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| Royal Tern on the flagpole at the Iberostar pier head |
Well, it was that time of year
again, the middle of March - time to flee the frigid cold of southern Ontario
and head south for the sun and heat of the tropics. This year Barb and I left
the kids behind (their choice!) and spent the March Break (15th-22nd) in
Cozumel, Mexico. This was our first visit to Mexico. Cozumel - its Spanish name
is Isla de Cozumel - is a relatively small
island (about 650 km²) located at the western edge of the Caribbean Sea. It's off
the north-east coast of the Yucatan
Peninsula - just 19 km from the mainland.
Cozumel is a very flat
island - the highest point is just 14 metres above sea level. The land is set
on limestone, which results in typical karst
topography - the rock is dissolved and pitted by the erosional effects of water
on calcium carbonate. One special feature of this effect in the Yucatan is the
proliferation of sinkholes - known as cenotes
- that occur where the already-eroded limestone collapses above an underground
water pool.
Cozumel is just inside the
tropical zone - three degrees south of the Tropic of Cancer. At this time of
the year it is hot and rather humid; during our 7-day stay the daytime
temperature was 29° C or 30° C, and at night it dropped to about 20° C. It's
classified as a tropical savanna climate. An amazing change for us, after we
had endured an entire month of sub-zero temperatures in February (day and
night!).
One of the key reasons we
vacationed in Cozumel is the quality of the deep-sea diving. Barb is a keen
diver, and she did four separate dives around the coral reef that lies just off
the coast near our resort. The main interest for me, as usual, was taking lots
of time to find, and photograph, the birdlife on the island. This was the third
March Break in a row when I was determined to put good use to my fairly new
70-300 mm telephoto zoom lens. Previous projects had resulted in blog posts
featuring the avian life of Florida (in 2013) and Cuba (in 2013 and 2014). The photographs
in this post were all shot in Cozumel using a Nikon D7000 in tandem with either
my Nikkor 18-105 zoom lens, or the afore-mentioned Nikkor telephoto zoom lens.
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| Cozumel is an island off the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula |
Cozumel is located in the
state of Quintana Roo, on the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula. The name
of the island comes from the Mayan phrase Ah
Cuzamil Peten (Isla de las Golondrinas
in Spanish), which means the island of swallows. There are 1070 species of
birds in all of Mexico. According to Avibase
- a Canadian website database managed by Denis Lepage and hosted by Bird
Studies Canada, which contains comprehensive birdlists of places all over the world
- 252 species of birds are found in Cozumel. About half-a-dozen of those
species are endemic to the island. The two largest groups of birds are the
warblers (parulidae) and flycatchers
(tyrannidae).
Much of the birdlife in the
Yucatan is sedentary, unlike Canada and the United Sates, where most species
migrate. The number of species in the peninsula drops as you move north, from
the rain forest in the south to the arid scrub land of the northern coast. The
mainland is dominated by the tropical species of humid evergreen forest. On
Cozumel you will find species (the Cape May Warbler and the Prairie
Warbler, for example) that are migrating north at the end of the winter. The
low-lying coasts of the island feature long sandy beaches, but there are only
small populations there of shorebirds, gulls and terns - most of those resident
during the winter months.
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| The Iberostar resort is on the south-west coast of Cozumel, near the El Cedral ruins |
The all-inclusive resort we stayed
at is called Iberostar Cozumel. It is on the south-west coast, about 20 km
south of the airport in San Miguel. It takes about 25 minutes to get there by
taxi. The resort contains about 300 guestrooms in 43 "bungalows"
(they are actually two-storey buildings). The property is quite small
- about 150 metres wide and 700 metres long, so you can get around very easily
on foot. It is beautifully landscaped - crammed full of trees, shrubs and
plants.
The birds found at Iberostar
are mostly perching birds (passerines).
We saw lots of warblers and flycatchers, but there were surprisingly few
woodpeckers, doves, icterids, swallows, thrushes and tanagers. The resident
perching birds are not easily seen - they are small (about 5-6 inches in
length) and tend to like the upper branches of the trees. But the resort has
"employed" a crew of domesticated avian life, which adds a lot to the
general ambience of the place.
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| India Peacock climbing up to our room's balcony. |
Indian
Peafowl (Pavo
cristatus)
There
are a handful of peafowl moving freely around the resort - a couple of peacocks
and five or six peahens. The species is known either as the Indian Peafowl, or
the Blue Peafowl (because of the male's dominant blue colour). This species of
bird originated in India and Sri Lanka, but has spread around the world as an
ornamental bird. Its loud, plaintive cry is a familiar feature of British
television programmes (like Downton Abbey)
set at stately homes or country mansions, which are surrounded by extensive
lawns.
