tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35077789466728885892024-03-14T01:39:23.934-07:00The 501BirderFrancishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08550887749114574811noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3507778946672888589.post-29674039584070075622021-08-17T19:05:00.002-07:002021-08-17T19:06:48.171-07:00How the 2021 eBird taxonomy update will affect your Belize Bird List.<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjJgBPc4-NEWiZ-vTBZDAtIfg2SkFQoZ0UY6z0S8cTcvTQKfdsa8Af953-511anohRVfiYOZvx8qOZgPAdoTGDFD638ns_KXTDEGzWthnN3Bp2tet_8-VZvrspJX8ld4SIb1ENBaJsQ/s2048/143686581.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjJgBPc4-NEWiZ-vTBZDAtIfg2SkFQoZ0UY6z0S8cTcvTQKfdsa8Af953-511anohRVfiYOZvx8qOZgPAdoTGDFD638ns_KXTDEGzWthnN3Bp2tet_8-VZvrspJX8ld4SIb1ENBaJsQ/w426-h284/143686581.jpg" width="426" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">White-browed Gnatcatcher </span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Every year around this time we patiently await the completion of the eBird taxonomic update to match the The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. This year;'s update will cover changes for 2020 and 2021 as there was no updated in 2020.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In this year's update there will be 17 newly described species ( including those from that sweet Rufous Antpitta split) a total of 71 species were split causing 94 species to be gained, and 8 species were lost through lumps. In total we now have 10,824 species world wide. WOW! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Some birders dread when they hear of species being split, which isn't unwarranted as we have to learn the new names, plumage, vocalizations and distributions for these species also field guides that are printed pre-split/lump will have the now archaic names. Personally I enjoy when the supplements are released, it is really interesting to see how these subspecies are elevated to species level due to DNA, geography, plumage, voice etc..</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />These changes don't happen at random, there is serious research going on. As sated by eBird "Many times new species emerge after years of detective work, examining
museum specimens, genetic data, and audio recordings. Other times
well-known subspecies are separated after stronger data showing
physical, genetic, and/or vocal differences become available."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> So how are we affected by this new update? Let's get into that below.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Grass Wren was split from Sedge Wren</b><br /></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvTwN08YKltUWRsuTTGi3pKSAwyjsXhIho7epiMamehqSqc1XqNqB7LbtdMQKWJJBdz8Okn5oh43jS7nmUlt1xQejpESrypceoLCjBhwdXSInI6ahtbDO46Umc34AMPen1KbZRylERuQ/s2048/101729791.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvTwN08YKltUWRsuTTGi3pKSAwyjsXhIho7epiMamehqSqc1XqNqB7LbtdMQKWJJBdz8Okn5oh43jS7nmUlt1xQejpESrypceoLCjBhwdXSInI6ahtbDO46Umc34AMPen1KbZRylERuQ/w386-h257/101729791.jpg" width="386" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Grass Wren - Payne's Creek National Park </span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Sedge Wren and Grass Wren are now two separate species. They were split due to differences in vocalizations, plumage and movement. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Grass Wren is non-migratory and occurs from South America north to Mexico whereas the Sedge Wren is migratory, breeding in the north central United States and wintering in the southern United States, the species do overlap in Veracruz, Mexico. So if your are birding in the Bald Hills of the Mountain Pine Ride or the pine savannas of the Payne's Creek National Park you have good chances to come across the highly vocal but shy Grass Wren.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Grayish Saltator was split into 3 species.</b><br /></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZs3SgG9u1yl4pNzsthI8Q2UXsLGfNtoXMxp_-NtTLB4f6u3SFBMttoTFDiYqEMTSIvVyi_5K0gAR1DmOyCgjrtCRsL0APoCU6qbDgsob6UA8WEHDeE1iaJTrsHgo9f5eQ7JZARtlBIw/s2048/a.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZs3SgG9u1yl4pNzsthI8Q2UXsLGfNtoXMxp_-NtTLB4f6u3SFBMttoTFDiYqEMTSIvVyi_5K0gAR1DmOyCgjrtCRsL0APoCU6qbDgsob6UA8WEHDeE1iaJTrsHgo9f5eQ7JZARtlBIw/w387-h258/a.jpg" width="387" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Cinnamon-bellied Saltator</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The fairly common Grayish Saltator was split into 3 species namely Cinnamon-bellied Saltator, Blue-gray Saltator and Olivaceous Saltator. Here in the Belize the species were have will be called the Cinnamon-bellied Saltator( Not a bad name right? I like it a lot better than Grayish Saltator) the Cinnamon-bellied ranges from northern Mexico to western Costa Rica, the Olivaceous from northern Colombia to Venezuela, Trinidad and the Guianas; and the Blue-gray from eastern Colombia, to Bolivia and Northern Argentina. These were split due to differences in genetics, vocalizations and plumage. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In Belize the Cinnamon-bellied Saltator is widespread found in various habitats from disturbed urban settlements to more mature forests. Be sure to listen for their sweet song. </span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Mayan Antthrush was split from Black-faced Antthrush.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6cXEJN73IzKy6CUwZqKJOCEcScXbaalKvQnnPB9mXYwzpxC41RdOsonq9Y0KJsNmcYEr8Re0l-dRuOk_a4Ewf1PLYvMGp1XIxB-WE94gIbhdU8t49fxX0dOVctxJVERoCWUG6M5pyg/s917/maan.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="917" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6cXEJN73IzKy6CUwZqKJOCEcScXbaalKvQnnPB9mXYwzpxC41RdOsonq9Y0KJsNmcYEr8Re0l-dRuOk_a4Ewf1PLYvMGp1XIxB-WE94gIbhdU8t49fxX0dOVctxJVERoCWUG6M5pyg/w368-h242/maan.png" width="368" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Mayan Antthrush </span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b></b></div><b><br /> </b><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This split was long awaited.The Mayan Antthrush is now here. It is split from the Black-faced Antthrush due to the notable differences in the vocalizations. The Mayan Antthrush, which occurs in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and western Honduras give a songs with multiple notes as heard here <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/343728081?_gl=1*sd16f4*_ga*NzQzMDQwODAzLjE2MTg3NjgzODI.*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTYyOTIzNTgwMi4xNDMuMS4xNjI5MjM5MDM0LjYw#_ga=2.51832042.2124919349.1629046585-743040803.1618768382">Mayan Antthrush</a> in comparison to the Black-faced Antthrush which occurs in eastern Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and northern South America as heard here <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/199984131?__hstc=60209138.5754af5e10ef65a3a0f71dc7657bcbb7.1618768382361.1629235756733.1629237644348.294&__hssc=60209138.4.1629237644348&__hsfp=2185856287" target="_blank">Black-faced Antthrush </a>which has less and more spaced notes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is such a fitting name for this bird. Finally we have a Mayan bird! The Maya people are a huge part of our culture and heritage in Belize and this region. I mean it's about time they got a bird, we already had birds named for the Inca and Aztec now we can proudly add Mayan.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Mayan Antthrush can be found wherever there is good patch of primary or secondary forest, hard to see but very vocal. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>White-browed Gnatcatcher was split from Tropical Gnatcatcher</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfc_iBtIp3AYAJCdJszumIClblyH5NDiKF9hvxokGtY3oJLLAERanRBJfzs8Z2LCeyTek2hlhov4m4W46QPMDJUysUjXuXaR-4LFVSrunxVSNnTjsdCHuocVTnC_xfj13ObYgXnp4Rvw/s2048/155303681.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfc_iBtIp3AYAJCdJszumIClblyH5NDiKF9hvxokGtY3oJLLAERanRBJfzs8Z2LCeyTek2hlhov4m4W46QPMDJUysUjXuXaR-4LFVSrunxVSNnTjsdCHuocVTnC_xfj13ObYgXnp4Rvw/w415-h276/155303681.jpg" width="415" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">White-browed Gnatcatcher</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b></b></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Tropical Gnatcatcher was split into two species. White-browed Gnatcatcher (not to be confused with White-lored Gnatcatcher) is found in southern Mexico, Central America and drier regions to the west of the Andes in South America. The Tropical Gnatcatcher is found only in South America. The split comes on the basis of plumage, genetics and vocalizations of the White-browed Gnatcatcher.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> The White-browed Gnatcatcher is found mainly in broad leaf forests but can be found in pines and pine-oak savannas. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Tawny-throated Leaftosser was split into Middle American Leaftosser and South American Leaftosser</b><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzY2Afa79UcIsixPp4wTAonicABrVspDxmwYCWt5IV0MOJdiKOK8sHrz-WJZpQDA7pjX2i8vuKLWvAnBAOKEvj019EWITuFViXBcXJbrAAx9XL6jb18iSkZ54OLdk8bphrXtA1_asbKw/s727/male.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="727" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzY2Afa79UcIsixPp4wTAonicABrVspDxmwYCWt5IV0MOJdiKOK8sHrz-WJZpQDA7pjX2i8vuKLWvAnBAOKEvj019EWITuFViXBcXJbrAAx9XL6jb18iSkZ54OLdk8bphrXtA1_asbKw/w410-h333/male.png" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Middle American Leaftosser</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Tawny-throated Leaftosser is now split into two species. Here in Belize we will have the Middle American Leaftosser. This species is one of the hardest breeding birds to observe in Belize, it has only been recorded from a few of the highest mountains in the country. An expedition to one of these peaks is need to observe this bird (one day 😔). As the names suggest these two species are split by range, the Middle American is found in the highlands from Mexico south to Panama, the South American does enter into eastern Panama, but from there it ranges southward down to Brazil. