Early in 2014 I had the good fortune to secure a short trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico at basically no cost to me.  With a little quick planning and a few bucks out of my own pocket I turned the trip into 3 packed days of birding at 3 awesome locations (Coba, Cozumel, Rio Lagartos).  I ended up seeing 170 species including 51 life birds, picking up the majority of the endemics and a few personal favorites along the way.  It was a great trip and I left with a deep appreciation for the area and its birds.  Shortly after that trip my wife Sam and I took a trip to Panama, our last foreign adventure for nearly 18 months.  Since then we had our first child, watched his first year of life fly by, and I birded quite a bit less than usual with the changes around the house.  We were both itching to get out of the country for a few days, and decided this summer that we would take a November trip someplace warm, fairly close, and that we could do without breaking the bank.  The Yucatan immediately jumped to the top of my list of places that met this criteria.

After spending a couple weeks looking at other options and pricing things out, I kept coming back to the Yucatan, and decided to just go for it.  I booked a 5 night trip that would put us in the Playacar area I was familiar with, with day trips to Cozumel and Chichen Itza. This would mostly be a beach trip to relax in the sun--but if I played my cards right there were a few lifers I could pickup.

About 3 weeks before our trip I got a call that the resort we were staying at had a fire the previous day and they had to move us to another location--at first I was a little worried but it ended up being an upgrade and put us 1/2 way between Cancun and Playacar in the Playa Paraiso area which is surrounded by lush lowland jungle.

DAY 1

6 Days in the Yucatan!

We left Salt Lake on November 5th with an evening flight to Denver, then caught the red-eye for a short 3.5 hour flight to Cancun overnight.  We arrived before sunrise to buckets of rain that slowly cleared as the sun came out and we arrived in Playa Paraiso.  First bird of the trip as expected--GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE.

We were checking in early so our room wasn't ready--while we waited we walked the ground where the birds started popping out of the wood works.  First was a small flock of YUCATAN JAYS visiting a tree where they were enjoying some type of food.  While we watched out of nowhere a GREEN JAY flew in just 10' away providing the best looks I've had before disappearing into the Mangroves.  SOCIAL FLYCATCHER and GREAT KISKADEE along with TROPICAL KINGBIRD and TROPICAL MOCKINGBIRD were all quick to appear and remained constants at the resort throughout the trip.  After getting our room keys a surprise NORTHERN JACANA was a nice sight before we headed to the pools to enjoy a little relaxation.  My eyes kept wandering to the skies where OSPREY, TURKEY and BLACK VULTURES, and MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRDS appeared from time to time.  It was easy birding and a nice change from the doldrums of the day to day around my home and office where I have spent most of the past few months.

Great Kiskadee showing its gorgeous cap

The afternoon brought a flyover ROADSIDE HAWK and a pair of PLAIN CHACHALACAS near one of the pools.  Flyover OLIVE-THROATED PARAKEET were seen through the trip, why MELODIOUS BLACKBIRDS were heard winging all day every day. The beach wasn't much for birds--too many people. LAUGHING GULLS were omnipresent, while both ROYAL and CASPIAN TERN made flybys constantly.  The occasional NEOTROPIC and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT as well as BROWN PELICAN would fly past, but nothing in great numbers.

Todays eBird Checklists:
Playa Paraiso - Morning
Playa Paraiso - Mid Day
Playa Paraiso - Afternoon

DAY 2

Northern Jacana on a flooded lawn

On our 2nd morning I took an early walk while the wife and kid slept.  Bird life was scant as thunderheads were on the move and rain came and went.  I managed to track down the NORTHERN JACANA from the previous day for horribly lit photos. I think one of the things I was most excited about was a White-nosed Coati hanging out by itself that let me get a pretty good shot...

White-nosed Coati on a lawn edge

I also turned up a pair of YUCATAN JAYS that allowed for better photos than my previous trip, but nothing worth writing home about.  The only other new bird of the morning was a GROOVE-BILLED ANI hunting from a shrub patch along a side road.

