The Frigatebirds of Isla Mujeres

(Note: For some unknown reason, this was not posted when originally written a couple weeks ago. We'll continue to post about our recent birding trip to California in the coming days!)

While in Cancun in February with my wife's family, we decided to spend a day on Isla Mujeres. We had heard great things about the island and wanted to see it for ourselves. We boarded the Ultramar ferry at Playa Tortugas and got on the first trip to the island at 9:00am. We arrived after a short but beautiful ferry ride and decided to walk along the beautiful beaches while exploring the town.

We rented golf carts, one of the few forms of transportation on the island, and headed towards the very southeast corner of the island. After a few stops at some scenic overlooks, we got to Punta Sur and the sculpture garden located on the point. While the sculptures are cool, the views of the ocean steal the show!

We paid the $3.00 fee per person and headed out towards the tip of the island. We enjoyed the views of the ocean as we walked along and eventually came to an unimpressive ruin. Although the ruin was not very interesting, the frigatebirds overhead were amazing! For the next 15 minutes, I photographed the frigates as the came as close as 20 feet over my head. Below is a series of shots from my time there.

Me photographing the Magnificant Frigatebirds

We noticed a stairway down the side of the cliff and decided to explore. Man, were we glad we found that! There is a path along the cliffs down by the edge of the water that allows some of the most amazing views of the ocean that I have ever seen!

The Walkway Around Punta Sur (Photo by Stephanie)

After a fantastic lunch and a few drinks at Acantilado overlooking Punta Sur, we headed back towards the main part of town. As we drove along, I noticed some large black birds off the side of the road and slammed on brakes. (Luckily, my father-in-law was warned about the possible quick stops and avoided running into the back of my golf cart.) It turned out that the birds were Groove-billed Anis. We sat and watched the group of 5 Anis for awhile and took some nice photos.

We caught the 3:30 ferry back to Cancun and spent the rest of the day relaxing at the pool. If you are ever in Cancun, be sure to take a day trip to Isla Mujeres - you will not be disappointed!

-Rob