The
peafowl at Iberostar certainly get around. They are not shy at all - especially
the males. A few times during our stay we had a peacock climb up the stairs on
the outside of our building leading to our balcony. And we often saw them
gazing in at the sliding glass doors of guest rooms - probably mesmerized by
their own reflections. In the photo of the peacock standing at the top of our
stairs, you can see the metatarsal spur, or "thorn", on the bird's left
leg. They use these in territorial fights with other males of the species.
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| Indian peacock perched on the thatched roof of a resort "bungalow" |
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On a
couple of mornings we even found that a peacock had climbed up the two storeys
of a guest house and was sitting on the top of the thatched roof. Once
in a while, too, one of the peacocks will spread wide its incredible eye-spotted
tail. This dramatic fan display is
thought to be part of the male's mating ritual - designed to attract a peahen.
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| Indian peahen (female) on the left; Indian peacock (right) displays its tail! |
American Flamingo
(Phoenicopturus ruber)
After
you check in at the resort, you leave from the lobby area via a wooden bridge
which takes you over a small pond containing nine flamingoes. The flamingoes
are captured birds - permanent residents, because their wings have been
clipped. They get fed at the pond each morning.
There
are six species of flamingo world-wide - found primarily in the Caribbean, South
America, Africa, north-west India and south-west Asia. The American Flamingo is
one of the larger species. It's the only flamingo found in North America (Caribbean
Mexico). Before the arrival of Europeans, the Flamingo was widespread in
Florida, but it has now been pretty much extirpated from there.
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| American Flamingo |
The
American Flamingo measures from 47 to 58 inches in height. Most of this flamingo's
plumage is pink; but its primary and secondary flight feathers are black, which
you only see when it spreads its wings. The bill is white and pink, with a large
black tip.
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| American Flamingo sleeping |
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Scarlet
Macaw (Ara macao)
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| Scarlet Macaw |
The Iberostar resort also
has several captive parrots. The most impressive is the Scarlet Macaw. This is a
South American parrot whose range extends up into south-eastern Mexico. It is a
big bird, about 32 inches long, although more than half of that length is made
up of its pointed tail. Its plumage is mostly scarlet, but it also has
substantial amounts of blue and yellow feathers. The Scarlet Macaw can live
from 40-75 years in captivity.
On most days, the Scarlet Macaw is brought
by its handler from its nearby cage, and it spends several hours in the trees
near the main lobby. It can make one hell of a racket: its vocalizations
consisting of various loud, high-pitched, throaty squawks, squeals and screams.
It seems to enjoy pivoting and turning upside-down in the trees, like a trapeze
artist. Fun to watch and listen to.
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| Scarlet Macaw |
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| Yellow-Naped Amazon |
Yellow-naped
Parrot, or Yellow-naped
Amazon (Amazona auropalliata)
This is a fairly small
parrot, about 15 inches long from head to tail. It is found in Mexico only along
a narrow coastal band on the Pacific Ocean side, which runs south from Isthmus
to the Guatemalan border. It is bright green overall, with a bright yellow
nape. It also often has a slight yellow patch on its forehead. The individual
featured in this photograph is domesticated - its wings have been clipped. Barb
became a good friend of this parrot (named "Pepe"); she spent quite a
bit of time with it on two separate days, stroking its feathers, scratching it
gently around its head. Pepe seemed friendlier with females and young people.
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| Great-Tailed Grackle (male) |
Great-Tailed
Grackle (Quiscalus
mexicanus)
This bird reminds me of our
trip to Florida. The very first new bird we saw there was when Colin and I were
at the Kennedy Space Centre. We saw what looked these two species of aggressive
and loud birds next to the snack bar at the LC-39 observation gantry. They
turned out to be the male and female Boat-Tailed Grackle - a classic example of
dimorphism (meaning two different appearances for the male and female of a
species). The male Boat-Tailed Grackle is a large black bird with a royal-blue
iridescent sheen; the female is much smaller, with a yellow and brown plumage
and no iridescence.
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| Great-Tailed Grackle (female) |
The first wild bird we
became aware at the Iberostar resort - apart from the domesticated birds
featured already - was ubiquitous. It identified itself immediately as a
grackle - the familiar dominating behaviour in its habitat - loud, assertive,
and aggressive at times when competing for food scraps. And there was the same
dramatic dimorphism.
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| Great-Tailed Grackle (male) |
The male of this species -
the Great-Tailed Grackle - measures from 14"-19". It has a very long,
keel-shaped tail. Its colour is blue-black, with a purplish iridescent sheen.
The female is 11"-13". Her head and upperparts are dark brown; her
throat and underparts are cinnamon to tawny-brown - the throat being a bit
paler. Both genders are noisy birds - throughout the day you can hear them
loudly shriek, clack, whistle and chatter. This grackle tends to prefer open,
or semi-open, habitats. But it is a gregarious and opportunistic bird, so the
rather tight, dense surroundings of the resort did not put it off. It was
interesting to see that the female seemed to like the beach more than the male.
