Planetario Cha'an Ka'an Hotspot

The Planetario Cha'an Ka'an de Cozumel  is a popular birding site, especially if you are short on time and transportation.  It is easily accessible from foot, by bike, or by taxi, and despite its relatively small size, it boasts a diverse list of bird species (#11 in Cozumel).  If you are new to the island, there's a good chance you can pick up a number of endemics and subspecies here (e.g., Cozumel Vireo, Black Catbird, Cozumel Emerald, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Western Spindalis) as well as other tropical species that frequent the area (e.g., Bananaquit, Yellow-faced Grassquit, White-fronted Parrot, Olive-throated Parakeet, Yucatan Woodpecker, Tropical and Couch's Kingbird, White-crowned Pigeon, Yucatan Vireo).

Additional information on species and sighting frequencies can be found on the eBird Overview, Bar Chart, and Illustrated Checklist pages for this site.

Tips for Birding this Site

Although the area covered by this hotspot is relatively small, this site hosts an impressive diversity (#11 on Cozumel) of bird species.  Its proximity to the international piers makes it ideal especially for those coming off a cruise ship.  Recent changes to traffic patterns near the cruise ship terminal have made this site a bit busier (taxi cabs now queue up along this road while waiting to pick up passengers), but it consistently still yields rich checklists and is a regular stop for many island bird tours.  This site is especially quiet on Sundays (when there are no cruise ships in port) and during the times of cruise ship arrivals and departures.

Vehicle parking is available in the lot to the east of the planetarium.  I like to walk the section of the east west road (Avenida Claudio Canto) on either side of the planetarium, with brief forays into the forest along the trail that surrounds the planetarium property, and into the empty lot just to the east of the planetarium parking lot.  The woods are densely forested, so photographing birds is difficult; for this, I find the planetarium parking lot and the cleared lot to the east to be best.

Biting insects can be annoying at this site, especially during summer months and after rains.