Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve

Biosphere Reserve · Mexico

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Photo © Adam Baker from Houston / Moscow / Toulouse (travel a lot)

Photo © Adam Baker from Houston / Moscow / Toulouse (travel a lot) — CC BY 4.0 — Source: Wikidata / Wikimedia Commons

Where the Gulf of Mexico meets a maze of shallow coastal lagoons, a low, salt-loving scrubland stretches along the northern edge of the Yucatán. This is a land shaped by evaporation and tide: hypersaline pools, mangrove fringes, sandy spits and thorny dry forest that turns brittle and grey through the winter dry season, then flushes green when the rains arrive. The climate is tropical with a pronounced winter drought, so the vegetation is tough, halophytic and adapted to salt rather than to lushness. Water is the organising principle here — where it pools and recedes, life concentrates. Dense flocks of migratory waders and waterfowl work the mudflats, egrets and herons stalk the shallows, gulls and terns patrol the open water, and raptors quarter the scrub in search of small mammals and reptiles. Along the mangrove channels, songbirds and coastal scrub specialists flit through the shade, while the open lagoon is a nursery for fish and crustaceans that in turn feed everything above them.

For the photographer and the birdwatcher, the appeal is the light and the sheer concentration of life at the water's edge. Winter is the season to come: the dry months bring clear skies, low golden light and the greatest gathering of migratory waterbirds, when the lagoons become a stage of wings, reflections and restless movement. Mornings are calm and cool, ideal for long lenses and quiet observation from the shore or from a boat threading the channels. Access is by road to the coastal settlement and then by water, so plan around tides and the rhythm of the day. Bring patience, a polarising filter for the glare, and respect for the birds' need to rest and feed undisturbed — this is a working wilderness, not a set piece.

