2024 Narrative
IN BRIEF: What an incredible run this was! WINGS had its long overdue return to Belize in early spring 2024, and even just a few days into the tour proved why this beautiful gem of a country is such a draw for birders. Belize is the kind of country that is both perfect for one’s first adventure into the neotropics, as well as being fully suited to experienced adventurers looking for rare specialties that have long eluded them. We saw over 349 species of birds, as well as some interesting mammals and herps, in addition to the spectacular scenery Belize has to offer over the course of the tour.
IN DETAIL: We began our adventures in Belize City where we gathered at the airport as everyone’s flights rolled in. Our local guide Eric Tut had a Coaster Bus for us to travel in for the week and after loading up, began to start plucking out birds before we even made it off the airport grounds! Tropical Mockingbirds and Mangrove Swallows were our first ticks of the trip, and were soon after accompanied by the ever elegant Fork-tailed Flycatcher. We then headed over to a nearby commercial shrimp farm where the shallow water basins held a nice selection of shorebirds such as Black-necked Stilt, Western & Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Lesser Yellowlegs. Excellent looks were had at a Clapper Rail there, and afterwards a walk in some coastal Mangrove Swamps produced Bright-rumped Atilla, Pale-vented Pigeon and for a lucky few Black Catbird.
We then moved on to our lodging in the village of Crooked Tree. This island in the confluence of two great river systems is a waterbird haven, and as we pulled in, birds like Northern Jacana, Ringed Kingfisher and Anhingas were all right alongside the causeway drive on to the island. We would stay a couple of nights here at the village and that evening, we watched a parade of egrets flying into roost, along with Black-bellied and Fulvous Whistling Ducks with the occasional Snail Kite hunting above the reeds.
In addition to numerous opportunities to view waterbirds, the other habitat Crooked Tree had to offer was extensive pine savannas, which we started to explore bright and early the next day. Many regional endemics make this habitat home and we tracked most of them down such as Yucatan Jay, Black-throated Bobwhite, Yucatan Woodpecker, Botteri’s Sparrow, and Yellow-headed & Yellow-lored Parrots. In addition to these local specialties, we had some other fantastic birds like flyover Jabiru Storks, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Yellow-backed Oriole, Aplomado Falcon, Barred Antshrike, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, and fantastic looks at Gray-collared Becard. Numerous mixed flocks of boreal migrants were also encountered, familiar faces in a strange land such as Baltimore & Orchard Orioles, Gray Catbirds, Summer Tanager, and warblers like Blue-winged, Hooded, Yellow & Magnolia.
For our second morning in Crooked Tree, we had arranged to take a boat up through the marshy lagoons and into the forest-lined creeks that made up the extensive wetland complex that surrounded Crooked Tree. This was of course a bonanza of wading birds, mostly Snowy and Great Egrets, but more exotic species like Limpkins, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and a roosting flock of Boat-billed Herons were enjoyed. A Ruddy Crake was heard, but would not make an appearance, but the number of Jacanas lining the waterways certainly helped to keep us entertained, including several small juveniles, little balls of fluff walking around on shish-kabob sticks! Also exciting were seeing a few Morelet’s Crocodiles. A real goodie that was seen well by folks from the boat was Mangrove Vireo, a lifer for most people. Also a good get was our only White-necked Puffbird of the trip. And I cannot mention enough what a great raptor show we had, Snail Kites were usually in sight in the lagoon, and flying along overhead were Short-tailed Hawks and Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures. An adult and young Great Black Hawk gave a great performance for the group, and although it didn’t show nearly as cooperatively, a Crane Hawk was a fantastic find and the only one we would see for the tour.
