Flamingo Reserve
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The Reserva Ecológica de los Petenes (Petenes State Ecological Reserve; the reserve’s little-used official name) is one of just a few breeding areas in the northern hemisphere for the American flamingo; it is home to the species’ largest colony—15,000–20,000 birds can gather here in the November–February mating season.
Hundreds of other birds and waterfowl nest in the wetlands and mangrove forests—about 300 of the 509 identified bird species in the Yucatán Peninsula can be spied here. It’s not unusual to see a blue heron or an anhinga perched on a tree stump with wings outstretched, drying in the sun.
One reason for the diversity of bird life is the diversity of habitat, which includes mangrove forests, coastal dunes, savannas, low deciduous forest, hummocks (small islands of mangroves in the wetlands), seashore, and of course the Celestún estuaries.
© Gary Chandler & Liza Prado from Moon Yucatán Peninsula, 9th edition
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