My fiance and I spent 6 days in Cozumel, Mexico in April 2016. It was a fantastic trip with many new life birds for me. Although I studied up on the more common species before I left, we did hire two guides - one for Cozumel and one for the mainland - to show us the best places to see lots of birds. I was happy that I was able to identify most of the birds myself - I find it makes for a much better birding experience not having to rely on a guide to tell you what you are looking at. Although I didn't get photos of every species I saw (I'm looking at you, Cinnamon Hummingbird and Green-backed Sparrow!) I got photos of most. I didn't see as many butterflies, dragonflies, mammals or herps as I was hoping, but I got a few photos of them too. For the stories behind the photos, please check out my blog posts about the trip: https://meadowhawk.wordpress.com/category/mexico/