After our fantastic boating excursion, we then had lunch and started off on the long trek to La Milpa. A Mayan heritage site, La Milpa is deep in the Belize jungle in the northwest corner of the country and there is a delightful ecolodge in this large wilderness preserve where we would make our home for the next couple of days. Perhaps my favorite place on the whole tour (rustic getaways full of birds right outside my bedroom door really appeal to me!), we started getting fantastic birds the moment we pulled onto the grounds- iconic species like Great Curassow and the stunning Ocellated Turkey walked around the yard like overgrown chickens, and coming into the feeders outside the dining lodge was a diverse assemblage of Hummingbirds; White-bellied Emerald, White-necked Jacobin, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird & Wedge-tailed Sabrewing! A short walk around the edge of the woods before dinner produced a few good boreal migrants like Kentucky Warbler and Northern Waterthrush as well as our first Yellow-winged Tanagers and a Blue Bunting. Post dinner, as we stumbled off to bed, a Mottled Owl was hooting out from the jungle.
The next morning, we walked the grounds of the ecolodge. There were so many birds, we could barely get much farther before breakfast! Fruiting fig trees were drawing in several species of birds to feast- Red-capped Manakins, Brown Jays, Slaty-tailed Trogons, Montezuma Oropendola, Boat-billed Flycatchers, and many Clay-colored Robins. A nice get was a pair of endemic Yucatan Flycatchers, our only ones for the tour. After a great breakfast, we set out exploring the jungle road up to the Mayan heritage site. This proved to be equally birdy with Double-toothed Kites, White-whiskered Puffbirds, Chestnut-colored Woodpeckers, a Royal Flycatcher, the odd and diminutive Northern Bentbill, Black-faced Grosbeaks, and several species of wren. We would finish the day exploring the Mayan site, a former Mayan city that had been reclaimed by the jungle. Huge mounds covered in vegetation kept the secret city still buried but still one could get a sense of the size and scope of this former city. The birding was slow in the late afternoon, but we did get some fantastic birds like King Vulture, Swallow-tailed Kite, Collared Trogon and our only White-throated Robin and Black-throated Shrike-Tanagers of the tour.
For our second day at La Milpa we got back into the jungle where we encountered an ant swarm with several interesting birds; lots of Red-throated Ant-Tanagers were in attendance, but particularly impressive were the Woodcreepers with numerous Ivory-billed, Ruddy, Tawny-winged and Northern Barred-Woodcreepers all moving along with the ant swarm. Another final highlight of our time at La Milpa was a pair of Gray-Headed Kites, along with our first Northern Jacamars, Black-headed Saltators and Green-backed Sparrows.
We then began a long transit through the jungle to head down to our next lodge, the Crystal Paradise; it was a really hot day, so we didn’t mind spending some time in the cool air conditioning of the bus during the heat of the day. After traveling through the jungle for a few hours, we arrived at the Mennonite community of Spanish Lookout. Here midwestern-like farm fields held Eastern Meadowlarks, Savannah Sparrows and American Kestrels, all very much like a farm village in a state like Wisconsin, until one laid eyes on a magnificent White-tailed Hawk flying in with the Turkey Vultures! We then explored an expansive flooded rice field, the shorebirding here was quite good with a few rarities like American Golden-Plovers and Pectoral Sandpipers along with our first Laughing Falcon.
To kick off the middle third of this adventure, we headed out early to the Black Rock Lodge. Set in a deep canyon along the Macal River, we would witness some amazing birds and spectacular scenery. Even just driving through the pastoral farms and woods on our way to the lodge yielded several great birds like a pair of Russet-naped Wood-Rails in a marshy field catching frogs, and a pair of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls singing in an orchard. And once we hit the primary forest, we were able to get a look at a Black Rocks Lodge itself, which is well situated with a dining patio overlooking the Macal River. Ringed with nectar and fruit feeders, we had a delicious breakfast with delightful dinner companions such as Collared Aracaris, Olive- backed Euphonias, Yellow-winged Tanagers and hummers like Long-billed Hermit and White-necked Jacobins. One of the most exciting birds seen from the dining lodge (albeit distant) was a Black and White Hawk-Eagle incubating a nest up on the forested ridge on the other side of the canyon! And if that wasn’t enough, as we were driving out, we had a second raptor nest with a pair of regal-looking Ornate Hawk-Eagles! Raptors in general were quite outstanding here, with the tall bluffs allowing for Hook-billed Kites and King Vultures to kettle high over the canyon. But the bird of the day was discovered on our way out of Black Rocks when a Pheasant Cuckoo was heard from the road. Some careful peering into the thick jungle eventually revealed this dramatic bird that is typically only heard and never seen, despite its large size and huge fanned tail!
