Yucatán Bird Festival

The Third annual Festival de las Aves de Yucatán (Yucatán Bird Festival) starts this weekend. Until 21 November. Background.

A welcome email today from Barbara MacKinnon, coordinator of the 3rd annual Festival de las Aves de Yucatán (Yucatán Bird Festival). She reminds me that this year the BirdFest will take place between 13-21 November.

The festival is promoted locally as the ‘Toh’ – Maya for Turquoise-browed Motmot – one of more than 400 colourful bird species in the region.

I was captivated by half a dozen of these lordly blue, green and rust-coloured birds during a visit to the diminutive and seldom-visited Maya site at Xlapak, 113 km (70 miles) south of Mérida in the gently rolling Puuc hills. A reminder that birdwatching in Yucatán opens the way to visiting restored Maya ruins, as well as cenotes (natural sinkholes) and majestic and mysterious caves.

The appropriately named pajaro reloj (‘Pendulum Bird’ in Spanish) swings its long racket-tipped tail feathers in a tic-toc motion while the rest of its body remains statuesque. The Maya consider the Toh a symbol of nobility.

The Festival has quickly established itself as a fixture in the ornithologists calendar, but has something for everyone; a week full of fascinating field trips, exhibits and workshops – whether you are a beginner or advanced birdwatcher, bird photographer or student of Maya culture.

Local guides will teach you Maya bird names in exchange for your friendship during the two-day xoc ch’ich’ (‘bird count’ in Maya) and your participation directly benefits bird conservation efforts in the region.

For reservations, contact: toh@ecoyuc.com or visit www.ecoyuc.com/toh.html.

Photo credit: Turquoise-browed Motmot, courtesy © David Massie