Yaax Che | Parque Cancun--ROADSIDE HAWK, GRAY-COLLARED BECARD

 

Black-headed Trogon, Parque Cancun

We spent a couple of mornings at two other birding hotspots. The first, was Jardín Botánico Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marín, named after a famous Mexican botanist, also known by the Mayan name Yaax Che which means "ceiba tree" the sacred tree of the Mayans. It about 150 acres of lowland coastal jungle, right off a main highway. It isn't a traditional botanic garden where there are many plants brought in, but more a preserve for the native plants that are already there, along with some recreations of Mayan homes and a chicle camp. It also skirts the mangrove which can be viewed from a 3-story tower, a big improvement over the ladder you had to climb in order to swing over to viewing platform the last time we were there. 

Since we arrived mid-morning, the birds had already gone quiet but we still managed to pick up some interesting ones. It was funny to find American Redstarts and a Prothonotary Warbler there, but we also had some neat Mexican species like Black-headed Trogon and Common Squirrel-Cuckoo. We also had a quartet of Lesser Greenlets which is a type of vireo. I have to say, they don't look particularly green to my eye. 

15 species
Eurasian Collared-Dove  1
White-tipped Dove  2
Common Squirrel-Cuckoo  1
White Ibis  6
Turkey Vulture  5
Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture  5
Black-headed Trogon  1
Great Kiskadee  1
Tropical Kingbird  1
Lesser Greenlet  4
White-eyed Vireo  1
Green Jay  2
White-bellied Wren  1
Prothonotary Warbler  1
American Redstart  2

Common Squirrel-Cuckoo, Parque Cancun

On our last full day there we drove about 45 minutes north to Parque Cancun which is about 2/3 the size of Central Park. About a third of the park is situated on the old Cancun municipal landfill, but you'd never know from the beautifully laid out roads and paths that go past and through various kinds of gardens filled with art and iguanas. There is one fascinating section where they have a cross section of the old dump revealed, layers of bottles, wrappers, bags and all the detritus of civilization. 

But we were there for the birds and there were lots. We got there around 9 AM. Our original plan was to go on the regular Sunday bird walk there (even though it would be in Spanish) that was supposed to start a 7 AM. But when they changed it to 6 AM, we all agreed we weren't getting up at 4:30. So, by the time we got there, the bird walk was just ending and some of the birders gracefully directed us to where we might be most successful. 

The first bird we saw was a Bronzed Cowbird and the second was a Hooded Oriole. Up until then, Hooded Oriole was the only oriole I'd come across, so I was happy when I saw the trees were just full of orioles. Now all I had to do was separate them. With some studying and the help of Merlin analyzing their calls, we ticked off Orange Oriole, Altamira Oriole, and (and an especially hard one for me) Yellow-tailed Oriole. 

While we were walking along a road Shari & I kept hearing a hawk on the other side of the trees. Merlin identified it as ROADSIDE HAWK, a lifer. I was disappointed that we couldn't see it but consoled myself with the notion that while we were driving back from Rio Lagartos, we saw many hawks on the roadside, atop poles, and I was certain that they too were Roadside Hawks, but it's hard to identify them at 80 kph. 

The day before we went, I checked the recent bird lists for the park and found one species I'd never heard of. Like the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, I was now primed, so when I saw a black and gray bird with a white wing patch fly across the path and land in a nearby tree, I was certain that we had another lifer, because as it says in the eBird description, "no similar bird in Mexico." It was a GRAY-COLLARED BECARD and relatively scarce compared to the Rose-throated Becard, which we were also looking for but never found, despite some guidance from other birders. If only it wasn't in shadow when I tried to photograph it. 

While we had heard and Shari saw a Black-headed Trogon at Yaax Che, they were much easier to find at Parque Cancun and very cooperative for the camera, as was the Common Squirrel-Cuckoo which was eating insects on the ground. I didn't recognize it as a cuckoo at first because I don't think I've ever seen a cuckoo of any type on the ground. Usually, you're straining you neck and eyes trying find one high up in a tree. 

And, after getting Mangrove Yellow Warbler in Rio Lagartos, I finally re-placed Northern Yellow Warbler on my Mexican list. No longer do I have the ignominy of a "spuh" on my list. 

27 species
Plain Chachalaca  2
Eurasian Collared-Dove  1
White-winged Dove  1
Common Squirrel-Cuckoo  1
Black Vulture  10
Turkey Vulture  20
ROADSIDE HAWK  1     Heard
Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl  1     Heard
Black-headed Trogon  2
Golden-fronted Woodpecker  2
GRAY-COLLARED BECARD  1
Brown-crested Flycatcher  1
Great Kiskadee  10
Social Flycatcher  1
Tropical Kingbird  1
Couch's Kingbird  1
Rufous-browed Peppershrike  1
Yucatan Jay  15
Tropical Mockingbird  2
Hooded Oriole  2
Yellow-tailed Oriole  1
Orange Oriole  4
Altamira Oriole  2
Bronzed Cowbird  4
Great-tailed Grackle  5
Northern Yellow Warbler  1
Black-headed Saltator  1