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Spent 15 days with Ann and two friends at Secrets Capri a small all inclusive resort 5 miles north of Playa Del Carmen on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico from the 25 of April until the 9th of May
This was just a beach holiday at a very comfortable hotel but I did manage to get some birdwatching in usually first thing in the morning or last thing in the afternoon. In the fifteen days of the holiday I recorded 60 species a total which I comfortably beat in five hours at Rutland Water on the 12th of May
The resort was surrounded by trees with virtually no open ground. The trees I suspect were once mangrove. There was no open water that I could find within easy walking distance or it was hidden in private property
One piece of luck for me was our room which was on the fifth floor and had sea views of about 2 miles to the south and across the Caribbean to the island of Cozumel. It also overlooked vast tracts of this mangrove and a small area of open ground which seems destined for development. I prayed for some rain as this area was attractive to birds but was bone dry
Species seen.
greater tailed grackle every day, common around the hotels
turkey vulture small numbers each day
black vultures small numbers each day
laughing gulls every day along the beach and around the restaurants and pools - very confiding and usually easy to photograph
barn swallow small numbers seen from my balcony on 5 days
plain chalchalaca seen in small family groups usually early morning. A turkey like bird, these liked trees for which they seemed to large
neotropic cormorant seen every day flying up and down the coast or roosting on the various posts in the sea
yucatan jay seen distantly just three times. Never easy to find
magnificent frigate bird this stately bird was seen every day 10 to 20 birds except the day we went to the Isla de Mujeres just off Cancun when we must have seen upwards of 150 birds
brown jay common around the hotels in good numbers
snowy egret groups flying up and down the coast in good numbers. Don't know where they were coming from or where the were going to unfortunately
white winged dove just the odd one on four occasions. 2 on the Isla de Mujeres
white ibis saw this bird on 5 occasions, 4 times flying and once in an inleted area about a mile to the both of our hotel
least tern good numbers of these terns (50 to 100) visited the area of waste land next to our hotel early each morning. Saw them on the ground through the scope and was once able to photograph a couple on a sandy spit a mile to the north of our hotel
grey kingbird common bird
tricolored heron saw one early in holiday roosting in one of the dead trees around our hotel
royal tern recorded on every day but our first. Good numbers up and down the coast
yucatan woodpecker common around the woodland. Their drumming on the eaves of the hotel often waking us
social flycatcher common bird giving close views
grey plover - in various states of plumage the most common wader seen but the highest number being 24
common black hawk seen 3 times and always in the same tree
yucatan vireo seen just once just outside the hotel grounds
altimiras oriel this beautiful bird was seen everywhere in the grounds delighting non birdwatchers with its prettiness
sanderling small numbers 3/4max on the shoreline on 10 occasions
yellow warbler just once by the golf course a mile to the south of our hotel
yellow loved parrot 15 land in bushes on our third morning -staying less than 5 minutes
green heron fairly common flying above the trees
wilsons plover seen in small numbers on 5 occasions
piping plover just once on the waste ground next to our hotel room
golden fronted woodpecker 4 seen ouside the front entrance of our hotel
tropical kingbird seen in ones and twos on 11 occasions
eastern kingbird fairly scarce but in singles occasionally
semi palmated sandpiper just one seen scavenging in the seaweed which is a constant problem on this coastline
ruby throated hummingbird seen just once on some guarded private wasteland to the south of our hotel
caspian tern two seen to the north of our hotel on post. Photographed well
sandwich terns 2/4 birds seen on 4 occasions in the same place as the caspian terns
spotted sandpiper seen twice along the beach. The second occasion produced two birds
common paurague a nightjar seen from our balcony on 4 occasions
melodious blackbirds I recorded this bird on six occasions but am sure that it was more common than my sightings suggest
black necked stilt saw three fly over early in the holiday
osprey - always a delight to see - recorded on six occasions - suggest it was the same bird - once feeding on a large fish
roseate spoonbill one on the waste ground next to our room recorded from the beach -immature
grey breasted martin one late afternoon on the 30th
snowy plover one on waste ground next to room
great blue heron just one in dead trees
northern rough winged swallow one over the hotel entrance late afternoon
sooty tern Isla de Mujeres - a colony of about 300 on some small rocky islands where we stopped for some to snorkel
collared dove 2 Isla de Mujeres
prairie warbler 1 Isla de Mujeres
reddish egret 1 in trees from balcony
greater flamingo a flock of about 15 seen 100 yards or so out at sea. Seen as we were around the pool
great white egret 2 spent a couple of hours in a dead tree and seen from our balcony
moorhen one see on the beach at the inlet to the north of our hotel
roseate terns 15 seen on one occasion on the sandy spit by the inlet which I believe is by a hotel called tres rios (three rivers?)
great blue heron just one in the trees from our balcony as the sun was dropping
black crowned night heron one on the penultimate day
cattle egret seen only with certainty on the way back to the airport
Five species were lifers for me - least, caspian , sooty terns, common paurague & roseate spoonbill
Six species I had seen before I left for my year list - barn swallow, grey plover, sanderling, turnstone, collared dove & moorhen. Since I returned i have seen osprey but not yet a sandwich tern
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