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"> The Rufous-capped Warbler was split. </span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMGKVIU6G10nI0lOwZ8GH7E5HHgO8LpZvNk_q43bsI-lVTn0NQFrTOjaCX0SJGg_qMfQBTAvNaOUeMV4YbgQRh_0U8IOLy2QAu_OVh7SBwQ5TmQqZVIrXEpJ93DZbZ-4XEBJw3vCmJw/s995/rcwa.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="995" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMGKVIU6G10nI0lOwZ8GH7E5HHgO8LpZvNk_q43bsI-lVTn0NQFrTOjaCX0SJGg_qMfQBTAvNaOUeMV4YbgQRh_0U8IOLy2QAu_OVh7SBwQ5TmQqZVIrXEpJ93DZbZ-4XEBJw3vCmJw/w497-h298/rcwa.png" width="497" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Rufous-capped Warbler</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Rufous-capped Warbler was split into two species. We here in Belize will stay with name Rufous-capped Warbler its range includes Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. The Chestnut-capped Warbler is found mainly along the pacific coast of Guatemala south to South America so they do overlap at some sites in Guatemala. So for some of us who have birded along the pacific coast of Guatemala we FINALLY got an armchair lifer from this split (about time lol). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This species is quite common in the Mountain Pine Ridge and the pines atop Tiger Fern and Ben's bluff in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This was just a quick and simple blog post to give over the main changes that will affect Belize<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> For more detailed information on these splits you can visit the links below:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://ebird.org/camerica/news/taxonomy-update-in-progress">https://ebird.org/camerica/news/taxonomy-update-in-progress</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://ebird.org/news/2021-ebird-taxonomy-update"> https://ebird.org/news/2021-ebird-taxonomy-update</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Photo credit:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Mayan Antthrush (Aaron Juan)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Middle American Leaftosser ( Giovanni Martinez)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Rufous-capped Warbler ( Zhawn Poot)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></p>Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08550887749114574811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3507778946672888589.post-68147958149057211792018-01-17T07:25:00.001-08:002018-01-23T19:07:06.820-08:00The best Christmas Birdcount in Belize? The Mountain Pine Ridge CBC. Blog #6<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMgkNsPF7On8QJoGK1KOosb53EaGllDn9V9jLpmatR4-24rAwFEVN0FA-d-LWjqK38gR4I1TKlgurA7WFUiyGrBz3mo5GSACl6l_ivSe07kLnKR6uJyHQXuPNQ3d5wqh55kUrFCpfmQ/s1600/IMG_0104-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMgkNsPF7On8QJoGK1KOosb53EaGllDn9V9jLpmatR4-24rAwFEVN0FA-d-LWjqK38gR4I1TKlgurA7WFUiyGrBz3mo5GSACl6l_ivSe07kLnKR6uJyHQXuPNQ3d5wqh55kUrFCpfmQ/s640/IMG_0104-4.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Male Collared Trogon</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">F</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">or birders Christmas time is a very important part of the year in addition to the food, family gatherings and gifts, between December 15th and January 5th birders across the world take part in Christmas birdcounts. A Christmas birdcount is when </span><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">volunteers across the globe go out over a 24-hour period on one calendar day to count birds within their circle. I </span>decided <span style="font-family: inherit;">to participate in the MPR CBC, this would be my second time going to Mountain Pine Ridge. I was stoked!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIgTMQ1jb6tB2e93hrQePgAKQrjIKI9dwUoOquF4D8wo_1OI2g4IN2UQN0NXR8uIMZuw2EhwqopqKsWM0W28BkxXO73ykSBFMoSBk03ngVeEj62Y7jJSRvJqIoaldRPcLKLYAhf3lXg/s1600/25531906_1959718724044949_5383269041552852005_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1311" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIgTMQ1jb6tB2e93hrQePgAKQrjIKI9dwUoOquF4D8wo_1OI2g4IN2UQN0NXR8uIMZuw2EhwqopqKsWM0W28BkxXO73ykSBFMoSBk03ngVeEj62Y7jJSRvJqIoaldRPcLKLYAhf3lXg/s640/25531906_1959718724044949_5383269041552852005_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MPR CBC circle</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So my journey began in Belize City as per usual. I hooked with Ms Luz's team, another team that was doing the MPR circle, so we boarded the van and headed up towards Cayo. We stopped a Hattieville to stock up on rations for the count I got the usual birding staples bread, cheese and canned sausages. By the time we finished shopping and fueling up another member of the team joined Scott Forbes. On the road again we made another stop at Cheers to pick up Chrissy Tupper the last member of the team and she brought along an ice box full of food, perfect right? We arrived at Hode's place a little after 8pm where we met with the c</span>hief Roni to finalize the plan for the next days count. We headed to the Moonracer Farm where we would spend the night, it's just outside the Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve and is a great place to stay especially if you're looking for birds (Mottled Owl, Spectacled Owl, Violet Sabrewing on site) and the owners Marge are Tom Gallagher are some great people. Check it out: <a href="http://www.moonracerfarm.com/index.html" target="_blank">Moonracer farm</a></span><br />
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After having some of the wonderful food that Chrissy brought me and Scott went for a short walk to try and find some owls but we only managed to come across some spiders and a couple bats so we headed back and settled in for bed.<br />
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My alarm went off at 3:30 am, the time had come for the CBC to begin, by 4:00 we were on the road off the the edge of the MPR reserve off the Depair Cairn. The team I was with included Roni, Fidelio and myself small but strong.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bOGMubOZz7ZBDMOaWWSlasoPloxJVD4mjBuw7VwrquwWF5ivL5KSK_94a13damZVBx698m_WexX8ITSU845FNwcEn0qKp_eBO0iEdAEM_BlPEoWrcakQh38nUaXhsIj8fs3lzjxD4g/s1600/FB_IMG_1514075963476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bOGMubOZz7ZBDMOaWWSlasoPloxJVD4mjBuw7VwrquwWF5ivL5KSK_94a13damZVBx698m_WexX8ITSU845FNwcEn0qKp_eBO0iEdAEM_BlPEoWrcakQh38nUaXhsIj8fs3lzjxD4g/s640/FB_IMG_1514075963476.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fidelio, Roni and myself</td></tr>
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We began birding before the sun came up, we managed to pick up a pair of Collared Forest-Falcons, Ruddy and Northern Barred-Woodcreeper all by ear. As the sun began to rise over the valleys of the Pine Ride the light got better and the birds began to come in. Early on we had some pine ridge specialist such as Rusty Sparrow, Rufous-capped Warblers and even some Scarlet Macaws.<br />
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We continued down the road now by foot as road worse, but the worse the road gets the better the birding usually is. We were now at the edge of the reserve, were the Mountain Pine Ridge meets the Chiquibul National Park. Pristine broadleaf forests, the tropics at its best.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgt8DeLbjHgHy6gKf-wSgd1VtnTMWhhPXbmdM7b3uxT_5gzI_NnsEC4zYSh4M3INIcp8m9k8pvxyNmR9-gfzP8JCdU88W3jWLXWGt83aKBHpsUqohNyS2Qg3-oEqzPI6PnvBzuS4SgSA/s1600/IMG_0129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgt8DeLbjHgHy6gKf-wSgd1VtnTMWhhPXbmdM7b3uxT_5gzI_NnsEC4zYSh4M3INIcp8m9k8pvxyNmR9-gfzP8JCdU88W3jWLXWGt83aKBHpsUqohNyS2Qg3-oEqzPI6PnvBzuS4SgSA/s640/IMG_0129.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boundary line </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3d2aaEipghP0z-ubbhaFQpom2HRX2W1DElyLtU6XtsmSnuCRgX4E-Kj2F-DRXXPEv5MJ4OaRgiQmwG3jasLtMkXe6UvDDJSuEKSpqd4WId6B3FNfNR9B6SWGPvhyphenhyphenpMXUwBUEgSKY9dg/s1600/26239881_1887570531262716_9080854922448286231_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3d2aaEipghP0z-ubbhaFQpom2HRX2W1DElyLtU6XtsmSnuCRgX4E-Kj2F-DRXXPEv5MJ4OaRgiQmwG3jasLtMkXe6UvDDJSuEKSpqd4WId6B3FNfNR9B6SWGPvhyphenhyphenpMXUwBUEgSKY9dg/s640/26239881_1887570531262716_9080854922448286231_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birding the edge of the reserve</td></tr>
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The migrant passerines were ever present Magnolia Warbler, Summer Tanagers, Black-throated Green Warbler all wintering in our Belizean forests. Present also were our local species we had Crested Guans, Barred Antshrikes and Dot-winged Antwrens. Our count was going well we were constantly scanning the treetops and understory for any signs of movement and our ears were constantly alerted by the calls of flocks of Brown-hooded Parrots and White-collared Swifts. We then came upon a tree with quite some activity a pair of White-winged Tanagers, some good looks at a Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet while I was checking out the Tyrannulet Roni said "guys I think you just missed an Elegant Euphonia" and Fidelio said " I saw it too" so it was just me who missed the Elegant Euphonia, damn! :( the Elegant Euphonia is one of the hardest breeding birds to get in Belize and it slipped away. Well that's one on the list for next time. I did manage to secure two lifers Orange-billed Sparrow and Golden-Crowned Warbler<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8bkgz9L7VrAfs1keChfHXlvlpTe5b5hggu3lpRFWVMufzosepTfhhRE2nL23T7EeQlXoItWyhwuZfgl_qNMauYyntzQZvUQ-CeMGdtrDWNmV_SOTMtPKLAyTGuUG_DqM1dUxG5uR1Fw/s1600/Rusty+Sparrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8bkgz9L7VrAfs1keChfHXlvlpTe5b5hggu3lpRFWVMufzosepTfhhRE2nL23T7EeQlXoItWyhwuZfgl_qNMauYyntzQZvUQ-CeMGdtrDWNmV_SOTMtPKLAyTGuUG_DqM1dUxG5uR1Fw/s640/Rusty+Sparrow.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rusty Sparrow</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishgfU3fRKepN24oFGGNdDvfgvIBYzV-OjwxOhfDyEUPbqquvIP16xgfieU7sT9WtGfwLK8_l3HLoGBSLT0yFBE9AXKEekhe7qkiQSz27RsC0ADdyDuB1SC52UBTpo228ey1d0Yh37jw/s1600/White-Winged+Tanager.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishgfU3fRKepN24oFGGNdDvfgvIBYzV-OjwxOhfDyEUPbqquvIP16xgfieU7sT9WtGfwLK8_l3HLoGBSLT0yFBE9AXKEekhe7qkiQSz27RsC0ADdyDuB1SC52UBTpo228ey1d0Yh37jw/s640/White-Winged+Tanager.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male White-winged Tanager</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvphyQVVqB0ZQ8t8KQ4F3PNp0O4Aw_EC_G_5eUlbm8WZdrjXcMYGIa9px9eKHvD2MXP-Tol25LFN6hEvo41WB2y8z6nJ5nMNxsVwvLUlvyGHuCkF_0E2LAvqT8lx_OuE4qCMnD2Y-2A/s1600/IMG_0033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvphyQVVqB0ZQ8t8KQ4F3PNp0O4Aw_EC_G_5eUlbm8WZdrjXcMYGIa9px9eKHvD2MXP-Tol25LFN6hEvo41WB2y8z6nJ5nMNxsVwvLUlvyGHuCkF_0E2LAvqT8lx_OuE4qCMnD2Y-2A/s640/IMG_0033.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bad shot of our most beautiful tanager, the Golden-hooded Tanager</td></tr>