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| Great-Tailed Grackle (female) |
As usual, I spent a fair bit
of time walking along the beach front - there's a better chance to observe
sea-based birds, and birds that fly high in the sky (like hawks and vultures). The next section of this post features five species of birds I saw along the beach - either flying low over the
shoreline, soaring or whirling high up, or perched in low trees at the back of
the beach.
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| Brown Pelican |
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus
occidentalis)
This is a familiar bird to
us now. We've seen it on each of our four trips to Cuba; and we also saw it
several times in Florida. It's relatively easy to photograph, whether
stationary or in flight, because it is large and slow-moving. It's very
impressive when it's flying. Barb invariably describes it as looking like a
pterodactyl. Certainly, it's not what you would call an attractive bird, but it
has a grand presence, and an imposing flight profile. Sometimes - usually when
it's alone - it will fly low to the water; but when it's in a flock of four or
five, it will fly higher.
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| Brown Pelicans |
This small flock of Brown
Pelicans flew over our ferry, when we were docked at Playa del Carmen waiting
to make our voyage back to Cozumel from the Yucatan Peninsula. We also saw an
individual pelican perched on top of a building at the docking area in
Cozumel's main town, San Miguel. I'm always happy to see pelicans go by.
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| Brown Pelican |
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| Turkey Vulture |
Turkey
Vulture (Carthartes
aura)
You see plenty of Turkey
Vultures in Cozumel, but they are not nearly as ubiquitous and populous as they
are in Cuba. On one memorable walk south along the beach we saw both the Turkey
Vulture and the Black Vulture soar and wheel above us, and then come in low to
land on the upper branches of a tree at the back of the beach - joining another
Black Vulture already ensconced there.
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| Turkey Vulture - note the familiar dihedral wing pattern (a shallow V shape) |
The Turkey Vulture measures
between 26" and 32". Overhead the wings are two-toned: the primary
feathers look black (in contrast with the bright sky); the secondaries look
grey. When you see it close-up, stood on the ground, or perched on a stump, you
see that it's actually chocolate-brown in colour. As it soars, the Turkey
Vulture holds its wings in a dihedral position - a shallow V shape. It's a
distinctive piece of behaviour - identifying it immediately. The Turkey
Vulture is a scavenger - its head is completely denuded of feathers, because it
is constantly sticking it inside the carcasses of dead animals. The head is a
red colour, which explains the name of the bird - but you have to be careful,
because immature specimens have a dark-greyish head, similar to the Black
Vulture.
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| Black Vulture |
Black
Vulture (Coragyps
atratus)
This vulture is
three-to-five inches smaller than the Turkey Vulture. There is a contrast
between the primary and secondary feathers of the Black Vulture - similar to
the Turkey Vulture - when you look up at it soaring above you, but its
secondaries are considerably darker, and there is a distinctive white patch
towards each wing tip. The Black Vulture's tail is shorter than the Turkey
Vulture. Its legs are longer and its feet are light grey, unlike the yellow
feet of the Turkey Vulture. In flight, the Black Vulture flaps its wings less
and soars more. And it doesn't hold its wings in a dihedral, but keeps them
flat. We had seen this bird a couple of times before, in Cuba, but it was
exciting this time to see it up close and get a really good look at its
dark-grey bill and black feathers.
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| Black Vulture |
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| Spotted Sandpiper |
Spotted
Sandpiper (Actitis
macularia)
This sandpiper is common
throughout much of North America. It is also widespread in Mexico. We saw one
specimen on our stay at the Iberostar resort. But there were not many secluded
spots along the shore where I walked; if I had gone out early in the morning,
perhaps, I might have seen it more often. It is skittish and doesn't allow you
to get too close.
The Spotted Sandpiper is a
medium sized sandpiper. It is one of the easier pipers to identify. It bobs its
tail a lot. It tends to stand with its body in a horizontal position - fairly
parallel to the ground. It has a dusky smudge, enclosing a white patch, near
its shoulder. It has a white line over the eye. And in the non-breeding season,
it has a prominent white eye-ring, which you can see clearly in my photograph.
In the fall and winter it is white below, with no spots. In the summer breeding
season, it has round spots on the breast. The Spotted Sandpiper's flight
pattern is distinctive, too; the wings beat rapidly in a shallow arc, giving it
a stiff, bowed appearance in flight. An attractive bird.
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| Tropical Mockingbird |
Tropical
Mockingbird (Mimus
gilvus)
This mockingbird is almost
identical to the Northern Mockingbird found in Ontario. It has the same greyish
upperparts, whitish underparts, long tail, and pale yellowish eye. The bill and
legs are blackish. Its vocalizings are also so similar to the Northern
Mockingbird that it is not safe to use them as way to distinguish between the
two species (although the Northern Mockingbird is rare in the Yucatan). The
mockingbird is a mimic thrush. The Northern and Tropical Mockingbird repeat
each element of their long sequence of notes and phrases three or more times.
