Banded flamingos in Sian Ka’an Biosphere, Mexico
In November, Dave and I visited the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. We’d flown into Cancún a week or so earlier, and were slowly making our way down the coast to Xcalak.
I’d seen the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve on the maps as I was researching our trip – a big wetlands area on the east side of the Yucatán Peninsula. No roads in.
But stopping in Tulúm on the way down, we found out that there were boat trips there. So we left Tulúm early the day we were driving southward, and sure enough, we made it out on a trip with a Mayan guide named Ulises. Our trip looks us to two freshwater lagoons, and in the second Ulises motored us over to where two flamingos were feeding at the shoreline.
“We’ve never had flamingos here in the biosphere reserve before,” he said. “These ones are juveniles. They’ve been here for two weeks.”
I pulled out my camera and did the best I could, handheld and from a distance, from a boat bobbing in the wind. I could see one of the birds had a band – so I took a lot of shots, hoping I’d be able to read the number.
And sure enough! DXLV is the bird!
Looks like he was banded last August in the Ría Lagartas Biosphere Reserve, up on the northern tip of the Yucatán. I’ve reported him to authorities there, and will add to this post here when I have any updates!
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Jacqueline Windh 