Day 1
Pick up at the Cancun airport and transfer to the hotel in Puerto Morelos.
This charming Caribbean town overshadowed by its neighboring cities Cancun (north) and Playa del Carmen (south), is one of the oldest ports in Quintana Roo. Depending on your arrival time from the airport, you may have time to explore and enjoy its very relaxed atmosphere, go for a walk to visit the pier and some of the handicraft shops near the main square of the town.
We will go for dinner at a restaurant with great options of dishes from the very diverse and exquisite Mexican gastronomy. We will review the itinerary of the trip and answer any questions you may have.
☾ Night in Puerto Morelos.
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Day 2
Our first birding day starts early with a visit to a low-medium jungle spot in Puerto Morelos. This is a great place to get familiar with some of the birds from the Yucatan including a few endemics. Some of our target species will be: Yucatan Flycatcher, Green-backed Sparrow, Orange Oriole, Rose-throated Tanager among other more common birds, but beautiful nonetheless such as the Yucatan Jay, Green Jay, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Squirrel Cuckoo, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Black-headed Trogon, Collared Aracari and many more. An early lunch cooked by a local family will be provided before we head to Río Lagartos. Once in Rio Lagartos, we will take a boat tour in the mangroves and search for the American Flamingo, Mangrove Warbler, Clapper Rail, several species of herons, egrets, terns, shorebirds and more. After sunset, we will continue on the boat to look for the Yucatan Nightjar, a bird difficult to find in other places.
☾ Night in Rio Lagartos.
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Day 3
We will start the day birding by foot in the lowland jungle and mangrove swamp at the Rio Lagartos Reserve where over 350 bird species of birds have been documented. The Mexican Sheartail, Yucatan Wren, Black-throated Bobwhite, Zenaida Dove, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture are some of the specialty birds we will search for. After a tasty lunch in a local restaurant, we will head towards Valladolid, a beautiful colonial city. We will be birding the evening and night in a nature reserve managed by young Mayan birders who will help us find the endemic Yucatan Poorwill and perhaps other night birds.
☾ Night in Valladolid
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Day 4
Early morning birding near Valladolid in search of birds such as: White-fronted parrot, Lesson's Motmot, Gray-headed Tanager, Gray-throated Chat to name a few. After breakfast, on our way towards Calakmul, we will stop in beautiful Bacalar for lunch and for a chance to spot the Snail Kite, Ruddy Crake and White-necked Puffbird. It will be late evening by the time we reach Calakmul, if you have some energy a walk to search for night birds and other night creatures will be an option. Calakmul is a UNESCO World cultural/natural Heritage Site (mixed value site) with the second largest tropical forest of high jungle in America after the Amazon and a super power at the peak of the Mayan Civilization around 250-900 CE.
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☾ Night in the Calakmul area.
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Day 5
Full day birding at Calakmul Reserve. We will visit the Archaeological site of Calakmul, on our way there, we will make a few stops to see interesting species. Ocellated Turkey, Great Curassaw, Crested Guan, Yellow-lored Parrot, Ornate Hawk-eagle, Black-faced Antthrush, Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Red-capped Manakin and Tawny-crowned Greenlet are just some of the amazing species we can find in this magic reserve in the south of the Peninsula.
In the evening, we will arrive at the Volcan de los Murciélagos in time to appreciate an incredible spectacle of millions of bats as they leave their cave in search of food while raptors (mainly Collared Forest Falcon) try to hunt them. After a day of beautiful birds, majestic ancient buildings and great memories, lunch will be served at a local restaurant and a good night of rest will be needed to continue exploring the area next day.
☾ Night in the Calakmul area.
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Day 6
Early morning birding in the Calakmul area, we will visit some small lagoons with chances to find Russet-naped Wood Rail, Northern Jacana, Keel-billed Toucan and many other birds. Afterwards we will explore the archaeological sites of El Hormiguero and Konhunlich for views of amazing ceremonial and residential Mayan buildings and great chances to find the Stub-tailed Spadebill, Bat Falcon, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Ruddy Woodcreeper, Plain Xenops, Gray-headed Dove, Chestnut-colored Woodpecker among others.
Time to head towards Playa del Carmen, a city located along the Caribbean Sea and the nearest departure point to visit Cozumel.
☾ Night in Playa del Carmen.
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Day 7
On our last day of Birding we will travel by ferry to the amazing island of Cozumel, where we will explore various ecosystems such as jungle, mangroves and coastal dunes. The island endemics: The Cozumel Emerald, Cozumel Vireo and the Cozumel wren will be our main objectives, but the island is home to many more species and subspecies of interest. After a delicious lunch on the Island, we will return to Playa del Carmen in time to get ready for departure next day.
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☾ Night in Playa del Carmen.
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Day 8
Airport drop off.
Depending on the time of your flight, we may be able to go birding not far away from the airport.
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