Mexico | Birding the Ruins of the Yucatán

Upon arrival at the Cozumel International Airport, after clearing customs and collecting your luggage, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Attend an orientation meeting and have dinner at the hotel.

This morning, set out for birding at the San Gervasio archaeological site on the north side of the island. The site, whose pre-Columbian name means "flat rock in the place of the swallows," was once a Maya religious center and administrative seat for the entire island. Watch for species like the Yucatan Vireo, Yucatan Woodpecker, Bananaquit, Cozumel Emerald, Green-breasted Mango, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Mangrove Cuckoo, and Cozumel Wren. Have lunch at a local restaurant. Spend the rest of the afternoon exploring and birding the southern end of the island. Later, return to the hotel with time to freshen up before a presentation on the birds of Cozumel and extinct species, followed by dinner.

Begin the day with early morning birding around the hotel gardens. After breakfast, check out and take the ferry from the pier in Cozumel to Playa del Carmen on the mainland; from there, continue south to Vigía Chico, an abandoned coastal village. The trip there takes you through Sian Ka'an, a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated along the coast, this reserve is a mix of tropical forest, mangrove, savanna, and wetland, with an impressive bird list numbering more than 300 species. Potential sightings include Ocellated Turkey, Jabiru, Great Curassow, Roseate Spoonbill, Gray-headed Chat, Orange Oriole, Scaled Pigeon, Yucatan Parrot, Bananaquit, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Rose-throated Tanager, Gray-headed Tanager, Snail Kite, and 15 heron species, plus wildlife such as howler and spider monkeys, tapirs, crocodiles, margays, and ocelots. Have lunch in the nearby town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto. In the afternoon, bird the temples and surrounding forest of Chacchoben and watch for Red-lored Parrot, Groove-billed Ani, Yucatan Jay, Yucatan Vireo, Black-headed Trogon, Pale-billed Woodpecker, and Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, among others. Continue to your hotel for check-in and dinner.

After breakfast, transfer to Noh-Bec, a community owned tropical reserve located around the Noh Bec lagoon. Some target species here include Brown hooded Parrot, White crowned Parrot, Lineated Woodpecker, Plain Chachalaca, Purple Gallinule, Pale billed Woodpecker, Royal Flycatcher, Green Kingfisher, Greenish Elaenia, Boat billed Flycatcher, Stub tailed Spadebill, Collared Trogon, Black headed Trogon, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, and Blue Ground Dove. Have lunch in a local restaurant and then take a boat ride around Bacalar Lagoon-known as the "Lake of Seven Colors" due to its different shades of blue. During the ride, you may see Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Neotropic Cormorant, Limpkin, Northern Jacana, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, and White-fronted Parrot. Return to the pier and visit the colonial Fort of San Felipe for more birding. Have lunch at a local restaurant, then return to the hotel for time at leisure to relax or watch for avian visitors in the hotel gardens. This evening, attend a lecture on birding in the Yucatán before dinner at the hotel.

Check out after breakfast and head further inland toward Xpuhil, stopping for birding en route at Caobas, tres Garantias, a beautiful forest situated on borders of Belize and Guatemala. Some target species here include Brown hooded Parrot, White crowned Parrot, Lineated Woodpecker, Plain Chachalaca, Purple Gallinule, Pale billed Woodpecker, Royal Flycatcher, Green Kingfisher, Greenish Elaenia, Boat billed Flycatcher, Stub tailed Spadebill, Collared Trogon, Black headed Trogon, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, and Blue Ground Dove Continue to Xpuhil for lunch and then transfer about four miles west to Becán for a field trip in the ruins. This site was once the political, economic, and religious center of the area known today as Rio Bec. One distinguishing characteristic of Becán is the presence of moats and protective walls surrounding the city, features not commonly found in Maya architecture. The pyramids and temples in Becán were built in clusters around three main plazas and also include a small but well-preserved ball court. Some buildings still have remnants of the detailed facades that once graced their walls, giving insight into what the city must have looked like at its peak. A variety of warblers, tanagers, hummingbirds, and raptors can be seen here. Check in at the hotel this afternoon, with time for birding around the hotel's gardens. Keep your eyes open for Crested Guan, Great Curassow, Russet-naped Woodrail, and Thicket Tinamo.

Rise early with a boxed breakfast for birding at Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. Calakmul is within the largest contiguous tract of tropical forest outside the Amazon Basin -Mesoamerica's 35-million-acre Mayan Forest - and provides refuge for many rare and endangered species. Within the reserve is the Calakmul archaeological site; the top of the complex's great pyramid offers a good vantage point to look for soaring raptors, such as Hook-billed and Gray-headed Kites, Hawk Eagles, and the magnificent King Vulture, which is the symbol of Calakmul. Other possibilities include regional endemic species such as the Ocellated Turkey and Rose-throated Tanager, as well as vulnerable birds like the Great Curassow. Have a picnic lunch before returning to the hotel this afternoon for more birding around the hotel gardens.

After early morning birding, breakfast, and check-out, proceed to the small but interesting Maya ruins at Hochob. Hochob is an excellent example of the Chenes architectural style, which flourished from about AD 100 to 1000 and is distinguished by smaller courtyards and ceremonial platforms and a lack of large pyramids. In the forests around Hochob you may be able to see Yucatan Bobwhite, Lesser Roadrunner, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Yucatan Woodpecker, Turquoise-browed Motmot, Lesson's Motmot, and Fork-tailed Flycatcher. Enjoy a picnic lunch on site and then continue the drive north to Uxmal. Check in at your hotel with time for birding around the grounds before dinner.

Morning birding at Uxmal site. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most impressive and important Maya archeological sites in the Yucatan. Typical of the Puuc style, the buildings are low horizontal structures with courtyards that are richly decorated with detailed sculptures made from thousands of perfectly polished stones. The ruins are clustered into 15 groups that spread from north to south, and highlights include the Pyramid of the Magician with its Plaza of the Birds, the Ball Court, the Governor's Palace, and the Great Pyramid. In the afternoon, bird the grounds of Hacienda Yunku before returning to the hotel for dinner and a lecture on birding in the Yucatan.

Begin the day with early morning birding, then have breakfast and check out. Depart for Hunucma, with a roadside stop for birding in the Chunchucmil community, where you may see Lesser Roadrunner, Russet-naped Wood-Rail, Northern Jacana, Squirrel Cuckoo, Caribbean Dove, and Blue-black Grassquit, among others. Upon arrival, have lunch and check in at your hotel. There will be a chance to seek out some species that are endemic to the north coast, such as Yucatan Wren and Mexican Sheartail, as well as other species like Yucatan Bobwhite, Yucatan Woodpecker, Black Catbird, White-lored Gnatcatcher, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Mangrove Warbler, and Common Tody-Flycatcher. Next, listen to a lecture on local flamingo conservation efforts. Dinner at the hotel.

Early morning birding. After breakfast, take a boat ride down the Celestun River. Targets today include flamingos (November-February), the elusive Rufous-necked Wood-Rail, Lesson's Motmot, Common Black Hawk, Yellow-tailed Oriole, Roseate Spoonbill, Boat-billed Heron, White Ibis, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, and others. After lunch in town, travel to Merida and check in at the hotel. Enjoy a farewell dinner this evening.

After breakfast transfer to the Merida International Airport for return flights home.