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After shedding a tear for the Euphonia and grabbing a bite to eat we continued birding along. Green Shrike-vireos and and a Great Antshrike were almost missed because the Crested Guans were busy calling loudly from the valleys. Moving back up away from the Chiquibul we came across some more activity on the road another lifer for me, a female Green Honey appeared alongside Olive-backed Euphonias a White-bellied Emerald female Wedge-tailed Sabrewing and even a Black-crested Coquette, I would have missed it too if it hadn't been for Fidelio who pointed it out my third lifer for the trip so far. Being the smallest hummingbird in Belize it can easily be looked over.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYJkyeGbbiE79D00OySf6ii5zKD_vd8Ktzh40GGmOsOw3U2Rqlr_ellnC3kEfvNY1O48eKHUCjpAFvfv3h0kLJ7arRcG1k8IuT5GUOKEr0Ia62XF9Cjj9ELfvSber1CXqc4oujtoHDg/s1600/IMG_0039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYJkyeGbbiE79D00OySf6ii5zKD_vd8Ktzh40GGmOsOw3U2Rqlr_ellnC3kEfvNY1O48eKHUCjpAFvfv3h0kLJ7arRcG1k8IuT5GUOKEr0Ia62XF9Cjj9ELfvSber1CXqc4oujtoHDg/s640/IMG_0039.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Olive-backed Euphonia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9DXEMAgFbh368afgwST4TMPd-Vi3V0ESqdYqduakwBzwlF9eUljfqeWz8qoXRcVH86270jHcWF__xjcxFb05O_hXUOjNKDQ-EnM2dkwMDb6iOzwg5Z_jONtTmFkkr-vqRLsYlsqljg/s1600/IMG_0044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9DXEMAgFbh368afgwST4TMPd-Vi3V0ESqdYqduakwBzwlF9eUljfqeWz8qoXRcVH86270jHcWF__xjcxFb05O_hXUOjNKDQ-EnM2dkwMDb6iOzwg5Z_jONtTmFkkr-vqRLsYlsqljg/s640/IMG_0044.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White-bellied Emerald </td></tr>
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If you've been to or just heard of the Mountain Pine Ridge you would know that the roads aren't quite forgiving we had a first hand experinece on the bad roads when the 4WD decided to quit working. We were stuck for a bit but we managed to get out Fidelio and Roni are both MPR specialist so this wasn't their first time getting stuck.<br />
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The MPR is a Forest Reserve so logging is still allowed with the proper permits sad but necessary I guess. We came to a clearing that was made by the logging company where is it was perfect to scan for raptors.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWP6kQZ9oSNGd3wSeVAYGWlXML3YtLueV5uPfK6Qxjn6drKhlVlQVTmfU_tIpbqN5g5y4GY8OeD1yPYZM1AER_y2EbGYyP1j_jORzIg7PRkKzDvRL-6eGe159kx3yyrt1x7JkpQz8wQw/s1600/1223170958_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWP6kQZ9oSNGd3wSeVAYGWlXML3YtLueV5uPfK6Qxjn6drKhlVlQVTmfU_tIpbqN5g5y4GY8OeD1yPYZM1AER_y2EbGYyP1j_jORzIg7PRkKzDvRL-6eGe159kx3yyrt1x7JkpQz8wQw/s640/1223170958_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Logging activity in the MPR</td></tr>
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We were graced by the presence of two beautiful Scarlet Macaws flying overhead, a Double-toothed Kite soaring above alongside a Short-tailed Hawk but the bird that really go us screaming like little Girls was a Black and White Hawk-Eagle right above our heads.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU9U4jmd5JjMz2vMgUKn2fHh6BoCfc8z_-b6T7tj2kpoFRBSFWmm173ShL7VYVWJ-0xFnaeVWxvOkyJxAh_mbLXyWiFPu6mEpw7VQvmXr_vLCwCeFkvH0Gyhdx5YZEWC1XOtS3X81ZPw/s1600/IMG_0053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU9U4jmd5JjMz2vMgUKn2fHh6BoCfc8z_-b6T7tj2kpoFRBSFWmm173ShL7VYVWJ-0xFnaeVWxvOkyJxAh_mbLXyWiFPu6mEpw7VQvmXr_vLCwCeFkvH0Gyhdx5YZEWC1XOtS3X81ZPw/s640/IMG_0053.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scarlet Macaws</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhR98PWYanzhl8B3e_JQq3PThFVPC0jdO_ScPTl4oQdMQTagAisOieFLFi_Bax8Mr_5tV-9O4GGs0ADt6HcvBiVuIuoskhr4KXRUaN-WZ2PEqYUk9pvXhqKD-rMH3WWeKvOQl9LuoqQ/s1600/IMG_0061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhR98PWYanzhl8B3e_JQq3PThFVPC0jdO_ScPTl4oQdMQTagAisOieFLFi_Bax8Mr_5tV-9O4GGs0ADt6HcvBiVuIuoskhr4KXRUaN-WZ2PEqYUk9pvXhqKD-rMH3WWeKvOQl9LuoqQ/s640/IMG_0061.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Short-tailed Hawk</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDpICFTk8QoJQ2zKSB2OuDIUqOkMSmqrOMHeXdzd8vwzy_6YATzIrytBb_bfWhu9tokfDbOdhy5nOTbYL0PXKxS4gLppnsZGmTiCUvZ56HiLcs0l8HPXY-wJjhe7nHmcabSi3Jq-BXg/s1600/IMG_0057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDpICFTk8QoJQ2zKSB2OuDIUqOkMSmqrOMHeXdzd8vwzy_6YATzIrytBb_bfWhu9tokfDbOdhy5nOTbYL0PXKxS4gLppnsZGmTiCUvZ56HiLcs0l8HPXY-wJjhe7nHmcabSi3Jq-BXg/s640/IMG_0057.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black and White Hawk-Eagle</td></tr>
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High fives were given all around,the Black and White Hawk-Eagle is a top tier raptor (lifer for me) and we were all happy that we could've gotten it on our count. Acorn Woodpecker, Ovenbird and Grace's Warbler were all added to out list to get us up to 100 species. We jumped in the pathfinder again a continued on the roads of MPR picking up some good species along the way such as Plumbeous Vireo, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl and Olive-sided Flycatcher, sadly no Greater Pewee.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5NwJkmqN9t31AqihAL5cfkL-Pr4MfgpvlJlwMFskFYdmgdMpt2bt-asgw62XulENj9XOskAgkYsjD-H6UinbCQQCCsGs6V44e11kuh0S-lnzaPgrTI8JeOsl3dapVHu-yTS3-O7rYw/s1600/Olive-Sided+Flycatcher-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5NwJkmqN9t31AqihAL5cfkL-Pr4MfgpvlJlwMFskFYdmgdMpt2bt-asgw62XulENj9XOskAgkYsjD-H6UinbCQQCCsGs6V44e11kuh0S-lnzaPgrTI8JeOsl3dapVHu-yTS3-O7rYw/s640/Olive-Sided+Flycatcher-.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olive-sided Flycatcher</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1IwzM1NhXh3ul6tY7NXOHJ0sC2WTiEodA0I5KDZxI-VzqyjnM6efU8tPNoDuqPGQb74p5TRxmg68aX_JPx3HKmKc5KusCrwqy_Rv_eQY2b8tdpucB1UTJuIvUfnnJc0sgrb8TI3oKQ/s1600/IMG_0070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="938" data-original-width="1405" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1IwzM1NhXh3ul6tY7NXOHJ0sC2WTiEodA0I5KDZxI-VzqyjnM6efU8tPNoDuqPGQb74p5TRxmg68aX_JPx3HKmKc5KusCrwqy_Rv_eQY2b8tdpucB1UTJuIvUfnnJc0sgrb8TI3oKQ/s640/IMG_0070.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rufous-capped Warblers</td></tr>
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At the end of the Bradley Road we stopped for lunch at a vista overlooking one of the Macal River tributaries. From nearby we could hear the light calling of a Collared Trogon, Roni located it and photographed then I went down to do the same. This Trogon stayed right there and allowed me to photograph him a living breathing creature looking at me with the same inquisitive look I was giving him.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdgCvGmIrIjJjZQ-rz2gChOM2AMqAHZ3lslzNFqFX8DXLVDYCU7soSpfig0HlPb9n47Xiw5m9s0BspvohnJ4slvkmhqucXy5o8m5mhB593yq8BWkPFYHbF92CT5TkBorwLegvjw6-lg/s1600/1223171205_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdgCvGmIrIjJjZQ-rz2gChOM2AMqAHZ3lslzNFqFX8DXLVDYCU7soSpfig0HlPb9n47Xiw5m9s0BspvohnJ4slvkmhqucXy5o8m5mhB593yq8BWkPFYHbF92CT5TkBorwLegvjw6-lg/s640/1223171205_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch Lookout</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Collared Trogon</td></tr>
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The next stop was Cooma Cairn a lookout tower and ex British military compound. But we had one little issue it was hot and we driving up some hills and the pathfinder began to heat up so we had to let it cool down a bit perfect excuse for a quite nap. We made it up to Cooma Cairn no issues just the car needed water which we managed to get from some kind gentleman who were working at near the compound.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful view from Cooma Cairn </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fully hydrated </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWEk1wftFZHW_8_crwK9DVB91FqcGMK9F9RHLta6JvNHCw1dzqwtsdET_HA-fH10nNR03akpqoVft77l1ld7BAlZW9Sj09Rj8bd3qU9wQ86iNuSszHWOCOn6zwlBbo-GpiEtpnu6bEg/s1600/1223171250b_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLWEk1wftFZHW_8_crwK9DVB91FqcGMK9F9RHLta6JvNHCw1dzqwtsdET_HA-fH10nNR03akpqoVft77l1ld7BAlZW9Sj09Rj8bd3qU9wQ86iNuSszHWOCOn6zwlBbo-GpiEtpnu6bEg/s640/1223171250b_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many creeks </td></tr>
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While taking in the wonderful views at Cooma Cairn we picked up some more species, Philadelphia Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped Warbler all were added to the list before we got on our way back to meetup with the other teams. We drove back almost the entire 5 miles without the engine on just coasting up and down the hills in the MPR to keep it from overheating. What a way to end the off the birdcount. We had some amazing birds, some of the most beautiful views in Belize and hang out with two of the coolest people I know.<br />
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<br />Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08550887749114574811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3507778946672888589.post-79331091765738321862017-12-07T19:34:00.001-08:002017-12-07T19:34:10.618-08:00Belize's 1st Pelagic Trip, Warbler Mania on Halfmoon Caye Blog #5<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_fSKsn4ms-U0Tlpp8bgl-49Mf2i18tlPIXG55EzHgn9TYVLsELsUT7g89PVld1IayCo-PBaVpDHi8_ZPsWNmNv-5xRFpH6uc_fMPlkMN7r4u_Tru-78ZJwwPiDNl2j6FpXKLQf-7jg/s1600/IMG_1281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_fSKsn4ms-U0Tlpp8bgl-49Mf2i18tlPIXG55EzHgn9TYVLsELsUT7g89PVld1IayCo-PBaVpDHi8_ZPsWNmNv-5xRFpH6uc_fMPlkMN7r4u_Tru-78ZJwwPiDNl2j6FpXKLQf-7jg/s640/IMG_1281.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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So this has been what many Belizean Birders have been waiting for, a Pelagic Birding Trip. For those of who don't know a Pelagic is a trip that goes out in the open ocean look for seabirds (boobies, shearwaters, storm-petrels etc)<br />