We headed back to Crystal Paradise for a break from the hot afternoon and rested up so we could look for owls and nightjars tonight. Before the sun dipped below the horizon, we hit another marshy rice field area. This was a known wintering spot for the highly localized empid, White-throated Flycatcher, which we did hear and see. A couple of Muscovys were a treat to see flying free in their native range. And our success from earlier in the day continued when we spotted a Striped Cuckoo! And to finish our fantastic day with a bang, the night-birding was fantastic! We heard and saw Yucatan Poorwill and Yucatan Nightjar, a couple Northern Potoos, a few Barn Owls and had great looks at a Striped Owl! Safely viewed from the van was a Fer-de-Lance crossing the road in front of us.
The next morning, we made one last stab to clean up on the Yucatan endemics as after this morning we would be heading further into the south of Belize. It took a little effort, but we did connect with our two main targets: Rose-throated Tanager and Gray-throated Chat, with particularly good looks at the latter! Birding over all was pretty good with Canivet’s Emerald, Gartered Trogon, Barred Antshrike and a White-collared Manakin lek. After breakfast we then went to a butterfly garden that was chockfull of hummingbirds. Among the dozens of White-necked Jacobins and White-bellied Emeralds were goodies like Green-breasted Mango, Violet Sabrewings and Scaly-breasted Hummingbirds furiously fed on the garden flowers and nectar feeders. Also very exciting were some flyover raptors, with nice looks at low-flying White Hawk and Plumbeous Kite.
For the afternoon, we headed to the Mountain Pine Reserve, a mostly higher elevation pine forest with an exciting mix of new species for us to look for. We first headed to the stunning Thousand Foot Falls to look for a very special raptor. The road was a rocky steep drop, a grand adventure to itself! Once we arrived the view of this huge tropical waterfall was simply spectacular! White-collared Swifts dashed about feeding over the mountaintops, and a trio of King Vultures bombed right over our heads! And defying expectations, we found our bird, tucked into the sides of the canyon wall, was an Orange-breasted Falcon, an endangered species that is scattered about the tropics. The bird sat for a long while, and then took off to fly a big loop over the valley before disappearing behind a ridge. In addition to the falcon, we had several interesting species we would not see anywhere else. Birds like Azure-crowned Hummingbird, Grace’s Warbler, Black-headed Siskin and Plumbeous Vireo, the last one likely a bird that is patiently waiting to be split into its own species and regional endemic! As we drove back up the road, we were thrilled to re-find the Orange-breasted Falcon, this time, much closer perched in a pine near the road. A stroll along through the pine forests yielded even more new birds- Rusty Sparrow, Golden-olive Woodpecker (a green colored flicker!) and Golden-hooded Tanager. We then headed down in elevation a little bit to where the forest turned back to broad-leaf and more lush than the pinelands. Here we saw a bird that may have rivaled the Orange-breasted Falcon for bird of the day. Sitting on top of a tall fig in the vale below us we saw a couple of male Lovely Cotinga! A strange (and lovely!) species with an electric blue color with a plum-colored throat and chest, it was one of the most vivid looking birds we saw on this trip.
We arose early the next day and left for the ancient city of Caracol, an archaeological world heritage site that had uncovered the ruins of the Mayan city. It was a long drive in, which meant some fun bird stops along the way- A Great Black Hawk here, a Black-crested Coquette there… Hard to get anywhere sometimes when there is so much good birding to be had around every corner! Caracol itself was a very moving place. The time and energy spent hewing and placing the limestone bricks into these amazing temples and courtyards is hard to conceive and it was a real treat to get a small glimpse into the lives of the people that existed here hundreds of years earlier. A few special birds were here on the grounds of Caracol as well with Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Dot-winged Antbird and Giant Cowbird being some of the most notable.
