Last year at this time, I spent two months in Belize helping to count raptors at the Cattle Landing Hawk Watch site in Punta Gorda, Belize, for Belize Raptor Research Institute. This hawk watch site has seen incredible numbers of Hook-billed Kites, and is the only place in the world where you can see such numbers migrating south. The fall … Read More
Belize Mammal Spotlight: Baird’s Tapir
Last fall, I had the opportunity to travel to Belize to participate in the Belize Raptor Research Institute Cattle Landing Hawk Watch. Through this experience, I met count leader Victor Bonilla, who also works for Ya’axche Conservation Trust in Belize. I feel very grateful to have met Victor, and I learned a lot about the local raptors in Belize from both him … Read More
Coastal waterbird notes from southern Belize, Fall 2014
We are spoiled in the United States with many concentrated birding efforts taking place throughout fall and spring migration such as hawkwatches, seawatches, Big Sits, and other surveys which all help to pull in loads of data on bird numbers and distribution, but there are very few endeavors taking place in countries like Belize. Thanks to the Belize Raptor Research Institute, there … Read More
Belize Birding: Ridiculous Yard Birds
I’ve been in Belize for nearly two weeks now and my Belize list is already at 171 species, with 78 lifers- inching me ever closer to the 700 club! I think its fairly impressive considering I’ve seen most of these birds within a mile of my house, and many right in my yard. For example, while we are busting our butts … 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