Birding with "cheat codes"

This past weekend I made my way with my sister Maggie to Xcaret for the day for work. It had been about 10 years since I had last been to the park and despite my initial reservations I quite enjoyed myself. Xcaret is a massive "Eco-park" about 20 minutes south of Playa del Carmen... and while it is by somewhat considered a tourist trap, it is quite a nice place to spend the day... especially if you have kinds. For the most part the animal enclosures are pretty good as far as animal enclosures go. That being said attractions such as swimming with dolphins, rays and sea lions make me quite uncomfortable; but maybe I will make this a topic for a future post. In any case the aviary was quite cool and jam packed with several interesting natives species. I only brought my 18-250 mm lens with me (which was stupid) but still managed to get a few nice shots. I joked with my sister that this was not really birding and was more a kin to "birding with a cheat code unlocked". Perhaps if you are unfamiliar with video game cheat codes this metaphor will not really work, but yeah, this is the way it felt. Still, it was very much a fun day.