Bald Eagle art
Wonderful birding, stunning historical ruins, and magnificent nature lodges

Trip Information

Date: February 1 - 13, 2010

Duration: 13 days

Leader: Colin Jones

Limit: 12 people

Cost: $4675 USD, $5295 CDN
Single supplement $725 USD, $795 CDN

From: Belize City, Belize

Highlights
• Wonderful, often easy birding, with some highly localized and scarce species numerous and obvious (e.g. Ocellated Turkey)
• Stunning historical ruins
• Magnificent wildlife lodges
• Large areas of unbroken tropical forests and wetlands with a rich and diverse fauna

Featured Birds
• Ocellated Turkey
• Orange-breasted Falcon
• Tody Motmot
• Great Curassow
• Sungrebe
• Jabiru
• American Pygmy Kingfisher
• King Vulture
• Ornate Hawk-Eagle
• Yucatan Nightjar
• Yucatan Parrot

Trip Summary
• Easy to moderate walking
• Warm days, hot on some afternoons, warm nights
• Good to outstanding accommodation
• Moderate amounts of driving, one long day
• Easy neotropical birding, lots of other wildlife
• Two boat rides, three internal flights
• 4-8 participants with one leader, 9 - 12 with two leaders

We plan our tour around four outstanding birding locations: Chan Chich Lodge, Crooked Tree, Hidden Valley and Tikal. Imagine awakening to Ocellated Turkeys gobbling outside your door, Bat Falcons perched on a snag in the lodge grounds, Ornate Hawk-Eagle nesting close by, or a Jaguar ambling across the road. We look for Boat-billed and Agami Herons, Sungrebe and Jabiru and take boat rides for Tikal Ruinspotoos and pauraques as well as Morelet’s Crocodile and Hickatee-a large river turtle. Tikal National Park boasts over 200 species, including woodcreepers, tanagers, cotingas, manakins, toucans, trogons, and much more. Imagine sitting atop a magnificent Mayan pyramid with King Vultures and White Hawks circling close by, Orange-breasted Falcons in sight, and tropical forest canopy stretching as far the eye can see! This tour is what dreams are made of!

See detailed itinerary below

Previous checklists from our Belize tour:

2009 Belize and Tikal tour (174 kb pdf)
2007 Belize and Tikal tour (pdf)
2002 Belize and Tikal tour (pdf)

 

Click here to download a registration form

 

Photos by Cam Gillies


Itinerary

Day 1 - Arrival in Belize City
Our trip begins after supper at our hotel close to the airport. Night near Belize City.

Day 2 – Monkey Bay and travel to Hidden Valley
We first visit the waterfront at Belize City to look for coastal species such as Sandwich and Royal Terns and maybe a booby. Flowering gardens nearby host Cinnamon Hummingbirds and Black-cowled and Hooded Orioles. Then we head inland to the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary for our first introduction to neotropical families such as woodcreepers, honeycreepers, motmots, manakins, maybe a puffbird. Commoner birds include Pale-vented Pigeon, Yellow-tailed Oriole, Golden-fronted Woodpecker and Spot-breasted Wren. Our trip along the road to Mountain Pine Ridge will be punctuated with frequent stops, as this area is excellent for raptors – from White Hawk to Bat Falcon to Black Hawk-eagle. Night at Hidden Valley Lodge.

Days 3 & 4 - Hidden Valley
We explore the pine forests, broadleaf stream valleys and cliffs of this wonderful area. In the pine forests around the lodge we look for mixed flocks containing Grace’s Warbler amongst the northern migrants and, with luck, we may even find a roosting Stygian Owl or Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. The broadleaf gullies are home to Little Hermits and Blue-crowned Motmots, and on past tours we’ve found Tody Motmots and White-throated Spadebills there, and the gardens of the lodge are frequented by Acorn and Golden-olive Woodpeckers, Rusty Sparrows, Azure-crowned Hummingbirds, Black-headed Saltators, and Yellow-tailed and Yellow-backed Orioles. We take excursions to the nearby Thousand Foot Falls (the highest waterfall in Central America), where we search for the rare Orange-breasted Falcon, and to King Vulture Falls, where we will hopefully see the vultures that gave it its name.
An early start the next morning will allow us to reach the forests and ruins at Caracol where we will search in particular for the rare Keel-billed Motmot amongst the ruins. The foothill forests here support a diverse array of birds, from Crested Guans to Black-crested Coquettes, and we should have a great day exploring this beautiful area. Nights at Hidden Valley Lodge.

Day 5 - Travel to Tikal
Before breakfast we investigate once again the areas around the Hidden Valley lodge, looking for mixed species flocks. We then drive to the international border and, after crossing into Guatemala, we will bird some of the roadside marshes and lakes. In the mid- to late afternoon we should arrive at Tikal National Park, an internationally renowned site for both its magnificent Mayan ruins and its incredible wealth of wildlife. We will have some time to do a little birding around the lodge, where we should see Ocellated Turkeys feeding close to our lodge at dusk. Night in Tikal National Park.

