Wherever you go in the Mexican Caribbean you are not far from the jungle, the dense mantle of green that conceals many an ancient temple and is a refuge for a host of tropical birds and animals. This is the land of the jaguar or balam, the biggest wild cat in the Americas, once worshipped as a god by the Maya, the puma and ocelot, white-tail deer, spider and howler monkeys.
Close to the coast the jungle gives way to the marshlands and brackish lagoons that are the home of crocodiles, iguanas and manatees, and the white-sand beaches that welcome nesting sea turtles during the summer.
You are extremely unlikely to see a jaguar or puma in the wild, but the one thing you will see wherever you go are birds. The Yucatán Peninsula has more species of bird than the United States and Canada combined, a staggering 539 that includes 14 endemic birds found only in the area, and 219 migratory species of waterfowl, songbirds, hawks and even hummingbirds that fly south to escape the winter cold of northern climates.
Colorful toucans, parrots, orioles and the exotic turquoise-browed motmot are some of the forest-dwelling birds you may be lucky enough to spot. The wetlands are alive with the raucous cries of nesting frigate birds, cormorants, herons and flamingos.
If you are interested in wildlife you might want to plan your own eco adventure to the biosphere reserves of Sian Ka’an, Ria Lagartos and the island of Contoy.
Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve
Straddling northern and central Quintana Roo, Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve comprises 1.3 million acres of jungle, wetlands, Caribbean beaches, two of the largest bays in Mexico – Bahía de la Asunción and Espiritu Santo – and a 110-kilometer stretch of coral reef, all of which are rich in flora and fauna.
The vast Sian Ka’an wetlands consist of marsh, flooded savannas, mangrove forest and a network of fresh water and brackish lagoons fed by water from aquifers deep in the limestone heart of the peninsula, which courses through an extensive network of underground rivers, cenotes and springs called ojos de agua
The flat landscape is also dotted with jungle-covered natural mounds called petenes or hummocks, found only in the Yucatan Peninsula, Cuba and the Florida Everglades. Petenes always have a cenote at the center and have higher levels of biodiversity than the surrounding marshland as animals and birds are attracted to the fresh water source and the cover provided by the jungle.
Founded in 1986 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 as tribute to its immense ecological worth, Sian Ka’an is home to 103 different mammals including the jaguar, peccary, howler and spider monkeys, and the West Indian manatee. It has one of Mexico’s largest crocodile populations and is an important nesting area for sea turtles. Yet birds are its most visible treasures: over 350 resident and migratory species have been registered here. Sixteen varieties of heron nest in the mangroves and parrots, toucans and ocellated turkey are some of the forest dwellers. The reserve also has a large breeding population of ospreys and protects a tiny colony of the rare jabiru stork, the largest bird in the Americas.
Sian Ka’an means “where the sky is born in Maya” and there is compelling evidence that the Maya hunted, fished and traveled the wetlands. To date 23 archaeological sites have been registered in the reserve.
A day trip gives you the opportunity to visit at least two of the reserve’s 23 archaeological sites, Muyil and Xlapak. You’ll also see rare and colorful wildlife, swim in the mangrove channels and take an exciting boat ride through the lagoons to the coast.
Getting to Sian Ka’an:
Organized eco trips available from Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum or Muyil are by far the best ways to explore the reserve.
There are five entrances to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, all manned by SEMARNAT park wardens. The northernmost entrance is on the coast road that leads south from Tulum to Boca Paila and Punta Allen. Despite a project to repair it, it is still in poor condition south of Boca Paila.
Contoy Island
Once you have spent a couple of days exploring Cancún, you may be ready for something completely different, a true desert island of beaches, mangroves and lagoons where the only sounds are the waves breaking on the shore and the cries of the birds. The name of this Caribbean jewel is Contoy and it is a two-hour boat ride north of Cancún.
Contoy is also known as la isla de los pajaros or “the island of the birds,” in Spanish and when you disembark you’ll understand why! There are birds everywhere: pelicans and frigate birds patrol the skies and the mangroves echo with a chorus of squawks, whistles and the honks of boat-billed herons or kukas.
