Cancun, Mexico

Turtles looking for a place to soak up some sun, Cancun, MX; 12/25/10.

It's time to say goodbye to my photo series about birding in Mexico. I'll part with a few final pics.

A member of the Mexican Air Forse, the Brown Pelican, resting on the shores of a Cancun beach, MX; 12/19/10.

This is either an Altamira Oriole or an Orange Oriole; I never got it positively ID'd, Cancun, MX; 12/25/10.

Magnificent Frigatebirds perched on what else? a frigate, Cancun, MX; 12/19/10.

A Cancun Marina at night, MX; 12/24/10.

A crocodile looking for a handout, Cancun, MX; 12/23/10.

A Cancun sunset. I like how the light plays off the pylons, MX; 12/24/10.

A Northern Watrethrush, Puerto Morelos, MX; 12/24/10.

A Great Blue Heron, Cancun, MX; 12/21/10.

I love how the shadows of the tree give this Yellow Warbler texture, Cancun, MX; 12/25/10.

A pier leading out to the blue waters of cancun, MX; 12/19/10.

Tomorrow, I'll will start a feature of birds spending their winters in and around Rockford and Northern IL.

Killdeer

The striking markings of a Killdeer, Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

Killdeers are one of the very first birds I remember as a child, and one of the very first that I could identify by its flight, its looks, and especially by its distinctive call - from which its name is derived. My parents rented a house that was on a working farm, and Killdeers were always hanging around the cow pastures and the freshly plowed fields surrounding our house.  Killdeers are found both near water as is the one (Above) that we saw in the marshes of Puerto Morelos, and on dry land quite a distance from water sources. They lay their eggs on bare ground - often times in relatively high traffic areas such as on bare gravel along sides of roads or even along the edges of parking lots. Because they lay their eggs in highly suseptible areas, whenever a predator may venture too close to their nest, they will put on their "broken-wing display" by acting as if they are a vulnerable prey to lure the predator away from the nest.

a Killdeer t the Horicon marsh Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin; 5/29/10.

Killdeers are found throughout the U.S. They are year round residents of the southern half of the U.S. as well as along both coasts. in the summer they can be found throughout all of the lower 48 contiguous states, most of Canada, the southern half of Alaska, as well as into the northern half of Mexico. In winter they will migrate as far south as the Southern half of Mexico, Central America, and Columbia and Venezuela in South America.

A Killdeer in Rockford, IL; 5/18/09.



A Killdeer in Phoenix, AZ; 12/25/09.



Can you spot the crocodile hidden in this photo of the Great Kiskadee; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

In my final crocodile pic (Above), I was taking a photo of a Great Kiskadee - in the tree in the top right of the pic- and again, it wasn't until I was looking through my photos on my memory card, did I realize there was a crocodile present in the picture. It was well-camouflaged in front of the base of the tree trunk and the muddy bank it was sitting on. It looked like it was ready to pounce on something. This little island with the tree on it was adjacent to the muddy bank of land that the killdeer was sitting on (top photo), which also had a crocodile on it (yesterday's post). I am totally amazed how such a large creature can be so well-hidden in plain sight.

Black-necked Stilt

A Blck-necked Stilt, Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

We had a very clear look at a couple of Black-necked Stilts (BNS) wading through the marshes of Puerto Morelos. They are very elegant birds with very long legs - hence its name "stilt." These tall waders have beautiful black and white markings with bright red legs in breeding season. But as seen in its non-breeding plumage (Above) their legs are of a more pale pink. They use their long needle-like bill to search the muddy bottoms of the marshes that they like to inhabit (Below).


A Black-necked Stilt using its long bill to probe the muddy bottom of the marsh to find food; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

Black-necked Stilts are year round residents of Mexico and parts of Central America and the northern fringes of South America. Although during my research about their occurances in the US, I found a wide range of information. According to Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of North America, BNS are fairly common throughout much of southwest US during summers, as well as permanent residents of the Pacific Coasts of California and the Gulf Coast states. Other sources do not list them as being as common in the US as year round residents, but in the summer months, BNS certainly migrate as far north as into western Canada, up the Mississippi River into southern Illinois, as well as he southern Atlantic coast.

A Black-necked Stilt, Phoenix, AZ; 12/26/09.

The first time I saw a BNS was in the winter of 2009, while visiting Phoenix (Above). I thought they seemed very exotic with their long legs. There was a small flock of three hanging around a water hazzard of the Ocotillo Gulf Course. As I slowly approached them to get photos they moved pretty quickly in the water, but flew away as I came too near. As they flew, instead of tucking their legs underneath them as other tall wading birds do, they let their long legs hang straight out behind them (Below).

Black-necked Stilts in their flight pattern, Phoenix, AZ; 12/26/09.

 

A pair of Black-necked Stilts; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.




I took this pic of the scene with a black-necked Stilt in the background (upper left) and a Killdeer and a couple of Least Sandpipers in the foreground. I didn't know at the time, but there was a crocodile lying on the muddy bank in the lower left of the pic, Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

In my ongoing commentary about the commonality of crocodiles in and around Cancun and Puerto Morelos, the photo (Above) is another example of a crocodile definitely present, but its colors were so well camouflaged by the muddy banks it was lying on, that we didn't even know it was there until later when I was perusing through my photos.