Days 6 & 7 - Tikal National Park

There are few more exhilarating experiences than walking among the fabulous Mayan ruins at Tikal and watching a wealth of wildlife, often surprisingly unconcerned about our presence. The view atop Temple VI is amazing as one looks in all directions over the top of unbroken tropical forest and observes several raptors circling over the canopy. The list of potential raptors is so impressive that it even includes Crested Eagle! Ocellated Turkeys and Great Curassows stroll through the clearings. Motmots and puffbirds perch quietly along forested trails and Thrush-like Manakins (Schiffornis) whistle melodiously from the undergrowth. Mixed-species flocks containing an interesting mixture of tanagers (led by Black-throated Shrike-Tanagers), warblers and flycatchers move through the canopy, while woodcreepers, ant-tanagers, and antbirds follow army ant swarms. Our time at Tikal will be full and exciting. Nights in Tikal National Park.

Day 8 - Tikal to Bird’s Eye View Lodge

We do some early morning birding along the old airstrip before taking a bus to Flores where we catch a commercial flight to Belize City. Upon arrival we head for the remarkably productive wildlife areas at Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. En route, we look for Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures among the very similar Turkey Vultures. Black-bellied and Fulvous Whistling-ducks are often found in flocks of Blue-winged Teal which overwinter in the area. Night at Bird’s Eye View Lodge.

Day 9 - Crooked Tree
The Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary is a superb area of marshes, lagoons, and pine and hardwood forests. It has an extensive complex of shallow lagoons streams, rivers and marshes, linked to the Belize River via Black and Mexico Creeks. The aquatic and riverine habitats are a highlight of our visit; we could encounter tiger-herons, Agami and Boat-billed Herons, Snail Kite, Black-collared Hawk, Great and Common Black-Hawks, Muscovy Duck, Sungrebe and American Pygmy Kingfisher. There are nesting Jabirus on Western Lagoon, which we will make a special effort to locate. Our boat trips could turn up potoos and pauraques as well as lots of other interesting wildlife including crocodiles, turtles and fish-eating bats. During our stay, we visit the pine savanna, with its strong Yucatán assortment of birds — Yucatán Woodpecker, Yucatan Parrot, Yucatán Flycatcher and Yucatán Jay. Aplomado Falcons cruise the grasslands, and Grace’s Warblers grace the pines. The short tropical and second-growth forest support Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Squirrel Cuckoos, Gray Hawks, Laughing Falcons, and an array of orioles, saltators, flycatchers and seedeaters. Night at Bird’s Eye View Lodge.

Day 10 - Transfer to Chan Chich
After breakfast we head back to Belize City, will take a short charter flight to Gallon Jug, from where we transfer by van to Chan Chich Lodge, which is in the middle of a 130,000 acre private reserve. We arrive in time for lunch; afterwards we will do some birding around the lodge and along the entrance road. Night in Chan Chich.

Days 11 and 12 - Chan Chich and Surroundings
At Chan Chich (“little bird” in Mayan) we explore over 9 miles of trails and experience the same sights, sounds and smells that Maya enjoyed more than 1200 years ago. Birding starts as soon as one wakes up. Our cabañas are situated in a clearing in the forest, which is used as a thoroughfare for a whole suite of birds, from Ocellated Turkeys, Great Curassows and Crested Guans to parrots, flycatchers and tanagers. Howler and Spider Monkeys regularly parade around the perimeter of the clearing. Lush jungle surrounding the lodge is also home to Brocket Deer and Coatimundi. Trails are wide and well-kept, and traverse marvelous tropical forest with several excavated and unexcavated Mayan ruins. Birding is superb; hummingbirds, toucans and araçaris, flycatchers, cotingas, motmots — Chan Chich is a good spot for finding Tody Motmot, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird and Northern Royal Flycatcher. Raptors could include Black and Ornate Hawk-Eagles, Collared Forest-Falcon, Laughing Falcon, and Black-and-white Owl. Montezuma Oropendolas are a common sight and can often be seen at their three-foot-long nests that hang from the lower canopy. In total, over 300 bird species have been recorded at Chan Chich. And - there is always an outside chance of glimpsing a cat — Jaguarundi, Ocelot, Puma or even Jaguar. Nights at Chan Chich.

Day 13 - Departure

After breakfast, we leave Chan Chich and take a charter flight back to Belize City, arriving around noon at Belize International Airport, where our wonderful tour concludes.


What to Expect

We spend the more pleasant parts of the day, morning and late afternoon, birding and exploring each area we visit. Early afternoons will be for siestas or gentle birding around the lodges. Most meals will be in the lodge restaurants; we have packed lunches on those days when we transfer between sites. We start each day early to take advantage of high bird activity during the first few daylight hours.
Driving will generally be limited to transfers between sites, with some additional driving at Hidden Valley to reach the Mayan ruins at Caracol. There will be opportunities for people to follow their own agenda if they wish. The weather should be warm and pleasant, becoming hot by mid-day. Some rain is to be expected, and a waterproof jacket or umbrella is recommended.

Most trails are easy to moderate. Bring mosquito repellant – mosquitos are not usually a problem but can be a nuisance after rain. Each evening, the list of birds and other wildlife will be reviewed, and plans for the next day discussed.


 

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