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This trip has been in planning from the beginning of the year and thanks to the chief Roni Martinez and the Belize Audubon Society the day has come. We boarded the Booby at the Old Belize Marina to start our journey out to the Lighthouse Reef Atoll we had a pretty solid group of birders Roni Martinez, Fidelio Montes , Isaias Morataya, Diego Cruz, Eduardo Ruano, Marcos Corado, Meshack Eliah, Eric Tut and myself. Before the trip even started Eduardo, Marcos and I managed to stumble upon a Brown Noddy in Belize City.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3a0gHuZPDz1rn9cQsSg-QsZIvJYuk7Q8fw-9g50Gd-zTery19rLOiAULlXNrrSkbTTz485Nlq9F3Eg9uIH0MHYK7rnYvaGI4OE7lZyPfyVNQgVPTnGk9Ra9YI1hFYVKNLO7Z91esENw/s1600/22365163_10209309668729893_1863177168894007122_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3a0gHuZPDz1rn9cQsSg-QsZIvJYuk7Q8fw-9g50Gd-zTery19rLOiAULlXNrrSkbTTz485Nlq9F3Eg9uIH0MHYK7rnYvaGI4OE7lZyPfyVNQgVPTnGk9Ra9YI1hFYVKNLO7Z91esENw/s640/22365163_10209309668729893_1863177168894007122_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Booby </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Noddy </td></tr>
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So we took hour two hour journey and our first stop within the Lighthouse Reef Atoll was at a caye called Northern 2 it was supposed to be some sort of mega resort on the atoll but it never really took off ( thankfully) so now the island is abandoned buildings that have become fishing camps and an abandoned airstrip. A perfect stopover point for migrating birds before long we were picking up migrants such as Palm Warblers, Blue Grosbeak, Dickcissels, Merlin, Peregrine Falcons and my first pair of lifers an Acadian Flycatcher and a Prairie Warbler. Other than birds we stumbled across an Allison's Anole an Anole that's found only on a few Islands in the Caribbean.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGluGqM22JPRyXE7gOUBx0zLsivoSOpYQZhd01XI9xafORtFeYhT-Jab4thPkQ8HJOwBK7-g3uWtuZovKL5-csmZVY7Z7S8fQMToOKpkp_kC7Tb6oIwAf42MGFmE1vYLgghtQzoFOOFg/s1600/IMG_1101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGluGqM22JPRyXE7gOUBx0zLsivoSOpYQZhd01XI9xafORtFeYhT-Jab4thPkQ8HJOwBK7-g3uWtuZovKL5-csmZVY7Z7S8fQMToOKpkp_kC7Tb6oIwAf42MGFmE1vYLgghtQzoFOOFg/s640/IMG_1101.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Allison's Anole </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-UBLgKMBHk5rdNvvOwJvCK1frV-f1nNtm2eWZSwdUgeoEbVDP3UZqdMd7DsMgPIuAfhp7mwB4b9Y4JYX05e_-8opVtJ1RIXuzqZnKLv9tq6_fGPLjrkWidUd9begWl0jrcZ1H4U1hA/s1600/IMG_1141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE-UBLgKMBHk5rdNvvOwJvCK1frV-f1nNtm2eWZSwdUgeoEbVDP3UZqdMd7DsMgPIuAfhp7mwB4b9Y4JYX05e_-8opVtJ1RIXuzqZnKLv9tq6_fGPLjrkWidUd9begWl0jrcZ1H4U1hA/s640/IMG_1141.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Acadian Flycatcher</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Royal Tern </td></tr>
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After birding the island a bit we had lunch which for us consisted mainly of bread, canned sausages and cheese followed by some fresh coconut water (can't beat that haha) and some talk about HAARP, conspiracy theories and evolution. After Northern 2 we headed across to Sandbore Caye where I fell of the pier with my camera and phone luckily a managed to save my camera but my phone was finished. Well I little fall can't stop the birding jam so I took off my shoes and continued birding the island where we had good looks at some nesting Ospreys, a whole drove of Palm Warblers and a Yellow Warbler that was having us thinking Orange-crowned Warbler.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38y8qQBu3O2U4jtMf1nr5WVNxNdRCIglPr54duh39Yg4rAzYj1PbYi0aEXF809sUV7U9o9nXeFouBE2iBx7whVdGlt7gPcf4NfLCLXGVovPKOgPH0xLDYMduTfnO363yb0liBG1FCNQ/s1600/IMG_1148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38y8qQBu3O2U4jtMf1nr5WVNxNdRCIglPr54duh39Yg4rAzYj1PbYi0aEXF809sUV7U9o9nXeFouBE2iBx7whVdGlt7gPcf4NfLCLXGVovPKOgPH0xLDYMduTfnO363yb0liBG1FCNQ/s640/IMG_1148.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Noddy at Sandbore</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Osprey </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palm Warbler </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4vXpVNAmduiSzFWHXT3L_PVHICK_S60IOvG754flBatbdmsfO2-zUjFWXdUAuBZvcSrP0tq35yZpBS2m9VlQq83SX9Fn0IG0hVIVyUO7zAgX_ffJh7idQkSLsCym3-IGB7mj7glFjQ/s1600/IMG_1177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4vXpVNAmduiSzFWHXT3L_PVHICK_S60IOvG754flBatbdmsfO2-zUjFWXdUAuBZvcSrP0tq35yZpBS2m9VlQq83SX9Fn0IG0hVIVyUO7zAgX_ffJh7idQkSLsCym3-IGB7mj7glFjQ/s640/IMG_1177.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Confusing Yellow Warbler </td></tr>
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After Sandbore Caye we headed to Halfmoon Caye. On the way we passed a very sad sight, a ship that had run aground on our beautiful Belizean barrier reef. It's quite an eyesore and a remembrance of how we are slowly destroying mother earth. The good thing was that Brown Pelicans, an Osprey and a Merlin were on the ship.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AVamWw4_QCkXY1_S21Cz4i8wvsbSkh5pddU1NaJn3StVLFroo9ePnpfaOhyphenhyphenxZ5DoL0uHo0QdXNViyxMs4qDuXQj1YUzICVlPTMjkIP9FiskRFkjvf_alqK-P2pJ8e_k0TBCtQ22bJw/s1600/IMG_1203-2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AVamWw4_QCkXY1_S21Cz4i8wvsbSkh5pddU1NaJn3StVLFroo9ePnpfaOhyphenhyphenxZ5DoL0uHo0QdXNViyxMs4qDuXQj1YUzICVlPTMjkIP9FiskRFkjvf_alqK-P2pJ8e_k0TBCtQ22bJw/s640/IMG_1203-2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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We docked at Halfmoon Caye, set up camp and went to do what we do best, birding. We managed to pick up some good birds although we were losing light. We had a Mourning Dove, Male Painted Bunting and some more of the warblers we had earlier in the day. The Sunset at Halfmoon Caye was beautiful, so beautiful that I managed to capture just the end of it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1HJnROagZBtPZcbt31laoR-VNfWuvJREfEOGPa-ryMnwU9_AY0MbgywuucU81f6-qQi4-oV16GfQtH3Yv9nmKNqFEgTKs2iu2d07wV3w3uZAnLpZTFebwloJxckxxWwRWzV9_XWvCQ/s1600/rutu.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1HJnROagZBtPZcbt31laoR-VNfWuvJREfEOGPa-ryMnwU9_AY0MbgywuucU81f6-qQi4-oV16GfQtH3Yv9nmKNqFEgTKs2iu2d07wV3w3uZAnLpZTFebwloJxckxxWwRWzV9_XWvCQ/s640/rutu.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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We settled in to camp had some some great birder talk, made dinner with headlamps as there is no electricity for the campsite, the coffee addicts (I wont call any name) made their coffee and we headed off to our tents and hammocks. Halfmoon Caye gets a lot of wind and that night was no different, we had strong winds blowing throughout the night at one point my tent was beginning to collapse on me so I had to get out and fix it. We survived so it was all good.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBGKWGUwdF3dIJbdHjez_It7tWRNVSCGD3pl9OF3hqnOVFutMrpG9zjpoE5tgZ-AtFwMOGBYbwqGSecdaiPiqkFl2KOJR2O0GUsVsa_DHZzKTbITbLnOoiF3huEWFrQOFWBRLNnviJw/s1600/IMG_1242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBGKWGUwdF3dIJbdHjez_It7tWRNVSCGD3pl9OF3hqnOVFutMrpG9zjpoE5tgZ-AtFwMOGBYbwqGSecdaiPiqkFl2KOJR2O0GUsVsa_DHZzKTbITbLnOoiF3huEWFrQOFWBRLNnviJw/s640/IMG_1242.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wonderful sunrise at Halfmoon Caye<br />
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The day was here PELAGIC! time. But before the pelagic we did an early morning walk on the caye, we picked up some great migratory birds like the very shy Swainson's Warbler, a beautiful male Painted Bunting, Black-throated Green Warblers, Palm Warblers, Ovenbirds, Cape May Warbler and the list could go on, by the end of the checklist we has about 24 species of warbler! But the highlight of the morning birding came about when I was showering, Eduardo uttered two words that made the entire team stop what they were doing.... Townsend's Warbler!!!!! Within 10 seconds the whole team was there, some even in their towels haha. The Townsend's Warbler winters on the Pacific coast of Central America but somehow one wonder out to the most eastern part of Belize, amazing stuff. This was the first record for Townsend's warbler for Belize on eBird and we had photos.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttp7MYSIhiaRf3KSEh8PdXSa8K7zXfFiZGq_t0J5kppPwpc3vrDfzvP-GhiRv5H4hNUtZv3rNDoSJgTm7HiLeULmQ-9194QjY_C8CrtIBm1Xg3rS9z9XJkdMtiaSiK7iO2fu_8ZxOwA/s1600/IMG_1287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttp7MYSIhiaRf3KSEh8PdXSa8K7zXfFiZGq_t0J5kppPwpc3vrDfzvP-GhiRv5H4hNUtZv3rNDoSJgTm7HiLeULmQ-9194QjY_C8CrtIBm1Xg3rS9z9XJkdMtiaSiK7iO2fu_8ZxOwA/s640/IMG_1287.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Townsend's Warbler</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxHlLptIcv3jauTi6444QQZlHwd0Ji3Mc5GIVi9NKsGUn2-nwPMulROfK6OiVeqzbywtpUyZzsQP8iqNXNlLkaSJaZVRrTsmrp47b9Vq7ROM297D8EcNvSYB5kFY58pDVRn9ZDnt0cA/s1600/IMG_1281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxHlLptIcv3jauTi6444QQZlHwd0Ji3Mc5GIVi9NKsGUn2-nwPMulROfK6OiVeqzbywtpUyZzsQP8iqNXNlLkaSJaZVRrTsmrp47b9Vq7ROM297D8EcNvSYB5kFY58pDVRn9ZDnt0cA/s640/IMG_1281.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female Hooded Warbler</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2X4FGv6qAnvAZh8a-5mTyPhRwuv-K7z0PgMEbSRKNM6XBtdJaj-5mEVzB52ahOJAPyplN3-4FD8yMMQR04ePSO_plcU0b-tWr_bkz-S3Tt0p1UMTr6lr9UfUwRoHtM0JPql-uGL-Jw/s1600/IMG_1268-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2X4FGv6qAnvAZh8a-5mTyPhRwuv-K7z0PgMEbSRKNM6XBtdJaj-5mEVzB52ahOJAPyplN3-4FD8yMMQR04ePSO_plcU0b-tWr_bkz-S3Tt0p1UMTr6lr9UfUwRoHtM0JPql-uGL-Jw/s640/IMG_1268-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-throated Green Warbler</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUIBVWJF2OFWoIhP2Gb9ggwXBw11rFZPD-76KcNM8RA-Ix34ok66c5lRNq403gnaKVXeixpSlj3HgQThlGr8CxD5gAEL6ns9tHYKr68kcqeAPQ17yq4U6yGKq6hJ6UvaSJYAfELwdlQ/s1600/IMG_1263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirUIBVWJF2OFWoIhP2Gb9ggwXBw11rFZPD-76KcNM8RA-Ix34ok66c5lRNq403gnaKVXeixpSlj3HgQThlGr8CxD5gAEL6ns9tHYKr68kcqeAPQ17yq4U6yGKq6hJ6UvaSJYAfELwdlQ/s640/IMG_1263.