This species is found pretty much all over the Mexican region south and east of
the Isthmus, including the central and northern areas of the Yucatan Peninsula.
I found it on the ground, at the back of the beach, or perched high in a dead
stump. If left undisturbed, it will remain perched and still for quite a period
- making it relatively easy to photograph.
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| Tropical Mockingbird |
Surprisingly, the family of
birds of which I saw the largest number of different species at Iberostar Cozumel was the wood
warblers (Parulidae). These are
amongst the smallest birds; the Peterson guides refer to them as "birdlets".
They are smaller than sparrows - generally about 5" long. Warblers are
usually very colourful. They are dimorphic - which means the male and female
look different. The dimorphism amongst warblers can be quite subtle. These
birds have a thin, needle-pointed bill. Most warblers are found in trees - some
low down, some high up. They are very difficult to photograph because most of
them flit about constantly and the light in amongst tree branches is often
insufficient to provide a fast enough shutter speed. Tricky! Most of the
warblers I found were in several specimens of the same tree species - in bloom with
yellow flowers.
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| Cape May Warbler (male) |
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| Cape May Warbler (male) |
Cape
May Warbler (Dendroica
tigrina)
This was the warbler I saw
and photographed the most at the Iberostar resort. It is also common here in
southern Ontario during the spring migration. This species breeds in Canada in
the boreal forest. Its preferred food is the spruce budworm. In Mexico, the
Cape May Warbler is found only in winter along the coastal areas of the eastern
Yucatan and on some of the Caribbean islands. The distinctive feature which
helps identify this species of warbler is the chestnut cheek patch on the male,
which contrasts nicely with its bright yellow neck. The female's head and back
is olive-grey, and its neck, throat and breast are pale yellow - with some
streaking on the breast. The name of this species refers to Cape May in New
Jersey, where George Ord collected - in the early nineteenth-century - the
specimen later described by Alexander Wilson. Ironically, however (given its
name), this species was not recorded again at Cape May for another 100 years!
Cape May is recognized as a top birding location during the migration season.
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| Cape May Warbler (female) |
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| Northern Parula |
Northern
Parula Warbler (Parula
americana)
This small warbler breeds in
eastern North America from southern Canada down to Florida. It likes to nest in
the upper canopy of the forest. In Mexico it is found in most of eastern and
southern Mexico during the winter. Its hood and upperparts are blue-grey in
colour, and its throat and breast are yellow. This warbler can be identified by
two key features: it has a suffused green patch on its back; and the male has a
dark and reddish band across the upper breast. The Northern Parula also has
white crescents above and below the eye - and these are very evident in my
photograph.
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| Palm Warbler |
Palm
Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)
Unlike most warblers, which generally
like to be in the trees, the Palm Warbler prefers life on the ground. You'll
see it hopping around, searching for food amidst the grass, dirt, mulch and
leaf litter. To escape danger it might fly up into a bush, or perch in the lower
branches of a nearby tree. There are two key features that will help identify
this warbler. First, you'll notice the constant tail-bobbing; then check its
head, because it has a distinctive chestnut-coloured cap. The Palm Warbler is
found in Mexico during the winter on the eastern and northern edges of the Yucatan,
and on some of the Caribbean islands.
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| American Redstart (male) |
American
Redstart (Setophaga
ruticilla)
Both the male and female
forms of this warbler are attractive and easy to identify. The male is mostly
black overall, with bright orange patches on the wings and tail. The patches are
on the outside of the tail, but they are easy to see because the Redstart spreads
its tail a lot. The female is a subtle olive-brown colour overall, with yellow
flash-patches in the same positions on the wings and tail as the male. A
handsome pair. The Redstart is widespread in Mexico in winter along the
lowlands of the Pacific coast and south and east of the Isthmus.
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| American Redstart (female) |
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| Black-and-White Warbler |
Black-and-White
Warbler (Mniotilta
varia)
We saw this warbler not at
the Iberostar resort but at the Mayan ruins of San Gervasio - on the northern
side of Cozumel island. It is found all over Mexico in the winter, except in
the northern regions close to the U.S. border. The Black-and-White Warbler is
often seen on the trunk of a tree, rather than in the branches; it likes to
forage along the tree-bark - up, down and around - like a creeper or a nuthatch,
probing for insects with its slightly down-curved bill. It has a
black-and-white striped crown, and the rest of its body is also boldly striped
in black-and-white.
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| Prothonotary Warbler |
Prothonotary
Warbler (Mniotilta
varia)
This was a pleasant surprise.