Little Blue Heron

A juvenile Little Blue Heron, Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

Another great find and another addition to my Life List was seeing my first Little Blue Heron. Initially when I saw it emerge from the jungly brush across the waterway where we were watching other herons, I thought it was an egret (Snowy or Great) but it didn't look quite like an egret. Its bill wasn't bright yellow as a Great Egret's, and it didn't seem to be as large and fluffy as a Snowy Egret which also has yellow lores around the eyes . When I pointed it out to Luis and asked if it was an egret, it took him only a couple of seconds of looking through his binoculars to conclude, "juvenile Little Blue Heron." It was then I remembered that Little Blues are white before they mature.

A juvenile Little Blue Heron hunting for a meal in the marsh near Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

Mature Little Blue Herons turn a beautiful cobalt blue (Below) throughout and sport a light blue bill with a black tip. Its legs are a pale dull green. Little Blues are found throughout much of the Southeastern states of the US during the summer, but will be a year round resident along the Gulf Coast and the southern Atlantic states as well as the Baja Peninisula. During the winter months it will migrate south into Mexico and Central America. It also lives year round in fresh water estuaries and marshes in the northern half of South America.


Image of a mature Little Blue Heron; Google Images; photo credit: Jan Sevcik

Orthinologists are studying as to why Little Blues stay white during its first year. One theory is, because they are loners which do not congregate with its own species, the young white herons are more readily able to mix in well with the white Egrets which otherwise do not tolerate the company of Little Blue Herons in their blue plumage. Young Little Blue "white" herons catch more fish when they are in the company of Egrets than when they are alone. Another advantage of  integrating into flocks of Egrets is gaining a measure of protection against predators.

Another Croc hanging around the banks of the waterways; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

In the hour or so we spent stalking water birds in the marshes near Puerto Morelos, we ran into three (that we know of) separate crocodiles on the banks. The largest (Above) of the three wasn't startled and didn't move (as did the other two) as we came into its personal space. It just opened its mouth to show its teeth as if to say, "You best move along and get outta my territory." We did.

Tri-colored Heron, Green Heron, Northern Jacana




A Tri-colored Heron at right, a Green Heron at left center, and behind the Green Heron, two juvenile Northern Jacanas in the background (far left and center); Puerto Morelos, Mx; 12-24-10.

 We were rewarded with three wading birds - all in one spot: a Green Heron, and two firsts for me, a Tri-colored Heron and two juvenile Northern Jacanas (Above). As a matter of fact, we just missed having five different water birds in the same photo. Minutes after I took this pic, a Double-crested Cormorant landed in front of the Tri-colored Heron, and a minute after that, a Little Blue Heron walked out of the trees at the far left. Luis couldn't have picked a better spot to go water birding.

A Tri-colored Heron, Puerto Morelos, Mx; 12-24-10.

At first glance I thought I saw a Great Blue, but as soon as I took a more knowledgable look, I knew it wsn't a Great Blue, and before I could ask, Luis already announced, "Tri-colored Heron" (Above). Tri-colored Herons (TCH) at 26" tall are much smaller than Great Blues, which can grow as tall as four feet. Also TCH's are darker overall with dark grayish/blueish head, neck, breast, wings and back with a reddish feathering at the base of the neck and a highly contrasting white "racing stripe' running the complete length of its throat and a very white under belly. As seen (Below) in its non-breeding plumage, its long thin bill is yellow near the eyes blending to a bluish gray at the point; during breeding season the bill turns a brilliant blue near the eyes and turns black at the point. also in some TCH's its white throat stripe will become more yellowish. Its breeding plumage will aslo sport a long white spike of feathers at the back of its head.

The same Tri-colored Heron showing off its long narrow bill in contrast with its relatively small head; Puerto Morelos, Mx; 12-24-10.

Although the TCH we saw was fairly calm, this heron species is known to run after fish to capture tham with its long narrow bill.  TCH's are year round residents of the lower Atlantic Coast states as well as the Gulf of Mexico. In summer it will migrate up to as far as Massachusettes and Rhode Island and spend its winters in Mexico, Central America and as far west as the Baja Peninsula.

A Green Heron waiting for a meal to swim by, Puerto Morelos, Mx; 12-24-10.

Also hanging with the TCH was a Green Heron (Above). In summers, Green Herons are found throughout the Eastern two thirds of the US as well as along the Pacific coast.  Green Herons will spend its winter throughout the Gulf Coast, Baja Peninsula and into Mexico, Central America and into Columbia and Venezuela (South America). You can read more about Green Herons on my post on June 22, 2010:

http://northernillinoisbirder.blogspot.com/2010/06/green-herons.html

A great plus was seeing a couple of Juvenile Northern Jacanas which blended in so well into the background (Top of page) that I didn't even realize they were in the pic until later when I enlarged it. When Luis identified them for me, it was a bird I never heard of before. The Northern Jacana resides in the lowlands of Mexico and Central America. They very rarely are seen in the US - on the coastal plain of Texas from south of Houston and westward to San Antonio and southward to the Mexican border. Occaisionally they are sighted in the marshes of south Louisiana. For some reason most of the US sightings are of juveniles. Although it's difficult to see, but the Juveniles have no eye shield and sport white underparts.

