TR: Yucatan/Chiapas Mexico December 2007

Fellow Birders,

Given that there are a fair number of excellent recent reports (see Worldtwitch, Surfbirds, Travelingbirder, Blake Maybank's site, etc.) I will not wax and wan poetic and redouble the efforts of those previous reporters. Instead, I will try to update information that might be valuable if you are planning a trip to this area. I had hip replacement surgery 10 weeks prior to the trip, so I will also include information for those of you who might be thinking of undertaking such a venture after a recent surgery, or might have a similar limitation. Overall, I saw 284 species on the trip. Not bad considering I was limited to walking flat, even surfaces and so couldn't walk many of the trails. The areas that I visited were: Puerto Morales, Felipe Carillo Puerto, Calakmal, Usumacinta Marshes, Palenque, Bonampak/Yaxchilan, Celestun, Progresso, Uxmal and Coba.

I rented a car over the net through Payless. They are about 5 minutes from the Cancun airport. The $15/day amount quickly jumped to close to $40/day with insurance and Payless' insistence on being paid in pesos (11/$US versus the bank rate of $10.70). Still in all, a good deal for what I would say is a necessity if you are trying to see and do it all. The car was in great condition and ran well.

Puerto Morales: not much to add, except that the Rutas de Cenotes (Vallarta Road) is still being worked on through kilometer 12. Overall most of that section is done and won't hinder your efforts. I found this road to be pretty birdy early in the morning and to be superior to 2 trips (one early, one later in the day) to the Botanical Gardens. Early in the morning for this and all other locations would be defined as starting at 6:15 am. Things were usually slowed down by 8:30-9:00. To reach the Vallarta road, choose the far right lanes on Hwy 307 as you head south from the intersection of the hwy and the road that turns off to Puerto Morales. Do not choose the center lanes or you will bypass the turn-off. In a km you will see a sign for the road. Be aware that if you choose to bird the Cenotes along this road, there will be an entrance charge for most. Birding the road and trails worked fine for me. Given its near proximity to the Cancun airport, I'd recommend staying in Puerto Morales if you're in a crunch for time.

Felipe Carillo Puerto/ Vigia Chico Road: Again not much to add except I saw a juguarundi cross the road early one morning just near where the road becomes forested.

I only birded the first 15 kms and birdwise didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The first few kms of the road, which has farms interspersed with few trees and scrub, was very birdy in the early morning. You'll pick up a lot of species there, but you'll need to go farther along to hit the forested section to get some of the more sought after species. A little more than 1 km along the road there is a school on your right (large concrete structure) that has nice trails through the woods. Ask for permission to use the trails at the school.

In Felipe Carillo Puerto, I stayed at La Casona for $37 US. They are off of the zocalo where the church is located. Nice newly tiled rooms, in a more quiet area. On my return they would only sell me the highest priced room (now $40), based on the premise that the rest of the rooms were sold out. This was completely false information by the way. They also wouldn't bargain at all about the price of the room, as was the case at most of the hotels on this trip. For those familiar with Mexico, this was a strange new twist on what used to be one of the most fun parts of the trip for me: bargaining. I did check out Faison y Venado. It's a hotel that has been favored by other birders, and found the rooms to be tired looking. A birding group was there and that was their take as well. It's also $40 for a single. I'd say 2-3 days in the area is sufficient. This is not one of the more pleasant Mexican towns, so if you are traveling with a non-birding companion, this might be a stretch.

I birded the Laguna Ocum road (about 12 Kms south of Felipe) in the evening (8:30-10:00) and saw Yucatan Night-jars and Yucatan Poorwills. Drive the roads really slowly and look for eye shine from a far distance in your high beams, or what looks like an unusual lump in the road (no eye shine, if the bird is not facing you). I stopped at that point and then slowly approached on foot using a spotlight. The birds were very approachable and gave me great looks.

Calakmul: was all that it was advertised to be. I drove in at 5 am and had large numbers of Oscellated Turkeys along the road, along with the first of what was to be 18 Great Curassows for the day. I spent two days in the area. I spent the first night in a funky palapa in the village of Conhaus. There was no running water and an outside toilet with no seat. If you choose this route, go into the town and on the north side you'll see a restaurant that rents out the palapas. Cost a pretty expensive $25 US a night for what you got. The second night I stayed at the pricey, but very nice Hotel Puerta Calakmul Jungle and Safari Lodge ($100 US). A previous report mentioned that they were short as far as food options. That is no longer the case, as they have a nice restaurant with white cotton table clothes. The restaurant is also pricey. In town are 2 other restaurant options. One final accommodation option is available, though probably only for those who can live a little closer to the edge. It's a camp, with space for regular camping, and huge tents that have mattresses in them. They are also building trails that might be good for birding. They are about 8 kms along the road to Calakmul. The owners seemed really nice, but it would have to be your cup of tea, so to speak. Also notable in the area is the bat cave that others have mentioned. It is now only accessible with a guide and a permit. You will need to get the permit beforehand, so keep that in mind if you are hoping to undertake this venture. It is worth it in itself to see all the bats flying across the road at sunset. But, going to the cave (actually a long ago dried up cenote) is spectacular. A Barn Owl was flying around trying to pick off bats, and a Black and White Owl was there as well.

