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| Belize Trip Report - the following is a composite of our fantastic 2001 - 2011 trips. While
most countries in the neotropics have much to offer birdwatchers and general
nature enthusiasts, the small Central American country of Belize stands
out as one of the finest destinations for nature-based travel. Belize's
unique combination of low population, friendly people, largely intact landscape, impressive
conservation ethic, wonderful tourism infrastructure, and, above all, great
biological richness make for an unforgettable kaleidoscope of colorful birds,
mammals, butterflies, plants, and more. My trips to Belize have been some of the most enjoyable and naturally action-packed adventures I've experienced. After each year's visit, I'm always left with the same thought - "Belize just keeps getting better." One of the keys, of course, to seeing, enjoying, and learning about the birds and natural history of any locale is having a comfortable and convenient home base, and Belize offers some excellent accommodations. Another key is timing. February is the transition month between Belize's rainy season and the dry season. Temperatures are pleasant, humidity is mild, and wildlife activity is excellent. Our trip begins at the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary where we stay at the perfectly situated Bird's Eye View Lodge. With sunrises and sunsets to die for, a spectacularly rich freshwater lagoon, and the warm hospitality of our hosts, the Crooked Tree area makes for a perfect beginning to the trip. The bird life in the area is amazing, and we've often seen over 100 species there in a day. We routinely find pygmy kingfisher, agami heron, and black-collared hawk along the lagoon and one of its tributaries, Spanish Creek. Red-vented (Yucatan) woodpecker, rufous-breasted spinetail, common tody-flycatcher, laughing falcon, jabiru, snail kite, gray-necked wood rail, and many other species are found around the lodge itself. From Birds
Eye, we head to my single favorite location in Belize, Pook's Hill Lodge, a
300-acre property bordering the 6700-acre Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve. On our way there, we stop at
the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and the wonderful Belize Zoo. "Zoo" is perhaps a misnomer for this
living museum and educational center which blends seamlessly with the
surrounding forest. In addition to seeing and learning about Belizean
wildlife, the zoo is a good spot for common tody flycatcher, rufous-browed
peppershrike, red-capped manakin, blue-gray and yellow-winged tanagers, and
green-backed sparrow. The birding at Pook's Hill is some of the best in the country with astounding numbers and variety. It is not unusual to find all three of Belize's toucans (keel-billed toucan, collared aracari, and emerald toucanet), 5-6 species of parrots, tody motmot, crimson-collared tanager, three species of saltators, white-whiskered puffibrd, and both red-capped and white-collared manakins before breakfast. After breakfast, plenty of birds remain, including white hawk, blue-diademed (crowned) motmot, white-breasted wood-wren, stub-tailed spadebill, royal and ruddy-tailed flycatchers, rufous-tailed jacamar, four species of trogon, rufous mourner, and thrushlike schiffornis. The flowering Erythrina trees are magnets for black-cowled and other orioles, long-billed hermit, and purple-crowned fairy. A resident pair of spectacled owls is often seen either on their day roost or at night by the lodge. Pooks is rich in non-avian wildlife as well. We've seen tamanduas, large coati troops, red brocket deer, collared peccary, and Deppe's and Yucatan squirrels. Tapir and jaguar tracks are not uncommon. At night we've found nine-banded armadillo and common opossum as well as bats, fireflies and interesting arthropods such as tailless whip scorpions and tarantulas. One of the major
highlights at Pook's Hill are the native Hamelia and Calliandra shrubs around
the lodge. The Hamelia's fruit is a
magnet for manakins, black-headed saltators, black-f Ray and Vicki, our hosts at Pook's Hill, have done a superb job of creating a lodge that blends beautifully with the rich forest, is light on the land, has great food, and is imbued with an inspiring conservation ethic. Pook's Hill is always one of the biggest highlights of our trip. From Pook's Hill, we travel southwest into the Mountain Pine Ridge and Five Sisters Lodge. Along the way, we stop at the Green Hills Butterfly Farm, which can be very good for birds, but is, of course, known for the many striking species of butterflies they raise. They now have hummingbird feeders that attract up to seven species, including violet and wedge-tailed sabrewings, white-necked jacobin, and green-breasted mango. The higher elevations of the mountain pine ridge include a large area of pine forest which is home to a suite of species not found in other parts of the country. Five Sisters is located on a bluff above Privasion Creek in a transition zone between the pine forest of the upper plateau and the broadleaf forest dropping down to the river. The pines themselves harbor hepatic tanagers, acorn woodpeckers and Grace's warblers as well as red-lored parrots, green jays, laughing falcons, Montezuma oropendula, and resident greater pewees and plumbeous vireos. The lodge itself is home to yellow-tailed and yellow-backed orioles, yellow-bellied elaenia, rufous-capped warbler, rusty sparrow, yellow-faced grassquit, golden-hooded tanager, black-headed saltator, black-headed siskin, ferruginous pygmy-owl, and azure-crowned hummingbird. A nearby spot that we always check has had day-roosting Stygian owls. From
Five Sisters we travel to Caracol, a remote area of spectacular Mayan ruins
and vast intact forest. We often have the area all to
ourselves for several hours in the morning. The setting at Caracol is
impressive, as is the forest. Fruiting figs can provide feathered
parades with black-faced grosbeak, white-throated robin, toucans, masked tityra,
and emerald toucanet. We've From
Five Sisters, we head north to the New River Lagoon
and the Lamanai
Outpost Lodge where a daily smorgasbord of toucans, brown jays, tityras,
chachalacas, trogons, and
other birds are common. While there we visit the amazing Lamanai ruins and explore the waters by boat at sunset and
after
dark. While
walking the ruin trail and enjoying the many birds, we've seen gray fox, Central
American agouti, white-nosed coati, and collared peccary as well
the strikingly While exploring the Lamanai ruins, we've enjoyed fruiting figs with toucans, robins, manakins, and four species of trogon (black-headed, gartered, slaty-tailed, and collared). Black Howler monkeys, whose calls are a frequent dawn and dusk event, are frequently seen, and basilisk lizards, fairly common in the area, are always a treat as they drop from streamside branches and skitter away across the water's surface. The
night boat trip along the New River Lagoon and its tributaries is
magical. With the jet-black water reflecting the sky's many stars (the
milky way, several red giants, gas clusters, and Jupiter and its moons are us A fitting end to our Lamanai stay is a late afternoon boat ride on the New River lagoon and its beautifully forested tributaries. Provision trees, logwood, mimosas, and various vines line the banks and glow gorgeously in the tropical sunset light. Turtles slip off logs and a variety of birds streak across the open water. White-necked jacobins and green-breasted mangos hawk small insects over mirror-smooth streams, while nesting jabiru storks exchange places for the evening shifts of incubation and foraging. Occasionally sungrebe and Amazon kingfisher are seen in the quiet backwaters. Belize is incomparable for its combination of fine accommodations, outstanding food and service, habitat and species diversity, and rich culture. I have been fortunate to share this magical place and its rich wildlife with many friends and look forward each year to returning. Photos: |
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