The pic (Below) is the only photo I took of a couple of adult Northern Jacanas.

A couple of adult Northern Jacanas hiding in the tall grass; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12-24-10.



Adult Northern Jacanas are brown overall with a black head and a bright yellow bill and eye shield (Below). They most striking feature are their extremely long toes which allows them to walk on the top of floating  vegetaion. They have been called "Lilly trotters" as well as the "Jesus Bird" in Jamaica because it is perceived to walk on water.

The Adult Northern Jacana's very long toes and bright yellow frontal eye shield are in evidence in this photo which I found at .http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/467/articles/introduction 



A crocodile making its way into the water after we startled it along the banks; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

Again as we were hiking along the banks of this waterway stalking and concentrating on birds, we passed by a crocodile resting on the bank just across from where we were taking a photos of the Herons and Jacanas. We didn't even see it until it made its splash into the water (Above).  So if you're ever birding in Mexico along waterways be aware and careful of these creatures. Although crocodiles in Mexico are not considered to be aggresive towards humans, one should watch one's step as eveidence of the larticle link below...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1217116/Tourist-attacked-crocodile-Mexico-urinating-near-Cancun-lagoon.html

Anhinga and Double-crested Cormorant, Puerto Morelos, Mexico



An Anhinga with its long pointed bill, Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

An Anhinga drying its wings after making a dive, Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

After spending a couple hours hiking through the Yucatan jungle searching for land birds, Luis (Luis Ku, bird guide) brought us to a wetland area in Puerto Morelos to look for water birds. It didn't take long to find them. In less than an hour we saw Anhingas (Above), a Tri-colored Heron, American Coots, Northern Jacanas, Black-necked Stilts, Least Sandpipers, a Glossy Ibis, Belted Kingfishers, Great Kiskadees, Killdeers, Double-crested Cormorants (Below), a Green Heron, a Northern Waterthrush, and a non-water bird - Yellow-headed Vulture flew over.

Anhingas and Cormorants are both similar in that they are both expert swimmers and dive deep into the water to hunt for fish. However their feathers lack the water-repellent oils that other diving birds possess, and their feathers become saturated with sea water. Because of this they need to sit out in the sun and the air with their wings spread out to dry off.  They are similar in size with the Anhinga being an inch or two longer. Some differences are: the Anhinga has a longer bill that is used for spearing fish and are less common than the Double-crested Cormorant. DC-Cormorants have a shorter stubbier bill which they use more like a hook. Anhingas are more local to the Southeast and can be found along the gulf coasts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Lousiana, Texas, and Mexico, whereas the DC-Cormorant is much more common and spread out throughout the U.S. from coast to coast and from Mexico to Canada.

A Double-crested Cormorant landing in the water, Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.



The same Double-crested Cormorant. You can see its shorter stubbier bill, Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

I also can't end this post without stating how common crocodiles were along the banks of both out of the way places as well as fairly populated areas. It wasn't more than a couple of minutes after we hopped out of Luis's van, walking along a stretch of marshland looking at a Belted Kingfisher, when I was startled by splash in the reeds next to me. Apparently I wasn't the only one startled, because a crocodile who just made its escape from mean old me had jumped to safety into the water (Below).

A Crocodle trying to escape from the ferocious Northern Illinois Birder; Puerto morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

Plain Chachalaca

A Plain Chachalaca; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.

During the couple of hours we were exploring the forest, I kept hearing a raucus that sounded like a chorus of  "cha -cha-laca-cha-cha-laca..." coming from the thicket. Several times I tried to bushwhack my way to find the owners of the noise, but never did spot anything as I made far too much racket crashing through the brush and the noisemakers escaped. Luis infromed me that the birds that made the sound were Plain Chachalacas (Above). Their loud "cha-cha"calls are frequently heard in the early mornings and evenings at sundown, and the locals wouldn't call their noise as pleasant.

Chachalacas are named after the sound they make, sort of the onomotopoeia of birds. They are an upland game type bird similar to a grouse or chicken but more lean and with a rounder head. They are brown all over with a grayish head and a lighter reddish brown belly. They travel in small flocks of 10-12 and forage in thickets, dense second growth, scrub and forest. They are found mainly in Southeastern Mexico and sometimes make appearances into the southern tip of Texas along the Rio Grande Valley. Even though the Plain Chachalacas are not endangered, they belong to a family of 50 other species spread throughout Central and South America, that are endangered due to overhunting.


Perhaps an hour later, Luis suddenly pointed to a low branch and whispered, "Chachalaca!" And sure enough there was one perched high enough above the thick brush to be in the open for a photo op. I think it felt bad that it didn't stick around long enough to let me take its picture before, so it hopped up onto a branch to let us see it so it could get onto this blog. Thanks Chacha!

Val's pic of the same Plain Chachalaca; Puerto Morelos, Mexico; 12/24/10.