yucatan, mexico! - sunrise birding llc · [email protected] steve bird’s wildlife 07780...

[email protected] Steve Bird’s Wildlife 07780 965129 / +44 7780 965129

Steve Bird’s Wildlife BIRDING & WILDLIFE TOURS

5 Quarry Cottages Plymouth

Devon – UK

07780 965129

+ 44 7780 965129 [email protected]

Yucatan, Mexico!

Saturday 27th Jan – Sunday 4th Feb 2018

Special Winter Getaway! Looking for the perfect winter break where the weather is warm and the birding fantastic, then join us in Mexico’s Yucatan where we will search for an appealing number of endemic birds and specialities including several Cozumel endemics. This time of year will also offer great opportunities to see many North America migrants including good numbers of warblers before they head north to their breeding grounds. Fantastic birding, easy and cheap to get to, why not join us on a special winter getaway!

Some of the special birds possible on this tour: Black Catbird – Ocellated Turkey – Gray-throated Chat – Orange Oriole – Yucatan Woodpecker– Buff-bellied Hummingbird – Yucatan Jay – Black-throated Shrike-Tanager – Western Spindalis – Cozumel Emerald Hummingbird – Yucatan Wren – Mexican Sheartail – Yucatan Bobwhite – Rose-throated Tanager – Yucatan Amazon – Yucatan Vireo – White-bellied Wren – Cozumel Wren – Yucatan Poorwill – Cozumel Vireo – Yucatan Nightjar – Gray-collared Becard – Black-faced Antthrush – Yucatan Flycatcher – Wedge-tailed Sabrewing – White-crowned Pigeon – Lesser Roadrunner – Green-backed Sparrow

ITINERARY: Start of Tour: If travelling from the UK or US you need to plan for a flight that arrives in Cancun airport in the morning of Jan 27th. There are many flights to and from Cancun so this should not be a problem.

Sapphire Flutterer (Rhyothemis triangularis)


Day 1: Saturday 27th Jan Please try and arrive in Cancun International Airport in the morning. Once everyone has arrived we transfer to Ría Lagartos where if we have time we will begin exploration of the nearby reserve which represent some of the finest birding on the whole Yucatan peninsular. Welcome dinner Lodging in Ria Lagartos at Punta Ponto Hotel or similar (D)

Day 2: Ria Lagartos 28th Jan The Ria Lagartos Bio-Reserve protects nearly 60,000hectares (150,000 acres) of forest, sand dunes, mangroves, estuaries and beaches and includes the fishing village of Ria Lagartos where we will be staying. The area has recorded 395 Bird species (residents and migratory), along with 59 species of mammals, and 80 species of reptile, 99 species of fish, and 16 amphibians as well a rich and diverse flora. The wetlands host a significant number of rare, vulnerable or endangered animal and plant species. Hopefully we will get to see the Morelet’s Crocodile! We will start the day with an early morning boat ride to explore the estuary where we expect to see many flamingos and shorebirds that should include species like Roseate Spoonbills, White and Brown Pelicans, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Common Black Hawk, Magnificent Frigatebirds, the amazing looking Boat-billed Heron, Reddish Egret alongside countless other egrets and herons, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Mangrove Warbler, Black Skimmers, Limpkin, Rufous-naped Wood Rail, Ringed and Belted Kingfishers, Mangrove Cuckoo, Snail Kite, plus Black-necked

Stilts and lots of shorebirds. This trip will offer wonderful photo opportunities so get your cameras ready. Along the coastal edges and on land we will spend the rest of the day looking for species such as Plain Chachalaca, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Zenaida Dove, White-crowned Pigeon, Crane Hawk, Laughing Falcon, White-tailed Hawk, Altamira Oriole, Gray-crowned Yellowthroat and the local resident Eastern Meadowlark as well as endemic and near endemics such as Yucatan Wren, Mexican Sheartail, Yucatan Bobwhite and Yucatan Flycatcher. The Mexican Sheartail, which apart from being found here is only found in central Veracruz, while the Yucatan (Black-throated Bobwhite) could also be considered an endemic except for a few disjunct populations, including one in Honduras. Other birds in the area could include Olive-throated Parakeets, noisy White-fronted Amazons, Barred Antshrike, Common Tody-Flycatcher and

Velasquez’s Woodpecker a recent split from Golden-fronted, and if we are lucky maybe Lesser Roadrunner although this bird can be very elusive. Several hummingbirds will be sought around flowering bushes and may include Canivet’s Emerald and both Cinnamon and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and stunning birds such as Turquoise-browed Motmots and striking Vermilion Flycatchers are always vying for attention. As you can see our time here will be well spent. Lodging in Ria Lagartos (B,L,D)