The road into Calakmul will take you about 2 hours to drive the 60 kilometers. The road could possibly hold some nice rewards, as I saw my first ever puma. The puma was standing on the edge of the road near km 40 as I was heading out at 11:30 in the morning. So 5 days into my trip and I had seen 2 big wild cats. I had never seen a cat in my many trips (over 20) to Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama.

The Usumacinta Marshes: were pretty dry overall and that meant that there were fewer areas with birds than would be expected. Only the Palizada Road, which is the north most road mentioned by Howell, had a large concentration of birds. It was here that I had one of the best birds on the trip: an Agami Heron. It was seen in between the first 2 villages. The Playa Larga, and Balancan roads that branch off of 199 were very badly potholed and virtually birdless for the first 10 kms. I didn't venture farther on either, though I tried a side dirt road off of the Balancan road. I drove it for about 5 kms and found very little. Where there were birds, the numbers were staggering. Unfortunately, these areas were few and far between.

I did pick up Double Stripe Thick-Knees along the La Libertad road mentioned in Howell. I saw only 2 and those were at a great distance about 1 ? kms from the start of the road if you were approaching from the Palenque side. Grassland Yellow-Finches and Aplomado Falcons were easily seen along the first 15 kms of this road as well. This road also becomes very potholed after the first 10 kms. Places to pull off of the road were few and far between. Mostly I pulled into drive ways to get off of the road and safely scan the fields.

On my way to the marshes, at 175 km marker off of highway 186, I was stopped at a military checkpoint for a cursory check of my vehicle. It turned out to be a lucky break in that immediately after I was cleared to resume, I had a flyby of 2 Yellow-headed Parrots.

Palenque: for those of you who have visited Palenque in the past (for me it was over 20 years ago) you will find the habitat seriously degraded. The road out to the ruins is covered with hotels. The trails were pretty much out for me due their steep nature. I parked in the upper parking lot and walked only a short distance on a trail off of the right hand side. This trail had quite a few offshoots that seemed promising. The only other trail that it appears that you can bird is about halfway between the lower and upper parking lots on your right. You'll see a wide turnout before the road takes a step curve to the left. Here you can walk the river trail that others have mentioned. I was told you can walk it about 1 ? kms. I didn't see much in the short distance I was able to walk, but did have a Royal Flycatcher and had a huge concentration of warblers, and vireos in the trees surrounding the wide parking spot. For someone who would be physically disabled I wouldn't recommend Palenque unless you were only interested in the ruins. For those who could walk the trails it would probably be a lot better, though the degradation of the forest and the circus atmosphere (lots of noisy crowds everywhere) would seem to make for a less than enjoyable experience. The town has a lot of amenities, though I found it to be less than charming. I stayed at Casa Inn Tulija, which is located just north of the perifico (roundabout). The hotel was $50 a night. Pretty decent, except the first night they were having a party that lasted to 2 in the morning. Probably best to ask at each hotel if that might be the case. There are many options in Palenque, though most decent places will cost you about what I paid.

Bonampak/ Or How I Learned to Love the Topes Highway: I left Palenque at 4 in the morning to get to the ruins early. That could be a mistake, especially if you encounter the fog that I did along the road. It was very, very intense, especially considering the number of topes along the road. You will hit a stretch (after the initial curvy part of the road) where every few kms there are villages with more then the required sleeping policemen. My recommendation if you're planning to spend time in the area is to leave Palenque in the early afternoon and get to Bonampak while there's still light. I stayed in a palapa in the Lacandon village that is north of the ruins. I found it to nice and quiet place for $25 night. It might not be for everyone, though it certainly was clean enough to me. If it's not your cup of tea, you're probably resigned to making this a day trip from Palenque. By the way, there is not only a charge for the ruins, but also a charge for use of the road into the ruins. I was accosted by a tour guide as I was getting ready to leave the ruins and he demanded 300 pesos for use of the road. It seems that since I came in early, I had passed the gate where they were supposed to charge me the required fee. I told him no way and he got on his cell phone and was pretty disparaging toward me. Then about ? hour later I was accosted again while I was birding the road. A gentleman (?) and his girlfriend, that were riding a motorcycle, stopped me and also asked for money. I also told him I wasn't going to give him money, and told him he would have to accompany me to an official building if one existed. He didn't like the idea, but eventually off we all went. I paid the 60 peso fee, but was not real happy with the experience. I ventured out along the road that evening, and I hit, or should I say a Vermiculated Screech-Owl hit my car. I was driving slowly, and out of the corner of my eye I could see a bird heading directly for the backseat car door on the driver's side. I heard the light thump and headed back to see the owl in the road with its wings spread out. I got out of the car and slowly approached the bird, and after a few minutes, the owl flew about 10 feet into the closest tree. I stuck around for a few minutes and it seemed to recuperate just fine. It seemed bizarre to have a bird hit the side of the car, especially at the ultra slow rate I was driving. Also of note along this road were Short-tailed Nighthawks.

