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.
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.
eBird map of Phoebe Sightings
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.
Guanacaste National Park managed by the Belize Audubon Society
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.
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.
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.
Pale-billed Woodpecker
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.
Roaring River
Horrible shot of the Band-backed Wren (Lifer!)
Immature Gray Hawk
We dipped on the Black Phoebe in Guanacaste but I did manage to score the Band-backed Wren. The next stop was at Caves Branch 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.
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.
Beautiful, isn't it?
Ella showing me and Jose around.
Ferns!!!
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.
Black Phoebe lifer!!!!!!!!!
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).
Yellow-crowned Night Herons
Buteogallus sp
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.
Very simple park rules
Red-throated Ant Tanager
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.
Gray Foxes
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.
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).
My name is Francis Canto Jr, 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 Belize Audubon Society. 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.
Crooked Tree:
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.
Western Lagoon, Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary
Map of the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary
Spanish Creek Sunday July 30th :
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.
The trip started off at the Bird's Eye View Lodge 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.
A view of the Southern Lagoon.
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.
Limpkin
The brilliantly colored Prothonotary Warbler
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.
I think he knows he's beautiful, Black-collared Hawk
The beautiful Black-collared Hawk
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.
Spanish Creek
Part of the nest building duo of Green Kingfishers
Another very photogenic Black-collared Hawk
The Mexican Tree Porcupine wanted nothing to do with us.
Osprey soaring above Spanish Creek
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.
Morelet's Crocodile's nest containing 30+ eggs
Sometimes it's tough being alpha male
Black-headed Trogon on the water's edge
Juvenile Great-black Hawk
Cows in the lagoon.
A big thanks to Roni Martinez for making this trip possible.