Today we began our final chapter of our Belizan adventure. We would pull out of the western side of the country and head back towards the coast, but this time in the southeast. After a bit of a drive through emerald-colored hills, we arrived at the Blue Hole National Park. This would kick off a few days of more tropical lowland birding- hot but very productive. You know it’s a good birding stop when it takes you forever to get out of the parking lot! New birds just kept popping up like White-winged Becard, Masked Tityra and Buff-throated Saltator. And once we headed into the jungle for a hike we had some other great birds like Dusky Antbird and an incredible experience with a pair of Great Antshrikes tending a juvenile fresh out of the nest! We hiked to the mouth of a deep cave with flowing water where Ridgway’s Rough-winged Swallow were nesting inside the cave (rumor as of the writing of this trip narrative that this species has been split from Northern Rough-wings and is now full species!).
Later in the heat of the day we stopped at a roadside tamale stand. In addition to a delicious meal, we had a pair of Piratic Flycatchers trying to take over the nests of some Tropical Kingbirds. We finally made it to the coast in the late afternoon and quickly fell right into checking the waterfront for some ocean birds. Magnificent Frigatebirds glided by overhead, and there was a roosting flock of Laughing Gulls, Sandwich and Royal Terns. Resting with them was a good local get in the form of a Franklin’s Gull getting a head start on its northbound migration to the prairies of North America. After dinner we bopped around for a spell in the thickets along the coast. Continuing with the theme of North American migrants, we fell into a particular great patch of warblers- an amazing 14 species in one spot including Worm-eating, Prothonotary, Blue-winged and Black-throated Green among others! Overhead small flocks of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were moving up the coastline, heading to the grasslands of Texas and Kansas. In addition to the migrants, there were a couple of localized species that were new for the trip- Cinnamon Hummingbird and Yucatan Vireo.
We arose early to head into the jungle where we would spend the entire day exploring Mayflower Bocawina National Park, albeit with a nice siesta to get out of the heat of the day, returning in the late afternoon and staying into the evening to try for owls. Bocawina was a fantastic park full of mature primary forest and brimming with birds. We took a long hike through the forest ending up at a gorgeous tropical cascade waterfall. We saw so many new species this morning like Crested Guan, Crowned Woodnymph, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Cinnamon Becard, Rufous Mourner, Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Yellow-billed Cacique and heard a Uniform Crake among many other fantastic sightings. A herd of White-lipped Peccaries feeding on fallen fruit was an exciting find along the trail. When we returned in the late afternoon, some of what we experienced included a pair of Rufous-breasted Spinetails building a nest, had Louisiana Waterthrushes walking around at our feet, and as dark fell, listened to singing Mayan Anthrushes and a Middle American Screech-Owl.
For our final full day of birding, we went to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. Like yesterday we were treated to several new species like Barred Forest-Falcon, Fawn-throated Foliage-gleaner, Chestnut-headed Oropendola and finally were treated to a good look of a Green Shrike-Vireo, a bird we had frequently heard, but still had not laid eyes on. We then took a hike along a river with some nice shrub openings and quiet marshy rescacas. Here we had an amazing experience with an Agami Heron, truly one of the most beautiful of all the waders! A few other new trip birds included Yellow-tailed Oriole, Gray-headed Tanager, Cinnamon-bellied Saltator and Blue Ground-Dove.
The final morning was mostly a time of transit back up to Belize City so folks could start their flights home. But a part of the group did awake early and head back to Bocawina to try to lay eyes on a last couple of birds that had been heard onlys. Much to the delight of these early morning risers there was success with Mayan Antthrush and both Tody and Keel-billed Motmots observed! What a way to end the trip with a bang! And all before breakfast too! The drive back was mostly uneventful (kinda what one wants on the way to the airport!) but the raptors along the highway were pretty good and made for a nice send-off. I feel Belize is particularly good for observing tropical raptors and for this farewell batch of birds we enjoyed Swallow-tailed Kite, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, Short-tail Hawk, Laughing Falcon, Snail Kite and of course, several Roadside Hawks! Till next time Belize!
- Skye Haas
Created: 24 July 2024