Being kid-free at Thanksgiving 2019, we returned to Mexico for a week of rest and relaxation birding. Work had been hectic for both of us and with fond memories of our last trip to Tulum in 2017, we decided we’d try and replicate it. Tulum is a resort town on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, around 130 km south of Cancún. (Click on images for full resolution)
We booked the same Kira’s beach hotel. It had been taken over by new owners, but with favorable reviews we rebooked under the new name Keniza. We arrived to nice weather on the first afternoon, having hired a car from Cancun and taken a relaxing 1 1/2 hours drive south.
We arrived on Sunday 24th about 2pm and checked in to the room above where we stayed last year with a nice deck (I said deck) and views of the wonderful beach. Brown Pelicans flew by in formation and ever-present Magnificent Frigatebirds sailed high overhead. It was good to be back in Tulum!
Enjoying being back in tranquil Tulum
Heaven is sun, crystal clear water and powdery sand
It was Sunday, and the hotel next door (next door being separated by a fence nothing more than a ½ inch thick) was having a beach party. The outdoor DJ was blasting a mind-numbing bass beat.
DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP.
It was so loud and the bass so deep, my teeth were rattling inside my head. Hey, live and let live though! We’re all on vacation!
We unpacked and I wandered out onto our deck. Leaning on the railing to look down onto the place packed with folk enjoying the mind-numbing rave that was going on, I nearly had a heart-attack as I felt the railing give-away. I caught myself but the rail was completely rotten through. Jesus!! Somebody nearly had me drop into their martini!!
I returned to the room, a bit shaken and rightly stirred, to vent to Ingrid, but the incessant DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP was now driving both of us fucking insane! We’d had a long day and it was now 8pm and the walls were reverberating.
DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP.
We enquired if this was a nightly occurrence, stating that there was no way we could relax, let alone sleep. There’s no surprise the military use this for torture!
DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP.
They said it was just tonight, but that ordinances were such that they could not do anything, but 11pm it would be shut down. 11.PM!! I’m gonna F!!@@## kill someone by that point, and it might be myself! Ingrid had had enough. She looked online, found a hotel literally down the street.
DUMP-DUMP–DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP.
We left all our gear and took what we needed. We just needed some peace and quiet. And that was how our first day started! Woohoo! And you’ve not even seen a bird photo yet!
Monday 25th November – Tulum
We awoke and had a nice breakfast and coffee on the beach at our second hotel. The weather was glorious. Like listening to the monotonous toot-toot-toot of Scop’s Owls in Europe, I swear I could still hear that bass beat in my head. 🙂
Ingrid – thankful for coffee but wondering where it all went wrong!
We had formulated a plan that we’d go back and we (me) would work out staying at Keniza for just 2 nights of the 4 we had booked. We would move back in to the current, but much more expensive hotel, for the rest of the week. I agreed we’d do that. The manager at Keniza was really great and understood the situation. I went to pay for the two nights, but when the woman at the front desk told we’d have to pay for the remainder of the stay, I said, “What the f@@### what?” She said because we booked through Expedia and were cancelling less than 48 hours, we’d have to pay a pro-rated rate. I said I don’t think so. I asked the woman on the desk if Expedia had advertised 48 hours in advance that we’d arrive to 8 hours of torturous DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP-DUMP rave-music that would be blasting into my room, and that it would go on so long, that my cavities would be jarred loose. No? Well, you can tell Expedia I’m not paying it and please can you figure it out.
The manager, to her credit took care of it and it was a non-issue. The weather was great, and we had a wonderful time chilling out on the beach. Ingrid was happy.
After the first day, the water, while warm and inviting was whipped up by the wind, so the surf was way more turbulent than the previous visit.
Turbulent surf
From a birding perspective, I’d decided I would spend time exploring other, less well-known areas on the Yucatan peninsula that were still reachable from Tulum. Tulum ruins, and some forest north at Xel-Ha, and Akamul would be explored as well as a road ½ way to Coba that looked promising. Muyil and Coba Lake would be paid a visit since birding had been good on the previous visit.
