Tulum's Wild Heart: Sian Ka'an Birds & Muyil Maya Secrets

Wow wow wow! What a day. We saw 41 new species of birds today. The day started with a nice coffee, then into a remote beautiful location where we saw lots of birds. Claudio was our guide and I can’t say enough good things about him, but I will try. He was kind and patient with us. He was a great drive and he was nice to talk with. He was a perfect bird guide. He is able to make similar sounds as the local birds and he has an eyes like and Eagles and can hear as well as an Owl. The lunch he took us to was authentic and delicious. The last stop was so neat. The great thing about the last spot other than the birds was that everyone knew him. Everyone would say Claudio and greet him so kindly. It was a great day. I don’t know how much he makes but he deserves a raise. Claudio you were a perfect guide today. Thank you

I did a morning tour with my son around the town of Muyil and the nearby parts of Asian Kanan. Miguel was very responsive in helping to arrange the tour, and Luciano was an amazing tour guide. The tour was absolutely amazing - we managed to see toucans, pygmy owls, motmots, trogons and dozens more. 56 lifers for me! Luciano was a very knowledgeable and attentive guide, asking us what our bucket list species were, and providing a lot of knowledge and support as we were birding (as well as providing extra binoculars and coffee!). We ended the tour with a delicious breakfast. The biosphere reserve was a joy to walk through, for both the birding and for the nature and archaeology. The main Muyil site is currently closed for renovations, but you can see the Mayan causeways around the lagoon.

Our Birdwatching day with Claudio and his driver Luis was beyond our expectations! We stopped for snacks and then got right into it. In a blink of an eye we saw over 38 species just in one neighborhood. Claudio has an eagle eye(no pun intended) it’s incredible what he spots , finds and point with his pointer. He knows them all and is just as excited very happy to take pics thru his binoculars. He asked what your bucket list bird is and mine was a toucan we saw 3 and two species! I was in bird heaven. Even my husband who was more interested in the Mayan ruins part of our trip was equally amazed and loved it more than he thought. Our lunch stop was delicious and then Claudio shared the entire list with pics and locations that we had accumulated to my Bird Merlin App. What a special touch. We went to the edge of Sian Ka’an by the lake and saw more species. Motmots, owls, parrots and more. Even army ants were so cool. Muchas Gracias for the best memories! We will be back!

I love going Birding with Miguel and Luciano from Amar Aves Birding Tours here in Muyil. The trails that they took me on through the jungles were absolutely picturesque and so soothing to walk among such trees. They found me near 60 new life birds during our four days of Birding together. Such an incredible journey and experience with these wonderful guides. We had an absolutely incredible time in each other’s company talking about the birds we know, are Birding experiences, and laughing hysterically as we drove from place to place. I cannot wait to return next year to bird with Miguel and Luciano again.

This was a great trip. Miguel was very knowledgeable about the birds that we saw and seemed to know everyone. Also, Miguel noticed a lot of birds that I would have missed. A good eye for sure. Miguel also knew what birds to expect at our location and made it a point to find the Pygmy Owl that he knew would be there. I managed to get some great pictures of Toucans and many other colorful birds. We saw 37 species and list of the birds we saw was in my email the next day. Miguel was knowledgeable, friendly, and he delivered the goods. What more could you ask for?

We had a great time and saw lots of new birds! Miguel was a wonderful guide and very knowledgeable. We hope to go birding with him again in the future. ¡Muchas gracias!

This is our second birdwatching tour with Miguel (because we enjoyed the first one so much!). He truly goes above and beyond to offer a friendly, welcoming and memorable experience, and I really enjoy learning from him about the types of habitat that sustain birds (here's to "structural complexity"!) and about the changes the area is going through. He helped us realize how the data we collect will help protect the birds, and we learned which species are endemic to the area, and how to identify them. But more than anything, it was magical to listen to the birds welcome the dawn and to wander the little side streets, with an occasional dog or locals greeting us as they went by on a bicycle, with birds all about us singing. I can't wait to come back and thank you Miguel for the extraordinary experience!

Miguel showed us amazing birds. As novices he made it easy to participate by pointing things out with a laser pen. We also did the boat ride and float down the lazy river which we really enjoyed as well!

Miguel Amar greeted my wife and me before sunrise with a thermos of coffee and delicious homemade energy bars. We wanted to bird the Muyil Archaeological Preserve, but it was closed for construction so we were in a Muyil neighborhood just a few blocks west of the preserve. As it got lighter, Miguel started identifying the birds we were hearing before we saw them. Miguel lives in this neighborhood and is very familiar with the trees, shrubs, and environment where the birds were to be found. We ended up walking around the neighborhood - got 35 species including both migrants and endemics - keel-billed toucans, white-fronted amazons, a ferruginous pygmy owl, and a turquoise-browed motmot were some of the highlights. This was a wonderful morning; Miguel has an excellent knowledge of the birds and songs and the relation of the Mayan names to the songs. We ended the morning with a delicious brunch at his favorite local cafe.

When I was told we would see over 40 different species of birds in just a few hours, I didn't believe it—we saw 55! It's an incredible experience, and Miguel is a knowledgeable, professional, thoughtful guide. I would not have identified 10 birds walking that same area. It's eye-opening to be with someone who knows the calls and behavioral patterns of the local birds so well. This was a truly memorable experience.