Coati, agouti, iguanas, and captive animals on a resort - Quintana Roo, Mexico

     In December 2014, I spent a week in the southern Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The majority of this part of Mexico is undeveloped. The main highway that runs along the coast is primarily bordered by jungle, secondly by resorts and adventure parks, and thirdly by the occasional city (Cancun, Peurto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum). I stayed at a resort just a few miles south of Playa del Carmen. You can zoom in on the map below to get a sense of the landscape. My time here was limited to a few days, and most of my wildlife-seeking occurred on and around the resort, which had a few nature trails that I enjoyed.

     Looking at the map of the resort, I noticed icons labeled Monkeys, Deer, and Flamingos. After finding the howler monkey enclosure empty, I checked out the deer exhibit. I didn't know what species of deer were found in Mexico. To my surprise, the enclosure contained the familiar white-tailed deer (Oddocoleus viginianus), which is very abundant where I live in New England. I learned that the species occurs from Northern Canada all the way to Southern Peru. 

Captive white-tailed deer - Quintana Roo, Mexico

     Some coati were lounging by the deer feeding station. I suspect this was a group of wild individuals taking advantage of the free buffet. Coati are a raccoon-relative, but are diurnal and have different physical features, including a longer snout and a longer tail.

Coati in deer exhibit - Quintana Roo, Mexico

     Making my way down a path on the outskirts of the resort, I came across an anole (type of lizard of which there are very many species in multiple genera). I believe this was a brown anole (Norops sagrei). This is a small lizard that resembles its relative, the green anole (often seen in Florida and in pet stores across the U.S.). To give a sense of scale, this lizard would have fit in the palm of your hand. This anole was not overly skittish, and allowed me get my camera lens quite close before darting away into some plants, resulting in a decent photograph.

Brown anole - Quintana Roo, Mexico

Captive flamingo - Quintana Roo, Mexico

     Cutting back through the resort, I came across some captive flamingos. I do not agree with the practice of keeping animals captive if the sole purpose is so that people may appreciate their aesthetic value. Moreover, the pen they were fenced in was small, and so was their pond. At night, the few flamingos were put in a small building attached to their enclosure and I could hear them squawking. I also suspect that their flight feathers were clipped to keep them from flying away. I’ve never seen flamingoes in the wild, and have appreciated seeing them in captivity a few times. Given their small enclosure, I would prefer these birds not be forced to live in captivity, but perhaps there were other circumstances I was unaware of. It's possible that they were rescued, rehabilitated, and now unable to survive in the wild for some reason. 

     After spending some time with the flamingoes, I set off down a trail bisecting a patch of jungle in the resort. I came across two large iguanas basking in a small field. By the next day, I was slightly numbed to the presence of iguanas; they were all over the resort, all over the archeological site of Tulum that I visited later, and presumably all over this part of Mexico. There were even iguanas lounging by the poolside beside tourists, and on the beach, and on walkways outside of the hotel lobby. Regardless, this was my first time encountering wild iguanas and I was excited.
     A larger iguana noticed me watching him, and picked his head up to keep an eye on me (photo below). Then, to my surprise, he actually started moving toward me. I wasn't sure if he was trying to intimidate me or to get a better view of what I was doing. Perhaps he was expecting food from me, like a seagull at a beach. He saw that I was maintaining my distance (and without food) and relaxed. He even started munching on the plant he was lounging beside (bottom photo below). The smaller iguana (middle photo below) was between the large one and myself. 

Iguanas - Quintana Roo, Mexico

     Continuing down the trail, I passed another iguana basking on the side of a tree, and then encountered one on a walkway. This last iguana allowed me to get close enough for one of the better wildlife photographs I've taken.

Iguana - Quintana Roo, Mexico

     This iguana was just outside of an open part of a building adjoining the hotel lobby. Here, there were at least six macaws perched and on display. These are very beautiful and intelligent birds. I don't think they should be held captive by the resort and forced to sit on one perch for most of every day. 

