Sian Ka'an Reserve
This touring destination has a multitude of things to offer. Among them are hundreds of tropical bird species like the Roseate Spoonbill, Frigate, White Ibis, Osprey, Boat-billed Heron, Tri-colored Heron and many more. Its freshwater inland canals were once used by the Maya people for trading about 1200 years ago. These inland canals possess the possibly most diverse flora and fauna you will ever find in the entire Yucatan Peninsula. The abundant ecosystem in the Sian Ka'an Reserve, for that reason, has become a natural nesting ground for tropical birds of all kinds.
In the Sian Ka'an Reserve is an isolated mangrove place called the bird island, where many of these sultry avian creatures live. On top of that, you can see the seabirds fly the distant horizon as you watch the setting sun.
Sian Ka'an Tours
A complete tour of the Sian Ka'an Reserve begins with a series of orientations and discussions about the reserve's objectives. Herein, the complexities of nature inside the reserve are described to the tourists in a compelling and interesting manner. The guides talk about the flora, fauna, ecosystem and mostly the birds found inside the reserve. They give an acute overview of things to expect on the tour, which will get you all jittery and expectant.
First on your to-do list is boarding on a six-seater ponga boat, as the captain or guide tells you about the surrounding lagoon and what kind of birds nest in such an ecosystem. As the tour moves south, traversing the length of the coastal peninsula, the boarding ride ends at Boca Paila lagoon. From there, the tour travel farther inland, through an 11 kilometer narrow freshwater canal. Expect to see tropical birds all about the mangrove wetlands. Apart from birds, the sights also have mangroves of different colors, bromeliads, orchids, termite mounds, fishes and reptilian wildlife.
The tour progresses to the south until you reach the "bird island" in the lagoon of San Miguel, where you'll see hundreds of tropical birds roosting from dawn to dusk. As tour pushes forward, you'll see countless Night Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, Tri-Colored Herons, Boat Billed Herons, White Ibis, Frigates, Green Herons, Little Blue Herons, Egrets and Pelicans.