Day 3: Ria Lagartos / Felipe Carrillo Puerto 29th Jan We will do some early morning birding to find any missing birds and get ready for the drive to Felipe Carrillo Puerto town where we will make several birding stops along the way. Felipe Carrillo Puerto, offers a nice introductory to the birding of the Sian Ka’an Reserve another spectacular wildlife rich area. Sian Ka'an - is Maya for "Where the Sky is Born" – and represents a 1.6 million acre haven for wildlife. It has many ecosystems, with equal parts lowland tropical forests, wetlands (marshes, flooded savannahs and mangrove forests), and coastal and marine habitats (lagoons, bays, and coral reefs). The reserve’s boundaries extend to the Caribbean and encompass 68 miles of the Mesoamerican Reef, one of the second largest barrier reefs in the world. Scanning the trees and bushes could reveal Collared Forest Falcon, White-crowned Parrot, Rose-throated Becard, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Masked Tityra and Brown Jay, while the forest itself holds a mouth-watering variety of other birds and wildlife. Here

we can search for Blue Ground Dove, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, White-bellied Emerald, Black-headed and Gartered Trogons, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Tawny-crowned and Lesser Greenlets, Spot-breasted Wren, Long-billed Gnatwren, Tropical Gnatcatcher, Yellow-throated Euphonia, Green-backed Sparrow and Blue Bunting. If we encounter an Army Ant Swarm we should consider ourselves very luck as accompanying birds might include Olivaceous and Ruddy Woodcreepers, plus Red-throated Ant Tanager amongst others. Of course there are far too many species to mention here but other delights may include Rose-throated Tanager, Yellow-backed Oriole, Northern Royal Flycatcher, Gray-throated Chat, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Scaled Pigeon, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Bright-

rumped Attila, Eye-ringed Flatbill, White-browed Wren, and with luck maybe a Bat Falcon, Bicolored Hawk, Zone-tailed Hawk or Hook-billed Kite. We may get time tonight for our first attempt at Yucatan Nightjar. Lodging at Felipe Carrillo Puerto (B,L,D)

Day 4: Vigia Chico Road / Felipe Carrillo Puerto 30th Jan Today we will explore the famous edge of the Reserve Vigia Chico road; and we will start the day by looking for Yucatan Jay, Orange Oriole, Rose-throated Tanager, Yucatan Woodpecker, Yucatan Amazon, a nice selection of special birds. There will be plenty of chances to spot species that we may have missed yesterday alongside new ones like Collared Aracari, Keel-billed Toucan, Northern Bentbill, Smoky-brown Woodpecker, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Black-headed Trogon, Buff-bellied Hummingbird,


White-bellied Emerald, Yellow-throated Euphonia. We should see real Muscovy Ducks and a host of other birds. One of the best places to find Yucatan Nightjar and Yucatan Poorwill is the Vigia Chico road, so we will endeavour to go out this evening in search of these two much sought after birds. With luck on our side we may even get to see or hear a Northern Potoo. Lodging at Felipe Carrillo Puerto (B,L,D)

Day 5: Vigia Chico Road / Bacalar Lagoon 31st Jan Today after morning exploring Vigia Chico Road again, we will go to the Bacalar Lagoon area. Bacalar is one of the world´s true natural treasures with turquoise freshwater, white beaches, jungle, mangroves, unique ecology, culture, and history. Bacalar Lagoon is also known as “the seven colours lagoon” for its varying shades of turquoise and blue colours. Our target birds are going to be Gray-collared Becard, White-bellied Wren, Olive Sparrow, Blue Ground-Dove and Black-faced Antthrush. There will of course be much more to look for including Squirrel Cuckoo, Blue-diademed Motmot, numerous warblers and orioles, Common Paraque, Keel-billed Toucan, Ringed Kingfisher, Red-lored Parrot, Masked Tityra, Rose-throated Becard, White-eyed Vireo and Red-legged Honeycreeper. Lodging at Bacalar at Villas EcoTucan or similar (B,L,D)

Day 6: Bacalar 01st Feb Today we will take a morning drive to Tres Garantias road, a very different habitat than yesterday. Here some of our target species will include Red-capped Manakin, White-collared Manakin, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Scaled Pigeon, White-necked Puffbird, Black-throated Shrike Tanager and Gray-headed Tanager. We will also get many opportunities to see some of the species seen on previous days making for a full and entertaining day. Lodging at Bacalar (B,L,D)

Day 7: Bacalar / Cancun International Airport - END of Main Tour 02nd Feb Morning transfer to Cancun International Airport via Playa del Carmen for those continuing with our Cozumel extension. (B, L)

