{"id":67101,"date":"2023-09-30T19:38:53","date_gmt":"2023-09-30T19:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/?p=67101"},"modified":"2023-10-09T15:57:46","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T15:57:46","slug":"wildlife-wonders-of-the-yucatan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/october-2023\/wildlife-wonders-of-the-yucatan\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildlife wonders of the Yucatan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-ln6flvon-b0be8ac6c7718be0650f2de26935a599\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-ln6flvon-b0be8ac6c7718be0650f2de26935a599{\npadding-bottom:10px;\ncolor:#00467f;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-ln6flvon-b0be8ac6c7718be0650f2de26935a599 .special-heading-inner-border{\nborder-color:#00467f;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-ln6flvon-b0be8ac6c7718be0650f2de26935a599 av-special-heading-h1 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote modern-centered  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  '><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Wildlife wonders of the Yucatan<\/h1><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border'><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<section class=\"av_textblock_section \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock  '   itemprop=\"text\" ><p>When autumn temperatures begin to drop in Canada and the United States, more than 150 million birds take flight and head south for the warmth of the Yucatan following what is one of the world\u2019s most important migratory routes for birds.\u00a0 The area\u2019s coastal lagoons and salt flats and inland jungles host an additional 226 species of migratory birds each winter. Large and small, they range from birds of prey to ducks, waders, shorebirds, songbirds and even hummingbirds, a magnet for birdwatchers and nature lovers.<\/p>\n<p>Some birds spend the winter season in the Yucatan or pause to feed and rest on the coast before continuing their journey south. Migrants range from terns, ospreys, wood storks and white pelicans from northern Canada to teal and shoveler ducks and the striking painted bunting. The smallest migrant is surely the ruby-throated hummingbird, which makes an incredible 30-hour journey across the Gulf of Mexico non-stop!<\/p>\n<p>Birdwatchers and wildlife fans visiting the biosphere reserves of Rio Lagartos, Contoy and Sian Ka\u2019an and other good birding spots are guaranteed plenty of winter sightings of colorful species in the mangroves and jungle.<\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67035\" src=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/flamingos.jpg\" alt=\"Flamingos\" width=\"845\" height=\"567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/flamingos.jpg 845w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/flamingos-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/flamingos-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/flamingos-705x473.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 845px) 100vw, 845px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3>Rio Lagartos Biosphere Reserve<\/h3>\n<p>First stop for water and food for many exhausted migrant birds crossing the Gulf of Mexico, R\u00eda Lagartos Reserve protects 60,348 hectares of mangroves, salt marshes, dunes and tropical forest that is home to jaguars, monkeys, crocodiles and 365 bird species, including thousands of Caribbean flamingos.<\/p>\n<p>There are so many flamingos that they dye the horizon pink, and they belong to North America\u2019s largest nesting colony.<\/p>\n<p>Fishermen from the waterfront village of R\u00edo Lagartos offer boat trips along the <em>ria<\/em> or estuary and through the mangroves to the flamingo feeding grounds. Many of them are trained eco guides and carry checklists to help you identify the birds you see. In addition to the spectacle of watching high-stepping flamingos feeding in the shallows, keep a lookout for flocks of white pelicans, skimmers, limpkins, plovers, reddish and snowy egrets, roseate spoonbills, peregrine falcons and kingfishers.<\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67063\" src=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/siaan-kaan.jpg\" alt=\"Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere Reserve\" width=\"845\" height=\"567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/siaan-kaan.jpg 845w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/siaan-kaan-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/siaan-kaan-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/siaan-kaan-705x473.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 845px) 100vw, 845px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3>Sian Ka\u2019an Biosphere Reserve<\/h3>\n<p>Straddling northern and central Quintana Roo, this UNESCO World Heritage Site comprises 1.3 million acres of tropical forest, mangroves, Caribbean beaches and a 110-kilometer-stretch of coral reef. The biosphere reserve was established by government decree in 1986 to protect these fragile ecosystems.<\/p>\n<p>Sian Ka\u2019an is home to over 350 species of bird, and you are bound to notch up a respectable tally of sightings during a visit. Sixteen varieties of heron and egret \u2013 including the kuka or boat-billed heron, tiger, blue and green heron \u2013can be seen in the mangroves, along with wood storks, ibis and roseate spoonbills. Flamingos are occasional visitors to the coastal lagoons. Migrant warblers, finches and hawks join year-round forest dwellers such as parrots, motmots and toucans. 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, in the wetlands.<\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67031\" src=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/contoy-1.jpg\" alt=\"Contoy\" width=\"845\" height=\"567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/contoy-1.jpg 845w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/contoy-1-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/contoy-1-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/contoy-1-705x473.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 845px) 100vw, 845px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3>Contoy<\/h3>\n<p>A two-hour boat ride to the north of Cancun, the tiny desert island of Contoy is known as <em>la isla de los pajaros<\/em> or \u201cthe island of the birds and with good reason. A protected area since 1961, and declared a national park in 1998, it is a refuge for 150 species of native and migrant birds, including one of the largest populations of brown pelicans in the Caribbean. Colonies of frigate birds, double crested cormorants and ten members of the heron family such as the great blue heron, snowy egret and the yellow-crowned night heron roost in the mangroves. During the winter months, the island is a refuge for migratory ducks, plovers, sandpipers, oystercatchers and other shore birds.<\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67073\" src=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tucan.jpg\" alt=\"Tucan\" width=\"845\" height=\"567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tucan.jpg 845w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tucan-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tucan-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/tucan-705x473.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 845px) 100vw, 845px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3>Ruta de los Cenotes, Puerto Morelos<\/h3>\n<p>Catch the dawn chorus on a birding trip to a jungle reserve on the Ruta de los Cenotes or Cenote Route near Puerto Morelos. You may spot jewel-like tanagers, buntings and cardinals, parrots and two members of the toucan family, the orange and black collared aracari and the keel-billed toucan. Migrant warblers and resident mockingbirds are in full song, competing with the rattle-like calls of the chachalacas and the soft call of the turquoise-browed motmot, the Yucatan\u2019s bird of paradise that makes its nest in the walls of the cenotes.<\/p>\n<p>Book eco trips to Sian Ka\u2019an, Rio Lagartos and Contoy with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thomasmoretravel.com\/\">Thomas More Travel<\/a>. Bird watching trips can also be arranged.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When autumn temperatures begin to drop in Canada and the United States, more than 150 million birds take flight and head south for the warmth of the Yucatan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":67035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[686],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-october-2023"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.3.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Wildlife wonders of the Yucatan - Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/october-2023\/wildlife-wonders-of-the-yucatan\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wildlife wonders of the Yucatan - 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