Yucatan Jay posing briefly

The rest of the day was spent relaxing which was the point of the 1st couple days. The most interesting thing I saw today and a couple other times was a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER eating table scraps in the out door eating areas on the grounds.  One was picking bread crumbs while the other was eating ice cream cone leftovers.  It was odd but allowed really close looks!

Todays eBird Checklists:
Playa Paraiso - Morning
Playa Paraiso - Afternoon

DAY 3

Today the plan was to hit Cozumel and pick up our rental car to drive to Chichen Itza on Monday--but Sam didn't feel well and we decided the boat ride wasn't the best way to spend a morning.  I again decided to hit the grounds and see what I turned up--today the sun was out and that made all the difference in the world. I headed to the mangroves along the beach first thing where a few birds were already active.  YELLOW WARBLER, YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, and AMERICAN REDSTART were all feeding in the open.  My favorite find were a pair of CINNAMON HUMMINGBIRDS that sat on exposed limbs allowing photos--a species I hadn't taken picture of on my last trip.

Cinnamon Hummingbird before sunrise

After exhausting the mangroves and beach I moved inland until I eventually came across a cooperative HOODED ORIOLE that allowed me to take photos and watch it for about 20 minutes.

Stunning Hooded Oriole 

I headed to a stretch of road along the resort golf course where I had birded the previous morning--this area seemed the most active and this morning it was action packed.  I tallied 9 species of warbler including HOODED, PRAIRIE, BAY-BREASTED, and MAGNOLIA.  The orioles were out in force with the highlight being 5 different species visiting the flowering bushes along the golf course. BALTIMORE, ORCHARD, HOODED, ORANGE, and ALTAMIRA ORIOLE made for a colorful morning.

Orchard Oriole accompanied by a Tropical Kingbird

As I made my way around a patch of tree there stood a PLAIN CHACHALACA standing on the lawn nearby.  I was ecstatic as the lighting was perfect--pretty soon I noticed 2 more in the trees and the 3 birds eventually walked right at me, passing within an arms length and making their way to better cover.

Why did the Plain Chachalaca cross the lawn?

While I watched the goofy groundbirds pass out the corner of my eye a GREEN HERON moved through a nearby pond.  The bird was quite accomodating and let me watch it closely for 15 or 20 minutes.  

Green Heron pretending to be a plant

After I felt like I'd exhausted the trees, I made my way back towards our room when a flock of OLIVE-THROATED PARAKEET flew by and landed in a tree long enough for me to fire off one shot.  A truck drove by and scared all the birds into the air. I was a little peeved as there hadn't been a vehicle anywhere near for about 20 minutes--such is life.

Olive-throated Parakeet

It wasn't a bad morning with almost 40 species seen within a mile of my room.  The rest of the day was spent at the pool, beach, and a quick trip to Playa del Carmen to pick up the rental for the rest of our trip.

Todays eBird Checklists:
Playa Paraiso - Morning
Playa Paraiso - Late Morning

DAY 4

We finally made our way out of the city and away from the coast as we headed inland to Coba. I'd only been able to spend about 90 minutes here previously, and wouldn't get much more time today.  In the future I wouldn't mind spending a couple days in the area, and really checking things out.  The birding is great and you can get amazing looks and photo ops with some patience.  But with a 15 month old in tow we kept to a pretty steady pace to see the ruins, and get back to the car before nap time.  It didn't help that it was extremely hot and very humid making for a sticky time in the jungle--I personally love it!

The family at Coba

We arrived a couple hours after sunrise so activity had peaked and things were waning.  In the first big clearing with ruins where last time the bird activity was plentiful, the birds were sticking to the edges and there weren't nearly as many out in the open. I did spot a SUMMER TANAGER, and a few GREAT KISKADEES which were visiting an ant line. RUDDY GROUND-DOVE and RED-EYED VIREO were two of the only birds out in the open, while I could hear YELLOW-WNIGED TANAGER and GARTERED TROGON calling from the forest.

Ruddy Ground-Dove... Not on the ground.

