{"id":8916,"date":"2016-03-31T16:28:18","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T16:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/?p=8916"},"modified":"2019-06-22T00:13:42","modified_gmt":"2019-06-22T00:13:42","slug":"palizada-rio-de-reyes-parte-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/espanol-palizada-rio-de-reyes-parte-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Palizada, river of kings – Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Palizada_1_Thumbnail\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The boat advances at good speed on the tea-coloured waters of the Palizada river. Wearing\u00a0raincoats under\u00a0a persistent drizzle, we keep our photo gear covered and\u00a0our eyes glued to\u00a0the vegetation on the riverbanks. Rainy\u00a0weather is conspiring against us, stealing\u00a0sharpness and saturation from everything we see and denying us photographic opportunities. Even so, the\u00a0boat is loaded with smiles.\u00a0A few minutes into this trip we’ve seen, perched on the power line that connects the scarce rural homes along the river, a Ringed Kingfisher\u00a0(Megaceryle torquatus<\/i>). Moments\u00a0later we’ve seen ten more so we\u00a0decide to start counting, a collective exercise that soon\u00a0becomes celebration.<\/p>\n

\"Like<\/a>

Like notes on a stave, many Ringed Kingfishers keep us company as we motor up the Palizada River. (Photo \u00a9 Iv\u00e1n Gabald\u00f3n).<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cForty!<\/i>\u201d, we announce over the engine’s noise.\u00a0“Forty one… forty two!”.\u00a0<\/em>One here, three on that\u00a0segment of cable there, two more sharing a\u00a0branch. Never before have we seen\u00a0so many\u00a0of these true kings of fishing, like musical notes drawn on a stave\u00a0as long\u00a0as the river. We’re now all looking for the next one, each new discovery unleashing\u00a0laughter in crescendo<\/em>. By the time we reach our destination this morning, the Nic\u00e9-Ha Unit for Enviromental Management (UMA)<\/a>, we close the count with an astounding figure: 75 Ringed Kingfishers!.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A liquid avenue into \u201cNicte Ha\u201d. (Photo \u00a9 Iv\u00e1n Gabald\u00f3n).<\/p><\/div>\n

Our arrival in Nicte-H\u00e1 has not been previously announced but is quickly detected. Within a minute or two\u00a0several men approach the docks, among them Ramon Sanz, in charge\u00a0of this private reserve. Ramon’s\u00a0look is inquisitive but becomes\u00a0a\u00a0warm welcome the instant\u00a0he recognizes\u00a0Francisco Hernandez, c\u00e9lebre restauranteur<\/em> from Campeche, bird photographer and promoter of this trip. Francisco has garnered\u00a0the interest and support of\u00a0Campeche’s Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR CAMPECHE<\/a>), making\u00a0possible\u00a0this exploration\u00a0with a common goal: to generate a first multi-disciplinary report on\u00a0the potential of Palizada for bird-related tourism.<\/p>\n

\"Part<\/a>

Part of our welcoming committee\u00a0in Nicte-H\u00e1. (Photo \u00a9 Iv\u00e1n Gabald\u00f3n).<\/p><\/div>\n

Besides Francisco and his wife Carmen Caba\u00f1as, also a bird photography enthusiast, the\u00a0team for\u00a0this mission includes\u00a0Joann Andrews, Mar\u00eda Andrade and Marigel Campos of Pronatura Peninsula de Yucatan<\/a>, as well as respected ornithologists Paul Wood and Jes\u00fas Vargas Soriano, and Wilbert Salas of\u00a0SECTUR Campeche. RIDE INTO BIRDLAND<\/strong> has also been\u00a0asked to participate, in order to help evaluate\u00a0opportunities for nature photography and to share this story.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/a>

Paul Wood and Marigel Campos look on as Joann Andrews inspects a photo album that evidences presence of jaguars in the area. (Photo \u00a9 Roselys Oropeza).<\/p><\/div>\n

Our team thus lined up, now under the roof of Nicte-H\u00e1’s welcoming kitchen with warm cups of coffee in our hands, we listen as Ramon recounts jaguar sightings in the UMA. He shows us trap-camera images evidencing\u00a0the presence of the imposing cats, as well as of other large mammals such as tapirs and deer.\u00a0“You can see the deer from here”<\/em>, he says. A\u00a0few steps outside the kitchen are in fact sufficient\u00a0to look\u00a0out towards the line where\u00a0the property’s garden meets\u00a0the surrounding vegetation. There, within a couple of minutes, we spot\u00a0several deer that seem to return our stares.<\/p>\n

