Explorations of an Ecologist: Yucatan Birding!

December 5, 2021

Our flight from Veracruz to Cancún went off without a hitch and we arrived midday to sights of sunburned tourists in Panama hats waiting to board their flights back to points further north. Yep, we had arrived in Cancún.

Typically I would try to avoid a place like this, but the Yucatán Peninsula holds a number of alluring endemic bird species. We would just have to put up with the hoards of tourists and inflated prices.

We picked up our rental vehicle (Easy Way Car Rental), a battered Dodge Attitude with a rattley suspension that felt far older than the 69,000 km on its odometer indicated. We headed westwards towards the city of Xocén (and away from the Riviera Maya), where we would spend our first night.

Calephelis sp. - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

The Yucatán Peninsula is home to several endemic bird species, some which also range into neighbouring Belize and northern Guatemala. Some of these including the Yucatan Poorwill, Yucatan Jay, Black Catbird, Yucatan Flyatcher and Yucatan Woodpecker are fairly widespread. Others such as the Yucatan Gnatcatcher and Yucatan Wren are restricted to dry scrub along the Caribbean coastline. Still others, like the Yucatan Vireo and Rose-throated Tanager are limited to the eastern side of the peninsula. The island of Cozumel is home to the Cozumel Emerald, Cozumel Vireo and Cozumel Wren (and possibly the Cozumel Thrasher, which may be extinct). And of course, there are a handful of other endemics not listed above that are widespread on the peninsula, but which may take some work to find, including the Yucatan Nightjar, Yellow-lored Parrot, Gray-throated Chat and Black-throated Bobwhite.

Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

We checked into the hotel and headed straight for a dirt road leading eastwards away from Xocén. We hoped to see our first few Yucatan endemic species, followed by a nocturnal search for Yucatan Poorwill, Yucatan Nightjar, and Northern Potoo (a widespread species that Laura and I have not caught up to before).

Yucatan Woodpecker - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

One of the first birds that Laura spotted was a Yucatan Woodpecker, quietly working a thin branch. The similar Golden-naped Woodpecker shares habitat with the Yucatan Woodpecker, but it is much larger with a heavier bill, and lacks yellow colouration around the base of the bill. After seeing so many Golden-naped Woodpeckers in previous weeks it was enriching to study our first Yucatan Woodpecker.

Rodriguez's Anole (Anolis rodriguezii) - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

As the mid-afternoon heat began to dissipate, the bird activity increased. A mixed flock included a Yellow-backed Oriole, Scrub Euphonias, a pair of Red-throated Ant-Tanagers and two Olivaceous Woodcreepers. We later came across a flock of Yucatan Jays, though they did not hang around for long. For being a relatively common species I found them quite attractive.

Yellow-backed Oriole - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

The haunting whistles of Thicket Tinamous began once the sun had set but before darkness had settled across the landscape. A Caribbean Dove and Collared Forest-Falcon also joined in to the dusk chorus. The conditions seemed absolutely ideal for night birds but, despite our best efforts, the Yucatan Nightjar and Northern Potoo remained off our lists. At least we were able to call in a Yucatan Poorwill which flew over the road a few times, its silhouette visible in the moonlight.

December 6, 2021

The beauty of birding at this latitude in December is that the days are relatively short. Despite the late night, we managed a reasonable sleep before our early morning wakeup, and we still made it back to the road before the sun was up.

Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

And what a morning of birding it was! Some of the first birds we heard were a pair of Amazona parrots which sounded suspiciously like the endemic Yellow-lored Parrot. They were! We watched the pair preen from the top of a tree in the morning light, giving us surprisingly good views of a species that can be elusive.

Yellow-lored Parrot - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

Several Yucatan Flycatchers called and we tracked two down for photos. This species looks very similar to the Dusky-capped Flycatcher but with more strongly marked tertials and a grayish face. The distinctive vocalizations are the best field mark.

Yucatan Flycatcher - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

The Rose-throated Tanager was a big target for me at this site. Not only is it generally restricted to the eastern Yucatán Peninsula (meaning we only had a few mornings to seek it out) but it is a very neat looking Piranga tanager. There are only nine species of Piranga in the world (including the familiar Summer and Scarlet Tanagers), and Laura and I had already seen the eight others.

Fortunately, we did not have to work hard as we heard the distinctive call notes of a Rose-throated Tanager soon after arriving at the road. We tracked it down - a female - though it disappeared before fully satisfying looks (or photos) could be had. A little later I noticed a male but this time it stuck around.

Rose-throated Tanager - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

At a large clearing I tried the pygmy-owl trick - that is, playing the tape of a pygmy-owl to attract hummingbirds and small songbirds which arrive to mob the potential threat. It worked like a charm and around 20 species came in (including a real Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl). Others included Blue Bunting, Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, Mangrove Vireo, Buff-bellied Hummingbird and Northern Cardinal.

Mangrove Vireo - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

Butterflies in the genus Hamadryas are commonly referred to as "crackers" due to the crackling sounds that males will make with their wings during a courtship display. Crackers exhibit impressive camouflage when resting on tree bark.

Gray Cracker (Hamadryas februa) - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

The morning rush was behind us but the birding remained steady with new additions around every bend. We tallied over 65 species by 10 AM at which point we left to make it back to the hotel in time for breakfast.

Biblis aganisa - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

We had scarcely driven 500 metres back along the road when a few birds flew across in front of us, causing us to stop the car to check them out. And then we noticed the ants. Countless throngs of ants moved as one across the road, up and down the trees, and along the carpet of dead leaves on the forest floor. An ant swarm! Anybody who has birded in this part of the world knows that army ant swarms are a birder's dream. Numerous ant-specialists attend these swarms to forage on the insects, lizards and other creatures that flee from the army of ants. Some of these birds are rarely seen away from swarms.

We stopped the car in the middle of the road leaving the doors ajar as we hurried over to the action. Within seconds we had noticed some Red-throated Ant-Tanagers but more importantly, our first Black Catbird.

Red-throated Ant-Tanager - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

But before I could really appreciate the catbird, Laura shout-whispered "I've got the chat!". Wow, a male Gray-throated Chat had joined the fray and was perched right at eye-level beside the road. Laura apologized for pulling me away from the Black Catbird before I could photograph it, but there was no need to apologize! The Gray-throated Chat was utterly spectacular.

Gray-throated Chat - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

Eventually I turned my attention to the Black Catbird which was a sleek, attractive bird as well.

Black Catbird - Xocén area, Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico

We gave the ant swarm the once-over in case any other ant specialists were around, but with the minutes ticking by, we raced back to the hotel to make it back before the 11 AM cutoff for breakfast (in our case, lunch).

Of course, no visit to the Yucatán Peninsula is complete without cooling off in a few cenotes. The bedrock of the peninsula is composed of limestone and cenotes are sinkholes which form when the limestone collapses, exposing groundwater. The key for Laura and I was to find a cenote not completely overrun by tourists. We chose right. Cenote Sac-Aua used to be classified as a cave cenote until the roof collapsed, forming an island in the middle. We only had to share the cenote with two other couples during our visit.