We started in Cancun, and went to a Club Med which is an all inclusive resort with all sorts of activities. They have many watersports, a pool, the beach, and three restaraunts. But again, not the real Mexico. We didn't even see many Mexican people or eat much Mexican food. But it was still the most fun part. I was able to do whatever I wanted to and walk the property by myself. The property had some good birds such as this GREEN HERON.
One day we did a day trip to Chichen Itza, an ancient series of temples built by the Mayans. The Mayans came here to worship. The main temple and the largest temple in Chichen Itza is called El Castillo. Inside this temple there is another temple, and inside that there is a jaguar made entirely out of jewels. The jaguar, the snake and the eagle are all sacred to the Mayans. The coolest part about Chichen Itza is the ball court. The game the Mayans played was called Pok Te Pok. I don't know everything about it, but I know the object of the game is to hit a hard rubber ball in a ring hanging off a wall very high from the ground. I would guess 15 feet. They can only hit the ball with their elbows, knees, shoulders or hips. It sounds impossible. What's more, the captain of the winning team would be executed, fast-tracking his ascent to heaven. Here is a picture of El Castillo.
After Chichen Itza, we went to a nearby swimming hole where just outside the changing room I saw six unexpected GROOVE BILLED ANI!
One bird I did see saw this INCA DOVE across the street from our hotel. To give you an idea of the size, this dove is twice as small as the MOURNING DOVES back in Chicago.
Bird List for Mexico Life List 542 (17 life birds in Mexico)
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
White Winged Dove 5 life bird!
Groove Billed Ani 6 life Bird!
Turquoise Browed Motmot 4 life bird!
Golden Fronted Woodpecker 4 life bird!
Olive Throated Parakeet 2 life bird!
Social Flycatcher 8 life bird!
Masked Tityra 1 life bird!
Rose Throated Becard 1 life bird!
Green Jay 1 life bird!
Yucatan Jay 3 life bird!
Blue Grey Gnatcatcher 1
Clay Colored Robin 4 life bird!
Tropical Mockingbird 2 life bird!
Great Tailed Grackle 45 life bird!
Bronzed Cowbird 7 life bird!
Yellow Throated Euphonia 2 life bird!
Osprey 1 life bird!
Inca Dove 2 life bird!
Yellow Warbler 1
Green Heron 1
Great Kiskadee X
Brown Pelican X
Sandwich Tern 1
Ruddy Turnstone 2