Cinnamon Hummingbird

Amazilia rutila

Cyanocorax yucatanicus

Thicket Tinamou

Crypturellus cinnamomeus

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna autumnalis

Fulvous Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna bicolor

Spatula cyanoptera

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

American Wigeon

Mareca americana

Northern Pintail

Aythya americana

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

Nomonyx dominicus

Oxyura jamaicensis

Plain Chachalaca

Yucatan Bobwhite

Colinus nigrogularis

Ocellated Turkey

Meleagris ocellata

Lesser Nighthawk

Chordeiles acutipennis

Common Nighthawk

Chordeiles minor

Nyctidromus albicollis

Yucatan Nightjar

Antrostomus badius

Nyctibius jamaicensis

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

Canivet's Emerald

Cynanthus canivetii

Curve-winged Sabrewing

Pampa curvipennis

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Amazilia yucatanensis

Groove-billed Ani

Crotophaga sulcirostris

Lesser Roadrunner

Geococcyx velox

Common Squirrel Cuckoo

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus americanus

Mangrove Cuckoo

Red-billed Pigeon

Patagioenas flavirostris

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Common Ground Dove

Columbina passerina

Ruddy Ground Dove

Columbina talpacoti

White-tipped Dove

Leptotila verreauxi

Zenaida macroura

White-winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

Pardirallus maculatus

Rufous-necked Wood Rail

Aramides axillaris

Russet-naped Wood Rail

Aramides albiventris

Porzana carolina

Common Gallinule

Gallinula galeata

Fulica americana

Purple Gallinule

Porphyrio martinica

Laterallus ruber

Antigone canadensis

Aramus guarauna

Tachybaptus dominicus

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

American Oystercatcher

Haematopus palliatus

Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanus

American Avocet

Recurvirostra americana

Pluvialis squatarola

American Golden Plover

Pluvialis dominica

Charadrius vociferus

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

Northern Jacana

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Numenius hudsonicus

Long-billed Curlew

Numenius americanus

Short-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus griseus

Gallinago delicata

Wilson's Phalarope

Phalaropus tricolor

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Tringa semipalmata

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres

Calidris canutus

Stilt Sandpiper

Calidris himantopus

Calidris alpina

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

White-rumped Sandpiper

Calidris fuscicollis

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusilla

Sternula antillarum

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

Hydroprogne caspia

Sterna forsteri

Thalasseus sandvicensis

Thalasseus maximus

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Leucophaeus atricilla

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Lesser Black-backed Gull

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianus

Mycteria americana

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

Sula leucogaster

Anhinga anhinga

Neotropic Cormorant

Nannopterum brasilianum

Double-crested Cormorant

Nannopterum auritum

American White Ibis

Eudocimus albus

Plegadis falcinellus

White-faced Ibis

Roseate Spoonbill

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Tigrisoma mexicanum

Boat-billed Heron

Cochlearius cochlearius

American Bittern

Botaurus lentiginosus

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Nyctanassa violacea

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Little Blue Heron

Egretta caerulea

Tricolored Heron

Egretta tricolor

Butorides virescens

Western Cattle Egret

Great Blue Heron

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Pelecanus occidentalis

Coragyps atratus

Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture

Cathartes burrovianus

Pandion haliaetus

Hook-billed Kite

Chondrohierax uncinatus

Grey-headed Kite

Leptodon cayanensis

Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius

Geranospiza caerulescens

Rostrhamus sociabilis

Common Black Hawk

Buteogallus anthracinus

Great Black Hawk

Buteogallus urubitinga

Rupornis magnirostris

Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatus

Short-tailed Hawk

Buteo brachyurus

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl

Glaucidium brasilianum

Black-headed Trogon

Trogon melanocephalus

American Pygmy Kingfisher

Chloroceryle aenea

Ringed Kingfisher

Megaceryle torquata

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Lesson's Motmot

Momotus lessonii

Turquoise-browed Motmot

Eumomota superciliosa

Yucatan Woodpecker

Melanerpes pygmaeus

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Melanerpes aurifrons

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus varius

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Dryobates scalaris

Lineated Woodpecker

Dryocopus lineatus

Crested Caracara

Caracara plancus

Laughing Falcon

Herpetotheres cachinnans

Collared Forest Falcon

Micrastur semitorquatus

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Falco columbarius

Falco rufigularis

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Ruddy Woodcreeper

Dendrocincla homochroa

Tawny-winged Woodcreeper

Dendrocincla anabatina

Ivory-billed Woodcreeper

Xiphorhynchus flavigaster

Barred Antshrike

Thamnophilus doliatus

Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Elaenia flavogaster

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet

Camptostoma imberbe

Common Tody-Flycatcher

Todirostrum cinereum

Yellow-olive Flatbill

Tolmomyias sulphurescens

Sayornis phoebe

Eastern Wood Pewee

Contopus virens

Northern Tropical Pewee

Contopus bogotensis

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Empidonax flaviventris

Least Flycatcher

Empidonax minimus

Vermilion Flycatcher

Pyrocephalus rubinus

Piratic Flycatcher

Legatus leucophaius

Social Flycatcher

Myiozetetes similis

Pitangus sulphuratus

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

Myiodynastes luteiventris

Streaked Flycatcher

Myiodynastes maculatus

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

Couch's Kingbird

Tyrannus couchii

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus forficatus

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus savana

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Tyrannus dominicensis

Yucatan Flycatcher

Myiarchus yucatanensis

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Myiarchus tuberculifer

Great Crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus crinitus

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus tyrannulus

Black-crowned Tityra

Tityra inquisitor

Tityra semifasciata

Rose-throated Becard

Pachyramphus aglaiae