Walking the main trail through the jungle we came across a pair of RED-THROATED ANT-TANAGER hopping around near the trail. The lighting was abysmal and I wasn't able to get a photo of this species yet again.  The forest was mostly quiet-accept for the seemingly abundant WHITE-EYED VIREO that kept appearing overhead. These visitors form up north were only outnumbered by BLACK-THROATED GREEN-WARBLER and MELODIOUS BLACKBIRD.  And to dull things out I did spy a pair of TENNESSEE WARBLERS reminding me that not every warbler comes in bright and yellow!

Near one out of the way ruin I could hear the BLACK-HEADED TROGON calling from the forest--as I approached I could make out at least 3 different birds calling--then when I got to the edge and saw a few the birds started moving--5 trogons all within about 60' of one another.  This species is all but guaranteed at Coba.

Bad shot of a Black-headed Trogon in the Jungle

We eventually made our way to the The Ixmoja Pyramid--the tallest such structure in the Yucatan at 137'.  The Coba complex was apparently home to some 50,000 Mayans at one point--incredible given its remote location in the jungle today.  As we walked up the path towards the pyramid, we came across a thick ant line crossing the road--about 3" to 10" wide in various places--it was a swarm and nearby in the trees I could see more RED-THROATED ANT-TANAGERS on the ground--but there were other birds including my lifer RUDDY WOODCREEPER of which several zipped form snag, to limb, to root, and branch. Despite the crappy lighting, I managed to make one pretty good shot!

Lifer Ruddy Woodcreeper

GRAY-HEADED TANAGER accompanied the other birds, as well as YUCATAN JAYS.  I spent some time scanning the understory trying to find other birds, but there wasn't much else--I caught up to the rest of the family at the pyramid which we took in as the sun beat down upon the opening in the jungle.

Gray-headed Tanager following an ant line

It was hot--and the kiddo was getting grumpy, so we turned around an made our way back towards the entrance.  I was able to snag one more lifer in a WEDGE-TAILED SABREWING--a rather plain species of hummingbird easily identified by its unique tail shape!  We bought a few trinkets and snacks then hit the road and made our way back to the coast and our resort in time for lunch--Delicious tacos made fresh while we watched.  The rest of the day was spent soaking in the sun, and enjoying the beautiful beach!

Todays eBird Checklists:
Zona Arqueológica Cobá
Playa Paraiso

DAY 5

With our last full day in Mexico, I started early and headed just a few miles up the coast to Yaax Che Jardín Botánico del Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marín--a botanical garden.  I had found this place on my last visit but didn't manage to make it there to look for birds--big mistake as this might be the best birding location along the coast between Cancun and Playa...  I had a few hours, but when I got there the gate was shut--I was a couple minutes early and there was no where to park outside the gate which was right off the highway.  So I did a loop and came back a few minutes later--STILL CLOSED!  But there was a guy behind the gate.  I hollered and asked why the gate was closed--he responded that it didn't open for another 30 minutes!  This is always an issue when you bird in other countries--gardens, parks, and various places you may find yourself birding often go by their own schedule.  If online it says 8am somewhere, they may open at 8--or 8:30, or whenever they decide to.  After pleading with the guy, he let me in to park and I spent the next 20 minutes birding around the parking area.  A flock of  YUCATAN JAYS came through accompanied with my first stellar look at a BROWN JAY.

Brown Jay pausing before disappearing in the jungle

The park "manager" soon arrived and after talking for a few minutes he told me I was free to walk the grounds and as I only had about 75 minutes now I busted my tail down the trail.  It was quiet but at the first pull out into an "exhibit" I whipped out my best pygmy-owl imitation and the birds came a flying.  Various warblers from the states came in followed by a surprise GRAY CATBIRD, and finally a lifer--a WHITE-BELLIED WREN, who provided excellent looks.

Lifer White-bellied Wren

I kept on down the trail where a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH bobbed up and down in the middle of the road.  Then form just off trail came the bellowing of a THICKET TINAMOU.  It sounded like there may have been two and I made my way closer to the noise where eventually I had to be within 25'. But despite the scanning the undergrowth, I could never pick out the beast.  My Tinamou list continues to grow, without having ever actually seen one...

