Belize & Tikal Trip Report (Mar 3 – 13, 2026)

Fourteen excited birders took part in Eagle-Eye’s last Belize & Tikal adventure of 2026, along with leaders Matthew Fuirst and Oscar Zúñiga Meza. Throughout our eleven days together (March 3 – March 13) we explored amazing and diverse habitats, hiked beautiful mountain trails, wandered through ancient Mayan cities, and shared a wealth of wonderful birds and other wildlife.

March 3-4: Belize City and Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

After a day of long travel to beautiful Belize, our group met for a welcome dinner at the hotel in Belize City. Here, we got an opportunity to get to know each other before adventuring together across Belize and the guides were able to introduce the group to some of the highlights to look forward to throughout the trip. Before breakfast, we took a short walk around the quiet neighbourhood beside the hotel, which provided a relaxing opportunity to become familiar with some of the birds we will see on the trip. The walk started off strong with wonderful close-up looks at a Ruddy Crake just along the side of the road. After continuing on our stroll, we encountered Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Morelet’s Seedeater, Great-tailed Grackle, and Tropical Kingbird just to name a few. We also enjoyed great views of Cinnamon Hummingbird around the flowering bushes – the only ones we would see during the trip.

Before heading out of the city, we stopped at the Belize Welcome Sign to have our only look for seabirds. Despite some scattered showers, we were fortunate enough to get great views at Magnificent Frigatebirds, Brown Pelicans, Laughing Gulls, Sandwich Terns, and a few Double-crested Cormorants.

We then made our way out of Belize City, to the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary for some lovely walks along the dirt road, which was excitably busy with birds that were relishing in insects and water from the recent rainstorm. As we walked the road, we got views of Red-legged Honeycreeper, Scarlet-rumped Tanager, Yellow-winged Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Rufous-breasted Spinetail, Great Antshrike, Lesser Swallow-tailed Swift, and Golden-olive Woodpecker. After a delicious lunch, we did some more birding that yield Vermillion Flycatcher, Melodious Blackbird, Common Tody Flycatcher, and more…we continued on our way to Jade Jungle.

Belize birding group © Matthew Fuirst

March 4-7: Jade Jungle Resort

After leaving Belize City, we settled in at Jade Jungle Resort (formerly Pook’s Hill), our forested home for the next few days. Jade Jungle Resort is located in the foothills of the Maya Mountains and is situated on a 300-acre private reserve and surrounded by lush rainforest – a perfect place to explore and enjoy a diversity of birds and wildlife. On our first morning we went birding around the property and were immediately surrounded by so many amazing birds. We didn’t even make it that far as mixed flocks of songbirds were hopping around the trees by the parking lot and driveway. We observed Common Squirrel Cuckoo, Keel-billed Toucan, Collared Aracari, White-necked Puffbird, Black-faced Grosbreak, Crimson-collared Tanager, and some very hungry Rufous-tailed Hummingbirds, Long-billed Hermits, and White-necked Jacobins surrounding the feeders.

Red-capped Manakin © Grant Davis

After waking up to a cacophony of Black Howler Monkeys and a delicious breakfast, we continued to explore the property of Jade Jungle Resort to see if we could find more exciting birds. We were immediately treated to spectacular views of a roosting Spectacled Owl at the beginning of our work. After soaking in some great looks at the owl, we proceed to the open garden and as we explored the grounds we were welcomed with great views of Gartered Violaceous Trogon, Black-headed Trogon, White Hawk, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, and Black-headed Saltator, just to name a few. Our long walk was rewarded with a pair of Northern Emerald Toucanets at the end of the morning, which gave us lovely views as they perched in the sunlight.

Black-headed Trogon © Grant Davis

Those who came out on a leisurely afternoon walk were rewarded with a flyover Black-and-white Hawk-eagle and great views at a White-winged Becard.

An exciting night walk revealed nocturnal critters such as Red-rumped Tarantula, Northern Cat-eyed Snake, Slender-brown Scorpion, and a singing Common Pauraque.

After a full day of birding at Jade Jungle, we next took a day trip to Mountain Pine Ridge for a change of scenery and habitat. After a leisurely walk to the lookout, we immediately saw some local highlights such as King Vulture, White Hawk, and Plumbeous Kite soaring overhead. The undeniable highlight of our morning was a sighting of a male Lovely Cotinga perched in the treetops, a rare bird that is not often seen on this tour, so much so that it was a lifer for both the local guides! We celebrated our successful morning with a picnic lunch at Rio On Pools, with panoramic views of the waterfalls and some close-up views of some curious Brown Jays. After lunch we visited the Green Hills Butterfly Ranch where we found not only hundreds of colourful butterflies, but also nine species of hummingbirds at their feeders! Highlights included Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Violet Sabrewing, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, White-bellied Emerald, and Green-breasted Mango.

