Barbara MacKinnon H., published by the non-profit Amigos de Sian Ka'an, A.C.
Sometimes looking at a book published in two languages can be confusing, not so in this case. With beautiful simplicity, the publishers simply used two colors of ink, black for English, and green for Spanish, and it works wonderfully! Whether you are planning a birding adventure to the Yucatan, or want to supplement a family trip to Cancun or Chichen Itza, this book is for you. More than a simple list of where to go to see birds, it provides information on the interesting mix of bird species due to the proximity of continental Mexico with the Caribbean; and an intro to each of the 7 different habitat zones in the area covered by the book. The chapters on the 10 recommended reserves contain the birding information you would expect, but adds information on the local culture, population centers and local activities and services available for travelers. There are also chapters on visitor information, birds in the Maya culture (care to guess which bird is considered the bravest of all animal spirits?), bird conservation in the Yucatan, a checklist details the status of the birds for the entire peninsula (wintering, breeding, etc.) with columns for each reserve to show which birds have been recorded in each reserve,
From the publisher: There are approximately 50 natural protected areas covering almost 11,366,600 acres on the Yucatan Peninsula. These sites include both terrestrial and marine habitats, public and private reserves. It is impossible to describe them all in this small booklet, so ten have been chosen that best represent the different eco-regions of the peninsula and the corresponding diverse avifauna that inhabits each. At the same time, a total of 24 sites on the peninsula are federally designated Important Bird Areas (IBAs), of which eight of the most extensive are included within the reserves described here. These include: Calakmul, Los Petenes and Laguna de Términos in Campeche; Ria Celestun and Ria Lagartos in Yucatan; Isla Contoy, Cozumel, and Sian Ka’an in Quintana Roo. All but 19 species are found within the ten reserves included in this check-list. This demonstrates the valuable role they play in conserving habitat important to birds throughout the region.
Paper, 76 pages, 6 3/4 x 9 inches, full-color photographs, charts, June 2005.