Barb and I have seen this warbler 7 or 8 times over the years - mostly at
Rondeau Park down on Lake Erie. It is usually found low in wooded swamps - in very
wet areas surrounded by trees. The Prothonotary Warbler captured in this
photograph was fairly high in a tree (about 8') in a dry area. The entire head
and breast of the male is a deep golden yellow. The wings and rump are blue-grey,
and the back is olive. As this photo shows very well, the Prothonotary Warbler
has white undertail coverts. In Mexico you'll find this bird along the eastern
edge of the country during the spring migration - including all of the Yucatan
Peninsula.
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| Hooded Warbler |
Hooded
Warbler (Wilsonia
citrina)
We've only seen this warbler
a few times - at Point Pelee and Rondeau, on Lake Erie, during the spring
migration. Southern Ontario is the northern tip of its breeding range. Its
habitat is found in eastern hardwood forests. In Mexico, the Hooded Warbler
winters in the east and south, including pretty much all of the Yucatan
Peninsula. The male of this species is easy to identify - its yellow face and
forehead is completely surrounded by a black hood (or cowl). This photograph
was saved by photoshoping. The original photo was shot in a rather dense and
gloomy area of the resort - lots of trees and low-lying shrubs. It was
difficult to get a sharp image. This was the best picture I got of it -
improved immensely by the tricks of digital editing.
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| Yellow-Throated Warbler |
Yellow-Throated
Warbler (Dendroica
dominica)
Here's another warbler we
saw outside the Iberostar resort. This one was at the southern tip of Cozumel -
in an ecological reserve called Punta Sur. At the very end of the road that
runs south, and then west, inside the reserve, there is a beach with a small
snack bar and a facility for renting snorkeling equipment and plastic kayaks.
Under a protective roof, there were a about a dozen hammocks set up. On one of
the ropes holding up a hammock, I noticed a Yellow-Throated Warbler. It was
perched there for a couple of minutes, and I captured a few good photos. Some
of its distinguishing features: a black patch around the eye, a white eyebrow
stripe, a white crescent under the eye, and a yellow bib under its beak. The
Yellow-Throated warbler is found in eastern and southern Mexico, and all around
the coastal edges of the Yucatan.
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| Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher |
Blue-Gray
Gnatcatcher (Polioptila
caerulea)
This bird is not a warbler;
it belongs to the Sylviidae family -
birds that are even smaller than warblers. The Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher grows to
about 4 ½" in length. It is blue-gray above and whitish underneath. It has
a narrow, white eye-ring and a long black-and-white tail which is often cocked
like a wren's tail. It flips its tail about a lot. This gnatcatcher is widespread
throughout Mexico. If you wanted to describe a bird as "cute" - this
is it. It is tiny; and its song is a thin, wheezy, nasally, mewing kind of
thing.
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| Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher |
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| Bananaquit |
Bananaquit
(Coereba flaveola)
This bird is also not a warbler.
It's actually a species of uncertain relation (incertae sedis - "of uncertain placement"). It has been
placed in its own subfamily - Coerebinae
- although it is also often considered a kind of honeycreeper (nectarivores), or
tanager. Regardless, this is an attractive bird - with its grey throat, white
vent, and yellow chest, belly and rump. It has a prominent white eye stripe, a
black bill, and a red gape. The bill is slender and curved - designed for
extracting nectar from flowers. The Bananaquit is found in some areas of
eastern and southern Mexico and along a thin coastal strip on the eastern edge
of the Yucatan.
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| Bananaquit |
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| Kingbird |
Tropical
Kingbird (Tyrannus
melancholicus) or Couch's Kingbird
(Tyrannus couchii)
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|
|
In southern Ontario the two
large flycatchers we are familiar with are the Great Crested Flycatcher and the
Eastern Kingbird. You see them perched upright for minutes at a time - and then
they do a quick loop out and around and back, right in front of their perch,
snapping up all available insects. They are handsome birds. The Cozumel
equivalent is equally attractive. The head is grey with a darker mask through
the eye. It has a flame-coloured crown patch - but that is usually concealed. The
throat is whitish, and the underparts are yellow, although the breast has a
rather dusky wash on top of the yellow. This Kingbird's tail is long and
slightly forked, with a pale cinnamon colour around the tail-edges. Both the
Tropical Kingbird and the Couch's Kingbird are found throughout the south and
east of Mexico. But here's the thing: it is very difficult to tell these two almost-identical
species apart. The bill of the Couch's Kingbird is slightly smaller than its
cousin, but the key identifying difference is in their vocalizations - which,
of course, they don't often provide.