Rufous-browed Peppershrike

Cyclarhis gujanensis

Yellow-green Vireo

Vireo flavoviridis

Vireo olivaceus

Philadelphia Vireo

Vireo philadelphicus

Yellow-throated Vireo

Vireo flavifrons

White-eyed Vireo

Cyanocorax morio

Cyanocorax yncas

Bombycilla cedrorum

Tachycineta bicolor

Mangrove Swallow

Tachycineta albilinea

Grey-breasted Martin

Progne chalybea

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Hirundo rustica

American Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Petrochelidon fulva

Thryothorus ludovicianus

Yucatan Gnatcatcher

Polioptila albiventris

White-browed Gnatcatcher

Polioptila bilineata

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

Dumetella carolinensis

Melanoptila glabrirostris

Tropical Mockingbird

Hylocichla mustelina

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

Lesser Goldfinch

Spinus psaltria

Euphonia affinis

Yellow-throated Euphonia

Euphonia hirundinacea

Botteri's Sparrow

Peucaea botterii

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

Dolichonyx oryzivorus

Eastern Meadowlark

Sturnella magna

Yellow-billed Cacique

Amblycercus holosericeus

Yellow-backed Oriole

Icterus chrysater

Icterus auratus

Altamira Oriole

Icterus gularis

Yellow-tailed Oriole

Icterus mesomelas

Icterus cucullatus

Black-cowled Oriole

Icterus prosthemelas

Icterus spurius

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Bronzed Cowbird

Molothrus aeneus

Melodious Blackbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

Seiurus aurocapilla

Northern Waterthrush

Parkesia noveboracensis

Blue-winged Warbler

Vermivora cyanoptera

Black-and-white Warbler

Mniotilta varia

Prothonotary Warbler

Protonotaria citrea

Tennessee Warbler

Leiothlypis peregrina

Grey-crowned Yellowthroat

Geothlypis poliocephala

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

Setophaga citrina

American Redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

Cape May Warbler

Setophaga tigrina

Northern Parula

Setophaga americana

Magnolia Warbler

Setophaga magnolia

Bay-breasted Warbler

Setophaga castanea

Blackburnian Warbler

Setophaga fusca

Mangrove Warbler

Setophaga petechia

Setophaga palmarum

Setophaga coronata

Yellow-throated Warbler

Setophaga dominica

Black-throated Green Warbler

Setophaga virens

Rose-throated Tanager

Piranga roseogularis

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Pheucticus ludovicianus

Grey-throated Chat

Granatellus sallaei

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

Cyanocompsa parellina

Passerina caerulea

Passerina cyanea

Painted Bunting

Passerina ciris

Yellow-faced Grassquit

Tiaris olivaceus

Blue-black Grassquit

Volatinia jacarina

Grey-headed Tanager

Eucometis penicillata

Morelet's Seedeater

Sporophila morelleti

Blue-gray Tanager

Thraupis episcopus

Yellow-winged Tanager

Cairina moschata

Dactylortyx thoracicus

Yucatan Poorwill

Nyctiphrynus yucatanicus

Chaetura pelagica

Green-breasted Mango

Anthracothorax prevostii

Mexican Sheartail

White-bellied Emerald

Chlorestes candida

Pheasant Cuckoo

Dromococcyx phasianellus

Black-billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus erythropthalmus

White-crowned Pigeon

Patagioenas leucocephala

Blue Ground Dove

Claravis pretiosa

Leptotila jamaicensis

Charadrius melodus

Upland Sandpiper

Bartramia longicauda

Hudsonian Godwit

Limosa haemastica

Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus

Baird's Sandpiper

Calidris bairdii

Western Sandpiper

Jabiru mycteria

Sula dactylatra

Egretta rufescens

Sarcoramphus papa

White-tailed Kite

Elanus leucurus

Swallow-tailed Kite

Elanoides forficatus

American Barn Owl

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Middle American Screech Owl

Megascops guatemalae

Gartered Trogon

Trogon caligatus

Collared Trogon

Trogon collaris

Green Kingfisher

Chloroceryle americana

Smoky-brown Woodpecker

Leuconotopicus fumigatus

Golden-olive Woodpecker

Colaptes rubiginosus

Pale-billed Woodpecker

Campephilus guatemalensis

White-fronted Amazon

Amazona albifrons

Olivaceous Woodcreeper

Sittasomus griseicapillus

Northern Barred Woodcreeper

Dendrocolaptes sanctithomae

Rufous-breasted Spinetail

Synallaxis erythrothorax

Mayan Antthrush

Formicarius moniliger

Greenish Elaenia

Myiopagis viridicata

Northern Bentbill

Oncostoma cinereigulare

Eye-ringed Flatbill

Rhynchocyclus brevirostris

Boat-billed Flycatcher

Megarynchus pitangua

Grey-collared Becard

Pachyramphus major

Tropical Royal Flycatcher

Onychorhynchus coronatus

Lesser Greenlet

Pachysylvia decurtata

Riparia riparia

Campylorhynchus yucatanicus

Spot-breasted Wren

Pheugopedius maculipectus

Southern House Wren

Troglodytes musculus

White-bellied Wren

Uropsila leucogastra

Trilling Gnatwren

Ramphocaenus melanurus

Grey-cheeked Thrush

Catharus minimus

Turdus migratorius

Clay-colored Thrush

Scaly-breasted Munia

Lonchura punctulata

Tricolored Munia

Lonchura malacca

Grasshopper Sparrow

Ammodramus savannarum

Arremonops rufivirgatus

Green-backed Sparrow

Arremonops chloronotus

Chondestes grammacus

Yellow-breasted Chat

Baltimore Oriole

Icterus galbula

Worm-eating Warbler

Helmitheros vermivorum

Louisiana Waterthrush

Parkesia motacilla

Golden-winged Warbler

Vermivora chrysoptera

Swainson's Warbler

Limnothlypis swainsonii

Kentucky Warbler

Geothlypis formosa

American Yellow Warbler

Setophaga aestiva

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Setophaga pensylvanica

Blackpoll Warbler

Setophaga striata

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Setophaga caerulescens

Prairie Warbler

Setophaga discolor

Scarlet Tanager

Piranga olivacea

Spiza americana

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Cyanerpes cyaneus

Cinnamon-bellied Saltator

Saltator grandis

Black-headed Saltator

Saltator atriceps

Coereba flaveola

Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Parasitic Jaeger

Stercorarius parasiticus

Pomarine Jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinus

Keel-billed Toucan

Ramphastos sulfuratus

Catharus fuscescens

Clay-colored Sparrow

Spizella pallida

Orange-crowned Warbler

Leiothlypis celata

Cerulean Warbler

Setophaga cerulea

Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo

Dasypus mexicanus

Northern Tamandua

Tamandua mexicana

Yucatán Cottontail

Sylvilagus yucatanicus

Central American Agouti

Dasyprocta punctata

Pygmy Fruit-eating Bat

Dermanura phaeotis

Galictis vittata

White-nosed Coati

Northern Raccoon

Northern Gray Fox

Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Herpailurus yagouaroundi

Common Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

Central American Spider Monkey

Ateles geoffroyi

Yucatán Squirrel

Sciurus yucatanensis

Great Fruit-eating Bat

Artibeus lituratus

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