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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ovenbird43" data-source="post: 3516827" data-attributes="member: 64478">Thanks for the comments folks:t:Jan 7 - Quintana Roo National ParkI'd made all sorts of "maybe" plans for this day, such as visiting nearby cenotes, going to Muyil, second snorkeling trip from Tulum, or birding the road outside Felipe San Carrillo - but we decided we didn't want to make any more extra trips down the long, rough road leading to camp, so we decided to spend the day exploring the immediate surroundings.Overnight I had heard a Yucatan Poorwill in the distance from our tent, so I set out on foot about 45 minutes before dawn in hopes of locating it.  I could hear three or more Mottled Owls and two Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls, but no poorwill.  It responded briefly to playback, but it was far off the road through dense forest - no chance of it coming in or me going to find it. As dawn approached, motmots were the first daybirds to start up: Lesson's Motmot (split from Blue-crowned) and Turquoise-browed Motmot.  Then a group of Plain Chachalacas sounded off nearby, echoed by distant groups in all directions. Full daylight brought many of the same species as yesterday morning, with a few additions.  A pair of Barred Antshrikes were duetting in a vine tangle, the male pumping his tail furiously with each note.  I found two more singing Grey-throated Chats, males giving unsolicited views, flipping their long tails around, while a female skulked nearby the second male.  Many more parrots flew over but a perched pair turned out to be White-fronted Parrots.  Dusky-capped Flycatchers were common, with one Yucatan Flycatcher, and I caught a quick view of Slaty-headed Tody-Tyrant.  I saw two gorgeous male Blue Buntings and heard a Wood Thrush calling from the undergrowth.After breakfast, Tom and I borrowed two of the four rusty bikes available for use, setting out to look for a cave we had learned about and to see what was at the end of the road.  The bikes were quite awkward - on mine the seat was far too low, on Tom's it was too high ("I feel like I'm riding a d@## pennyfarthing!"), neither were adjustable given the rust and corrosion.  Mine took quite a bit of effort to pedal forward with my knees rising toward my chest, and Tom's bike had some further issue with the chain - but off we set.  About a kilometer down the road from camp is an open wooden gate, technically the entrance to the park, and soon afterwards is a trail leading off to the right.  We got off our bikes and walked down the trail, which leads past a small pile of ruins to a large depression in the woods, the walls of the depression containing holes and caves.  It was kind of a neat spot, though we had forgotten our lights for exploring the caves - but the area produced the trip's first Couch's Kingbird and Yellow-billed Caciques.We continued down the road, stopping briefly for Tropical Pewee, Summer Tanager, Plain Chachalaca, and Yellow-throated Euphonia, and after about 10 kilometers from camp reached the end of the road.  Trails led on into the forest, tempting though we hadn't come prepared for a full-day outing, not to mention riding these bikes any further didn't sound appealing.  We turned around, noting some dark thunderclouds to the east, wondering if we would beat them to camp.  The first kilometer back was very birdy so I kept stopping - once for a cooperative pair of Pale-billed Woodpeckers, another time for a flock containing Rose-throated Tanager and Indigo and Blue Buntings.  While watching the latter birds, I heard a small bird rustling in the undergrowth next to the road.  I peered in, expecting Green-backed Sparrow (there had been several), and was surprised and delighted to find a Swainson's Warbler!  Quite nice to see, I've only had a good look at this species one other time, long ago.Tom indicated that he was having trouble getting his bike going again after stopping, so we powered on for a bit without stopping.  Tom fell further and further behind though, and after waiting for him to catch up, he told me his chain kept popping off and he wanted to just walk.  We still had some 8 kilometers to go, so I told him I'd head back and get the car.  Not long after leaving Tom, the rain arrived, a torrential downpour typical of the tropics.  Nothing to do about it, figured I'd just enjoy the soaking.  Eventually I made it back to camp, my aching knees glad to put the bike away and stand up, hopped into the car and drove through the rain to get Tom.  I picked him up and we put the bike in the trunk, leaving the trunk open to the rain as we drove back.We whiled away the afternoon in the common room as it continued to rain off and on for several hours.  Toward evening I wandered around the camp, looking for birds but not seeing much.  Later I ran into Tom, who had been looking for me.  He mentioned seeing a bunch of turkeys in the road - turkeys!  Could they be Ocellated Turkeys?  Tom knows what currasows and guans are, and from his description they sure sounded like turkeys - he had walked right by a group of them in the road!  I asked him to take me to the spot, so we ran out to the road.  They weren't there, but we quietly approached the spot, looking up at the adjacent trees.  There! Perched high in a bare tree was an Ocellated Turkey!  Before I could get my bins up though it took off away from the road. Drat!  There was a trail leading off into the woods, so we headed down it, walking slowly and quietly in hopes of finding the rest of the turkeys hiding out.  I wandered a ways down the trail while Tom headed off into the woods.  It was quiet, no sign of them anywhere.  Suddenly a gun shot blasted through the forest, dreadfully close, so close in fact that I ran back in a hunkered panic, worried that somebody had mistaken Tom for a turkey!  He was fine, although he had heard the bullet pass right by him (yikes!).  We rushed out into the road, and a moment later two young guys drove by on a scooter, carrying a gun.  Tom glared at them as they passed, they returning a half-hearted grin.  So much for the turkey search, the light was fading fast by now anyways.I was elated to have seen an Ocellated Turkey, a species I had definitely written off for this trip by not including Calakmul in the itinerary, but disappointed that I had missed the incredible views that Tom had.  More reason to return!  As further consolation we had smashing views of a Mottled Owl in camp that night.</blockquote>

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