Birding in Merida

The White Winged Dove is so ubiquitous. You can hear them all day long and find them in every corner of the city. It is easy to take them for granted. But, when you look closer, they have beautiful coloration. That blue around the eyes rivals any 70’s era blue eyeshadow that ever existed!

Another bird easy to take for granted is the long tailed grackle. This one is also pretty much everywhere! In the sunlight, you can see the iridescent coloration in the wings. They are very noisy, vociferous, and make an array of noises. They are not shy and you will see them all over the place.

The Tropical Mockingbird looks a lot like the Northern Mockingbird. There are several that reside in our neighborhood. I usually see them before sunset on the rooftops or telephone wires.

I always hear the Parrots in the morning and the evening. They flock together and fly across the sky. They have been too fast or too far away for me to snap a photo. I will get them eventually!

We went to a large park that has a wonderful habitat for birds and we got to see some we do not see in the more urban parts of the city. Some are birds we see in Michigan, like the Great Blue Heron. We also saw a Belted Kingfisher. We also got to see a few we only see during migration. Others are birds are similar to species we have at home. It was a successful vist to Parque Eco-Arqueologico Del Poniente.

In a tree, on top of a hill, near the remnants of some Mayan ruins, we saw this hawk, who had been calling from its perch at the apex of this park. We were fortunate enough to be close by and I was able to snap some shots. David ID’d it as the Roadside Hawk. We saw it several times during our visit.

Not the best shot, but it is a bird that I usually only see during spring migration in Michigan. The Indigo Bunting is a seed eater and here he is, eating seeds.

This Kingbird, which we believe to be the Couch’s Kingbird was very active and was busy exerting his power over his domain. We even got to witness a mid-air battle between two of them.

A former quarry at the center of the park is now a filled with water and nature has taken over. Here we got to see a Great Blue Heron fly in. We also saw a Belted Kingfisher and a Green Heron. They were too quick for my camera.

There were several Black Vultures residing at the park.

I managed to get what I like to refer to as a “souvenier shot” of this Cinnamon Hummingbird. Between the undergrowth and their speed, it was really hard to get a bead on them.

A male and female Hooded Oriole were bopping about the trees. It was nice seeing these bright orange orioles.

Similiar looking to our Red-Bellied Woodpecker, is the Golden Fronted Woodpecker. While it does not to seem to have the gold colors, there are apparently regional variations. This one was stashing a cache of fruits in this dead tree.

Another bird whose breeding grounds are in the north, is the very tiny and adorable Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. I usually see them high up in the trees when they come to Michigan. It is hard to catch a photo then. During breeding season, the males have a black band over their eyes that make them look angry.

Now I know where The Rose Breasted Grosbeaks hang out during the winter! I spied a female Rose Breasted Grosbeak in the underbrush. I didn’t spot her male counterpart.