[Maroon Jay]

I will be touring Yucatan in November and December 2011 and Belize in January and February 2012. If anyone happens to be in the area perhaps we can meet up for some birding. Searching for endemics in Isla Cozumel and Rio Lagartos and the jungles of Belize.

[kittykat23uk]

Sounds wonderful. Whereabouts in Belize are you going? I did plan to visit there one year but ended up going to Brazil for Jaguars instead. It was awesome! I'd still like to visit Belize some time though.

[Maroon Jay]

I will be in the Yucatan before Christmas. Heading into Belize 3 January. I am told that I should be able to add more than 200 birds to my life list. I know of a guy who went last winter and added 150 new birds in five days.

[Maroon Jay]

I will be travelling from the north of Belize, entering from Mexico by bus, to the south along the coast and then west into the jungle to the Guatemala border and perhaps into Guatemala as far as Tikal. Most people stick to the coast but there are many birds that can be seen only in the jungle such as the Harpy Eagle. Hope to also find the Scarlet Macaw. I was going to go across northern Guatemala to Chiapas in Mexico but I have heard that is it too dangerous there. I did not see any forum on here for "Traveller's Safety". Perhaps that would be a good idea for a new forum. Especailly for people travelling with expensive camera equipment and scopes. It would be good to have a list of places to avoid.

[James Lowther]

Hi MJ,
i've been to both yucatan and belize as have many other people on the forum no doubt, so looking forward to your news. if you have any specific questions let us know.
cheers,
James

[Maroon Jay]

Thanks James, Do you know specifically where to find the endemics in Isla Cozumel? The only other question I have at the moment is whether I should travel across Petan (the northern state of Quatemala) to get to the Mexican state of Chiapas or go around it on the Mexican side of the border. This is a longer and less interesting but apparently safer route.

[Maroon Jay]

Besides birds I hope to find lots of other critters. Red-eyed Tree Frog, Vampire Bat, two species of monkies, two species of crocodiles, tapir, kinkajou, army ants, leaf-cutter ants, boa constrictor, glass frog and many others.

[James Lowther]

no i don't know much about cozumel - i travelled to yucatan a year or so after one of the big hurricanes when certain cozumel endemics had become extremely difficult so i didn't travel there. Hopefully you'll be able to find more up to date info somewhere.
regards el peten, it was ok, although not risk-free when i was there in 2005 but that may have changed also...
cheers,
James

[ebirder]

Hi
I was in Yucutan in the Cancun area this August and visited |Cozumel the emerald, vireo and wren I found in the presedente grid, easily done on a moped in one day, lots of the Yucutan endemics were easier here too, if you have any questions let me know.

[Maroon Jay]

Hello ebirder, thank you for the info. What is presedente grid? If you can give me directions to any good spots on the island it would be appreciated. Where else in Yucatan did you go? I have read that driving a moped there is very dangerous. What are your thoughts on that?

[ebirder]

Originally Posted by Maroon Jay

Hello ebirder, thank you for the info. What is presedente grid? If you can give me directions to any good spots on the island it would be appreciated. Where else in Yucatan did you go? I have read that driving a moped there is very dangerous. What are your thoughts on that?

Hi

Driving a mopen was fine on Cozumel, I only went for a day caught the ferry then spent most of the day at the grig I mentioned, its a funny place looks like an abandoned housing development, to get there follow the coast road with the sea on your right from the ferry terminal, pass the cruise ship terminal you get to a sign on the right for the Hotel Presidente, at this point turn left down past the riding school, all very easy once you are there about 12 a mile down this road you will find the grid, probably the best birding I had in the Yucutan.
I was limited to areas close to Cancun but another good place I found is the road oposite the Botanical gardens which themselves were a dissapointment.
If you havent already get the Steve Howell where to watch birds in Mexico book.