26th November – Camino Akamul XuXubi
I was up early. I had google-mapped a road that ran west from Akamul, past the Monkey Reserve. The road typically was pot-holey but drivable. I arrived at dawn and started to drive until I found a good spot or hear bird activity. As the sun rose and illuminated the top of the tress, activity increased. Flocks of orioles and Tropical/Couch’s Kingbirds passed over in small numbers. It was great to be out birding in the jungle at dawn!
Buff-bellied Hummingbird, endemic Black Catbirds, a single male Canivet’s Emerald, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Rose-throated Becard were all evident. A Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl tooted in the forest, but as usual, wasn’t seen.
Endemic Black Catbird
Driving back several orioles were feeding in a fruiting tree, including Hooded Orioles, probably Orange Oriole and nice looks at a Yellow-backed Oriole.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61776468
Xel-ha Ruins
I then decided to return south, stopping at Xel-ha ruins. I paid my entrance fee and stopped to bird the parking area that produced Social Flycatcher, Black-headed Trogon, Masked Tityra, Yellow-throated Vireo, the endemic Yucatan Vireo and smart Yellow-throated Euphonias. The mosquitos were really bad here so I moved on picking up a scattering of neotropical warblers from Northern climates: Black and White, Hooded, Tennessee, Yellow-throated, Black-throated green, Parula and Northern Waterthrush.
Yucatan Vireo
Iguana
Yellow-throated Euphonia
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61868049
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing at the beach with Ingrid and soaking up the sun and some cocktails.
Our back “yard”!!
The lovely lass getting bronzed!
Julian happy and enjoying our evening beach stroll (Ingrid Ducmanis)
27th Novemeber – Muyil
Ingrid arose with me at the crack of dawn for an early morning trip to Muyil, another archeological site 20 mins south of Tulum, and a great birding spot. Collared Aracari, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Bright-rumped Attila, Yucatan Woodpecker, Roadside Hawk, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Yucatan Jay, Black-cowled Oriole, Louisiana Waterthrush, Blue-winged Warbler, Rose-throated tanager, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Blue Bunting, Gray-headed Tanager, Olivaceous Woodcreeper.
Muyil ruins – great birding and no people! (Ingrid Ducmanis)
Plants! (Ingrid Ducmanis)
Wintering Black and White Warblers were a familiar sight.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61800753
28th Novemeber – Tulum Ruins
The 13th-century, walled Mayan archaeological site at Tulum National Park overlooks the sea. It incorporates the clifftop Castillo, built as a watchtower, and the Templo de las Pinturas, with a partially restored mural.
Tulum ruins (Ingrid Ducmanis)
(Ingrid Ducmanis)
(Ingrid Ducmanis)
Orange Oriole is an endemic species. Tulum Ruins is a good place to catch up with this species!
Julian photographing Orange and Hooded Orioles inside the ruins (Ingrid Ducmanis)
Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Orange and Hooded Orioles and Tropical Kingbird were evident, but I was more focussed on the Ridgwayi Northern Rough-winged Swallows that were flying around the ruins. Currently a race of Northern Rough-winged, this form is quite distinct in shape with much darker flanks and a more martin-like shape with a more deeply-forked tail. Once I’d seen these, they were easy to pick up naked-eye.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61830310
Gran Cenote
Spending most of the days at the beach was great but I get a little antsy so I coaxed Ingrid into going snorkeling at a local spot Gran Cenote. A cenote is a natural sinkhole filled with freshwater. It is formed when the limestone bedrock collapsed into the fresh groundwater. There are over 3,000 cenotes in Mexico.
(Ingrid Ducmanis)
With its extensive underground river systems, the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico is the world’s best place to experience and explore cenotes. The word has Mayan origins, dzonot or ts’onot meaning well. They played a crucial role in the development of Mayan civilization as well. Since the Yucatan peninsula has very few rivers and lakes the cenotes represented the main source of water. Consequently, Mayan settlements were built next to a cenote, including Chichen Itza and Tulum.
(Ingrid Ducmanis)
Camera settings were off on this shot, so I exaggerated the colors – yes, she does have a bathing suit on!
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61830329
That night, we explored a nice beach restaurant, enjoying some nice food. The lighting reminded me of the movie “Avatar”.
