Celestún is a small beach town with about 1,500 inhabitants. It is about an hour and a half outside of Mérida, and well worth the trip to most birdwatchers for one reason: flamingos!

A tour guide can lead you by boat through the Parque Natural del Flamenco Mexicano, a large bird sanctuary. Flocks of wild flamingos come there to feed, eating the shrimp that make them pink. For ecological reasons, you can't get too close to the birds, as is evidenced by the photo above, but the view is spectacular nonetheless.

Elsewhere in the park, mangrove forests offer nesting habitat for all kinds of aquatic birds, including Magnificent Frigatebirds, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, Bare-Throated Tiger Herons, Gray-Necked Wood Rails, and Egrets of every variation. These birds must not be used to much human interaction, because you can get awfully close to them (see photo below), within a few feet. The guide also took us to two manantials (underground springs), where we were allowed to swim. In addition to the birds we also spotted raccoons, iguanas, and a coatimundi.

No, I didn't spend all my time watching birds. I did spend some time on the beach. Celestún is a quiet town, but the beach was crowded. The sand was fine and the water was clear.

Magnificent Frigatebirds

Tunnel through a mangrove forest

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