

Up at first light the birding began. We started at the grid opposite the Hotel Presidente. Several tarmaced tracks (a failed housing development) run through scrubby woodland. Stopping by the horse paddocks Yellow-faced Grassquits were everywhere as were Ruddy Ground-doves. We were surprised to have so many Lesser Nighthawks flying in the early morning light. Yucatan Woodpeckers and Black Catbirds seemed to be in reasonable numbers too. We started to scrutinise the Yucatan Vireos but it took sometime before we spotted a Cozumel Vireo. We were both delighted at the Rufous-browed Peppershrike but the thrasher was nowhere to be seen. After a while we took to our ‘Nice Little Car’ (Paul had another unprintable phrase for it) and drove around the perimeter of the island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                      Cozumel

 

 

We stopped off at various points where we saw Reddish Egrets, Royal Terns and after searching flowering trees, Green-breasted Mango. In the mangroves we were lucky to see Black-bellied Whistling Duck as a warden told us he had just seen some fly in

 

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

 

We continued our circular route around the coast until we returned back to our hotel. The sea and snorkelling looked so inviting that I could not resist it and I spent the next couple of hours enjoying the wonderful colourful fish in the warm sea after hiring a mask. Later in the town by flowering trees and scrub we watched Cozumel Emeralds. Yucatan Nightjars amongst Lesser Nighthawks flew overhead hawking for insects in the hot humid evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

19^th August

 

We were up early for another attempt on Cozumel Wren at the grid near Hotel Presidente without success. Many nighthawks were in the air. We walked around the Hotel Presidente grounds where the gardeners were surprised to see us up so early as they watered the lawns. An Ovenbird was making the most of the leaf litter as we searched in vain for the wren. We drove the car to the ferry terminal where we were first in line. We had breakfast and explored the scrubby derelict areas nearby where a Black and White Warbler and Yucatan Flycatcher added themselves to our species lists. The ferry journey was delightful as there were far less passengers on board for the return trip back to the mainland at Caliga.

 

Paul on board the ferry from Cozumel to Caliga

 

Once we were back on the mainland we drove straight to Rio Lagartos. This area is famed for its salt-pans and its American Flamingoes.

 

We checked into a basic hotel and headed along the coast towards the salt-pans. A Common Black Hawk sat on a tree over a river where we stopped to watch a Great Blue Heron. At the salt-pans Gull-billed and American Black Terns were feeding as we got to grips with all the waders that abounded at all the edges of the salt-pans. We added Least Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Lesser Yellowlegs, Semi-palmated Plover, Snowy Plover, Wilson’s Plover and Hudsonian Godwit to our trip list as well as others. I was amused by a Black-throated (Yucatan) Bobwhite that crossed the track in front of us and soon learnt how it got its name as it comically bobbed up and down as it ran across the track. After a lovely sunset we returned to the village to find every restaurant closed, save for a very cheap take-away that just about took the edge off our hunger.

 

20^th August

 

We started the day at the crossroads to Los Colorados, where in an old quarry motmots are supposed to breed. We were too late in the season and all the holes were long deserted. Golden-fronted Woodpeckers and Orange Orioles were good to see and we cursed at not having an American Field Guide with us for flycatcher identification. Both of us had assumed the other would bring one. Further along the road Paul was pleased with a Lesser Roadrunner sat on a wall and it was a shame that our view was so brief. A Groove-billed Ani had a pitiful call for such a large bird. Great-tailed Grackles sat around too.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 

Great-tailed Grackle

 

Nearing the bridge by the river a Mangrove Cuckoo surprised us and once again we stopped on the wooden bridge to see if any other birds were lurking. To our delight a Bare-throated Tiger-heron was standing motionless under the trees barely visible. Bit by bit it edged out to the water’s edge. Cliff Swallows flew around our heads. We ventured on to Los Colorados where we enjoyed a fish meal in a shack that would not have passed any health and safety regulations, but the fish was freshly caught and after being fried it was delicious. With satisfied stomachs we staked out a flowering tree in the village and waited. Eventually a Mexican Sheartail and Canivet’s Emerald were added to our lists. It was an extremely hot wait as we manoeuvred the car into some shade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                  Laughing Gull                                                                                           Brown Pelican

 

At the seafront fishermen were unloading their catch and Brown Pelicans were hoovering up the fish heads and guts! Laughing Gulls and Sanderlings were running in the surf as Magnificent Frigatebirds were flying overhead. After taking yet another swim to cool us down we made our way to San Felipe where we watched a Tri-coloured Heron in the mangroves as the sun set. Back at the hotel a local bird-guide was waiting for us as he was touting for business. It was a shame that we were leaving early the next morning but he did tell us where exactly to see the Yucatan Wren.

