Bird watching in Mexico is an experience for both the seasoned birdwatcher and the novice. Yucatan is home to diverse ecosystems that provide the perfect backdrop for observing hundreds of species of migratory birds.

Yucatan’s great birding destinations

Yucatan is home to an impressive diversity of bird species, including the Yucatan parrot with its striking red feathers, the elusive Yucatan nightjar, and the Yucatan wren, these species are found nowhere else in the world.

More than 300 species migrate to the wetlands and jungles during the winter. The Sian Ka’an Reserve alone is home to around a million migratory birds, making it one of the best bird-watching destinations in Mexico.

Rio Lagartos Biosphere Reserve

Rio Lagartos Reserve is one of Mexico’s most remarkable wildlife sanctuaries.

Rio Lagartos is renowned for hosting the world’s largest colonies of pink flamingos. The reserve runs alongside the Celestún Refuge to the northeast, where visitors can witness over 40,000 flamingos in their natural habitat.

Each winter, the Rio Lagartos and Celestún reserves become critical feeding and breeding grounds for flamingos, housing approximately 90% of the world’s population of these vibrant birds.

This unique migration makes the reserve an essential destination for birdwatching enthusiasts. In addition to flamingos, keep an eye out for other fascinating wildlife, including the possibility of spotting a wandering crocodile.

Whether you’re a birdwatching expert or a nature lover, Rio Lagartos Biosphere Reserve offers an unforgettable experience to observe these stunning birds and the diverse ecosystems that support them.

Ria Celestún Biosphere Reserve

A 45-minute drive from Mérida, in the sister city of Rio Lagartos, Celestún is also a great place to see pink flamingos hopping around in their natural habitat. They are probably most numerous between March and August.

One of the most spectacular sights is the huge flocks of pink flamingos in Celestun.

Watching these colorful birds fly over the wetlands at sunset is a breathtaking experience. Every year, thousands of flamingos fly to Celestun to rest, offering birdwatchers an unforgettable opportunity to see their beauty.

Besides flamingos, look out for herons and egrets.

Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve

The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve spans an incredible 1.3 million acres.

Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to over 1,200 species of wildlife, including a wide variety of birds, mammals, and reptiles, making it an exceptional destination for nature enthusiasts.

This extensive reserve contains mangrove swamps, lagoons, cenotes, reefs, and rainforests.

Each ecosystem offers a unique environment for wildlife viewing. The reserve’s diverse habitats provide a rich and varied experience for birdwatchers, who can see an impressive selection of both migratory and resident bird species.

Known for its pristine natural beauty, the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve is undoubtedly one of the top birdwatching destinations in Mexico, offering visitors the chance to see rare and endangered species in their natural habitat.

The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve promises an unforgettable adventure.

Isla Contoy

Isla Contoy is a small island located off the coast of Isla Mujeres.

Isla Contoy is one of Mexico’s most treasured national parks and a birdwatcher’s paradise. Known for its serene beauty and ecological significance, this bird sanctuary is home to over 100 species of birds, making it a must-see for nature lovers.

Access to Isla Contoy is limited, with only 200 people allowed per day to preserve its fragile ecosystem.

Despite its exclusivity, Isla Contoy is a must-see for anyone interested in exploring Mexico’s rich biodiversity. The island’s diverse habitats, from wetlands and low jungles to lagoons, support a variety of seabirds.

Some of the most notable species you’ll encounter include the frigatebird, brown pelican, and double-crested cormorant. Whether you are a seasoned birder or a casual observer, Isla Contoy offers a rare opportunity to see these majestic birds in their natural habitat.

Río Lagartos is located at a lagoon, the Ria Lagartos, which is part of a natural reserve. This makes it an ideal place for birdwatching. This lagoon is part of the Petenes mangroves ecoregion, and the Ria Lagartos has been designated as an internationally recognized Important Bird Area (IBA). In 2004, UNESCO designated the area as Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve.

The creek where Francisco Hernandez’s 1517 expedition tried to obtain water, was named El Estero de los Lagartos, because of the “many large alligators”.

The reserve is located at the eastern end of the coastal strip of the Yucatán Peninsula, with the Gulf of Mexico at its northern limit. The area encompasses coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico and includes important wetlands designated under the Ramsar Wetlands Convention.

The site presents a rich diversity of landscapes and ecosystems, such as mangroves, small estuaries, medium semi-evergreen forest, low deciduous forest, coastal dune vegetation, coastal lagoons, marshes (petenes) and savanna represented by tular vegetation, grasslands and reed beds that are the main nesting sites for marshland and sea birds.

The reserve’s surface area (terrestrial and marine) is 60,348 hectares (233.00 sq mi). The core area is 23,681.55 hectares (91.4350 sq mi), surrounded by buffer zone(s) of 36,666.28 hectares (141.5693 sq mi).

Ría Lagartos extends throughout a great wetland area, which represents a good specific example of a community characteristic for this climatic zone. High biological productivity, due to conditions of marine to hyper-salinity in a karst environment, is the reason why the area is considered a globally unique wetland.

The wetlands host a significant number of rare, vulnerable or endangered animal and plant species, such as the muscovy duck (Cairina moschata), wood stork (Mycteria americana), and peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus).

The American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber) comes to the area in great numbers to feed, nest and reproduce.

The beaches are also of great interest and are a protective zone for nesting marine turtles, recognized as one of the main zones of arrival of the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the only one in the State of Yucatán for the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). Furthermore, there are 554 vertebrate species, amongst them 142 endemics.

Given its geographic position, the peninsula keeps a floristic relation with the neighboring regions of Central America, the river basin of the Caribbean Sea and southeastern Mexico. The more recent inventories report the presence of 2,477 species and 98 varieties of vascular plants.

In the last years, the vegetation has been strongly affected by human activities, particularly by agriculture and livestock raising, practices that imply the destruction of vast surfaces of vegetation. Also, it has been affected by natural catastrophes like the hurricanes that regularly hit this region and the subsequent forest fires.

The communities located in the biosphere reserve are San Felipe, Río Lagartos, Las Coloradas and El Cuyo.
Almost 7000 permanent residents live in the buffer zone.

The use of natural resources dates back to the pre-Hispanic period. The main productive activities today include fishing, agriculture, livestock rearing, salt extraction, tourism, aquaculture and urban development.

The ecotourism activity is stimulated to promote the participation of local inhabitants in the conservation of the natural, archaeological, historical and cultural heritage of the biosphere reserve, providing appropriate economic and social benefits.

From a cultural point of view, the territory includes an important Mayan zone dating back to the period of 300 to 50 years BC. The territory belonged to the chieftainship of Ecab in the pre-Hispanic period. In the area eighteen of the 1,585 Yucatán archaeological sites have been located. In addition, the reserve counts three of the eight concheros (banks of marine shells) that exist in the state.