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| Yucatan (Red-Vented) Woodpecker |
Yucatan (Red-Vented) Woodpecker (Centurus pygmaeus)
Unlike the Jibicoa Cameleon
resort (our usual destination in Cuba) - which is teeming with woodpeckers -
the Iberostar resort in Cozumel hosts only the occasional woodpecker. Over
seven days I saw a woodpecker only twice, but I managed to get a pretty good
photograph each time - sufficient to show the distinguishing features required
for identification. It's a matter of checking any similar species in the guide
book and distinguishing between them - based on range maps, habitat, and
differences in appearance cause by gender and stage of maturity.
The Yucatan Woodpecker (as
it names suggests) is endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula. Its back is barred
heavily with narrow and horizontal black-and-white stripes - as with many other
species of woodpecker. The Yucatan Woodpecker's head and underparts are pale
greyish. It has yellow nasal tufts (with yellow usually encircling the base of
the bill). The male has a red crown and nape; the female has red on the nape
only - which identifies the specimen in my photo as a female. The lower abdomen
is covered in red (which gives the species its other common name - the
Red-Vented Woodpecker). Two species similar to this woodpecker in Mexico are the
Golden-Cheeked Woodpecker and the Golden-Fronted Woodpecker: our Yucatan
Woodpecker can be distinguished from the former by the lack of a gold-coloured
nape and by its location (the Golden-Cheeked is found only on the Pacific coast
of Mexico); and it can be separated from the latter by its yellow nasal tufts
(the Golden-Fronted's nasal tufts are red).
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| White-Crowned Pigeon |
White-Crowned
Pigeon (Columba
leucocephala)
We saw only two species belonging
to the pigeon and dove family (Columbidae)
in Cozumel - the Zenaida Dove and the White-Crowned Pigeon. I didn't get a
decent shot of the Zenaida Dove, but the photograph of the pigeon came out
well. We had seen the White-Crowned Pigeon several times before in Cuba, but it
prefers to perch high-up in the fairly-dense canopies of trees. This makes it
more difficult to get a good picture. But at the Iberostar resort, all of the
trees were short or medium-size - giving me the opportunity to nab a useful
photo. The White-Crowned Pigeon is found in Mexico along the eastern edge of the
Yucatan and in some of its Caribbean islands. It's easy to identify: it is big;
it has a dark, slaty, blue-grey colour overall; it has pale yellow eyes; and it
has a distinctive bright white crown.
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| Observation Tower at Punta Sur |
And now we move off the
Iberostar resort. Barb and I travelled by rented scooter south to Punta Sur ("South
Point"). We got there in about 20 minutes. Punta Sur is Cozumel's largest
ecological reserve. It contains an impressive sand beach (from where you can go
snorkeling or lie in a sun-sheltered hammock, next to a snack bar), an historic
lighthouse (Faro Celarain), an
observation tower (from where you can see crocodiles and large wading birds),
and the Colombia lagoon (which you can explore in a small or medium-sized boat
- a park guide will take you around to the birding hot-spots, of which more
shortly). After you've paid your entrance fee ($14.00 USD each), you drive
about 2 km to get to the observation tower. We stopped there for about 25
minutes to check out the fauna. The most obvious things to see there are
crocodiles - we saw several of them in very shallow water next to the tower
(enjoying the shade, perhaps, on an intensely sunny day). From the top of the
tower, we scanned the lagoon for sightings of large wading birds - with
immediate success.
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| Barbara checks out the waterbirds from observation tower |
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| White Ibis |
White
Ibis
(Eudocimus albus)
Ibises and Spoonbills belong
to the Threskiornithidae family.
These are heron-like wading birds. The white Ibis is predominantly white; but
note the red face and scarlet legs. It also has black wing tips, but they are
only evident when the bird is in flight. When it is flying, the White Ibis
keeps its neck outstretched. In Mexico the White Ibis is found mainly along the
coasts, on both the Pacific and Atlantic sides.
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| White Ibis |
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| Roseate Spoonbill |
Roseate
Spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja)
This is a pink and white
wading bird. Its head and bill are greenish grey. The neck, upper back and
breast are whitish; the belly, wings and legs are shell pink - although there
is a blood-red "drip" at its shoulders. The bill is flat and shaped
like a spoon ("spatulate") - which is very distinctive, but local
people often refer to the spoonbill as a flamingo. The red eyes are very
noticeable. In flight - similar to the Ibis - it keeps its neck outstretched.
As with the Ibis, the Spoonbill is located all along the Pacific and Atlantic
coasts.
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| Roseate Spoonbill |
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| Osprey |
Osprey
(Pandion haliaetus)
The Ibis and Spoonbill were
wading in the lagoon. The Osprey, when its not in flight searching for fish,
perches in leafless spots on the top of medium-sized trees. We noticed the
specimen in the photograph perched near the tower.
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| Osprey |
Ospreys are likely to be
seen in the same environments as eagles and buzzard hawks (buteos). It is
smaller than an eagle, and about the same size as most buteos, but it can be
distinguished from them by its longer, narrower wings - which it usually holds
at an angle (a crook, or "kink") in flight. It flaps its wings more,
flies closer to the ground, and is not as skittish of people as hawks and
eagles. It's one of the more interesting raptors to watch and photograph.