At the next exhibit--a medicinal plants exhibit I spent a couple minutes unsuccessfully trying to coax birds form the forest.  I made my way back to the trail passing a cactus garden and eventually coming around a corner and flushing a GREAT BLACK HAWK from the edge of the road.  I saw where it landed and started sneaking towards it, when I heard a squeal form above--another one was perched staring down at me!

Great Black Hawk staring me down

It was an amazing look and I basked in the opportunity.  All the while I could hear birds calling nearby and there was one call could never figure out.  Looking into the forest I soon found a pair of RUDDY WOODCREEPERS, as well as a flock of YUCATAN JAYS.  A MANGROVE VIREO passed by along with several warblers, and a GROOVE-BILLED ANI.  As I walked up the path I noticed a few ants streaming across the road--I guess that explained the birds!  I came around a bend to where I saw the other hawk land, and it flew as soon as it saw me--then out of the forest a voice hollered at me asking what I was seeing--it was another birder--from Canada.

Ant Swarm crossing the road

We started talking and I found out it was his first trip here--and he was with his non-birding wife.  We started walking and talking birds when all the sudden we noticed the ant swarm had literally taken over the road--our path was blocked by 30' wide swath of ants rolling across the road--it was my first real ant swarm--and the birds were following.  RUDDY WOODCREEPER, the jays, anis, and a few RED-THROATED ANT-TANAGERS.  I finally managed a picture of the tanager, as there weren't many birds in tow to look at besides the above mentioned.

Red-throated Ant-Tanager following an ant swarm

It was great to see, but the number of birds following were a tad disappointing.  We walked back aways to look for the hawk which had moved by now, but quickly found a small family of SPIDER MONKEYS! A great treat!  We followed the troupe for a few minutes until they moved out of sight into the forest!

Spider Monkey swinging through the trees

My time had wound down and I needed to run, so we bid adieu and I headed back toward the entrance--but not before I heard a squeaking of tanagers above me--ROSE-THROATED TANAGERS--a small flock moving through the tree tops! Ah, one of my top wants from the area previously, and just fleeting glimpses before they were gone and the forest was quiet again.  I made my way to the entrance and talked briefly with the manager and paid my entrance fee--I think it was like 150 pesos--or about $10.

Stunning young Yucatan Jay

One thing I learned from a post on eBird that I will likely try to use in the future is swing by the afternoon before and talk to the manager to see if you can come in early and bird before the gates open.  It's light just after 6:00am and that means 2.5 hours of light before the park opens.  I read several reports from others who tried this and got permission.  I may very well try this in the future--as it would have given me almost 4 hours here which would have been awesome.  I ticked just over 40 species in my brief stop and made my way back to my hotel.  I had to take the rental back and the rest of the day was spent on the beach and pool enjoying my last moments of the tropics before heading back north.

Todays eBird Checklists:
Botanical Garden
Playa Paraiso

DAY 6

We made a quick loop to the beach first thing in the morning--I hoped there might be a few birds on the sand.  There wasn't much--just a few grackles and LAUGHING GULLS.

Laughing Gull on the beach

We packed our bags grabbed breakfast, then headed to the airport.  Before we knew it we were on the ground in Salt Lake--50 degrees cooler than it had been 12 hours earlier... And the ever yearning for the tropics already coursing through my veins again.

Todays eBird Checklists:
Playa Paraiso

I'd be lying if I said, I killed it birding this trip--just 89 total species tallied over the week.  Of those 5 were lifers, while 21 were new for my Mexico list.  Most of the birding was down from a lazy river, on the beach, or walking to and from meals.  A departure from my usual trips, but a nice easing back into international travel with an infant.  I still have a handful of endemics I need, and I have only grown fonder of this area with my 2nd installment.