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Painted Bunting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYyUt_iKMHy1nvSFC0YC-NSp9OnTY6ZltO7Co9JjW1n9jM1m6_ehEeEqxTvigzO3DMJw1cdWRqnA22Jda8md3k-p5CvYi6DooSlv8b_4A2G19Lck8pvUPPPvjGU8O1KuriWI05dP9Ng/s1600/IMG_1327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYyUt_iKMHy1nvSFC0YC-NSp9OnTY6ZltO7Co9JjW1n9jM1m6_ehEeEqxTvigzO3DMJw1cdWRqnA22Jda8md3k-p5CvYi6DooSlv8b_4A2G19Lck8pvUPPPvjGU8O1KuriWI05dP9Ng/s640/IMG_1327.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-footed Booby</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwknBl7dVYFxjRSKUQZwCfy-rtpEhJR3xsB2UcmIJJXCgrCBUFloBSWT62RgFfjVbe3OTTDF4dmaj3qqwgbUFtEIybcg3D7fj1b4W7JByqQlUHgMZPH1LydbQvfOO-42oLW2vWEmNMdA/s1600/IMG_1346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwknBl7dVYFxjRSKUQZwCfy-rtpEhJR3xsB2UcmIJJXCgrCBUFloBSWT62RgFfjVbe3OTTDF4dmaj3qqwgbUFtEIybcg3D7fj1b4W7JByqQlUHgMZPH1LydbQvfOO-42oLW2vWEmNMdA/s640/IMG_1346.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magnificent Frigatebird</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQSH2AhoiUyNOrDEn1bI3ExuoYnklxaRCGTkZIkgpJqEaXYBJ63-Ue9fpIddB3JlxHvAWzNKw6hPjUWFxWQ50nTU0atiiQ8U6UBtqoR8pgRs9v1TSIGYmz8zgmSa24gvod_zewNE7zg/s1600/IMG_1247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQSH2AhoiUyNOrDEn1bI3ExuoYnklxaRCGTkZIkgpJqEaXYBJ63-Ue9fpIddB3JlxHvAWzNKw6hPjUWFxWQ50nTU0atiiQ8U6UBtqoR8pgRs9v1TSIGYmz8zgmSa24gvod_zewNE7zg/s640/IMG_1247.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-footed Booby</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFYGT9O-MO4XwAhcflYl6J-wo2bC2YwrmrNzqsXK5pH6TVLd8qj7GSKhd-H_xHS9ohYSoQh_RKwBT3jvLeCaOghHGfjD4lidOYeJRc3FuUiX3owovu43rtxGdsHkrzBpPpYm1N60C_5Q/s1600/IMG_1283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFYGT9O-MO4XwAhcflYl6J-wo2bC2YwrmrNzqsXK5pH6TVLd8qj7GSKhd-H_xHS9ohYSoQh_RKwBT3jvLeCaOghHGfjD4lidOYeJRc3FuUiX3owovu43rtxGdsHkrzBpPpYm1N60C_5Q/s640/IMG_1283.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cape May Warbler</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUECT7XXj0WsX0xQzzav9Ox08DIesKzK_l0LW1fERC2S_UEu5LJmDAF8-wqrYnSFfD6p4rja10bctbzwo9bsS7omQ6nHi2e3GHFa_spaVB12bm3JsjeQd5ClwFB7xgrO44V-sNjE5kg/s1600/IMG_1250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUECT7XXj0WsX0xQzzav9Ox08DIesKzK_l0LW1fERC2S_UEu5LJmDAF8-wqrYnSFfD6p4rja10bctbzwo9bsS7omQ6nHi2e3GHFa_spaVB12bm3JsjeQd5ClwFB7xgrO44V-sNjE5kg/s640/IMG_1250.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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After breakfast and coming down off the high that was caused by the Townsend's Warbler we boarded the Booby once more, our plan was set we were going to head out 5 mile north east of Halfmoon Caye in search of some pelagic birds. The sea was pretty rough but that was expected we were prepared for it well at least some of us haha. We stopped at 2.5 miles out an tossed some bait fish and waited for a bit, all eyes glued to the horizon scanning diligently for any signs of life. The boat tossed and turned in surf but we continued looking, after we had no birds we continued east another 2.5 miles, by that time one of our birders had already lost their breakfast due to sea sickness. We threw out some more bait fish and waited a bit longer but we hadn't come across any pelagic species except 2 Red-footed Boobies so we turned around and headed back to halfmoon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVkGj0kZQx77rKArAskusiAdLQPdBxK10ad18Eb1NuYd_Jp9qo-Y3LUtf0QgROfyw-gisvHn5v9Ea2_2fzVadJbvWwDLm8av-sisPbrgA8AjpWJqoyGN1bvo695WsDBoBouDqpoYzUcw/s1600/IMG_1369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVkGj0kZQx77rKArAskusiAdLQPdBxK10ad18Eb1NuYd_Jp9qo-Y3LUtf0QgROfyw-gisvHn5v9Ea2_2fzVadJbvWwDLm8av-sisPbrgA8AjpWJqoyGN1bvo695WsDBoBouDqpoYzUcw/s640/IMG_1369.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blues of Halfmoon Caye</td></tr>
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Back on land we had another 2 hours to spare before we went back to the mainland, we were at one of the 4 atolls that are in the Western hemisphere so we had to get some snorkeling done. The reef right near the island is pretty good for snorkeling we had Barracudas, puffer fish, parrot fish ( a lifer?) and even the very beautiful Rock Beauty.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pMgB9c18aXJlJyJEW_15Pt9lv05M_AjA3f60VaR5mG_MA6q7oh7ZXXjWh8wjvBoBjjTHJSl-bwA5FSyLYlmj96xYmEQM-oLigPQ-KvneoZGbm8SGtwUsrO3DThiKmpantI6VxcukSw/s1600/22339385_1430503350397322_3205859906670061505_o.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pMgB9c18aXJlJyJEW_15Pt9lv05M_AjA3f60VaR5mG_MA6q7oh7ZXXjWh8wjvBoBjjTHJSl-bwA5FSyLYlmj96xYmEQM-oLigPQ-KvneoZGbm8SGtwUsrO3DThiKmpantI6VxcukSw/s640/22339385_1430503350397322_3205859906670061505_o.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Back to camp we began packing up to leave one of the most beautiful places in the world. While we were packing up we had an unexpected visitor a male Black-throated Blue Warbler, one of the most beautiful species of warbler. He was right in the coconut tree over Eric's hammock, like he just wanted to tell us goodbye.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibATXPGfhYsQ7D21z9FJP10lmQ5WO543vTXGF8sF900tapTo5ghuDFwN1z5AIY-jMMl6wDFDL2aWs30ut_4NfELiVwpl1lXVD-elZ9HJ16jTIbIXLJBAj3o0Eq86R7LH3wMnG8AVNHqw/s1600/IMG_1357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibATXPGfhYsQ7D21z9FJP10lmQ5WO543vTXGF8sF900tapTo5ghuDFwN1z5AIY-jMMl6wDFDL2aWs30ut_4NfELiVwpl1lXVD-elZ9HJ16jTIbIXLJBAj3o0Eq86R7LH3wMnG8AVNHqw/s640/IMG_1357.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-throated Blue Warbler</td></tr>
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That time had come, back to the city, we were back aboard the Booby getting ready to endure the 2 hr boat ride back. We passed by a flock of terns feeding nothing too special but as we passed near where the cruise ships dock this large bird began to fly towards us, the flight seemed almost falcon like it had white under the wings and was quite brown, it flew right by the boat and Roni yelled "jaeger" (a huge mistake because this was one of the target birds for the pelagic trip so all the birders went to one side of the boat and almost toppled it haha) all of us managed to get some brief looks at it, just as fast as it came it disappeared but we were certain it was a Pomarine Jaeger! pelagic species check! and only a mere 10 miles from the mainland imagine that. That was the icing on the cake for this trip.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINFAJfKuocNLQN7n5WiYU2m5Odofspu3TkSloqQk3oBh-YDj5cz0I8wQDIYe1fy3KSFZOBbBuzIjYU41KIUzsaI-BKSGRRGsJdTo9DYs2L2okBkVuqfp_dtFRphmqw8A1NPrUOd7I6g/s1600/22406425_1214340868669188_776821942836792360_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINFAJfKuocNLQN7n5WiYU2m5Odofspu3TkSloqQk3oBh-YDj5cz0I8wQDIYe1fy3KSFZOBbBuzIjYU41KIUzsaI-BKSGRRGsJdTo9DYs2L2okBkVuqfp_dtFRphmqw8A1NPrUOd7I6g/s640/22406425_1214340868669188_776821942836792360_n.jpg" width="524" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crew</td></tr>
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We managed to complete Belize's first pelagic, we had some amazing birds, everyone had a life birds but most of all a group of people who are passoniate about birds came together and did what we love. Birding is more than just about birds but also about the people we meet and bond with I'm thankful we have such a tight birding community in Belize and I'm looking forward to the next pelagic trip.<br />
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eBird Checklists:<br />
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https://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/view/checklist/S39821081<br />
https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39821451<br />
https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39821450<br />
https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39821446<br />
https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39821387<br />
https://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/view/checklist/S39860258<br />
https://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/view/checklist/S39860261<br />
https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39821368<br />
https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39821366<br />
https://ebird.org/ebird/camerica/view/checklist/S39821059<br />
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Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08550887749114574811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3507778946672888589.post-5058717046821410722017-09-22T16:12:00.001-07:002017-09-22T16:12:30.613-07:00Operation Black Phoebe Blog #4<h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZj2LI6ZB3naWfJ11hZOmVb-AwGl-RZaMpBmWi9YnOuQLf81r7KIDUSiYVi19ijvlTV7vX9DmlRFTBGQMy6LivCNchyphenhyphenUVWb8vVkfVeL5kLLyDDTDNZZe-iZioqTsRdKNcUqIo1sfOVLw/s1600/IMAG0193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZj2LI6ZB3naWfJ11hZOmVb-AwGl-RZaMpBmWi9YnOuQLf81r7KIDUSiYVi19ijvlTV7vX9DmlRFTBGQMy6LivCNchyphenhyphenUVWb8vVkfVeL5kLLyDDTDNZZe-iZioqTsRdKNcUqIo1sfOVLw/s640/IMAG0193.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where the Roaring River meets the Belize River </td></tr>
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From I began birding I've always wanted to see a Black Phoebe. Something about this bird had me drawn to it, I mean it's a black flycatcher with a contrasting white belly who loves rapids a strange combination but cool none the less.</div>
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I had some free time so I decided to use it to search for the Phoebe. This first step was to find where this little bird would be so I went to my trusty friend called eBird to look for recent sightings.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSu2S2f7j5s5iIIrtbnmCeT396sgIO2-Q76Q9Hdd_Q9_juNgXsJ5kZQRnmWGAC4QwUefpB2ihZGPAGfvgC7JuBUKXfqln8Rsakijf7Bz1lsNIh_nJbMAHuAFOMrkodp9BzZRCN00ECqQ/s1600/BLPH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSu2S2f7j5s5iIIrtbnmCeT396sgIO2-Q76Q9Hdd_Q9_juNgXsJ5kZQRnmWGAC4QwUefpB2ihZGPAGfvgC7JuBUKXfqln8Rsakijf7Bz1lsNIh_nJbMAHuAFOMrkodp9BzZRCN00ECqQ/s640/BLPH.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">eBird map of Phoebe Sightings </td></tr>