Cool lighting (Ingrid Ducmanis)
29th November–Francisco Uh Mah
This area had been mentioned to me by fellow birder Abby Darrah, who had camped here. It’s not an area mentioned in any reports and is not a spot birders go to, but on Google maps, this road penetrated prime habitat – it had to be good for birding, and only 25 minutes from Tulum, it was much closer than the 2-hour drive to the much more well-known Felippe Carillo Puerto to the south. I got here at dawn and drove/birded the long road for about 8Km.
The road in was guarded.
It was birdy but by the time I had gotten my bearings the activity was dying down. I knew on the next visit I would get further in. Some great birds here: Gartered Trogon, Lineated Woodpecker, Bat Falcon, White-fronted Parrot, Keel-billed Toucan, Spot-breasted Wren, Barred Antshrike, and Black-cowled, Yellow-backed, Altamira and Orange Orioles.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61838852
On the way back to the main road, I stopped in the town and while looking at a Blue-Gray Tanager, I was gobsmacked to see it land in a tree that was also occupied by two Yellow-winged Tanagers – a local and not often seen species. An unexpected lifer!!
Yellow-winged Tanager!
One of the reasons I don’t bird much in the afternoon, is that the road into Tulum is a narrow road that gets very congested and it takes a while to get back down this beach road by late morning. So going out and back, fighting heavy afternoon traffic is not something I like to do. Add to this one “lane” was constantly closed for repairs and it was a driving clusterfuck coming back late each day. So I usually went out early morning and hung out in the afternoon on the beach. In the evening we visited one of our favorite restaurants “Gitano”, a wonderful, “outdoor” spot with architecture woven into the surrounding trees and awesome, but expensive (even by Tulum standards) food.
(Ingrid Ducmanis)
(Ingrid Ducmanis)
Laguna Coba
I took a long drive to Lake Coba to do some birding and check for Spotted rail but the water was high and birding was relatively quiet.
Orchard Oriole, Limpkin, Morelet’s Seed-eater, Belted Kingfisher, no Pinnated Bittern or Spotted Rail!
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61867163
Back late afternoon for some cocktails on the beach with Ingrid.
Julian photographing Magnificent Frigatebirds
Magnificent Frigatebirds – grim reapers of the sky
Ingrid in her element
30th November–Muyil
Another brief visit produced a few good birds notably, Tropical Pewee, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Black-headed Trogon, Vaux’s swift, White-tipped Dove, Lesser Greenlet, Red-throated Ant-tanager
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61867509
Back at the room we had been lounging on the beach talking to a couple that were living in Tulum and teaching scuba-diving, when we came across this baby sea-turtle hiding under our lounger. So we washed the little guy off and returned him safely back to the ocean!
1stth December–Francisco Uh Mah
I got up at stupidoclock to try for Yucatan Poorwill. I drove in the dark as far as I could before dawn. I tried playing Mottled Owl and Poorwill but the dark forest was quiet. I drove back down the road and played poorwill. I was shaken when a bird started calling back in the distance. Holy crap! Game on! I played the call again and suddenly the bird flew in and nearly knocked my head off, but landed out of sight. Motherfather! It was so close. I tried again and this time the bird flew in and landed 8 ft away in the tree at head height and allowed amazing spotlit views. The highlight self-found bird of the trip!!
The forest quickly came alive and there were birds everywhere -I had made a good decision and scouted out the right spot. The birding was spectacular and I was still going at 11 am and I felt that I had only scraped the surface of this vast area! Other species included: Gray-headed Dove, Yellow-lored and White-fronted Parrots, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Eye-ringed Flatbill, Slate-headed Tody Flycatcher, Mangrove Vireo, Greenish Eleania, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Gray-collared and Rose-throated Becard, Spot-breasted, Carolina and White-bellied Wrens, Green-backed Sparrow, Red-throated Ant-tanager, Brown and Yucatan Jays, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing.
https://ebird.org/checklist/S61918705
That was my last day birding. With just birding a few hours each day for 6 days, I ended up with 137 species. My two Tulum trips, doing not-all-day-birding trips, have amassed a total of 172 species. The Yucatan is an excellent spot to take a hybrid family/birding vacation and still get in some killer birding without too much effort!
Another sunset over Tulum (Ingrid Ducmanis)
Tags: Mexico 2019, Thanksgiving 2019, Yucatn
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