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| Osprey |
From the observation tower
we moved on another 2 km to the lighthouse (Faro
Celarain). We stopped to look around. The beach was interesting - some old,
exposed corral lashed by the fairly rough waters at this southernmost tip of
the island. Inside the lighthouse there is a small museum - with displays about
the island's marine history and the families who manned the lighthouse, when it
was actually in use. There is a snack bar here and a small souvenir shop. The
workers keep a few interesting pets - including a Coati and a Pygmy (or Dwarf)
Raccoon. The coati is a small raccoon-like mammal. Both very cute. There was a
thatched roof protecting the snack bar and souvenir shop; for a while three
Black Vultures were perched on its peak.
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| Black Vultures |
We now drove on by scooter for
another 4-5 km to the end of the road. We parked at the snack bar located at
the back of the beach and enjoyed some lunch. Off the shore a raft had been
tethered; perhaps it serves as a destination
for snorkelers, who can rent equipment at the beach, but while we were there it
seemed like a semi-permanent home for a flock of Royal Terns and Sandwich
Terns.
Royal
Tern
(Sterna m. maxima)
Terns are similar in
appearance and behaviour to gulls, but they are generally much smaller and, in
flight, they are more streamlined and graceful. The Royal Tern, however, is one
of the largest individual species in its family (Sterninae). It can be as big as 21" in length - almost as big
as a Herring Gull. Some distinguishing features to look for: a large orange
bill, a deeply-forked tail (evident in flight), and - in early summer - a solid
black cap that includes a crest at the back of the head. At other times of the
year, there is a large whitish patch over the forehead. The Royal Tern is found
all along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Mexico. A handsome bird.
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| Royal Terns (back) and Sandwich Terns (front) |
Sandwich
Tern
(Sterna sandvicensis)
This tern can be 4"-5"
smaller than the Royal Tern. In other elements of its appearance it is similar
to the Royal Tern. It has the same black cap and crest in the early summer,
which acquires a whitish forehead patch as the breeding season progresses. It
also shows a deeply forked tail. The Sanfwich Tern's bill, however, is black,
with a small yellow tip. The Sandwich Tern is prevalent all along the Atlantic
coast of Mexico.
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| Great Blue Heron |
After lunch we walked inland from the beach area along a short path until we came to a small dock on
the edge of the Colombia Lagoon. We climbed into the smaller of two boats - a low, flat-bottomed boat made of aluminum
and powered by an outboard motor - and our guide took us out for a 45 minute trip
around the lagoon. Our mission was to find as many interesting water birds as
we could.
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| Great Blue Heron |
Great
Blue Heron (Ardea
herodias)
The Great Blue Heron (or
"GBH", as it is affectionately known by north American birders) is a very
common sight in freshwater wetlands throughout southern Ontario. It is the
largest heron in its family (Ardeidae).
It is rather easy to identify in flight, because of the very slow flap of its
large wings. Note how it flies with its neck bent, rather than outstretched. This heron is widespread throughout Mexico.
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| Tricoloured Heron |
Tricoloured
Heron (Egretta
tricolor)
We first saw this heron at
the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, near Ft. Myers in Florida. It is a bit bigger
than the Little Blue Heron, and slighly smaller than the Reddish Egret. In my
photograph you see only two of its dominant colours - the blue-grey of the
head, neck and upperparts, and the white on most of the underparts. Some specimens
also sport white plumes off the back of the head. The third colour is not visible
from this angle - rufous flecking that runs down the middle of a white stripe
on the throat and neck. This heron is located on the coast throughout Mexico,
but it is also found all over The Yucatan.
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| Reddish Egret |
|
|
|
|
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Reddish
Egret (Dichromanassa
rufescens)
We saw the Reddish Egret in
the lagoon near the observation tower, and then again from the boat in the
Colombia Lagoon. The Genus name indicates that it comes in two colour phases:
some birds are all white, with a yellow bill and blue legs; the phase shown in
this photo has a grey body and a rusty-red head and neck. Its bill is
flesh-coloured, with a black tip. It is loose-feathered and its neck often
appears shaggy. It is found in Mexico on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
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| Reddish Egret - note the shaggy neck |
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| Boat-Tailed Heron |
Boat-Billed
Heron (Cochlearius
cochlearius)
The guide in our boat, who was
operating the outboard motor, was very keen to find some Boat-Billed Herons for
us. He was obviously aware that this was the species most birdwatching visitors
were looking for. Indeed, we had not seen this species before either.
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| Boat-Tailed Heron |
He took
us around to several places that they were known to frequent - but with no luck.
Finally, he pulled the motor up out of the water, so that he could punt the
boat around a very shallow area of the lagoon - navigating the vessel around
clumps of mangrove and other shrubbery. After about ten minutes of this, we
finally discovered what we were after - a small colony of half-a-dozen, or so,
Boat-Billed Herons. At the first flush, two or three flew off. I managed to get
some interesting shots of them in flight.
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| Boat-Tailed Heron |
And then I was able to get some
wonderful close-up shots: some photos showing just the head and upper neck of
the bird hiding behind some vegetation; and then five or six photos of one specimen
- the entire bird displayed beautifully on its perch. These shots were quite
special, so I've included a fair number here! We were very grateful that our
guide took so much trouble - and with such great results.
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| Boat-Tailed Heron |
The Boat-Billed Heron
is a stocky and nocturnal heron - as such, it is related to both the
Black-Crowned Night Heron (which is common in southern Ontario) and the
Yellow-Crowned Night Heron (which is not found in our area, but we have seen a
couple of times in Cuba). The Boat-Billed Heron has a very broad and heavy
bill, which is generally dark, but yellow on the base of the lower mandible. Its
legs are greenish-yellow. It has huge-looking black eyes (it's a nocturnal
bird) and a jet-black crown - with a bit
of a crest coming off the crown (although some individuals sport very long, black
plumes off the back of their head). The upperparts and flight feathers are pale
grey, and the underparts are a light rufous colour.
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| Boat-Tailed Heron |
It's a quirky-looking thing
- dramatic when you first see it. The Boat-Billed Heron likes mangrove swamps,
freshwater marshes, and riverside trees. It roosts in small colonies in quite
dense vegetation. It is found along the Pacific coast and in south and eastern
Mexico - including all of the Yucatan. This was the most interesting bird we
saw on our trip to Cozumel - a new species to add to our Life List.
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| Magnificent Frigatebird |
Magnificent
Frigatebird (Fregata
magnificens)
Finally, after our visit to
Punta Sur, we took the scooter north, along the rugged eastern coast of Cozumel.
The water is rougher on this side of the island. You could taste the salt of
the sea-spray on your lips now and then. Just before we got to the right-angled
bend that takes you west along the road to San Gervasio (on the Carretera transversal road), we saw a
small group of Magnificent Frigatebirds circling very low over the road.
We pulled up immediately and I grabbed my camera. We had seen this species a
couple of times in Cuba flying along the coast past of resort, but never this
low.
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| Magnificent Frigatebird |
These are large, highly
aerial seabirds that fly all over the place between the tropics. The Magnificent
Frigatebird is common and widespread along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Mexico.
They belong to the Fregatidae family.
They have very long and narrow wings and long, deeply-forked tails. In flight, the wings are held in a crook, or "kink", shape, like the Osprey. Their bills
are long and hooked. The male Magnificent Frigatebird is lustrous black all
over; the female is black all over, except for a broad white chest-band; and
the juvenile has a white head, in addition to the white chestband. So the
photographs here show juveniles. The male bird also has a highly distensible
bright-red gular sac, used as a mating display. Usually, the sac is deflated,
and it then appears as a narrow reddish throat patch. This deflated sac shows
in the photograph I posted in the first of my two blog posts about the birds of
Cuba.
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| Magnificent Frigatebird |
My List of Birds Sighted
in Cozumel (March 15-22, 2015)
Brown
Pelican
Magnificent
Frigatebird
Spotted
Sandpiper
Ruddy
Turnstone
Royal Tern
Sandwich
Tern
Turkey
Vulture
Black
Vulture
Osprey
Belted
Kingfisher
Tropical
Mockingbird
Kingbird
(Tropical or Couch's)
Melodious
Blackbird
Great-Tailed
Grackle
Gray Catbird
Zenaida Dove
White-Crowned
Pigeon
Bananaquit
Blue-Gray
Gnatcatcher
Cape May
Warbler
Northern
Parula
Palm Warbler
Black-and-White
Warbler
Hooded
Warbler
American
Redstart
Great Blue
Heron
Green-Backed
Heron
Tricoloured
Heron
Reddish
Egret
Boat-Billed
Heron
Snowy Egret
Roseate
Spoonbill
White Ibis
Domesticated
Indian
Peafowl
American
Flamingo
Scarlet
Macaw
Yellow-Naped
Amazon Parrot
The contents of this photo essay (text &
photographs) are copyright
© Clive W. Baugh, 2015
Photographs taken
with a Nikon D7000
using a Nikkor 18-105 mm zoom and (mostly) a Nikkor 70-300 mm zoom
Resources:
A
Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America
by
Steve N.G. Howell and Sophie Webb, Oxford University Press, 1995
Peterson
Field Guide: Eastern Birds
by
Roger Tory Peterson, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1980
Some more blog posts
of mine featuring birds:
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| Boat-Tailed Heron |