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As seen on the map above the Cayo district is definitely the place to go for Mr Phoebe. The latest sighting at that time was at the Xunantunich ferry so I was planning to go there but then I realized it's like a 3 hr bus ride which wasn't a problem I mean it's a Black Phoebe. To be sure I checked with the chief Roni to see if I had a good chance at Xunantunich. He told me to try Guanacaste National Park instead and if I wasn't successful there to try Ian Anderson's Caves Branch. So I adjusted my plans, I contacted my friend Jose from Guanacaste and we were set to meet up in the morning and start operation Black Phoebe.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2OXKZNu-vEiRvYF_rR0W29R7yBBYUCFbg4z6udePxS2ipSnAAp1YbfUyVkGlp42Oi488ENg0cyZsgAyIl7P6uSnmKldrhzZr9bClqplqc3foKWyrsE4opt7hFQiZ6kvvRwwPgkthhg/s1600/IMAG0192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2OXKZNu-vEiRvYF_rR0W29R7yBBYUCFbg4z6udePxS2ipSnAAp1YbfUyVkGlp42Oi488ENg0cyZsgAyIl7P6uSnmKldrhzZr9bClqplqc3foKWyrsE4opt7hFQiZ6kvvRwwPgkthhg/s640/IMAG0192.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guanacaste National Park managed by the Belize Audubon Society </td></tr>
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I arrived at Guanacaste a little before 8 which is very late for birding. I missed two buses because of my social life the night before but I was here and ready to find this Phoebe. I stopped at the office and chatted with my uncle the park manager. Soon Jose arrived and we were off to look for the Phoebe, this was my first time birding the park but Jose is a ranger there so I was in good hands. </div>
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On the trail we started to hear some birds, Northern Barred Woodcreeper, Hooded Warblr and the usual Spot Breasted Wren. We reached our first stop for the Pheobe, a lookout over the Roaring River, we had looks at Boat-billed Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee and Social flycatcher the 3 derby flycatchers that inhabit Belize but no Phoebe. </div>
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We continued moving along the trail, we had a pair of Pale-billed Woodpeckers, a summer Tanager calling from it's winter home, a pair of Dusky-capped Flycatchers and some Black-headed Saltators calling in the distance.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3dYn_tn3_Kn712AupK0wztYlOt1N70IClGaIloRYZaqdnJk4VyNVrFOMzKQnwuwjFHvFH0HQrKyhEwqQ3aZk04uEzbt45qSDPWNc-Zv_btxvItDdYy5cfwsI9LIp56fIVLo8oR0ybtg/s1600/IMG_0118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3dYn_tn3_Kn712AupK0wztYlOt1N70IClGaIloRYZaqdnJk4VyNVrFOMzKQnwuwjFHvFH0HQrKyhEwqQ3aZk04uEzbt45qSDPWNc-Zv_btxvItDdYy5cfwsI9LIp56fIVLo8oR0ybtg/s640/IMG_0118.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pale-billed Woodpecker </td></tr>
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We reached the next stop for the Phoebe, it was where the Roaring River meets the Belize River, a beautiful piece of the country. Here we had brief looks at both Amazon and Green Kingfisher, some Neotropic Comorants, Spotted Sandpipers ( I swear these are everywhere) and to my surprise a Band-backed Wren a lifer for me came right in front of us I had some good looks at the highly arboreal wren but didn't get a good shot but mien was I happy that I saw this bird he was right alongside the Phoebe on the list of birds I must see. We got the Wren but again to Phoebe.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpUukj4by754lPn3fzUMRrmIEF3qHkbWDxjF7KIqUV6VChLOm4SMZ1fIB2z69d57KJWX3jpzGiMVs4zquMHssfMFYaSE0Dl1rvk9UOQk1U9V3WV3W4yiEuV4FvvVLZ-Nz94muEIAwK1w/s1600/IMAG0194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpUukj4by754lPn3fzUMRrmIEF3qHkbWDxjF7KIqUV6VChLOm4SMZ1fIB2z69d57KJWX3jpzGiMVs4zquMHssfMFYaSE0Dl1rvk9UOQk1U9V3WV3W4yiEuV4FvvVLZ-Nz94muEIAwK1w/s640/IMAG0194.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roaring River </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndNYwQDziu3EKGNXbv9m9JUxUO8e-tIKXvM8JtAZ2_LykygaVvu8FxKmCyrZkqCDoqxSfcAefZnJerIKEdC3x3IDEICkWzxE-lFqqYx1zTK_ZLKGBMuBtWcGHskzUaBaEIk0wEl-Pdg/s1600/IMG_0124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="820" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndNYwQDziu3EKGNXbv9m9JUxUO8e-tIKXvM8JtAZ2_LykygaVvu8FxKmCyrZkqCDoqxSfcAefZnJerIKEdC3x3IDEICkWzxE-lFqqYx1zTK_ZLKGBMuBtWcGHskzUaBaEIk0wEl-Pdg/s640/IMG_0124.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horrible shot of the Band-backed Wren (Lifer!)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7PiHZLgzI4wJEkr0fHMR7Y2GtbTSeEIBqBlxHFlpwCIPtu1r_5zsGsoUwz-aWrR1ILigLpVNip-3_IPTgRVZaHsQDkOetmHyMflOSSGewQoizt6z5pWeGCBYJC5cIIzmkWu3Is1ppA/s1600/IMG_0131-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7PiHZLgzI4wJEkr0fHMR7Y2GtbTSeEIBqBlxHFlpwCIPtu1r_5zsGsoUwz-aWrR1ILigLpVNip-3_IPTgRVZaHsQDkOetmHyMflOSSGewQoizt6z5pWeGCBYJC5cIIzmkWu3Is1ppA/s640/IMG_0131-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Immature Gray Hawk</td></tr>
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We dipped on the Black Phoebe in Guanacaste but I did manage to score the Band-backed Wren. The next stop was at <a href="https://www.cavesbranch.com/" target="_blank">Caves Branch</a> which Roni had arranged for us the day before. We stopped for a quick breakfast in Belmopan where we had a small flock of migrating Eastern Kingbirds. We hit the Hummingbird Highway(the most scenic highway in Belize) on the way to Caves Branch, we were on motor cycle so birds easier to spot. We stopped for a strange look raptor, it had a very long tail almost resembling an accipiter but it turned out to be and immature Gray Hawk, there was also and Ornate Hawk-eagle calling in the area but no looks at him.</div>
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We arrived at at Caves Branch a wonderful lodge nestled in the jungle near the Caves Branch River, perfect Black Phoebe Habitat. We were greeted by a nice lady by the name of Ella and she gave us a short but sweet tour of her botanical garden which was filled with epiphytes a group of plants that I believed is often overlooked. But Ella is very knowledgeable and passionate about them and she's willing to share that knowledge with anyone willing to learn. So I'll have to come back to get my full tour and learn quite a bit more. Pineapples and Orchids are both epiphytes something new I learned that day.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4wBddPPDdpaXFHNA_q-yWrYjhF4w7NgLgGRImTRtZ0CAPFpCh9ruSB2cIjTDlXcYSA7us78EQa5SFlG4WVL-zU9l01wTPzBNFMCL86h5Vjxv67DWyf24cOcMFgzRZqxfWd6yeYaglw/s1600/IMG_0142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4wBddPPDdpaXFHNA_q-yWrYjhF4w7NgLgGRImTRtZ0CAPFpCh9ruSB2cIjTDlXcYSA7us78EQa5SFlG4WVL-zU9l01wTPzBNFMCL86h5Vjxv67DWyf24cOcMFgzRZqxfWd6yeYaglw/s640/IMG_0142.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful, isn't it?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgQokoy8q2Vr73xS-dlTa1v3doBdPMbdDuKs2aoXkjYpGJYNNbkKCrBGQgPyr4_KytnGKgSlVcfU2ec3-YmIlsRcsoNpvDk444uN2WrlCiB3jFUYg9gII4R8dcvCXcQL1ZTmjJypLPg/s1600/IMG_0146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgQokoy8q2Vr73xS-dlTa1v3doBdPMbdDuKs2aoXkjYpGJYNNbkKCrBGQgPyr4_KytnGKgSlVcfU2ec3-YmIlsRcsoNpvDk444uN2WrlCiB3jFUYg9gII4R8dcvCXcQL1ZTmjJypLPg/s640/IMG_0146.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ella showing me and Jose around.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZy8ZvEoetuWVikVPbhiWP1Uv_yKfNnHtCBtLZ7l4-DaYWTTlTyQD2iKFzaME-3tLDkLsjhUUB0kOG8XxAjEMKMk1KjsLhHThayaIrypSzYkqm94LkfBS00cfN9Vng6n76rgj82f5nIQ/s1600/IMG_0147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZy8ZvEoetuWVikVPbhiWP1Uv_yKfNnHtCBtLZ7l4-DaYWTTlTyQD2iKFzaME-3tLDkLsjhUUB0kOG8XxAjEMKMk1KjsLhHThayaIrypSzYkqm94LkfBS00cfN9Vng6n76rgj82f5nIQ/s640/IMG_0147.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ferns!!!</td></tr>
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After the wonderful tour we were given access to the lodge grounds to search for the Phoebe, we headed straight to the river. But right beside the river was a pool and guess who was hanging out there? Yes! the Black Phoebe himself like he was just waiting there for us, it was an epic moment. Two years ago I'd never thought that I'd jump on a bus and on the back of a motorcycle to go find a bird but I did and it was an awesome experience. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1E9hYhKxOUJijmpUWwOMZqNSOzqVugDpIC-8LQAu-RGLLE5fH9cyl7MOBX-qrfwwKJjksDx2pMn6LR7X-vEdyWbtWM9nfLlHd5xD_EQBtnjPY9w_YtQpkm8CLvhWEUlZtj5-oo3x1Q/s1600/IMG_0153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1E9hYhKxOUJijmpUWwOMZqNSOzqVugDpIC-8LQAu-RGLLE5fH9cyl7MOBX-qrfwwKJjksDx2pMn6LR7X-vEdyWbtWM9nfLlHd5xD_EQBtnjPY9w_YtQpkm8CLvhWEUlZtj5-oo3x1Q/s640/IMG_0153.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Phoebe lifer!!!!!!!!!</td></tr>
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I was so excited that a messed up my camera settings and only got a moderately good photo. We stayed around to try and get a couple more shots but nothing great. We picked up Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Northern Waterthrush, Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Night heron and even a Buteogallus soaring high that gave us some ID trouble (write in the comments if you know what it is).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnN4UCInryImgho9ut8Hq9CHEuEUxzs139kSi6jgeXwIELVv6t_ZLOQuCzop890dkaLID2sc2KNOG6jVq9nPnZBgdKARQhxKT5jIu2FoTPi8aXAQlHPFlD5YvXUUOGsTWl_jwguZw92A/s1600/IMG_0170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnN4UCInryImgho9ut8Hq9CHEuEUxzs139kSi6jgeXwIELVv6t_ZLOQuCzop890dkaLID2sc2KNOG6jVq9nPnZBgdKARQhxKT5jIu2FoTPi8aXAQlHPFlD5YvXUUOGsTWl_jwguZw92A/s640/IMG_0170.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow-crowned Night Herons</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buteogallus sp</td></tr>