PHOTOS FROM THIS TRIP

Photos from Playa Paraiso
Photos from Coba
Photos from Yaax Che Jardín Botánico del Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marín

This January I made my now annual trip down to Arizona for birding and ultimate frisbee.  The first year I birded for one day around the Phoenix area: Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Gilbert Water Ranch and the Baseline-Salome Thrasher spot.  Last year I down to southeastern Arizona and did Florida and Madera Canyons one day and Patagonia Lake State Park, Patagonia area and the San Rafael Grasslands the next. I also managed some bonus birding on Sunday when the ultimate tournament got cancelled due to rain.  I wrote about it here: http://utahbirders.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-dream-of-lifetime-birding-in.html

This year I was planning on birding on Thursday and Friday but when I found out that my team wasn't playing in the tournament this year, I was sad for a bit until I realized that I would now have four days to bird all around Arizona.  I thought of all the new options I had with two extra days.  I could go to Lake Havasu for some rarities or head north to try for a Rufous-backed Robin or even just spend the extra few days in the southeast.  There certainly are enough places to bird for a few extra days.

Ultimately I decided to spend the first day up around Lake Havasu and pick up a few Tucson rarities and then spend the next 3 days enjoying my time in Southeastern Arizona.  Only the second day would have me birding locations I have visited before.  The rest of the time I would be birding in all new locations.

Wednesday night the 22nd I flew down to Phoenix, grabbed my rental car and headed west towards Lake Havasu.  3 hours later I was pulling in to Bill Williams NWR and hiding my car around a bend from the road.  I reclined my seat and went to sleep.  When I woke up it would be my birthday.

I became fully awake as soon as I realized that the sun was coming up.  I was very excited for my birding trip and for the potentially fast start I could get off to on my birthday.  Throwing my contacts in, I drove back to the west to a pull off on the highway.  I was looking for a large white spot on an island on the south shore of Lake Havasu.  This is where a Blue-footed Booby had been hanging out and causing the white guano spot to keep getting larger.  I quickly found the white spot which stuck out on the red rock island.  Tossing my scope on the spot I found my first target species of the day, my lifer Blue-footed Booby!

This was my view when I woke up on my birthday

 

 Can you see the booby in the white spot

 My lifer Blue-footed Booby

A great view of the south end of Lake Havasu

I drove back to Planet Ranch Road in Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge and headed to mile marker 2 for my next staked out species, a Nutting's Flycatcher, a Mexican species that has only recently started being reported in the US.  While waiting for the temperature to warm up and the bird to emerge, I spied a large mammal down the road and took a picture with my camera to zoom in on it and realized that it was a Bobcat!  It was my first time seeing any species of wild cat and I went to get my scope to get better looks but unfortunately it had hid in the few seconds it took to grab my scope.

My first ever Bobcat

After a few more minutes I heard a loud wheep- the Nutting's was around.  I soon spotted the flycatcher sitting in a shrub and it flew up to grab a large green praying mantis to eat.  Looks like this bird was eating well.  I watched the flycatcher feed and forage for a while before heading back to my car.  

 

My lifer Nutting's Flycatcher and my 2nd code 5 rarity ever (Red-footed Falcon was the other)

A 

 The red edges to the primaries and the yellowish edges to the secondaries are a cool field mark

An odd sparrow caught my eye and a closer look showed it to be a Golden-crowned Sparrow.  I didn't expect to find one on the trip so it was nice to find a non-targeted rarity.

 A Golden-crowned Sparrow in Bill Williams NWR

It was fun to find this rare-in-Arizona sparrow

There were many other awesome species to see in this area where the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts meet and the Bill Williams River flows into Lake Havasu creating a large and diverse riparian zone.  Some of the desert species I found here included Gila and Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Rock, Canyon, Bewick's and Cactus Wren, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher and Crissal Thrasher.

 Riparian Zone in Bill Williams NWR

Harsh conditions away from the river

 Bill Williams River delta- you can almost hear the rails calling

I left the refuge via the rough dirt road and headed to Lake Havasu City and my next staked out bird, a Brown Booby.  This booby proved to be elusive and I didn't see it despite looking for over an hour making it the second Brown Booby I missed in the last few month since I missed another back in New York  I did have some loons and Bufflehead plus a Belted Kingfisher hung out on top of a lakeside building but the best bird there was a flyby Peregrine Falcon that scared the local waterbirds.  While I was a little disappointed by missed the Brown Booby, I was very happy about the Blue-footed Booby, Nutting's Flycatcher and Bobcat I found and I headed back towards Phoenix.  I enjoyed the many awesome desert scenes on my ride back especially of a pig head shaped mountain I saw.

