Panama Canal Cruise - Huatulco


Huatulco is one spot in Mexico we hadn’t yet visited, so we were looking forward to our stop there. As this area is known for its wildlife, we had prebooked a private bird watching tour with Cornelio Ramos Gabriel, who got rave reviews on Tripadvisor.  We aren’t serious birders, although every year we seem to get more interested. Probably something to do with getting older. Anyway, we had a great tour with Cornelio and spotted over 50 different bird species – almost all of which we were unfamiliar – plus lots of iguanas and butterflies, and even a few bats. Cornelio knows where to look, has a sharp eye, and can set up his spotting scope in a flash. He even helped us take pictures through his spotting scope. He can also mimic many bird calls or use an app on his smartphone to create the intended sound. Another app on his phone he used to keep track of each bird we saw and emailed a list to us after the tour was over.  It was expensive having a tour with just the two of us, but looking at the shuffling mobs we crossed paths with we knew we made the right decision. It was a good day.



White Fronted Parrot, seen shortly after we walked off the pier.


White Ibis - not so white because they are juveniles



Nerding out in birdland
(photo by Cornelio)


Golden-cheeked Woodpecker


Butterflies too.


...and iguanas.



Part of our tour included the Copalita Eco-Archeological Park, which features some recently excavated ruins dating to 500 BCE.


Copalita Eco-Archeological Park. This structure was probably used for religious purposes.



Streak-backed Oriole



Us with Cornelio and lots of equipment.



Boat-billed Heron






Lesser Nighthawk. The markings on this bird's head almost make it look like a lizard. Amazing.



The town of Huatulco in the background.
(photo by Cornelio)



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