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After caves branch we headed to St Herman's Blue Hole to try out the Dusky Antbird Trail. We had White-tipped and Gray headed doves, Red-troated Ant Tanagers, White-collared Swifts, a pair of Northern-barred Woodcreepers and a Lesson's Motmot giving a very weird vocalization.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very simple park rules</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-throated Ant Tanager</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">We moved over to the main office of the Blue Hole and did the lowland trail for about 30 minutes. It was pretty hot and bird activity was very low but we did have a good look at a Tawny-winged Woodcreeper and some other critters like a pair of Gray Foxes and a Rainbow Ameiva. After this we decided to call it a day so we headed over to Wingstop in Belmopan to get some drinks and food, this best way to end a good day birding.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The day was a real exceptional one I got to hang out with my good friend Jose, if you're ever going to Guanacaste to look for birds make sure you ask for Jose he knows that place well. Caves Branch has a drove of information for those who are willing to learn, meeting Ella who is as passionate about epiphytes as I am about birds was great, birders should go there and learn about these plants, they go hand in hand in birding. Operation Black Phoebe was successful and the day went 10 times better than I had expected.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I wanna thank Roni Martinez for the info on the Phoebe and arranging for us to visit Caves Branch, Ella Anderson for giving us that wonderful tour and giving us access to Caves Branch ( I will be back).</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">eBird checklists: </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39226518" target="_blank">Guanacaste National Park</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39226648" target="_blank">Ian Anderson's Caves Branch Jungle Lodge</a></div>
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<a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39229541" target="_blank">St. Herman's Blue Hole NP--Dusky Antbird Trail</a></div>
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<a href="http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39298161" target="_blank">St. Herman's Blue Hole NP</a></div>
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Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08550887749114574811noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3507778946672888589.post-81853911755731189832017-08-22T16:36:00.000-07:002017-08-22T16:38:07.023-07:00Birding the unbirded road. Blog #2<div>
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Yes another Crooked Tree blog. Like I said in the previous blog Crooked Tree is a birding hotspot and it's not just the egrets ,ibises, cormorants, storks and herons that call the lagoon and waterways home.We have vireos, warblers, woodpeckers and whole bunch of other "land dwelling" (I don't think land dwelling is a good term to describe birds) birds. <span style="text-align: left;">Since I've begun birding I've failed at trying to class the village of Crooked Tree as one sole habitat. I mean it's primarily cashew trees? with Pine, Oak, Palmetto and even few patches of Broadleaf. This mixture offers some good birding.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crooked Tree</td></tr>
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Crooked Tree has been where I've done a lot my birding in my short time as a birder mainly because I spend a lot of time here, my grandfather was born and raised in Crooked Tree so I'm often visiting. I've been birding the same patches over and over so I decided to try somewhere different, there is this road know by the villagers as the Big Pond Road, before the highway was built it was used to connect the villages of Crooked Tree and Carmelita, now that there's a highway vehicular traffic is almost none existent. Perfect for birding!!!!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beginning of the Big Road<br />
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I tried get out before sunrise but I wasn't successful, I managed to start my journey to the Big Pond Road at 5:30. Me and my cousin hopped on our beach cruisers and headed out, we had to ride about 15 minutes through the village before we reached the road.Yellow-green Vireos, Rufous-browed Peppershikes, Clay-colored Thrushes, Thick-billed Seedfinches and a Bright-rumped Attila all participated in the morning chorus.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birding by beachcruiser</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female Thick-billed Seedfinch</td></tr>
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We continued riding along until the sand got too thick for the bikes. We stashed the bikes in the bushes and continued by foot which in my opinion is the best way to bird. Olive Sparrows,White-bellied Wrens and Northern Cardinals were very much present along this road calling from within the brush and some bravely coming into the open. Pale-vented pigeons were quite common and even a few Barred Antshrikes were present with their awesome calls.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbNoNUyg9s-Un4uo1tYJvObfYqQqQMccxzVG1lZqWn6DteIPITggE13yhUs-XeEPHaapdyroXKXjW8Lq1tE9nGqrpQ8PFyHEmhmEMJPRkaMJvxZDIzsVBxWYKR367T9_Pw2DxWBcg0w/s1600/IMAG0075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAbNoNUyg9s-Un4uo1tYJvObfYqQqQMccxzVG1lZqWn6DteIPITggE13yhUs-XeEPHaapdyroXKXjW8Lq1tE9nGqrpQ8PFyHEmhmEMJPRkaMJvxZDIzsVBxWYKR367T9_Pw2DxWBcg0w/s640/IMAG0075.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sand got too thick for the bikes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not 1 but 3 Olive Sparrows</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very young Vermilion Flycatcher</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The road narrows </td></tr>
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The road began to narrow and the vegetation began to change, less signs of humans? yes more birds? yes!!! We came upon what was supposed to be the big pond, the road's namesake but it was more of a marsh it did give me a good look at low flying Aplomado Falcon. A large Oak tree had a great mixed flock of birds such as White-bellied Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Spot-breasted Wrens, Scrub Euphonias, even a Northern Cardinal and a Buff-bellied Hummingbird were there, that was a treat to see all those birds in that one area.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxWtgQpwyXzudF_ipm2mDc6hMN7dHhhgnjZXbcqfh-oQhrIi6fpda6wjQRnPTqvENFjt28TBjlhHUONANmbem_LSyV8pXK2ODPhqDIA5AIGHYbS92UOVin2Dsb56Xahfs6cz2UGzeKg/s1600/IMG_0584.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxWtgQpwyXzudF_ipm2mDc6hMN7dHhhgnjZXbcqfh-oQhrIi6fpda6wjQRnPTqvENFjt28TBjlhHUONANmbem_LSyV8pXK2ODPhqDIA5AIGHYbS92UOVin2Dsb56Xahfs6cz2UGzeKg/s640/IMG_0584.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvkU9-W4b21uebZ6xN-CdrWl8scUrUPo8RwfEr3d-7XAtwcY8N1RnVEhg2BcWqEO_LN6kpSZ4mgn6aff8ffJK1r7JBS8JmgtOcaA64wzZPjBwUbXbxl2MKcCzmoWp0nLEWBmbCn6-RA/s1600/IMG_0299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvkU9-W4b21uebZ6xN-CdrWl8scUrUPo8RwfEr3d-7XAtwcY8N1RnVEhg2BcWqEO_LN6kpSZ4mgn6aff8ffJK1r7JBS8JmgtOcaA64wzZPjBwUbXbxl2MKcCzmoWp0nLEWBmbCn6-RA/s640/IMG_0299.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A young Roadside Hawk</td></tr>
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We continued on for a bit along the road but I stopped when a heard an almost mournful call, I listened some more just to be sure and it was certainly the call of a Collared Forest Falcon! in my book that a damn good bird for Crooked Tree. By this time the morning sun was starting to "lick" ( as we Belizeans would say) so we started our journey back passing by a young Roadside Hawk calling for its mom, a male Canivet's Emerald who almost hit me in the face (who doesn't like a feisty hummingbird?) , a Laughing Falcon way off in the distance, two species of warblers the migrant Yellow Warbler (Northern) and the local and very much at home in Crooked Tree Grace's Warbler.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp David was found on the way back.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zqKbXNJJBqC5zm31BVxJTPUUo2bFrjZQsE6BW9WFEoGyd_prlPCq5xUe0TRzikuGkGBS2Yr0ZSk0s73EWuEuIMnpDhHcdpCXhI3jsFYWjUm1td3BpuiHVHmUJwCDJON-t7WMBr1r_Q/s1600/IMG_0582.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zqKbXNJJBqC5zm31BVxJTPUUo2bFrjZQsE6BW9WFEoGyd_prlPCq5xUe0TRzikuGkGBS2Yr0ZSk0s73EWuEuIMnpDhHcdpCXhI3jsFYWjUm1td3BpuiHVHmUJwCDJON-t7WMBr1r_Q/s640/IMG_0582.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This area was very good for birding it had some very intact pine-oak forest and a nice mix of species I managed to get 70 species but I did miss some very easy birds to get in Crooked Tree like the Yucatan Jay (how did I miss this jay????) and Yucatan Flycatcher.<br />
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I fear that it may not continue to be that way for years to come because of the fact that I found some property markers and large areas were already fenced off, I could also hear the trucks passing on the Phillip Goldson Highway. I hope when I come back to bird this area it isn't cleared out and made into a cattle pasture ( this seems to be the trend in Crooked Tree).<br />
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I believe that the village of Crooked Tree can benefit a lot from bird tourism. But currently from what I can see the village is against conservation which isn't good for the birds. But I believe there is hope that Crooked Tree will change and become a great example of how beneficial a community within a Wildlife Sanctuary can be rather than how detrimental it is.<br />
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eBird Checklist:<br />
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<a href="https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38634548" target="_blank">https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38634548</a></div>
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Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08550887749114574811noreply@blogger.com2Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize17.7345155 -88.537195817.6740255 -88.6178768 17.795005500000002 -88.456514800000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3507778946672888589.post-6863759141663469012017-08-14T19:21:00.000-07:002017-08-16T22:39:21.471-07:00Introduction, Birding Spanish Creek Blog #1<br />
