Bird Blog

Caye Caulker, Belize - I'm pretty sure that it was my last trip to Belize - in 2005 - that turned me on to the delights of the bird world. That was definitely the first time I heard the term "bird nerd", although I didn't actually apply it to myself until I went to Costa Rica the following year. Full disclosure: I have since been birding in Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago and Cape Cod; I confess to having conversations about my "Top Five Birds".

On this trip to Belize, I have not taken any guided bird walks, which is regrettable: bird guides usually have a keen eye for spotting creatures and a good one can identify the species after the quickest glimpse. We have not done too badly on our own, though. Here are some of my feathered friends that I managed to catch on film:

Linneated woodpecker. I've always had a thing for red heads. This guy was flirting with me at Poustinia Earth Art Park for several minutes before he finally let me get close enough for a photo.

Chacalacas. This pair of these funny birds was living in a tree, just outside the window at our lodge in Cayo. They are named for their song (if you can call it that), which they like to sing as the evening sky grows dark. "Cha-ca-la-ca-la-ca!" Charming though it is, this is not a particularly well-known bird. So you can imagine my surprise when my friend A. recently wrote to me "Give my regards to the chacalacas!" (Somehow, we bird people find each other.)

Blue-crowned mot-mot. This is an old friend of mine from Costa Rica, spectacularly beautiful and not too shy. He stopped by to eat some papaya that they had set out at the lodge.

Roseate Spoonbills. Sittin' in a Tree. N-E-S-T-I-N-G. You know how this story ends. We could see the chicks too, but it was hard to get a good, clear photo as they were hiding amidst the branches. The fuzzy, blackish birds in the background are the young reddish egrets, who were nesting in the same place. Disclaimer: I did not find the roseate spoonbill nesting place on my own! It's a tiny island somewhere west of Ambergris Caye, which we did a quick drive-by on a snorkeling trip.

White morph of the reddish egret. Not the snow egret. It's the reddish egret, just sometimes they come out white. Honestly, I'm not sure how you tell the difference: the color of the legs or the color of the beak or something. The white morphs do not seem to be ostracized, as they were all nesting in the same place. Sorry if you recognize this photo from an earlier blog. But she is so picture-perfect, I couldn't resist posting it again.

Osprey in her nest atop a telephone pole. She clearly did not like us riding our bikes in circles around her pole, as she was making quite a racket. We actually saw two more osprey when we were out kayaking yesterday and they were such posers! Unfortunately, no camera in the kayak, which is probably why they were posing.

Tri-colored heron. Out on our bikes one afternoon, we discovered that the airstrip at the southern end of Caye Caulker is a fantastic place for birding. In addition to the tri-color, we also spotted the great and little blue herons, the yellow-crowned night heron and the green heron, not to mention a killdeer and common black hawk.

Black-neck stilt. These guys were also hanging out in the wetlands along the side of the airstrip. We didn't know what they were, but they were easy to identify thanks to their extremely long, extremely skinny, extremely pink legs. When these birds take off, those pinkies stream behind them like an airplane banner. I'm not sure what the one in front is doing - looks like an arabesque.

Oh wait, that's not a bird

Red-footed boobie bird. Apparently these birds are rare, but you would never know it when you go to Half Moon Caye, a small island southeast of Caye Caulker. Again, I can't take credit for finding the nesting grounds of the red-footed boobie, as we stopped here on a snorkel trip. The place was just swarming with them.

Magnificent frigate bird. These guys are flying all over this island, but they don't often sit still long enough for a photograph. We have been entertaining ourselves by observing them fish. One bird catches something and three others try to steal it right out of his mouth. No catch is safe until it's in the stomach.

Brown pelican. Again, there is no shortage of pelicans in these parts, but how nice of this one to join us to watch the sunset!