Captive macaw - Quintana Roo, Mexico

     Next, I came across an agouti. This is a common rodent that occurs in Central and South America. I saw them often during my trip, but they were always skittish and evaded me. So, I wasn't able to get any great photos of one. There are several species of agouti found in Central and South America. The animals I saw were Central American agouties (Dasyprocta punctata).     

Central American agouti - Quintana Roo, Mexico

     Next, I made my way to the coast, which was further away from the resort. I discovered a wider variety of native Mexican animals along the coast than on the resort. I plan on sharing photos of these animals in a future post.

Ocean view - Quintana Roo, Mexico

Rocky ledges, woodpeckers, and chipmunks in the White Mountains - Conway, New Hampshire

     In November 2014, I traveled to Conway, New Hampshire to document mountainous New England scenery and fall wildlife activity. We started at Echo Lake State Park. After taking in the dramatic rock-ledge, we set out for its summit. Making our way around the lake, we noticed the chipmunks were busy preparing for winter. They were timid, but I was surprised at how interested they were in us.

Rocky cliff face - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

Chipmunk interrupted while gathering acorns (left) and peeking out at me from it's burrow (right) - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

     
     

    Here in the southern White Mountains, there's more deciduous forest than in more northern areas, which means plenty of beech and oak to provide nuts and acorns for small mammals. We also noticed some signs of woodpecker activity (photo below). The bird that did this is New England's largest woodpecker (roughly the size of a crow) and primarily feeds on carpenter ants^1,2.

Holes in a tree created by a Pileated Woodpecker - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire.

     Continuing up a gentle rise at the base of the mountain, I found a smaller woodpecker keeping busy. The red patch on his head indicates that this is a male. This is a downy woodpecker. It's cousin, the hairy woodpecker is also found throughout New England and looks very similar, but is slightly larger. The length of a downy woodpecker's bill is about 1/3 of the distance between the base of its bill and the back of its head, which is shorter than the bill of a hairy woodpecker. Downy woodpeckers also have black markings on their white tail feathers. In this region, most hairy woodpeckers have completely white tail feathers and their bills are about as long as their heads. 

Male downy woodpecker - Echo Lake State Park, Conway New Hampshire

     We came to the top of our first peak and got a great view of the cliff face, then started making our way to its summit. 

A rock face at Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

     Enroute, I encountered what could have been the first woodpecker's mate, with her head buried in a hole in a snag (dead tree). I liked the lighting conditions rendered by the hemlock trees in this part of the woods, so I ended up taking many photos of this bird.  

Female downy woodpecker - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

     Notice that there is no red cap on this one... (female) 

Female downy woodpecker - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

     
     You can also see the 'zygodactyl' foot clinging to the tree (photo below). Zygodactyl indicates that there are two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward, though in this picture she has her backward-pointing toes stretched out to the sides (some other animals with zygodactyl foot structures include toucans and chameleons). Also note the black bars on the white tail feathers on each side of tail, indicating that she's not a hairy woodpecker.

Dorsal view of a female downy woodpecker - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

     Moving on, we encountered another timid-but curious chipmunk. This one had it's cheeks stuffed with winter food. We also came across a chickadee curiously busy in a beech tree. I couldn't figure out what it was pecking at, but saw other chickadees doing this later that day. (If anyone knows what this behavior is please leave a comment below!) 

Chipmunk with stuffed cheeks - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

Chickadee - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

     
     At the top of the second peak, we got a nice view. When I travel to places like this, I always hope to see animals I don't normally see. Chipmunks, chickadees, and downy woodpeckers all live in my backyard. I was really hoping to encounter the pileated woodpecker after seeing several large rectangular holes in trees throughout our hike today. But, the nice views and scenery made up for it. 

Scenic view from peak - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

     We descended the mountain and were making our way back to the parking lot. The best wildlife sightings usually happen when you least expect it. We were actually cutting through the parking lot of a resort at the base of the mountain when I spotted this pileated woodpecker.