Cozumel Extension: Day 7: Playa del Carmen 02nd Feb Morning drive to Playa del Carmen, where we will drop of those staying for the Cozumel extension. We should have a fairly leisurely afternoon Lodging at Playa del Carmen at Hotel Las Golondrinas or Similar (B,L,D)

Day 8: Cozumel / Playa del Carmen 03rd Feb This morning we will take the ferry to Cozumel Island, We will end our trip on the isle of Cozumel, known for its abundance in endemic species. Here we will spot for specialties


like: Cozumel emerald hummingbird, Cozumel vireo; Cozumel Wren and of course many residents like Black Catbird, White-crowned Pigeon, Caribbean Elaenia, Western Spindalis Afternoon return to Playa del Carmen Lodging at Playa del Carmen (B,L,D)

Day 9: End of Tour 04th Feb Breakfast and transfer to Cancun airport (1 hour) in time to catch your international flight back home End of our service (B)

Leaders: Steve Bird and Gina Nichol with local guides throughout

Yucatan, Mexico! Jan 27 – Feb 04, 2018

Main Tour Ground Price: £1650.00 – Cancun /

Cancun Single supplement: £225.00

Cozumel Extension: £415.00 Single supplement: £125.00

Deposit: £500.00 per person The tour includes:

All lodging as per itinerary sharing room with en-

suite facilities

All meals from dinner day 1 to breakfast day 9 (Note

some breakfasts and lunches are picnics)

Ground transportation mentioned in the itinerary

Round trip ferry to Cozumel

Local tour guide

Reserve and parks entrance fees

Boat trip

Hotel Taxes

Services of all other guides


Included in cost: all accommodation in twin rooms en-suite, all meals from dinner on 27th Jan to breakfast on 4th Feb, or as described in itinerary (B,L,D), all entrance fees to National Parks, boat trip, round ferry trip to Cozumel, transport throughout, all taxes, services of local guides and leaders. Not included: International airfare, insurance, drinks, tips, and items of a personal nature. Once the tour is confirmed to go ahead, we will send you information about booking your flights. Please do not book flights until you receive this information from us and are notified that the trip has sufficient numbers to run. Final payment is due Nov 01, 2017. This tour is being run through - Steve’s Birds Wildlife – Birding & Wildlife tours, 5 Quarry Cottages, Plymouth, Devon, UK Contact Steve Bird [email protected] for more information.

RESERVATIONS: Contact [email protected] to reserve your space! We will then send you a Registration Form which you can fill in and mail it with your deposit of £500.00 per person to secure your place. Instructions are on the form. Reservations are held with a deposit on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note: Tour prices are based on quoted costs from ground operators (in their local currency), estimated fuel costs, and the rate of exchange at the time of itinerary publication. The erratic nature to global financial markets makes it difficult to predict changes in costs and foreign currency exchange rates over the long term. Since tours are priced well in advance of the actual operation of the tour, tour costs, fuel costs and exchange rates can change, sometimes drastically. Depending on the extent of such changes, it may be necessary to implement a surcharge on this tour. If a surcharge is necessary, every effort will be made to minimize the amount. Cancellations and Refunds: All cancellations must be made in writing. In the event that you must cancel your booking at any stage, all payments you have made will be retained by us, except at our discretion. Please ensure that you take out adequate insurance to cover this and any other eventuality as early as possible. You may have the opportunity to transfer your booking to another tour or another person, provided you are unavoidably prevented from coming on the tour. In this case, you will bear any extra costs that such changes may incur. There are no refunds once the trip is confirmed to go ahead and no refunds will be made for unused meals, accommodations, or other trip features. Insurance: The purchase of trip cancellation insurance to cover any eventuality is strongly recommended. We cannot accept liability for airline cancellations or delays or penalties incurred by the purchase of non- refundable airline tickets or other expenses incurred by tour participants in preparing for this tour.

This tour has been arranged and is run by: Steve Bird’s Wildlife – Birding & Wildlife Tours, 5 Quarry Cottages, Plymouth, Devon, UK Tel: 07780 965129 or (outside UK) +44 7780 965129 [email protected]

Photo credits : Occelated Turkey, Morelet’s Crocodile, Red-capped Manakin by Steve Bird All other photos by Apolinar Basora from Yucatan

mailto:[email protected]



TOUR REGISTRATION/RELEASE FORM 2017 To register for a tour, complete and sign this Tour Registration/Release Form and return it with your deposit in the form of a check to Sunrise Birding. Full payment of the tour fee is due Nov 01st 2017. Please reserve ______ space(s) on ___________________________________________ Tour Dates: ___________________________________________ Enclosed is my deposit of £__________ ($500/person) ___ I am requesting single accommodation (single supplement required). ___ I have a roommate: Name of roommate: _______________________ Rooming: Twin (2 beds) ___ Double (1 bed)___ ___ Please provide a roommate. If none is available, I will accept a single and will pay the single supplement charge. Passenger 1: Full Legal Name as it appears on your Passport: Passport Number:

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Special needs/dietary restrictions:

Passenger 2: Full Legal Name as it appears on your Passport: Passport Number:

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Doctor (Name/Tel.)

