Lynne and I had never even heard of Cozumel until we began our summer holiday research in June. This tiny, underdeveloped Caribbean island off the coast of Mexico with its coral reefs and endemic wildlife certainly lived up to expectations. The all-inclusive "El Cozumelino Hotel" at the north of the island gave us everything we needed for our two week stay: free flowing beer, food and wildlife. What more do you need?
Dolphins. (Probably Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins). 26/07/16. Frequently seen from the beach oposite our hotel.
Brown Pelican, 01/08/16, El Cozumelino Hotel Beach, Cozumel.
The sea water here is crystal clear. Take a bread roll from the buffet, wade in, and feed the fish: hundreds will gather around you.
View looking south from the hotel beach.
I walked along this beach from our hotel every day during our two-week stay. After 5 minutes walking, I would enter the water and snorkel back to the hotel, taking photos amongst the coral. A gentle sea current brings you back, so you don't even have to swim: just float.
French Angelfish, 01/08/16, El Cozumelino Hotel Beach, Cozumel.
Bluestriped Grunts, 23/07/16, El Cozumelino Hotel Beach, Cozumel.
Blue Tang 04/08/16, El Cozumelino Hotel Beach, Cozumel Mexico
Goldentail Moray Eel, 04/08/16, El Cozumelino Hotel Beach, Cozumel
Yellow Stingray, 23/07/16, El Cozumelino Hotel, Cozumel.
As well as awesome snorkelling, this hotel sits directly opposite Cozumel Golf Course: brilliant for early morning birding. Be sure to "look for the manager" between the hours of 6am and 8am, when nobody is around but birds are plentiful.
Green-breasted Mango 23/07/16. Cozumel Golf Course Cozumel. Favours the flowering bushes around hole 16.
Cozumel Emerald. An endemic winner! Beautiful hummingbirds and luckily quite common on Cozumel.
Brown-crested Flycatcher 23/07/16 Cozumel Golf Course, Cozumel.
Yucatan Woodpecker, 24/07/16, Cozumel Golf Course Cozumel. Only found on the Yucatan Peninsular + Cozumel.
There's no shortage of reptiles on Cozumel, here are just a few I bumped into...
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, 27/07/16, Cozumel. These beasts were everywhere, even by our pool complex. Huge things.
I have no idea what this is. Perhaps a juvenile of the above?
Common House Gecko, 27/07/16, El Cozumelino Hotel, Cozumel. This guy lived in our hotel room and was quite welcome to stay (they eat insects).
American Crocodile, 27/07/16, Faro Celarain Eco Park, Cozumel. This is a must see nature reserve on Cozumel.
Cozumel Coati, 27/07/16, Faro Celarain Eco Park, Cozumel. These are endemic and protected on Cozumel, but they are not shy at all. Ben got a little too friendly with this one (they do bite apparently).
White-nosed Coati, 27/07/16, Faro Celarain Eco Park, Cozumel. This larger, lighter-coloured Coati is also found on the mainland.
Cozumel Raccoon, 27/07/16, Faro Celarain Eco Park, Cozumel. I was very pleased to see this particular mammal wandering around the beach bar. Endemic to Cozumel, they are also critically endangered and mostly nocturnal.
Willet, 27/07/16, Faro Celarain Eco Park, Cozumel. Lots of waders can be found on the beaches here and on the lagoon.
The highlight of the trip, however, had to be the Whale Sharks. At this time of year, hundreds of these sharks gather just off the Mexican coastline. Many companies offer day trips to see these massive beasts up close and personal. The following images are stills from movies I made during our encounter...
Holly with a Whale Shark, 24/07/16, somewhere off the coast of Cancun, Mexico.
Boat trips are good for spotting other wildlife too...
Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin, 28/07/16, Cozumel.
Flying Fish, 28/07/16, Cozumel.
Giant Starfish, 28/07/16, El Ceilo Reef, Cozumel.
Giant fibreglass owl, 04/08/16, Hooters Bar, Cozumel. Like father like son - Ben is surrounded by birds!
All in all, a pleasant two weeks. Would I go again? No need to really (although I still need to see a Cozumel Vireo and a Cozumel Thrasher, the latter is presumed extinct). We covered most of the island in our two-week stay and saw a lot of wildlife, some of which I wasn't really expecting. This blog includes just a small fraction of the total number of species photographed, more will appear on the main pages soon.
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