Migration seems to be slowing down at the BRRI Cattle Landing Hawkwatch run by Belize Raptor Research Institute, but we still managed to get a few good migrants today. We counted a handful of Broad-winged hawks, seventeen Hook-billed Kites, and we also broke our record for latest Mississippi Kite in Belize (another juvenile). Around 1:30 pm while things were slow, Isael and … Read More
Belize Birding: Groove-billed Ani
Groove-billed Anis are fairly common in Cattle Landing, Belize. I see them nearly every day at our count site, and birding along forest edges, roads, and fields in the morning almost always turns up a group of them. You can usually hear them before you seen them (click to hear call). They are common in lowlands and can be found … Read More
BRRI Hawkwatch: November 17, 2014 – Dragonflies and Bat Falcon!
Today started out with migrants trying to get lift into a low cloud ceiling with little wind and no thermals at the BRRI Cattle Landing Hawkwatch, run by Belize Raptor Research Institute. Thousands of dragonflies were on site for the first few hours, which made it difficult to spot the few raptors that were attempting to head south (the swallows however, had … Read More
BRRI Hawkwatch: November 10, 2014
Today was by far the best day at the Cattle Landing soccer field for hawk watching since I have arrived (site run by Belize Raptor Research Institute). We tallied fourteen species of raptors, including the latest migrant Mississippi Kites for Belize, and a high-flying light adult Swainson’s Hawk! Hook-billed Kites came through in large kettles of up to 24 birds … Read More
Pygmy Kingfisher, King Vulture, and more Kites!
Today was another great day of birding in Cattle Landing, Belize. The morning started out great with four new species for me. Early in the AM, I found a Red-legged Honeycreeper near my house sitting in the top of a tree. Soon after on a trek down a new road, a single Olive-backed Euphonia was foraging near a Greenish Elaenia, … Read More
Mangrove Cuckoo Madness
The Cattle Landing count site run by Belize Raptor Research, where I am currently volunteering, is just north of Punta Gorda in the Toledo District of southern Belize. It is located just a few meters away from the coastline, which makes it an ideal spot for migrants of all kinds, not just raptors. Migrants can funnel in from the Mississippi … Read More
First day of hawk watching in Belize!
Woken up early thanks to some Howler Monkeys around 5 am, I hit the road early for birding. The road that my house is on is actually very productive for local species and also warblers; it is just one street over from the coast, so I think migrants just use it all day long. Perhaps everywhere in Belize is like … Read More
First day in Belize!
I am taking a hiatus from field work in Florida for about two months, and working in Punta Gorda, Belize as a volunteer for Belize Raptor Research Institute (also, check them out on Facebook!). BRRI staffs a hawk watch at the Cattle Landing soccer field north of Punta Gorda to monitor migration of raptors through Belize, focusing on the Hook-billed Kite. … Read More