Celestún Biosphere Reserve

🇲🇽 Mexico

🐊 Flamingo and Crocodile Estuary

⏱ 1 day 🥾 Easy trails

🌍 #156 Global · 3.7 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ #17 in North America #8 in Wetlands & Mangrove

Yucatán, Mexico 685 spp. recorded

Celestún is an estuary where fresh water meets the Gulf under a roof of mangrove, and the whole visit happens from a boat. Caribbean flamingos feed in the shallows on about half of all trips, and Morelet's crocodiles are seen on nearly eight in ten.

20.623° N 90.416° W

Wildlife

⭐ Iconic Species

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

60–70% · Likely

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

70–80% · Very likely

Belize Crocodile

Crocodylus moreletii

40–50% · Likely

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura similis

50–60% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Common Raccoon

Procyon lotor

70–80% · Very likely

Laughing Gull

Leucophaeus atricilla

60–70% · Likely

Tropical Mockingbird

Mimus gilvus

60–70% · Likely

Double-crested Cormorant

Phalacrocorax auritus

60–70% · Likely

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

60–70% · Likely

Yellow Warbler

Setophaga petechia

50–60% · Likely

Mangrove Vireo

Vireo pallens

50–60% · Likely

Great Egret

Ardea alba

50–60% · Likely

Snowy Egret

Egretta thula

50–60% · Likely

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

50–60% · Likely

Olive-throated Parakeet

Aratinga nana

50–60% · Likely

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

50–60% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Common Raccoon

Procyon lotor

70–80% · Very likely

Greater Sac-winged Bat

Saccopteryx bilineata

10–20% · Possible

White-nosed Coati

Nasua narica

Insufficient data

Gray Fox

Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Insufficient data

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

Insufficient data

Mexican Black Howler Monkey

Alouatta pigra

Insufficient data

Central American Agouti

Dasyprocta punctata

Insufficient data

Central American Spider Monkey

Ateles geoffroyi

Insufficient data

Ocelot

Leopardus pardalis

Insufficient data

Margay

Leopardus wiedii

Insufficient data

Greater Bulldog Bat

Noctilio leporinus

Insufficient data

Mexican Greater Funnel-eared Bat

Natalus mexicanus

Insufficient data

⭐ Iconic Species

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

60–70% · Likely

Magnificent Frigatebird

Fregata magnificens

70–80% · Very likely

📊 Most Spotted

Laughing Gull

Leucophaeus atricilla

60–70% · Likely

Tropical Mockingbird

Mimus gilvus

60–70% · Likely

Double-crested Cormorant

Phalacrocorax auritus

60–70% · Likely

Brown Pelican

Pelecanus occidentalis

60–70% · Likely

Yellow Warbler

Setophaga petechia

50–60% · Likely

Mangrove Vireo

Vireo pallens

50–60% · Likely

Great Egret

Ardea alba

50–60% · Likely

Snowy Egret

Egretta thula

50–60% · Likely

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

50–60% · Likely

Olive-throated Parakeet

Aratinga nana

50–60% · Likely

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

50–60% · Likely

White Ibis

Eudocimus albus

50–60% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

Belize Crocodile

Crocodylus moreletii

40–50% · Likely

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura similis

50–60% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Central American Boa

Boa imperator

20–30% · Possible

Cozumel Spiny Lizard

Sceloporus cozumelae

20–30% · Possible

Common House Gecko

Hemidactylus frenatus

20–30% · Possible

Brown Anole

Anolis sagrei

20–30% · Possible

Yucatán Whiptail

Aspidoscelis angusticeps

10–20% · With luck

Gulf Coast Vine Snake

Oxybelis potosiensis

Insufficient data

Rainforest Cat-eyed Snake

Leptodeira frenata

Insufficient data

Mexican Parrot Snake

Leptophis mexicanus

Insufficient data

Rodriguez's Anole

Anolis rodriguezii

Insufficient data

Yellow-spotted Spiny Lizard

Sceloporus chrysostictus

Insufficient data

Road Guarder

Conophis lineatus

Insufficient data

Speckled Racer

Drymobius margaritiferus

Insufficient data

📊 Most Spotted

Mexican Smilisca

Smilisca baudinii

Insufficient data

Central American Gulf Coast Toad

Incilius valliceps

Insufficient data

Black Jungle-Frog

Leptodactylus melanonotus

Insufficient data

Browns' Frog

Lithobates brownorum

Insufficient data

Sheep Frog

Hypopachus variolosus

Insufficient data

Animal Events

🦩

Flamingo Congregations

OctNovFeb

Thousands of American flamingos gather to feed in the shallow pink-tinged lagoon of the ría.

