Cancun, Mexico Trip ~ May 19, 2006

My wife and I spent May 19th to the 22nd in Cancun, Mexico to attend my stepdaughter's wedding, so this was obviously not a birding trip, but I was still able to get out and see some nice birds.

On Friday, May 19th, we flew non-stop from Philadelphia to Cancun. A shuttle took us to the Moon Palace Resort on the Riviera Maya, just south of Cancun. Without a rental car, my birding was restricted to the resort and its adjacent golf course. The damage to the vegetation done by Hurricane Wilma was still very evident. After settling in, I saw my first of five 'life' birds for the trip, a Melodious Blackbird.

Melodious Blackbird at the Moon Palace Resort near Cancun, Mexico.
This photo shows the overall glossy black coloration, the dark eyes, and the dark, pointed bill. This bird was photographed in grass next to a brushy swamp along the edge of the resort area. These birds were fairly common in the brush around the resort.

Another bird that was evident in the brushy swamps surrounding the resort was the Anhinga.

Anhinga at the Moon Palace Resort near Cancun, Mexico.
This photo shows the fairly long, sharply-pointed bill, the white on the wings and back, and the light area at the tip of the tail. This bird was photographed while drying its wings over a brushy swamp along the edge of the resort area.

Great-tailed Grackles were everywhere. Another bird that was commonly seen around the resort and its edges was the Tropical Mockingbird, which was another 'lifer' for me.

Tropical Mockingbird at the Moon Palace Resort near Cancun, Mexico.
This bird has darker wings and a much smaller area of white in the tail when compared to our Northern Mockingbird and lacks the Northern's large white wing patches in flight. This bird was photographed on a post outside our room.

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Cancun, Mexico Trip ~ May 20, 2006

On the morning of the 20th, I walked the golf course and found another 'lifer', a very cooperative Northern Jacana.

Northern Jacana at the Moon Palace Golf Club near Cancun, Mexico.
This photo shows the black face with the contrasting yellow forehead patch and yellow bill, black neck and breast, chestnut back and body, grayish legs and very long toes, and pale yellow flight feathers with dusky edges. This bird was photographed near one of the water hazards.

Northern Jacana at the Moon Palace Resort near Cancun, Mexico.
This photo shows how strikingly different the immature looks from the adult. Note the white underparts and face, brown cap on the head, brown back, grayish-green legs, and duller yellow bill with a dusky tip. This is one of two immature birds that were seen in a brushy swamp along the edge of the resort area.

Magnificent Frigatebird at the Moon Palace Resort near Cancun, Mexico.
This photo shows the dark head, the long, dark, pointed wings, the white chest patch, and the long, forked tail. This adult female was photographed while circling over the beach.

The rest of the day was spent at my stepdaughter's wedding and the reception.

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Cancun, Mexico Trip ~ May 21, 2006

On Sunday, the 21st, I took a bus tour to the famous Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. We didn't get there until midday and the grounds were loaded with people, so I saw very few birds, but the ruins and the associated stories that the guide told us about the site were well worth the trip.

"El Castillo", also known as "Kukulcan's Pyramid" at Chichen Itza.
About 75 feet tall, it was built around the 10th century A.D. for astronomical purposes. During the vernal and autumnal equinox, the sunlight on the one stairway forms what appears to be a serpent 37 yards long that creeps downward until it joins the huge serpent's head carved in stone at the bottom of the stairway.

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Cancun, Mexico Trip ~ May 22, 2006

Very early on the 22nd, I once again walked the golf course and found my last two 'lifers', a Yucatan Jay and a female Thicket Tinamou before packing for our early afternoon flight home.

Yucatan Jay at the Moon Palace Golf Club near Cancun, Mexico.
This photo shows the turquoise-blue wings and tail, black head and underparts, and yellowish legs. This bird was photographed along the path to the clubhouse. This life bird was with three others in the brush along the path.

A Coatimundi at the Moon Palace Golf Club near Cancun, Mexico.
I got my first-ever look at one of these as it walked around the course.

Some of the other birds seen during this long weekend were Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Plain Chachalaca, Brown Pelican, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great Egret, Tricolored Heron, White Ibis, Osprey, Common Moorhens with young, White-rumped Sandpiper, Laughing Gull, Royal Tern, White-winged Dove, Ruddy Ground-Dove, Vaux's Swift, the "dubius" race of Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Social Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Rose-throated Becard, "Ridgeway's" Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cave Swallow, Clay-colored Thrush (Robin), Red-winged Blackbird, Bronzed Cowbird, and Hooded and Altimira Oriole.

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