White-necked Jacobin © Grant Davis

In what felt like a blink of an eye, our relaxing and birdy three nights at Jade Jungle Resort had come to an end and it was time to head to Guatemala. After crossing the border into Guatemala, we made a stop at a lakeside restaurant with delicious food and great views of Neotropic Cormorant and Royal Tern. After lunch, we stopped at a small roadside wetland, which was mostly dry, but concentrated with birds, including numerous Wood Stork, Roseate Spoonbill, Northern Jacana, Common Gallinule, Blue-winged Teal, American Coot, along with other waterbirds. We then made our way to Tikal and our home for the next few days.

March 7-10: Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, preserves one of the most important archaeological sites in the Americas — the ancient Mayan city and temples of Tikal. One of the largest cities of the Mayan Classical period, it was inhabited for nearly a millennium until its abandonment ~900AD and had a peak population of nearly 100,000 people.

Tikal National Park © Matthew Fuist

Despite Tikal’s notoriety for ancient history, Tikal National Park also protects 575 square kilometers of pristine rainforest and is one of the best birding destinations in Central America. Our first morning hike into the park produced great looks at prized species such as Crested Guan, Slaty-tailed Trogon, White-whiskered Puffbird, Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, Barred Forest-Falcon, and Sepia-capped Flycatcher. The end of our morning walk was exciting as we came across a massive swarm of Army Ants that drew in some hungry birds such as Gray-throated Chat, Ruddy Woodcreeper, Northern Barred Woodcreeper, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Worm-eating Warbler, and Kentucky Warbler. Our afternoon in the park was a marvelous archaeological tour led by our local guide, Miguel who gave us an incredible historical tour of the vast ruins.

Ruddy Treecreeper © Grant Davis

Double-toothed Kite © Grant Davis

Our second morning walk around the Jungle Lodge in Tikal revealed more regional endemic species, such as the beautifully bizarre Ocellated Turkey. Other highlights on our morning walk included Russet-naped Wood-rail, Indigo Bunting, and Yellow-throated, White-eyed, and Philadelphia Vireo all in the same tree! In the afternoon we returned into the park with one goal…to see one of our most anticipated birds of the trip, the Orange-breasted Falcon. We were incredibly lucky to have views of two falcons sitting atop and foraging around Temple IV – an iconic and memorable moment for the whole group!

Ocellated Turkey © Grant Davis

Our group with Temple IV in background © Matthew Fuirst

In addition to all the amazing birds in Tikal National Park, the Central American Spider Monkeys were by far another star of show. Troupes of this feisty and social species were often spotted swinging through the trees. Other non-avian highlights included Black Howler Monkeys, White-nosed Coati, and Gray Fox.

March 10-13: Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary

After a memorable adventure in Tikal National Park, it was time to return to Belize to our final destination, Birds Eye View Lodge nestled in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. The lodge is located within a lovely Creole community and surrounded by a large lagoon and wetland that is home to an abundance of birdlife. Upon our arrival, there was already plenty of great birding around the lodge grounds as Limpkin, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, and Tricolored Heron foraged along the shoreline and flocks of Mangrove Swallow and Gray-breasted Martin circled around the building.

Our first morning boat tour of the lagoon and creeks were thoroughly enjoyed by all. We spotted numerous flocks of Northern Jacana, Roseate Spoonbill, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, as we boated down the channels. Some notable highlights on the boat tour were Ringed, Belted, Green, and American Pygmy Kingfishers all seen hunting along the water’s edge. We observed the marvelous Black-collared Hawks and Snail Kites perched and flying around the lagoon looking for a good meal. The end of our morning boat tour was rewarded with Agami Heron, Sungrebe, and Boat-billed Heron.

On our second morning in Crooked Tree, we took a walk through the pine savannah, a drier habitat but one home to regional endemic species of northern Central America and into Mexico. Here, our walk started off with an exciting moment as numerous birds were observed mobbing a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, allowing incredible views of this small raptor. As we continued into the walk, we saw other highlights such as Yucatan Jay, Yucatan Woodpecker, Green Jay, White-fronted Parrot, Couch’s Kingbird, and Grace’s Warbler. It was an exciting walk without a single dull moment.

Our last evening concluded with a final afternoon boat tour of the lagoon. With the afternoon sun slowly drifting over the horizon we watched dozens of Neotropic Cormorants return to their rookery and numerous other waterbirds foraging for their dinner. Our boat tour ended with a marvelous moment as we came across a Jabiru foraging in the wetland. Thrilled to see this massive stork species, the group enjoyed long views of the bird as it strolled through the grass, even giving us an iconic flyby moment. As we enjoyed our last views of the Jabiru, and watched Ruddy Crakes near the boat, we eventually started to make our way back to the lodge as the sun set on Crooked Tree.

With that, another fantastic Eagle-Eye Tour had come to a close, and on a remarkably exciting note. Our group had an excellent time, finding 271 species of birds, plenty of other exciting wildlife, great food, and stories of historical ruins along the way. It was a wonderful and fulfilling tour with amazing landscape and a group of great people!

Belize & Tikal eBird list (Mar 3 – 13, 2026)