\"Ram\u00f3n<\/a>

Ram\u00f3n Sanz shows Joann Andrews and Paul Wood a thermal map of the area. Colors indicate different types of vegetation. (Photos \u00a9 Iv\u00e1n Gabald\u00f3n).<\/p><\/div>\n

Conversation continues as we tour the facilities, at the center of which we find two comfortably appointed cabins with bathrooms and sleeping quarters. An impressive solar power\u00a0system has its own control room (complete with back-up diesel generator)\u00a0and\u00a0wind-power is now being added into the mix. The UMA has horses and tack for riding in the property, flat-bottomed fishing boats with rotating chairs, quad motorcycles for rugged, swampy\u00a0terrain, and several permanent blinds perfectly suitable for nature photography. It must be said: these facilities were conceived for regulated hunting but my eyes are looking at their great potential for wildlife photography, an activity that has already\u00a0taken place here and, as Ramon is quick to confirm, is not only welcomed but deemed of high interest\u00a0and expected to grow in the future.<\/p>\n

\"Bird<\/a>

Bird observation from the boat, left to right: Joann Andrews, Mar\u00eda Andrade, Francisco Hern\u00e1ndez, Ram\u00f3n Sanz, Paul Wood. (Photo \u00a9 Iv\u00e1n Gabald\u00f3n).<\/p><\/div>\n

Birds remain our group’s manifest\u00a0interest and\u00a0this motivates\u00a0Ramon to make us an offer we can’t refuse: he’ll take us to\u00a0a location, which we agree to keep secret, where we’ll see a species of bird seldom encountered\u00a0in the Yucatan Penisula. Expectation is in the air as we\u00a0board\u00a0the UMA’s boats and are\u00a0taken deep into\u00a0the canals until finally, with the parting of mangroves, an\u00a0exciting sight\u00a0is unveiled: we’ve reached the\u00a0nesting area for a species classified by IUCN as vulnerable. Our boats approach prudently, one at a time, never coming too close.\u00a0We cannot\u00a0disclose more details here, and for this we apologize to our readers, but this\u00a0restriction has good cause: only the scientists who found this population of birds (and are currently monitoring it) qualify to make this information public. What we can say with unequivocal joy is that the presence of these birds in the Palizada River confirms the richness and good health of this ecosystem.\u00a0Ergo<\/em>, its great potential for bird-related tourism.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A green Iguana (Iguana iguana rhinolopha), sporting the reddish hue it acquires during mating season. We saw many large iguanas like this one along the river. (Photo \u00a9 Iv\u00e1n Gabald\u00f3n).<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Waterborne<\/a>

Waterborne transportation is part of daily life for most locals on the Palizada River. (Photo \u00a9 Iv\u00e1n Gabald\u00f3n).<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Great<\/a>

Great Egret (Ardea alba), photographed from the boat. (Photo \u00a9 Iv\u00e1n Gabald\u00f3n).<\/p><\/div>\n

At the end of the day we motor downstream back to our lodgings at Hacienda San Rom\u00e1n. Rain and cloudiness have been constant factors during our first day of exploration in this part of Campeche, but just as constant has been the presence of abundant populations of birds, starting with the many sightings we enjoyed on the road\u00a0from Campeche to Palizada. A\u00a0question flutters\u00a0around in my mind: If\u00a0<\/em>Palizada has been so generous\u00a0with us on a rainy day… how much more\u00a0will it give us when the sun really comes out?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Palizada River is the eastern branch of the mighty Usumacinta River and its waters feed the Laguna de T\u00e9rminos. (Photo \u00a9 Iv\u00e1n Gabald\u00f3n).<\/p><\/div>\n

I.G.H.<\/p>\n

(…to be continued<\/a>)<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

______________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

With special thanks to the Campeche Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR Campeche) for making this trip possible. For more information on this and other wonderful destinations in Campeche, M\u00e9xico, visit www.campeche.travel<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The boat advances at good speed on the tea-coloured waters of the Palizada river. Wearing\u00a0raincoats under\u00a0a persistent drizzle, we keep our photo gear covered and\u00a0our eyes glued to\u00a0the vegetation on the riverbanks. Rainy\u00a0weather is conspiring against us, stealing\u00a0sharpness and saturation … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[27,38,56,70,147,146],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8916"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8916"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10238,"href":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8916\/revisions\/10238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rideintobirdland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}