Pileated woodpecker - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

    This is the largest woodpecker in North America. (The ivory-billed woodpecker was larger, but has recently been declared extinct). I spotted it from far away, and had to quickly remove my pack and extract my camera. Then I tried to stealthily run closer to get a decent shot. I only had it in view long enough for three snaps. I don't know if it flew away or if it disappeared into the hole that its head was in when I first got a glimpse of it (photo below). In the photo above, you can see what's probably some sort of bug at the end of its bill.

Pileated woodpecker with it's head in a tree - Echo Lake State Park, Conway, New Hampshire

Here's where you can find Echo Lake State Park and all of its wonders and woodpeckers (use buttons in lower right corner to zoom out and see where this place is relative to you or someplace you're familiar with):

Referenced Works:  
1. Elbroch, Mark, and Eleanor Marks. 2001. Bird Tracks & Sign. 1st ed. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 
          USA.
2. Flemming, Stephen P., Gillian L. Holloway, E. Jane Watte, and Peter S. Lawrence. 1999. Characteristics of foraging trees
          selected by pileated woodpeckers in New Brunswick. Journal of Wildlife Management 63:461-469.

Pond and estuary wildlife at Great Bay - Durham, New Hampshire

     Not far from the University of New Hampshire, tucked away in rural New England countryside is a small spot for hiking, hunting, and boating called Adam's Point Wildlife Management Area. I visited this place on a warm and sunny Saturday in late September 2014. After a surprise encounter with a garter snake that zoomed right through my feet as I was walking, I found a pickerel frog at the edge of a small pond. It's nice when animals stay still for a closeup like this.

Pickerel frog at Adam's Point Wildlife Management Area, Durham, New Hampshire

     

Frog at Adam's Point Wildlife Management Area, Durham, New Hampshire

     There were a few other frogs as well, but they were more skittish and buried themselves under muck before I could get close. The frog shown here is either a green frog or bullfrog, which are two of the most common frog species in New England. They can be a little difficult to distinguish when seen from a distance. 
     Staring down at the edge of the pond where a frog had just disappeared, I noticed something small and peculiar moving on the pond floor. It was less than an inch long, brown, and had a beautiful pattern of red spots. The way it moved was mesmerizing, its body would expand, contract, and change shape as it cruised around. This is a leech (phylum Annelida).

 

Leech, Adam's Point WMA, Durham, New Hampshire

     From the freshwater pond, I moved onward to the saltier shores of the Great Bay estuary. After climbing down an escarpment, I found myself on a rocky shoreline with a nice view of the bay. Those are double-crested cormorants sitting out on the sandbar in the photo below. Often, you'll see them sitting near the water with their wings stretched out to dry. They have webbed feet and can swim both on top of and below the water. I watched two of them dive below water and reappear after several moments, presumably hunting fish.

View of Great Bay and Cormorants at Adam's Point WMA, Durham, New Hampshire

Double-crested cormorant at Adam's Point WMA, Durham, New Hampshire

     Walking further along the shore, I encountered other interesting invertebrates. This time it was a mating pair of horseshoe crabs. (Fun fact: horseshoe crabs are not crustaceans or even actual crabs, they are more closely related to spiders!) These animals look practically the same as they did when they first evolved about 500 million years ago, before the first dinosaurs, birds, or mammals ever existed. Incredible.

Horseshoe crabs mating at Adam's Point WMA, Durham, New Hampshire

     As I was leaving Adam's Point, I passed a marsh along the peninsula and saw another prehistoric-looking animal (photo below). I forget where I was or who said it, but remember someone saying that great blue herons are reminiscent of pterodactyls when they fly, and I agree. I watched this heron hunt for a few minutes from my car. 

Great blue heron at Adam's Point WMA, Durham, New Hampshire. Top: Heron with prey.

Here's the location of Adam's Point: