Mexico: The Yucatan and Cozumel

Day 1: The trip begins at 6:30 pm at our hotel south of Cancún. Night in Puerto Morelos.

Day 2: We’ll drive south, birding an attractive botanical garden in the morning, and then continuing south to the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, our base for two nights in the Zona Maya. On the way we'll explore the unusual coastal ruins of Tulum, where Yucatan Jay and Cave Swallows fly below sailing Magnificent Frigatebirds. Night in Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

Day 3: We’ll have a full day’s birding in the rich forests near town, where species include Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Keel-billed Toucan, Northern Bentbill, White-browed Gnatcatcher, Blue Bunting, and the very local Gray-throated Chat and Rose-throated Tanager. We even have a fair chance of coming across a swarm of army ants, which should be attended by Ruddy and Northern Barred Woodcreepers. Night in Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

Day 4: We’ll spend the morning birdwatching in the forest near our hotel, where we’re sure to encounter new species. After lunch we’ll drive north to the picturesque Yucatan town of Valladolid. Night in Valladolid.

Day 5: We’ll spend much of the morning looking for orioles, parrots, and others while also visiting another set of Maya ruins*, where the surrounding woodland provides another taste of the Yucatan’s distinctive avifauna. Birds here could include Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Cinnamon Hummingbird, Turquoise-browed Motmot, and Orange Oriole. After lunch we’ll travel north toward Dzilam de Bravo, which hosts a healthy population of the recently split Yucatan Gnatcatcher. Once we are successful, we’ll continue east to Rio Lagartos, our base for the next two nights. Night in Rio Lagartos. 

Day 6: We’ll bird locally around Rio Lagartos. The arid scrub here is home to two very local endemics, the tiny Mexican Sheartail and the garrulous Yucatan Wren, both of which we should see. We’ll also take a boat through mangrove-fringed lagoons in search of American Flamingo, Reddish Egret and Boat-billed Heron, while we'll get closer looks at several species of terns, shorebirds, and keep an eye out for Rufous-necked Wood-Rail. After lunch we’ll visit nearby areas in search of the specialties of the northern coast. Night in Rio Lagartos. 

Day 7: In the morning, we’ll bird locally targeting anything that we may have missed, which could be Lesser Roadrunner or Gray-crowned Yellowthroat. We’ll then drive to Playa del Carmen for a ferry ride to the Caribbean island of Cozumel. Night in Cozumel.

Day 8: Mexico’s Cozumel Island has an interesting mix of Caribbean, Yucatan Peninsula, and island-endemic birds. We’ll spend a leisurely day exploring the island in search of White-crowned Pigeon, Cozumel Emerald, Caribbean Elaenia, Black Catbird, Yucatan and Cozumel Vireo, Cozumel Wren, Western Spindalis, and the distinctive races (or species?) of Bananaquit and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Wintering migrants include Palm, Prairie, Cape May, Yellow-throated, Black-throated Blue, and Swainson’s Warblers. Night in Cozumel.

Day 9: We’ll have an optional early morning walk before returning to the hotel where the tour concludes with our transfer to Cozumel airport for flights homeward.

*Note: We will likely visit the smaller, yet still impressive and more forested ruins of Ek-Balam. Those who might prioritize a visit to the more famous (and crowded, i.e. not very birdy) ruins of Chichén Itzá should consider arriving a day early and taking a locally organized tour on their own early on Day 1. 

January 2026 Narrative

Starting the tour at dawn wasn't a challenge, as this lone bastion of Eastern Time Zone in Mexico saw sunrise at 7:30 a.m. The birding was nonstop for the first hour of light, where a tree chock full of Yucatan Jays was later occupied by a Laughing Falcon, then both Hooded and Altamira Orioles. After the fly-by of two Crane Hawks, we enjoyed perched White-fronted Amazons, our first of a few stunning Blue Buntings, and a Black Catbird that took patience to see well. A highlight from the botanical gardens was a male Hooded Warbler in the open forest understory, while the gorgeous site of Tulum offered us a point-blank Rufous-browed Peppershrike. 

The now wide and paved Vigia Chico road proved to still be among the best birding roads in the Yucatan Peninsula. After our breakfast Bat Falcons, we came across a mixed flock that contained a pair of Tropical Royal Flycatchers, a rare bird in these parts. The Mayan Antthrush that sang in the open was followed by several more mixed flocks in which we saw Rose-throated Tanager, Black-and-white Warbler, and Blue-winged Warbler among many others. Having lunch in town with a good view of the sky was a good choice, as this is how we spied a juvenile Gray Hawk and a Zone-tailed Hawk hunting over town. A return to the Vigia Chico road in the afternoon gave us a Turquoise-browed Motmot and a hard-earned Yucatan Flycatcher.  

Owling in the early morning was a success with Mottled Owls, but we also heard two calls from a single reluctant Yucatan Poorwill during this new moon. It was only just light enough to enjoy a Keel-billed Toucan singing from a close cecropia, and as the dawn progressed, we spied Black-headed Trogons, a pair of Pale-billed Woodpeckers, several Boat-billed Flycatchers, a pair of Black-crowned Tityras, Black-cowled Oriole, Morelet's Seedeaters, and brief views of a Yucatan Woodpecker. The afternoon's drive went by quickly, and we were soon enjoying one of the finest dinners of the tour as well as some amazing gelato. 

We picnicked at Hacienda San Miguel, where the birdy dawn included vibrant Summer Tanager and Orange Oriole, Turquoise-browed Motmot, and a furtive but well-seen Yellow-breasted Chat. The sprawling complex of Chichén Itzá was fascinating but not very birdy except some wonderfully close encounters with several Yucatan Jays. Our stop for Yucatan Gnatcatcher was quickly very successful, but the many birds along the drive had us pausing for Tropical Mockingbird, Vermilion Flycatcher, Crested Caracara, and many others. We spied our first Yucatan Wrens with one last stop, and as we were checking into our bayside hotel just before sunset, a magical skein of American Flamingos flew over.  

There were many highlights on our boat trip through the Ría Lagartos, not the least of which were the many American Flamingos. Searching among the abundant Laughing Gulls we spied a Royal Tern with a color band that was eventually revealed to be a six and a half-year-old bird originally from Georgia. We lucked out with a retreating tide that offered foraging habitat for Rufous-necked Wood-Rail, a hard bird to find. We had amazing views of Mangrove Yellow Warbler and Common Black Hawk in the trees, while a trip outside the jetties allowed us close views of the very local breeding Snowy Plovers. It was fun to spend time watching a Double-crested Cormorant with a Gulf Toadfish that after three minutes finally went down the hatch. We got close to a very large Morelet's Crocodile before heading back to town for some land-based birding. We visited a busy marsh with close Black-necked Stilts and a nesting Roseate Spoonbill and later found the private access to a little swamp where Boat-billed Herons were the main attraction. The afternoon drive introduced us to some new habitats but no access to the salt flats, and we ended up scouting out our target birding area for the morning.  

We had one last morning in the specialized habitats of the northern coast, where some of the highlights actually came from a small wetland behind the mangroves. The biggest surprise was an American Pygmy Kingfisher, but we were also pleased by a Least Bittern, a furtive Ruddy Crake, and Common Gallinules mixed in among the American Coots. We later visited a drier site where activity in the brushy area included Gray-crowned Yellowthroat, Blue-black Grassquit, and a couple family groups of charming Yucatan Wrens. We flushed a bevy of Black-throated Bobwhite, which was soon followed by a sneaky Lesser Roadrunner in the tall grass that eluded most of the group. After one last wonderful and speedy lunch, we bid farewell to the American Flamingos right in front of our hotel and made the drive to Playa del Carmen. After spying the tour's only Peregrine Falcon in flight as we were driving through town, it was then a quick goodbye to our driver Basilio and an efficient ferry ride to the island.  

Our one full day on Cozumel was indeed full. Cozumel Emerald was the first endemic species we saw, though they were far outnumbered by the gorgeous Green-breasted Mangos in a flowering Kapok tree. In same tree were many warblers, the prize among which was a lovely male Black-throated Blue Warbler. We soon had great views of Cozumel Wren, but the Cozumel Vireos we encountered were reluctant to show themselves as well. A trio of Western Spindalises were great to see, and we lucked into a roosting Common Pauraque deep in the forest understory. The afternoon outing resulted in more great views of Cozumel Emerald, but most of our time was at a marsh where many Ruddy Crakes were seen, as well as a bold Sora that fed and then bathed at length in the open. Perhaps avoiding the increasing winds up high, a Short-tailed Hawk made an extremely close and low pass overhead.  

Those flying out of Cozumel on our last day had a short morning of birding in a mostly abandoned development where we saw one more very shy Cozumel Vireo, but highlights were seeing three different Swainson's Warblers and the tour's only Caribbean Dove, singing at close range on a large branch. 

- Rich Hoyer

Back to Narratives