 

21^st August

 

Leaving early we drove back to the crossroads that lead to Los Coloradas. After 8km along the road we drove along a trackway leading off to a right fork (Salvo) and drove about a kilometre along it until we came to a smallholding on the right-hand side. Opposite here we soon found Yucatan Wren in the scrub. Apparently they are very localised. We also had sightings of Crested Caracara as we made our way to Tizimin.

 

Crested Caracara

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Near Tizimin we had a Roadside Hawk sat on roadside wires and a Turquoise Motmot sat in a tree as we sped by.

 

After several hours driving we arrived at the Mayan temple of Chichen Itza. Luckily we had arrived reasonably early before the flood of tourists and traders had arrived and it was reasonably peaceful. Entrance trees provided us with sightings of Blue-grey Tanagers as well as Yellow-winged Tanagers, A Social Flycatcher added to our tally of species.

 

 

 

 

Roadside Hawk

                                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                     Chichen Itza

 

 

Social Flycatcher

 

A Clay-coloured Thrush hopped around us as a Cinnamon Hummingbird frequented all the flowers in the trees. A Masked Tityra kept Paul amused as I surveyed the temple. Yellow-tailed Orioles kept his fingers busy in the field guide whilst I took photographs of the buildings surrounding us.

 

All too soon it was time to leave and about 70km from Valladolid we saw a Roadside Hawk sitting on wires as a White-tipped Dove flew over the road. A Squirrel Cuckoo also flew from a tree as we got nearer to our destination of Felipe Carrillo Puerto. After a little navigational hiccup we eventually located the ‘El Faisan Y El Venado’ Hotel where for £24 a night for a room we checked in. The town here is off the tourist route but catered well for all our needs. The hotel had a restaurant that was well used by locals and served passable meals.

 

The Vigia Chico Road was easy to find following Steve Howell’s Guide and consisted of a rough hard track running through a forest with a few lakes hidden amongst the trees. The lakes we discovered for ourselves following side tracks. It was fairly late in the day by the time we arrived but we managed to see Ladder-backed Woodpecker and Buff-bellied Hummingbird as we got out of the car at our first stop.

 

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

 

A Yellow-billed Casique evaded my camera as we made our way down to a lake. Paul and I both scanned the water’s edge and it wasn’t long before Paul spotted a Ruddy Crake lurking at the base of the reeds. There was little on the water but we did see a Red-billed Pigeon sat on a tree top and a Blue-black Grassquit in the grass by the side of us.

 

22^nd August

 

I was awoken to Paul being ill. Food poisoning is always a risk in foreign lands and Paul seems especially susceptible to it. He spent the day in bed. I was very worried about him as he seemed to have such a high fever. This meant that I spent the day constantly returning to check on him every couple of hours. Birding was limited but I did manage to locate a couple of the lakes along the Vigia Chico Road. Early in the morning a noisy party of Brown Jays squawked high above me in the trees as a pair of Lineated Woodpeckers also made their presence known.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                       

 

 Brown Jay

                                                             Pale-billed Woodpecker

 

After I made a few visits to Paul, a family party of Olive Sparrows fed in the leaf litter as a Greenish Elaenia perched up high overhead. An Altimira Oriole also made for good viewing. Unfortunately Paul showed no signs of improvement and I ventured out nearby once again on my own. A Greyish Saltator frequented an area where I was to see it several days running as I added Tropical Peewee to the list. After an evening meal I retired to bed early.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

23^rd August

 

Paul was still ill throughout the night affording neither of us much sleep. Once again I ventured out alone. At one of the lakes a Pinnated Bittern flew away upon my approach as Aztec Parakeets flew noisily over my head in small parties. I was lucky to see a Blue Bunting on a fallen tree as a Mangrove Vireo showed itself. Later I walked through some abandoned agricultural fields given over to scrub and flushed a couple of Singing Quail from near my feet. After checking on Paul, who seemed a little better, I wandered down a denser forest trail. A Wedge-tailed Sabrewing added to my delight as I spied a Turquoise-browed Motmot sat in all its glory. Try as I might I could not get a photograph of it as it simply didn’t want me to take its picture! An Ivory-billed Woodcreeper was to be the first of many that I saw. Back at the car a pair of Pale-billed Woodpeckers were rather more obliging than the motmot had been and let me take their photographs. Missing some company I returned to the hotel early to enjoy a meal of fish and chips, washed down with yet another Pina Colada.

