Our afternoon birding excursion on Sunday, February 27, 2011, was to the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge. The wetlands, mangrove-lined lagoons, and Cuero y Salado River area provide an ideal habitat for birds. The first part of our trip consisted of a train ride through an old plantation. The train, known as a burra by locals, is small in scale and runs on a narrow-gauge track. The train has transported crops and people from the plantation to the coast since the 1890's. It had enough open cars to transport our small group to a visitor center where we boarded motorboats for the second part of our trip through mangrove lined waterways. This closeup photograph shows a Boat-billed Heron with its huge, broad bill. This compact, stocky Neotropical heron is broad and heavy. Sexes are similar in appearance. It was a partly cloudy afternoon with temperatures in the 80's.