A protected area since 1961, Contoy was declared a special biosphere reserve in 1998 in recognition of its importance as a leading nesting site for seabirds in the Mexican Caribbean. Despite its diminutive size – only seven kilometers long and 800 meters wide – it is a refuge for 150 species of native and migrant birds, with one of the largest populations of brown pelicans in the Caribbean, a 5,000-strong colony of frigate birds and 3,000 double-crested cormorants. Other residents include ten members of the heron family such as the great blue heron, reddish and snowy egret and the yellow-crowned night heron. Every day, flocks of ibis, roseate spoonbills, named for their distinctive spoon-shaped beaks, and other waders leave their mangrove roosts at dawn in search of food, returning at sunset. During the winter months, the island becomes a refuge for ducks, plovers, sandpipers and other shore birds that migrate south to escape the cold of northern latitudes.
Endangered hawksbill, loggerhead and green sea turtles nest on island beaches during the summer and the calm waters of Imaxpoit Bay are home to rays and colorful fish such as sergeant majors. To the south of Contoy is Ixlache Reef, the first link in a chain of coral reefs stretching south through the Mexican Caribbean to Belize. Known as the Mesoamerican Reef, this incredible coral formation is the second longest in the world.
Dolphins, sailfish, manta rays and, during the summer months, whale sharks, can occasionally be spotted in deeper waters to the east of Contoy.
Contoy is uninhabited except for the park wardens and the occasional biologist on a field trip. Visit the museum beside the pier to find out more about island ecology, flora and fauna and be sure to climb the observation tower for a better view of the island and the birds.
Getting to Contoy
Nature trips are available from Cancún and Isla Mujeres. They include the boat ride, snorkeling, time for relaxing on the beach and bird watching.
Río Lagartos Biosphere Reserve
Stretching along the coast of northern Yucatán, Río Lagartos is a 60,348-hectare biosphere reserve of mangroves, salt marshes, dunes and tropical forest that is a magnet for bird watchers and nature lovers in general. It was the first area of marshland in Mexico to receive global attention and to be included on the UNESCO Ramsar list of internationally important wetlands and the federal government declared it a reserve in 1979.
The reserve’s biological diversity is incredible. Scientists have identified 365 bird species, 58 mammals, including the jaguar and spider monkey, the prehistoric horseshoe crab, 95 reptiles and amphibians, including four species of sea turtles and the crocodiles or lagartos that gave the reserve its name.
Despite such riches, Río Lagartos is famous for one bird …the flamingo. The reserve harbors North America’s largest nesting colony of Caribbean flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber). So many of them gather in the shallow lagoons that they literally dye the horizon pink! To see them searching for food, preening their bright plumage or in flight formation is to witness one of the natural wonders of the Yucatán.
Flamingos feed with their heads upside down, underwater, moving their beaks from side to side in a sweeping motion as they walk forward. They stir up the mud, sieving it with their spine-covered tongues and extracting minute crustaceans. Sometimes they stamp their feet in a circle to stir the silt up. Biologists have discovered that they spend up to 70 per cent of their day feeding and believe that the vivid salmon pink plumage of the Yucatán flamingos is the result of a diet based on tiny shrimps and other crustaceans found only in this area.
Fishermen from the waterfront village of Río Lagartos offer boat trips along the ria or estuary and through the mangroves to the lagoons and salt flats where the flamingos feed. Some of them carry checklists to help you identify the birds you see; keep a lookout for white pelicans, skimmers, a variety of herons, ibis, roseate spoonbills, peregrine falcons and kingfishers.
Getting to Río Lagartos
Organized nature trips are available to Río Lagartos from Cancún. If you want to explore at your own pace, the reserve is a three and a half hour drive from Cancún via the toll road or Highway 180 to Valladolid and then Highway 295 to the coast, via Tizimín. You’ll see birds at any time of the day but remember that they are more plentiful at daybreak and also at sunset when they fly back to their roosts.