 

24^th August

 

Paul had made a sufficient recovery to enable us to move on. I felt sorry for him as he was quite clearly not very well. I took him to the best spots that I had discovered over the last few days so that he could catch up with some of the birds that I had seen. Down the forest trail we found a Collared Aracari and a Northern Bentbill. A Ruddy Woodcreeper was new for the trip as was a Rose-throated Tanager. By 9.30am down by one of the lakes it went very quiet in terms of bird activity and we decided to move on. Paul estimated that it would take 4 to 5 hours to get to Palenque our next destination. Mexican roads are very good and very straight so motoring is easy. However they are totally ruined by speed bumps (topes) maliciously put in at every opportunity. I can understand perhaps, in small villages that lie on busy roads but in dual carriageways miles from anywhere?

 

A couple of hours into our journey I began to feel very unwell and Paul in his precarious state had to take over the driving. A migraine set in and I had to unwind the window to throw up in a hurry! Paul did an emergency stop and our well decorated car came to a screeching halt in some scrub at the side of the road. Paul made a dash for the bushes in the searing heat and we both felt very sorry for ourselves. Neither of us was in a fit state, but Paul drove valiantly on for another 5 hours and we eventually arrived at Palenque. We booked into the first hotel that we found and collapsed into bed.

 

25^th August

 

 

Palenque

 

We both have a terrible night with illness but we both managed to be up early for the short drive to the Mayan temple of Palenque. We entered the park after paying a small toll where the vegetation was much more like cloud forest habitat. We were delighted with a view of a Black-headed Trogan and Scarlet-rumped Tanagers which were world ticks for us. White-collared Swifts wheeled around as we entered the Mayan Ruins. The heat was already upon us and after admiring the ruins we sat for a drink as Paul spotted a few raptors up high in the distance. Two turned out to be King Vultures. Desperate for some shade we made our way up the side of a lesser spectacular ruin where we were surprised by a Louisiana Waterthrush picking around the damp areas underfoot. The raptor watch continueed as we emerged and two stunning White Hawks shimmered glistening in the sun.

 

We searched for another area that we could avoid the heat and found a good spot where we could just sit and let the birds come to us. We were lucky to find a feeding flock and had 30 minutes of good viewing in dense vegetation well shielded from the heat of the day. A Wedge-billed Woodcreeper called as we watched a Keel-billed Toucan sit and watch us. A White-breasted Woodwren and Yellow-throated Euphonia surrounded us as a Red-throated Ant-tanager and Long-billed Gnatwren busied themselves above us. As we crept out Paul spotted a Rufous-tailed Jacamar sat quietly on a branch. I just love to see these birds. We grabbed a club sandwich from the café outside the ruins and headed for Usumacinta Marshes about 30 miles away near the toll bridge over the Usumacinta River on Route 186.

 

White-tailed Kite

 

The marshes and savannas here are an interesting area but much of it runs alongside the busy main road (Route 186). I should explain here that the roads are built with no kerbs and can have very steep drops at the side of them, mostly at least half a metre making stopping and pulling off at the side of them impossible. (We saw several huge lorries tipped over on their sides as they fell off the road). However we found a few side roads/tracks that we could easily bird watch from. Besides the usual Cattle Egrets, Great White Egrets and other marsh birds we watched a fascinating Fork-tailed Flycatcher and Eastern Meadowlark in roadside bushes. Paul meanwhile started to scan the fields for his quarry and quickly found a Double-striped Thick-knee. Being a wader fan he was overjoyed at his find. Grassland Yellow-finches were common as we kept our scans up. All of a sudden I called for Paul as I picked up a raptor heading our way.

 

 

I grabbed my camera just in time for a White-tailed Kite to come sailing over my head. Although we have seen these kites before it was good to see another so close. A Vermillion Flycatcher sat on top of a distance bush as Red-winged Blackbirds drank out of a small pool whilst a Bare-throated Tiger-heron mooched around the edge. We drove a little further along the road which we had all to ourselves before Paul pulled the car up sharply. He had spotted a falcon sat on an electricity post.