Yaxchilan: if you are traveling by yourself the boatman will try to charge you 500 pesos or more. Wait for a group to join, and you should be able to go for 100 pesos. It's best to get there before 12, in that there are few trips to the ruins after that time and you might be forced to go it alone and pay the higher tariff. The boat trip is 40 minutes each way. Technically there are supposedly to be only 12 people per boat, but we had 13. We didn't see any unusual birds, but we did see a 9 foot long crocodile. At the ruins there was a family of Black Howler Monkeys that were about 10 feet from a group of us. There was a space between the trees that they had been traversing and they had to drop almost down to the ground to hop across to the next tree. They seemed pretty nonplused by it all, but I was buoyed by the experience. I would not recommend Yaxchilan for those of you who would have trouble climbing steep steps. After you arrive by boat you must climb these to get to the site. At the site there are also steep steps to get to the best ruins. I had to forego climbing these, so I missed out on getting a good view of those ruins. One final note, the trail out to the jungle, from the south side of the ruins, that has been talked about in other posts is now closed. The only trail that you can walk through forested area is in the ruins themselves.

Coba: no bitterns, or rails around the lake. Nice assortment of birds seen along a few of the trails. These were easier to walk than at other locations and as others have said, it is still a nice place to combine birding with visiting ruins. The ruins are situated a long distance from each other and those of you who would find it hard to get around could hire bicycle drivers who can transport you. The cost was 60 pesos one way.

Chichen-Itza: Get there early, it opens at 8, and then get out early. Fabulous ruins, birds were definitely around as well. When we tried to leave around noon the lines were extremely long and getting out through the turnstiles was an arduous task. I got bumped around and ended up hurting my leg. Luckily, I didn't do any serious damage. We stayed at the Delores Alba for $45 per night. It's close to the ruins, with a pool, and very comfortable. We also stayed at their sister hotel in Merida.

Progresso: we found this to be a stop that was very worthwhile. We saw large groups of American Flamingos about 20 kms to the east of Progresso along the road to the ruins at Xcambo. From Progresso travel the coastal highway east about 15kms past Chicxulub. Turn right on the road to the Xcambo ruins and look at the lagoons. We saw about 100 flamingos at a distance of 75 yards. There is also a tower that overlooks the lagoons about 8 kms to the east of Progresso. From there you can usually see the flamingos at a far distance. Though, it's much better to head east to the road to the ruins, where they are much closer. The first bit of suitable scrub habitat that we saw east of Progresso held all 3 endemics we were looking for. We saw them all within 3 minutes. A calling Yucatan Bobwhite got our attention, then we quickly picked up 3 Yucatan Wrens that were in the scrub, and finally Mexican Sheartails that were working the agave flowers. There were lots of shorebirds around as well.

Celestun: There are some hotel options though they were either funky or expensive for what you got, or very expensive and nice. We ended up spending a night at Hotel Maria Del Carmen for $35 per night. We had a great time birding and also doing some shelling along the beach. A birding tower was being built while we were there and we climbed it early in the morning to see about a thousand flamingos sitting in the river. We witnessed them flying across in front of the tower at 7:30. What a spectacular way to start the day. Another option is to take a motorboat ride up river to the areas where they feed. They start at 9 in the morning and you'll have to wait around until they fill the boats. Good for the local economy, but an even better option might be to go to the tower and ask to see if Canche Chin Felipe (9992320673 or 9991742898) will take you out in a canoe. He saw us at the tower and asked if we might want to do this. He is trying to become a guide and is a wonderful person to ride and bird with. He doesn't speak English, and is just starting to get to know his birds well enough to try his hand at guiding. For us that didn't matter, as the experience was transcendent. It was one of those wonderful experiences that make a trip. It was an incredible ride through the mangroves. He knew where there was a nesting Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and we had nice looks at Boat-billed Herons and Pygmy Kingfishers as well. He and a group of 12 others are trying to turn this part of the area into a nice birding spot by building a wooden trail through the mangroves in addition to the tower. Other possible guides for this trip are Poot Poot Damian and Casanova Miguel also at the number given above. To find this spot, stop and park at the small turnout that is on your left about ? km before you approach the bridge that takes you into Celestun. One other spot that Canche showed us, that we hadn't seen written up, is directly across the road from the boat launch. There is a track that goes out into the hard sand that holds a fair number of birds. We were able to see a Mangrove Cuckoo there.

Uxmal: we didn't do very well here as far as birds go. We did really enjoy the ruins. The trail that Howell mentions that leads from the wide gravel parking lot into the thorn forest was so overgrown that we had to forego it. We were basically told by locals that it isn't used anymore.



Hope this can be of help to some of you. If you would like more information, feel free to e-mail me with specific questions and I'll try to fill you in. We would like to thank those of you who had previously posted trip reports. We used those as a backbone for formulating routes and setting up our trip. Thanks also to Rick Taylor, who not only responded to my original RFI, but also was very helpful when I ran into his tour group along the Vigia Chico Road.



Barry Levine

Seattle, Wa. USA

levineb at bsd405.org