Grand Belize Feb 16—26, 2006
Posted by Barry Zimmer
Barry Zimmer
Barry Zimmer has been birding since the age of eight. His main areas of expertise lie in North and Central America, but his travels have taken him throughout much of the wo...Related Trips
We arrived at Chan Chich Lodge in the early afternoon, having come north from a very successful couple of days in the Pine Ridge region of Belize. Still fresh in our minds were the images of a close roosting pair of Stygian Owls and two different Orange-breasted Falcons (one at about 50 feet for over ten minutes!), not to mention other goodies such as Tody Motmot, Collared Trogon, six King Vultures bathing at one time, a displaying pair of Gray-headed Kites, perched White Hawk and Great Black-Hawk, comical Barred Antshrikes, and Black-headed Siskin. The owl and the falcon are rarely seen anywhere in their respective ranges, and we had killer looks at both. I had told people, however, that the best part of the trip still lay ahead at Chan Chich.
We settled in to lunch on the outdoor veranda, and had no sooner ordered when a stunning male Red-capped Manakin appeared at the firebush just feet away. He entertained us during the entire meal, gobbling up the small purple berries on the tree and posing for myriad photographs. About 20 Ocellated Turkeys strolled by, including one amazing displaying male. Shortly, a Stripe-throated Hermit buzzed into a Heliconia patch just off the porch, and was followed by a Long-billed Hermit just moments later. A Rufous-tailed Hummingbird chased off a White-bellied Emerald from another flowering plant, and then a troop of Central American spider monkeys came swinging through the edge of the lodge clearing to reach a fruiting ficus?all this before our food arrived! Welcome to Chan Chich Lodge!
Eager to begin birding, we quickly consumed our food with the intention of walking to the suspension bridge about three quarters of a mile away. As we congregated near the bar and enjoyed more views of the spider monkeys and a gorgeous pair of Bat Falcons, a troop of Mexican black howler monkeys suddenly cut loose with their terrifying roars from the upper temple area just above us. Suddenly they were in full view, including a mother with a tiny baby. The unbelievably loud calls reverberated throughout the main plaza area, as we soaked in this fabulous tropical experience. Attempts to begin our walk toward the bridge continued to be sidetracked by a parade of exotic species: several Red-lored Parrots perched conspicuously overhead; a flock of Olive-throated Parakeets buzzed quickly by; strange grunting calls announced the presence of a pair of Masked Tityras; a breeding colony of Montezuma Oropendolas just behind the bar provided more entertainment; a huge Crested Guan sailed into the fruiting tree that harbored the spider monkeys, and was quickly followed by a Keel-billed Toucan; and King Vultures and Lesser Swallow-tailed Swifts soared overhead. One hour passed, and we had not moved from the area where we had started!
Our five days at the lodge produced a plethora of highlights. Some of the more memorable included prolonged views of a perched Bicolored Hawk; an adult Black-collared Hawk hunting along the lakeshore; a pair of Crane Hawks sunning themselves in the early morning light; nice flyovers of both Black and Ornate hawk-eagles; six Great Curassows; unbeatable studies of Yellow-lored Parrot; a perched Northern Potoo at about 15 feet; bathing Purple-crowned Fairies; four species of trogons; great views of Blue-crowned Motmot; a pair of White-necked Puffbirds from as close as ten feet (!); a nice array of impressive woodpeckers including the incomparable Chestnut-colored and striking Pale-billed; an active lek of White-collared Manakins; a lineup of six Fork-tailed and one Scissor-tailed flycatcher within feet of each other; many great views of Black-throated Shrike-Tanagers; excellent views of Rose-throated Tanager and Gray-throated Chat (two short forest specialties); and spectacular Green and Red-legged honeycreepers. For a variety of reasons, this lodge continues to be my favorite place to visit anywhere.
We followed up Chan Chich with an afternoon excursion to Caye Caulker off of Belize City. Here we witnessed an incredible sight of 20 Rufous-necked Wood-Rails (another rarely seen species) at once, as well as regional specialties such as Black Catbird and Yucatan Vireo. Our trip concluded at Crooked Tree Sanctuary where high water levels thwarted our attempts to see some of the rarer targets, but we still enjoyed such goodies as Boat-billed Heron, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, numerous Snail Kites, Limpkin, Rufous-breasted Spinetail, and incredible Yucatan Jays at an ant swarm. In all we totaled 295 species, including an amazing 30 species of raptors (including vultures). Great birds, wonderful Mayan ruins, superb accommodations, and much unspoiled, protected forest combine for an unbeatable experience in Belize.