American Flamingo

Phoenicopterus ruber

60–70% · Likely

🐢

Hawksbill Turtle Nesting

JunJulAug

Hawksbill turtles come ashore at night to nest on the reserve's Gulf beaches.

Hawksbill

Eretmochelys imbricata

Insufficient data

🦆

Waterbird Migration

JanFebMar

White pelicans and blue-winged teal crowd the ría alongside the flamingos during the northern winter.

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

20–30% · Possible

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

20–30% · Possible

Sighting Calendar

Chance of spotting each species, month by month

Species Total

70–80

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

50–60

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

50–60

American Flamingo

80–90

70–80

60–70

30–40

40–50

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

70–80

80–90

80–90

Magnificent Frigatebird

80–90

70–80

70–80

50–60

60–70

80–90

70–80

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

70–80

Belize Crocodile

60–70

50–60

40–50

50–60

40–50

30–40

30–40

10–20

60–70

50–60

40–50

40–50

Black Spiny-tailed Iguana

40–50

50–60

60–70

50–60

50–60

70–80

70–80

40–50

60–70

50–60

20–30

30–40

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

80–90

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

50–60

60–70

70–80

50–60

70–80

60–70

70–80

60–70

60–70

Tropical Mockingbird

70–80

50–60

60–70

60–70

70–80

80–90

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

Double-crested Cormorant

80–90

60–70

70–80

30–40

60–70

70–80

60–70

70–80

60–70

60–70

50–60

60–70

80–90

70–80

70–80

40–50

40–50

60–70

40–50

50–60

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

40–50

40–50

70–80

60–70

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

60–70

50–60

40–50

50–60

40–50

50–60

60–70

70–80

60–70

60–70

70–80

60–70

60–70

40–50

30–40

70–80

60–70

50–60

20–30

30–40

60–70

50–60

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

60–70

50–60

40–50

30–40

30–40

60–70

50–60

70–80

60–70

70–80

50–60

60–70

Great-tailed Grackle

60–70

50–60

40–50

50–60

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

50–60

40–50

50–60

Olive-throated Parakeet

60–70

40–50

50–60

60–70

60–70

70–80

30–40

60–70

70–80

60–70

40–50

20–30

Tropical Kingbird

60–70

40–50

30–40

50–60

50–60

60–70

60–70

50–60

60–70

50–60

50–60

40–50

Animal Events

🦩 Flamingo Congregations

🦆 Waterbird Migration

🐢 Hawksbill Turtle Nesting

Sighting Zones

Warm areas are where all species together are recorded most, so they track where people go as much as where animals are. For one species, see the map on its own page.

0.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Good

🐊 Flamingo and Crocodile Estuary

🦜

Biodiversity

Good

How rich is the wildlife?

4.3 Global avg

4.2 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

Species by taxon

🦅 Birds

456

🐒 Mammals

125

🦎 Reptiles

90

🐸 Amphibians

14

685 Total Species

841 Global average across 280 parks

24 Threatened 75 Endemic

🔭

Sighting

Very good

How likely to see animals?

3.6 Global avg

3.5 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

🎯

Top-12 Avg Probability

62% Global avg

64%

📊

Coverage (202 species at ≥5% of 685 in the inventory)

24% Global avg

29%

🔀

Taxon variety in top 12 (11 bird, 1 mammal)

47% Global avg

20%

🔭

Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)

132 Global avg

137

🌟

Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)

14 Global avg

6

⭐

High-prob species (>40%)

26 Global avg

33

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