 

Laughing Falcon

 

The Laughing Falcon did not seemed phased by our arrival and sat quite happily as we took our photographs. We ventured back towards the River Usumacinta and took the road hidden down by the side of it heading north. Just behind the few shops a flooded marshy area by a fallen section of road, kept us entertained for quite a while. Paul and I had a discussion about kites with his last words being how silly I was thinking I might see a Snail Kite here. Oh how he had to eat his words, as over at the back for both of us to see, was a Snail Kite chomping its way through its findings in the water!  A few Least Grebes joined White-faced Ibises and Reddish Egrets in the water.

 

Driving further on, the road became a track with one side bordering the wide river and the other dwellings of the local population. It was all interspersed with scrub and occasional flooded pools. Mangrove Swallows were everywhere but all seemed to be juveniles. A Yellow-crowned Night-heron emerged from a pool along with a Little Blue Heron. A Roseate Spoonbill and an Osprey added to our tally.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                     White-faced Ibis                                            Bare-throated Tiger-heron

 

Considering how ill we had both started the day, we had both made good improvements but were both whacked as we returned to the hotel. We managed a meal each and felt refreshed enough to try a spot a spot of owling in the dark back up towards the ruins. However, even with a good torch we failed dismally to add to our tally.

 

26^th August

 

We decided to walk one of the forest trails that started from the bend in the road half a mile before the ruins at Palenque. We met a PhD. student who was doing a study on malaria, who informed us that about one in a thousand mosquitoes are carrying the malaria virus. (Paul has had malaria twice now) We hoped that we didn’t get bitten by one of these! Howler Monkeys were making a ‘right racket’ in the trees above us and we found it difficult to concentrate with all the noise. A Pygmy Kingfisher was a good find by a small stream and we enjoyed watching it. Upon examining the stream we could see why the kingfisher chose its spot, as it was full of tiny fish just the right size for a Pygmy Kingfisher’s breakfast! The dense vegetation kept us cool as we watched a Violet Sabrewing and a Long-tailed Hermit zipping about. A new call alerted us to an Orange-billed Sparrow. A Spot-crowned Woodcreeper was quickly followed by a Streak-headed Woodcreeper. We entered the ruins once again at Palenque and started the birding trail that we had been refused entry to yesterday. However Paul did not seem to have any energy as he was still suffering from the effects of food poisoning. It was obviously going to be a climb in the heat of the day and I suggested that we sat once again where we had had good birding the day before. A Chestnut-headed Oropendula and Buff-throated Saltator added themselves to our list before Paul gave up the struggle and we returned to the hotel to allow him some rest and sleep. Luckily the hotel had a good swimming pool and I swam in the heat of the day which was very refreshing. I managed to catch up on some notes whist I sipped yet another Pina Colada and after a couple of hours checked on Paul. He seemed a little better and was concerned that we were wasting good birding time. However with a poorly body he was obviously going to struggle with walking so we decided to visit the Usumacinta Marshes once again as it meant that Paul could sit and watch from the car. After a circuitous route we observed a couple of Limpkins and an Amazon Kingfisher at a pool. A Spot-breasted Oriole was added to our oriole list. American Coots and Sand Martins were reasonably common as we drove back to the road along side the Usumacinta River leading north from route 186 at the toll bridge. A Pale-vented Pigeon flew over as a Ringed Kingfisher posed on roadside wires.

 

 

Ringed Kingfisher

 

Limpkin

 

 

 

As we headed back towards the bridge a Black-crowned Night Heron flew from a pool just before Paul yelled to stop the car. Having a wonderful dust bath was a family party of Band-backed Wrens. We timed our arrival at the bridge for dusk. We watched Mangrove and Barn Swallows dip into the river and stared at the wires on the bridge. It was a while before either of us realised that the Bat Falcons that we were waiting to arrive there, were already present and we had actually been staring at them in binoculars for a while in the fading light. Once the scope was set up we had good views of a pair of Bat Falcons in the diminishing light. We once again marvelled at Steve Howell’s book as they were just where he said they would be!

 

27^th August

 

Paul was determined that we should have an early start but I begged a breakfast first (he was still unable to eat properly). We were supposed to be headed along Route 199 to the Ocosingo Road, where we would be able to look down over the forest canopy after driving 12 km. However somehow we lost the main road and ended up in the depths of Palenque town where sign posts were non-existent. After negotiating one-way systems (several times over!), school rush hour and asking how to get out of town (we had lost all sense of direction by now) we managed to interpret some Mexican arm-waving and after a very frustrating hour eventually found the route we had been looking for.

