Monday, February 6, 2012

Day 12 - Aviario Xaman-Ha y Cancun

Before we left our hotel in Tulum this morning, we took this photo from our balcony. We spent two days relaxing in the sun and watched the Super Bowl from the palapa restaurant on the left.


We continued our drive north today along the eastern side of the Yucatan peninsula and stopped in Playa del Carmen at the Aviario Xaman-Ha. This bird sanctuary houses over 60 tropical bird species. The above photo is of scarlet macaws, a type of large parrot unmistakable for their distinct plumage.


We saw keel-billed toucans in the jungles of Calakmul but were able to much closer here at the bird sanctuary.


I included two photos of the keel-billed toucan - this bird was that spectacular!


Roseate spoonbills, which are known for their odd spatulated bill, were fearless in approaching us. We just happened to be between them and their food.


These amazing pink flamingos were huge in real life. Their legs alone were two feet high and our photos hardly do their vibrant color justice.


Although native to Central and South America, we do see muscovy ducks like these in Alaska. Errant populations have been recorded in every state in the United States.


This blue-crowned mealy Amazon parrot seemed content to watch us as much as we watched it. These parrots were extremely quiet compared to the other species we saw today.


Following our stop in Playa del Carmen, we headed north another hour to our hotel in Cancun. This is the view from our room here....

1 comment:

  1. I don't know much about birds, but I'm pretty sure we spent time Monday observing the same species, the spoonbill, at the zoo. :)

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