 Pig Head Mountain?

My next stop was the Baseline-Salome Thrasher spot west of Phoenix.  One can see up to 5 different thrasher species here and many other Sonoran Desert species.  Recently this place has be found to contain some Bell's Sparrows which along with Sagebrush Sparrow make up the former Sage Sparrow.  Sage Sparrows in Utah will all be Sagebrush where as Bell's are mostly found in California, but it wouldn't surprise me if one were to show up in winter Sagebrush Sparrow flocks in Washington County.  A few weeks before me, Jeff Bilsky had birded this area and had incredible views of both Leconte's and Bendire's Thrashers and I was hoping for similar luck.

The first bird sighting I had in the area was of a pair of nesting Verdin.  I got to watch the male bring some sticks to the nest and jump inside to improve the quality of the nest building it from inside out.

A pair of Verdin with their nest

A male Verdin brings a new edition to his house

Walking threw the shrubs I looked for thrashers but couldn't find any that day.  I saw a pair of Loggerhead Shrikes and made my way towards some chip notes I was hearing in nearby sagebrush.  I ran into a large flock of at least a dozen Sagebrush Sparrows.   It was hard to get good views of the sparrows with them running away from me and taking cover as much as possible but as I started to study them one stuck out as being darker overall.  As I got more discerning looks at this sparrow I saw how the upperparts especially the head were darker and less patterned.  The malar stripe was thick and dark and as a clincher the tail had no white on it.  I was looking at my lifer Bell's Sparrow/  I wasn't able to get any pictures of it since I was too busy studying it in the field but I will have the images of it burned into my brain.

A paler Sagebrush Sparrow like we would see in Utah

A darker Sagebrush Sparrow

There weren't too many other birds around given it was mid-day but I had some nice looks at a female Anna's Hummingbird and a got some good looks at non-bird things like a side-blotched lizard and a barrel cactus.

 Female Anna's Hummingbird

 Barrel Cactus

Barrel cactus fruit

 Side-blotched Lizard

The final birding spots of my birthday were a few random locales around Tucson where I would try for a few lifers.  My first stop was Evergreen Cemetery, where a Greater Pewee was overwintering.  I pulled into a parking lot in the cemetery where the pewee had been staked out but it wasn't there,  I feared I had come too late as the sun was starting to set and decided to drive a loop around the grounds.  I enjoyed that the most common species in the park was Vermilion Flycatcher and several pairs were found my short drive.  

 Even in bad light, Vermilion Flycatchers are stunning

 

Looking classy while looking for bugs

Other birds with red in their plumage like Red-shafted Flicker abounded as well.  Just as my loop was about to conclude I found a bare top of a tree I hadn't looked at yet and sitting on top was my prize- the Greater Pewee.  I got to watch the pewee actively flycatch and even passively flycatch as one stupid bug started flying around the pewee until it snapped forward and caught it.  I busted out my scope for even better looks at this out of season rarity.

 Dinner time for this Greater Pewee

Greater Pewees also love bare branches at the tops of trees

With the sun fading fast, I made a quick try for Bronzed Cowbirds at Lakeside Park, but ended missed the birds as the lack of light hurt my chances but I got to see another Vermilion Flycatcher which is always nice.

I headed into Tucson and hit up one of my favorite brewpubs in town for a tasty birthday dinner to celebrate my 4 life species and one lifer mammal I saw today and took in a Arizona basketball victory over Colorado that had the bar buzzing.  After dinner was over I headed south to Florida Canyon where I would sleep for the night in my car to wake up first thing in the morning to get birding.  I had no time to waste down in Arizona.

Coming next: Part 2 featuring Florida and Madera Canyons, Patagonia Lake State Park and the San Rafael Grasslands.  Fewer lifers but more amazing birding than day 1.

Here is a link to my day 1 Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29681631@N02/sets/72157640295121465/