 

A litter-strewn lay-by was one of the very few places to pull off the road up the hill but it gave us good canopy views and vegetated slopes leading into a few agricultural fields. The passing traffic was a problem however and we had to keep dodging vehicles. I added Barred Antshrike and Chestnut –capped Brushfinch to the list as a Crimson-collared Tanager gave itself up that Paul had seen before me. A Striped-tailed Hummingbird gave us the run-around before we could eventually see enough of it to identify it. I got fed up of dodging the traffic and we drove further up the road to a wider lay-by that meant that we could bird in safety without being mown over by passing vehicles. Black Swifts flew high above us but we saw little that was new for our list except for Golden-hooded Tanagers.

 

We decided to try the trail up from the museum to the ruin back down in Palenque. The weather had closed in and it seemed certain that we could be in for a downpour. However in the heat putting on a coat seemed stupid and we started up the trail without one. I decided not to take my camera however, a decision I came to regret. We saw almost nothing on the trail but the thunder growled around us. It did mean that we almost had the ruins to ourselves though, as the tourists left in droves! As soon as we made it to the top Paul disappeared once again and I sat waiting cursing, because at the top of a nearby tree were a pair of  Orange-breasted Falcons that would have made a good photo. How I wish I had had my camera! Once Paul had arrived we sorted out Red-lored Parrots in flight and a Sepia-capped Flycatcher. A Black-headed Saltator was a new world tick for us both here too.

 

28^th August

 

Before we headed to Coba we took a farm track between grazing fields to see if a different habitat would add to our lists. After little return except for a Montezuma Oropendula, we decided to cut our losses and walk another forest trail near the ruins. This turned out to be quite productive. A Ruddy Foliage-gleaner and Olivaceous Woodcreeper accompanied a Smoky-brown Woodpecker in one feeding flock. On our right a Wilson’s Warbler was added to the migrant list. The trail was busy and we also added a Black-throated Shrike-tanager and Southern House Wren. We heard a hummer and a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird appeared as did a Spectacled Foliage-gleaner.

 

All too soon it was time to leave for Coba and we said our goodbyes to Palenque. After a nine and half hour driving marathon we arrived in Coba. The hotel was not sign-posted and was tucked down a track on the right hand side by the lake as we entered the built up area. We negotiated a fee for the cost of the room for a couple of nights at around £50 per night. The hotel was deserted and we could not believe our luck at having such a lovely hotel more or less to ourselves.

 

 

 

                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                        Black Iguana                                                    View from the hotel at Coba

 

As we arrived in the late afternoon there was little time for birding but after a delicious evening meal we wandered around the hotel grounds in the dark where a Northern Potoo sat on top of one of the trees. We also discovered that from the wooden platform built over the lake, alligators were waiting underneath looking very hungry!

 

29^th August

 

Our last day of birding in Mexico had arrived so we were up at first light to look for Spotted Rail that was supposed to inhabit the water’s edge of the lake. We spent fruitless hours in our quest and returned to our hotel for breakfast disappointed that we had failed in what we thought was going to be an easy tick. After a good breakfast we entered the Coba Mayan Temple site where the walk to the ruins was 2 km. We ambled along the pathway through the trees dodging all the cyclists. Although we saw quite a few species only Black-cowled Oriole was new for our lists. Once we reached the temple Paul was still not feeling too well and so I climbed to the top by myself in the searing heat.

 

 

Sue in front of the Mayan Temple at Coba

 

I had an excellent view over the forest canopy and could hear parrots calling but could not see them. After being baked alive I returned to the forest floor to find Paul sitting in the shade not looking his best. We ambled back along the track and returned to the hotel for a drink and I had a very relaxing swim that cooled me down a little.

 

After a short rest Paul felt well enough to return to the temple. This time we hired a bicycle taxi that saved Paul the 2km walk to the ruins. The poor chap had to cycle with three of us aboard. He must have been fit! Once at the ruins we climbed the steep steps so that we could look over the canopy. After a while I heard parrots once again but was unable to get Paul on to the White-fronted Parrots that flew over the canopy and promptly disappeared into the trees. He climbed up to the top of the temple before descending and set up the scope. After quite a while an official who had been watching us for some time descended and told us off for using the scope on the tripod. He was quite happy for us to use the scope as long as it was not attached to the tripod!!! We decided that this seemed a precarious option and returned to our patiently waiting bicycle taxi that transported us back to the entrance just before closing time.

 

Once again we scoured the lake edge for the Spotted Rail without success but did see another Ruddy Crake. We returned to the hotel for another delicious evening meal before staking out the hotel frontage to the lake where we spotlighted a Yucatan Poorwill amongst Lesser Nighthawks.