Flamingos

Near Celestún on the west coast of the Yucatán peninsula is Ría Celestún a shallow fresh/salt water estuary  which is one of only two breeding grounds for flamingos  in North America.  The other is  Ría Lagartos on the northern part of the peninsula. In December and January thousands of the pink birds come to Celestún to nest, breed and gorge themselves on shrimp, which gives them their beautiful pink color. While an occasional bird can be seen near the shore along the roadway leading into town, most are further up the estuary. We hired a guide and a boat to take us out to the breeding grounds in the early morning. These are some of the birds that we saw.

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