Yucatan Bird Festival "Toh"

The XI Yucatán Bird Festival, which will be celebrated from November 25-27, 2011, will be held in Mérida.

XI YUCATAN BIRD FESTIVAL 2011
United for Birds

Bird watching is one of the most complex and interesting practices. There are a few more than 70 million birders in the world; experts from various organizations specializing in the area estimate that figure to be 35% of total international ecotourism.

People who enjoy this segment of nature tourism are familiar with both the value of the natural environment and the service they are providing and it is for this reason that in Yucatan, the government, Civil Associations, Private Sector and Communities have joined forces to provide greater knowledge of the 445 bird species recorded in this state and at the same time educating and training guides from different communities, specializing in areas such as nesting times, courtship, mating, migration, location points, and above all correct identification of birds' characteristics.

According to the profile of birdwatchers, people between 40-60 years are traveling together looking for specialized services, both tour operators and guides that offer natural sites and cultural value. But not only people of this range can participate in the Festival; it is open to the public in general, if you want to learn to observe and identify birds you can do so at the Bird Festival! It is a great opportunity to learn and appreciate the wealth of birdlife which abounds in our state.

Yucatan offers this huge tourism market rich biodiversity, settings of exceptional beauty, ranging from protected areas, coastal dunes, estuaries, lagoons, cenotes and lush vegetation of rural communities.

You can participate in workshops, conferences, contests songs of birds, bird photography and drawing, exhibitions and don't miss the main attraction of the festival, the xoc ch'ich.

What is the xoc ch'ich?

In Mayan it means "count of birds." This name has developed a character of itself as a competitive event in which winning is not as important as being with the other participants. Mayan names of birds are exchanged with names in English, and you will learn the Mayan names for the most common tree species and the most popular birds.

The objective of ch'ich XOC ', is to identify the greatest number of species in a limited time and enjoy the experience with teammates.

CATEGORIES

The marathon has two categories available: xoc ch'ich 'classic and xoc ch'ich' for beginners.

The xoc ch'ich 'classic involves staying in different places in order to take advantage of visiting different habitats and requires more travel. Is characterized by being more stringent in identifying the species (it requires 3 people). This class is recommended for those who have previously participated or have knowledge of birds.

The xoc ch'ich 'beginner.' It is for people who are having their first contact with this type of activity, or who have participated but consider themselves beginners. This category is also a good choice for nature photographers who want more time to photograph birds.

By participating, you will have the opportunity to observe some of the 445 bird species and 14 endemic species recorded in the state of Yucatan. Teams are limited to a total of eight people, accompanied by professional guides. Besides having fun, each team trying to win the trophy (a crafted bird Toh, or motmot), which is what the festival is named for.

The competition ends with the award winning team.

Come join the fun, while discovering great local birds!

PROGRAM 2011:

More info about the festival:

Email: infotoh@pronatura-ppy.org.mx
Tel.: 988-44-36 ext. 106.
Web: www.yucatanbirds.org.mx