Peter

[Maroon Jay]

Thanks Peter for the tips. I will check it out. Tom

[Hamhed]

Maroon Jay - My wife and visited Cozumel in Dec of '06. For what it's worth, we spent a good part of a day at San Gervasio ruins just north of the Cross Island Expressway. Hurricane Wilma had gone through just a few months before and the vegetative wreckage was very much visible. We found the Cozumel Emerald and Cozumel Wren, as well as many other non-endemic species, like Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Yucatan Woodpecker, Mangrove Cuckoo, Western Spindalis, "Mangrove" Yellow Warbler and lots of North American migrants. The Thrasher was assumed to have been dealt a final blow by Wilma; at least, we never saw one. Nor did we see any Cozumel Hummingbirds.
We didn't bird El Presidente until the afternoon and it was very slow and hot walking in the small amount of shade the scrub offered. We did find a Kentucky Warbler there, a bird we'd only seen once before - in the US.
We used Howell and Webb's guide for our two trips to the Yucatan, the last in '08.

Steve

[Maroon Jay]

Thanks Steve, I will check there. Making a list of places to check. I dont expect to see the Cozumel Thrasher. It may be extinct. But I do hope to find the other three endemics. Thanks for the tip. Tom

[Hamhed]

Originally Posted by Hamhed

Nor did we see any Cozumel Hummingbirds

I meant to say"any OTHER Hummingbirds" since we did see the Emerald.

I agree with Ebirder about the Botanical Gardens. We went there twice with limited results. Coba, Muyil, Vigia Chico Road were all good places for us if you are heading south. The ruins at Kohunlich, east of Campeche, were good to us; the topography is different there with more elevational changes.

Plane tickets to Belize City are at an all time low from our area in North Carolina. Tempting!

Steve

[Maroon Jay]

Hi Steve, I have heard that the botanical gardens are not the best but I have already booked my time in cancun so I will check it out. I am going to Coba and Vigia Chica. Where is Muyil? Have you been to Belize?

[Hamhed]

Of course, you will have to travel to Puerto Morelos to get to the Botanical Gardens. If you can locate Vallarta Road in Puerto Mortelos, you may do well there. We drove it in '08 but only the first 14 km (of 38 total) were upgraded and paved. Not sure about current conditons. Read the April 27 entry here:
http://maybank.tripod.com/Mexico/Qui...oo-04-2004.htm

Muyil is 45 minutes south of Tulum and very conveniently located adjacent to the highway. We had some good ant swarms there.

Not been to Belize ... yet. My prediction is that the birding and snorkeling will prove too promising to resist for much longer.

I'll see if I can dig up pictures and more detail later.

Steve

[Maroon Jay]

Hi Steve, Thanks for the good tips and the report. I saved a copy of it. Can you give me exact directions to where you saw the Sooty Terns. That was quite a few years ago so wonder if they are still there. I would like to check it out. Tom

[ebirder]

Hi Tom

Sooty terns were easy on Cozumel in August, just check the rocky outcrops, I had no luck with Bridled tern though.

Peter

[Hamhed]

Tom - I uploaded a few pics that might be of use to you here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/6829774...7627748668325/
Muyil is only 15 miles south of Tulum Central, not the 45 minutes I originally described. Good notes pay off at times! As I said, entrance is easy to see from Highway 307. You can follow the trail to the Lake but we saw much more in the area of the ruins themselves.

Steve

[Maroon Jay]

Sooty Tern is one of the ones on my list that I will be searching for. You were there twice? In April and Auguest. I wonder if they will be there in the winter. Where is the colony in Cancun that you saw? Tom

[kittykat23uk]

Snorkelling/diving would be on my list of things to do in Belize, as would the ruins of Tikal in neighbouring Guatamala. Add in some time birding and mammal watching in the jungle and that would be a great trip!

[Maroon Jay]

I am not a diver. But I have lots of adventure planned. Staying at a treehouse in the jungle and a couple of nights in a Maya indian village. Trying to find a way to get to Half Moon Caye to see the Red-footed Boobies. Will give snorkelling a try.

[James Lowther]

snorkelling from caye caulker is brilliant
cheers,
James

[Maroon Jay]

Any specific spots you like for snorkling on caye caulker James, or just anywhere on the island? Tom