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My name is <a href="https://ebird.org/ebird/profile/NTYzODEx" target="_blank">Francis Canto Jr</a>, I'm a birder 23 years old from the small Central American country of Belize hence the name of the blog, 501 is the phone code of Belize. I started seriously birding in late 2015 after an Urban Birdwatch organized by the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/belizeaudubon/" target="_blank">Belize Audubon Society.</a> After that I fell in love with birding and even more with photographing birds, since then I've birded in all of the districts in Belize, seen 415 species and photographed 325 of those species. I decided to start this blog to share my various birding adventures with other while showing them the importance of protecting the vulnerable environment we currently live in.<br />
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<b>Crooked Tree: </b><br />
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The Crooked Wildlife Sanctuary is located approx 33 miles north of Belize City. It is (or was) co-managed by the Belize Audubon Society, in 1998 it was declared as a Ramsar site based on its wetlands. Crooked is one of the best birding sites in Belize, lagoons, creeks and surrounding habitats offer a wide variety of bird life from the iconic Jabiru to the small inconspicuous White-bellied Wren.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Lagoon, Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary</td></tr>
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<b>Spanish Creek Sunday July 30th :</b></h4>
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Mr Roni Martinez, known as the chief in Belizean birding circles organized a birding trip to Spanish Creek, it is located south of the Crooked Tree Village and is a creek connecting the Crooked Tree lagoon to the villages of Lemonal and Rancho Dolores.</div>
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The trip started off at the <a href="http://www.birdseyeviewbelize.com/" target="_blank">Bird's Eye View Lodge</a> where I met up with the group : Roni, Isaias, Melvin, Meshack, Ernest and Lenny the boat captain from the the lodge, we boarded the boat and headed south to Spanish Creek.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBAtr6L9ncMyGPD_9mCOQqOPbILnSNiSbNQM7BAtijYml8dMWDuHH3sXVsQGDdn7zNzydtDJOreJ7QvDJaKKDvlwHE_LeNpdZmlDMSKantqTKdNe1NmoYpfWg8_2sa-MVIW-sXA8pUA/s1600/IMAG0033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijBAtr6L9ncMyGPD_9mCOQqOPbILnSNiSbNQM7BAtijYml8dMWDuHH3sXVsQGDdn7zNzydtDJOreJ7QvDJaKKDvlwHE_LeNpdZmlDMSKantqTKdNe1NmoYpfWg8_2sa-MVIW-sXA8pUA/s640/IMAG0033.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the Southern Lagoon.</td></tr>
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Before long we started to come across the regulars that are found around the lagoon, Limpkins, Snail Kites, Belted Kingfishers, Neotropic Cormorants we stopped to check out at Bare-throated Tiger Heron when the group noticed a small, brilliantly yellow passerine hopping about in one of the logwood plants along the lagoon, it was a Prothonotary Warbler one of my target birds for the this trip. But we didn't have only one Prothonotary Warbler we had a total of four in that area, they are some of the first migrants to arrive back in Belize, peak migration is right around the corner.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Limpkin<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The brilliantly colored Prothonotary Warbler<br />
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We continue our southern journey along the lagoon , we passed what use to be called the "Crake Island" because it was almost guaranteed that you could find the Yellow-breasted Crake, one of the hardest birds to find in Belize, sadly today there was no crake, but we were greeted by a large rufous raptor possibly the most beautiful raptor in Belize, a young Black Collared Hawk. A fish eating raptor, the Black-collared Hawk is easily found in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, I would go out on a limb and say that Crooked Tree has the largest population of Black-collared hawks in Belize.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9IXEYwXkxV5_s3C-JjLDVqYwgaBYCnHOOoOfhDgo2x6rtAgDzcmtzmLbRwXdmYhcM0WiBgAcWob17knqGmC4wcfy3gW_3KEHuOHvCVfjAOQq9kvVyImPHWTE7rxvqAtKEjcKhUUErIg/s1600/IMG_0055.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think he knows he's beautiful, Black-collared Hawk</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9IXEYwXkxV5_s3C-JjLDVqYwgaBYCnHOOoOfhDgo2x6rtAgDzcmtzmLbRwXdmYhcM0WiBgAcWob17knqGmC4wcfy3gW_3KEHuOHvCVfjAOQq9kvVyImPHWTE7rxvqAtKEjcKhUUErIg/s640/IMG_0055.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful Black-collared Hawk</td></tr>
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As we entered the Spanish Creek we scanned the banks for the elusive Agami Heron and the lily pads and floating vegetation for any signs of the crake no luck for either. But Spanish Creek did not disappoint we came across a nest building pair of Green Kingfishers, a small roosting colony of Boat-billed Herons, a molting, migrant Osprey ( Pandion haliaetus carolinensis) who probably decided to spend the winter in Crooked Tree ( I think he made the right choice). But it was not just birds we came across we found some huge Morelet's Crocodiles and one of their nests, a troop of Black Howler Monkeys and even a Mexican Tree Porcupine.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spanish Creek</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the nest building duo of Green Kingfishers<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another very photogenic Black-collared Hawk</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mexican Tree Porcupine wanted nothing to do with us. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91OPE7A84n9K_sAuB_N3-vDU8UWD44WHJV-mxh_oNg2_RL3WFJDUHpAui-fV4TghG3NUS3Zx-4mt0Vv8VWj2pW2PtUriI6yCYN6LpSQa45fGAo1jVjANuXCub9ujPXbpGELtJyaYwRQ/s1600/IMG_0127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91OPE7A84n9K_sAuB_N3-vDU8UWD44WHJV-mxh_oNg2_RL3WFJDUHpAui-fV4TghG3NUS3Zx-4mt0Vv8VWj2pW2PtUriI6yCYN6LpSQa45fGAo1jVjANuXCub9ujPXbpGELtJyaYwRQ/s640/IMG_0127.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Osprey soaring above Spanish Creek</td></tr>
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Heading back out from Spanish Creek we scanned some ideal habitat for the Yellow Breasted Crake, but again no luck. We did manage to find the extremely shy Sungrebe which gave a us a hard time, we were in and out of the vegetation trying to get a good look, we all had some good looks at it, I mean it's a Sungrebe it's worth the extra work to get a good look, no photos but there is always next time. A juvenile Great-black Hawk greeted us a we exited the creek back into the lagoon, that's definitely a sign that I should return as quick as possible. Spanish Creek is a beautiful and unique place, it's great for birders or anyone who just enjoys nature, it's diverse wildlife and scenic surroundings can definitely generate some income for the villagers of Crooked Tree in terms of tourism. They could offer boat or canoe tours and show off this beautiful place while also conserving it one of the reasons is that it's practically pristine, I hope we can keep it that way . We came across a couple fishing camps with some garbage but nothing too serious.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR7s7ElNhAEi62aAQjmnvdl_C7r3DmM-UrprJoN_kjK9z4AvTAkR3SyKv35tgRcquWAOFOWpw_fID_HzGXafvbtNhfLdOTRgOtM25NU-MoX1KEK0hvlnxuzb8eB62HFFUABFDwsddE_Q/s1600/IMG_0077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR7s7ElNhAEi62aAQjmnvdl_C7r3DmM-UrprJoN_kjK9z4AvTAkR3SyKv35tgRcquWAOFOWpw_fID_HzGXafvbtNhfLdOTRgOtM25NU-MoX1KEK0hvlnxuzb8eB62HFFUABFDwsddE_Q/s640/IMG_0077.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morelet's Crocodile's nest containing 30+ eggs<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKNTZwNWEFjCaYTwyDZJS17AnrBKkKWMD9VuremMlcSCiuPktCxzoxUySMMDJ-IoEzACc3tjImavATCi1gaBm9ZtJqg09sG0Ub8LJLRrnQgCLVDz3rPWB-YwnER_scF7KM4oxlEbe1A/s1600/IMG_0115-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLKNTZwNWEFjCaYTwyDZJS17AnrBKkKWMD9VuremMlcSCiuPktCxzoxUySMMDJ-IoEzACc3tjImavATCi1gaBm9ZtJqg09sG0Ub8LJLRrnQgCLVDz3rPWB-YwnER_scF7KM4oxlEbe1A/s640/IMG_0115-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes it's tough being alpha male</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfiwuEnhpH9PxylwlMUkhUvhV6OwGBLGCKjXt3zjqanVgpIy_WxOXUtJExWGIBW4ZFIC1qLanhFiEI2vNBEWybjloMGS1C1NJf6qlJYZHJkg2LWH_Eg4c5mDIShxG4CTjFDwilY3Q-A/s1600/IMG_0122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixfiwuEnhpH9PxylwlMUkhUvhV6OwGBLGCKjXt3zjqanVgpIy_WxOXUtJExWGIBW4ZFIC1qLanhFiEI2vNBEWybjloMGS1C1NJf6qlJYZHJkg2LWH_Eg4c5mDIShxG4CTjFDwilY3Q-A/s640/IMG_0122.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-headed Trogon on the water's edge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2mQ8lFTTXFoeogSRZykJhx5oP7dflg0cL17t4_ISOhf4DOscGE62fFpNy7P8E00VJHbhAkOLZCJsjXQmGVRdTHvz-8l93RfanReqjY_1Ea-FQAAzgemwsXTWWt-nyk0WvPFYgoxVfTA/s1600/IMG_0141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2mQ8lFTTXFoeogSRZykJhx5oP7dflg0cL17t4_ISOhf4DOscGE62fFpNy7P8E00VJHbhAkOLZCJsjXQmGVRdTHvz-8l93RfanReqjY_1Ea-FQAAzgemwsXTWWt-nyk0WvPFYgoxVfTA/s640/IMG_0141.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juvenile Great-black Hawk<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9e_qm2Mcn5svzbLtxEPap4qAVrFobdtoJwgwIbcWDwILorTImJ063sJWxIEpeHd7Gpwn5nOcRsb0U6voX4vxqshjOXoX2rbbI3-9T0Ngu_DGXBInY0H1SOZANe38NDeFNTFbuLqDn9Q/s1600/IMG_0148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9e_qm2Mcn5svzbLtxEPap4qAVrFobdtoJwgwIbcWDwILorTImJ063sJWxIEpeHd7Gpwn5nOcRsb0U6voX4vxqshjOXoX2rbbI3-9T0Ngu_DGXBInY0H1SOZANe38NDeFNTFbuLqDn9Q/s640/IMG_0148.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cows in the lagoon.</td></tr>
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A big thanks to Roni Martinez for making this trip possible.<br />
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eBird checklists:<br />
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<a href="https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38399806" target="_blank">Southern Lagoon</a><br />
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<a href="https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38399810" target="_blank">Spanish Creek</a><br />
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Thanks for reading, stay tuned for the next blog coming up soon.<br />
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Francishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08550887749114574811noreply@blogger.com0Belize17.189877 -88.49765000000002113.3092195 -93.661224000000018 21.0705345 -83.334076000000024