Special needs/dietary restrictions:

Have you participated in other organized, birding tours? Yes No If yes, please describe: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ expectations for this tour: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This request for registration is made subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement to Release and Indemnify included in this document. Please read this entire document carefully. All registrants must sign this release. Your registration can not be confirmed until your deposit is received and this agreement is signed Next page must also be signed and returned with registration


AGREEMENT TO RELEASE AND INDEMNIFY NAME(S):______________________________________________ TOUR: __________________________ Each registrant named on this form requests to participate in the tour listed thereon. Therefore, to the extent permitted by applicable law, each registrant knowingly and voluntarily waives, releases, saves, holds harmless and indemnifies Steve Bird’s Wildlife and its agents, servants, employees, shareholders, officers, directors, attorneys and contractors, past, present and future, and its respective heirs, legal and personal representatives, successor and assigns (collectively "Released Parties"), and all of its respective properties, assets and interests ("Released Property") from any and all claims, actions, causes of action, demands, rights, damages, costs losses, liabilities, expenses, compensation, controversies, disputes, obligations, debts, dues and liens whatsoever, on account of, or in any way arising out of, any and all known and unknown, foreseen or unforeseen loss of life or personal injury, loss or damage to property, and the consequence thereof, directly or indirectly, resulting from, incident to, in connection with, or arising out of that registrant's participation in the tour(s) (collectively, "Claims"). It is my/our intention that this agreement to release and indemnify shall apply to all of the claims without limit and, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, regardless of whether founded, in whole or in part, on any negligent act or omission of any of the released parties. I/we understand and agree that Steve Bird’s Wildlife has no liability for my personal medical expenses and/or medical care. I/we

certify that I/we am in good health and physical condition and do not have any physical disability, medical condition or other limiting factor that would create a hazardous situation for myself/us or other passengers. Further, I/we understand that certain risks are inherent in the activities to be undertaken by me/us, including snorkeling, swimming, hiking, climbing ruins, boat travel, travel to remote locations, contact with wildlife or hazardous plants, and that inclement weather and unavailability of first aid or emergency medical treatment as well as other unknown or unanticipated risks may occur such as war or terrorism, and I/we accept full responsibility for such specified inherent risks and those not specifically identified. I have read, understand, and accept Steve Bird’s Wildlife, cancellation and refund policies and terms and conditions as described in the tour itinerary and accompanying documents. I/we have read and understand this Agreement to Release and Indemnify, which contains the entire and final agreement relating to the subject matter hereof. Its terms shall be binding on me/us and on my/our heirs, legal representatives and assigns. Liability under this Agreement to Release and Indemnify shall be joint and several. If any provision of this Agreement to Release and Indemnify is determined to be void, unenforceable, ineffective or against public policy, that provision shall be disregarded and deemed removed from this Agreement to Release and Indemnify and shall not affect the remaining provisions of this Agreement to Release and Indemnify. I/we understand that tour prices for both land and air can vary due to supplier charges, currency fluctuations, park fees, and other increased costs and that the cost of this tour is subject to change to reflect such variations. I/we have been advised of obtaining insurance coverage for trip cancellation, medical assistance, and baggage loss. I/we understand and accept all terms and conditions and the undersigned’s signature below is evidence of this acknowledgement. The receipt of this signed form and your tour deposit shall be deemed to be consent to the above conditions. Contracts: When you sign the booking form you are entering into a contract made with Steve Bird’s Wildlife, this means that you agree to accept all the conditions of booking. The written confirmation of your booking means that we agree to operate your holiday as stated in the brochure. The contract is governed by English law and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

I have read, understand, and agree to all of the terms and conditions of the Agreement to Release and Indemnify included in this document:

Passenger 1 Signature:

Date:

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Passenger 2 Signature:

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Return completed and signed form with deposit check made payable to Steve Bird. Mail to: 5 Quarry Cottages, Plymouth, Devon UK PL5 3PF Contact: 07780 965129 [email protected]


yucatan, mexico! - sunrise birding llc · [email protected] steve bird’s wildlife 07780...

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