Mexico/Belize Week 13

We were up at 5 AM for a 6:15 departure to go birding. Our first stop was the Crooked Tree Audubon Sanctuary which reminded us a lot of the National Wildlife Refuges along the East coast; except they have lots of different birds like Jabaru Stork, Yellow Headed Vulture, Snail Kite and Pygmy Kingfisher in addition to the hundreds of more common herons, egrets and waterfowl. We also saw a rare visitor from South America, a Southern Lapwing. We think this is the first time the bird has been seen as far north as Belize. We then drove to the ruins at Altun Ha. It turns out that ruin sites are great for birding since some of the jungle has been cleared, offering better access to the birds. Here we saw a Collared Aracari, close relative to the toucan and a Greenish Euphonia, a bird that doesn’t look nearly as interesting as it’s name. Carl walked around, photographing the ruins and climbed to the top of the tallest pyramid. The view was great though the birders looked very small from up there. When we got back to the campground we all packed our books into Ken’s pickup. These books we have been carrying to donate to the school children in Belize filled the bed of the pickup. Tomorrow we head off for two nights at La Milpa Field Station near the Guatamala border. We will deliver the books on our way back on Tuesday.

Today we traveled to La Milpa in the Rio Bravo Conservation Area. We will spend two nights here looking at the birds and other wildlife. It was a two hour drive. The grounds are lovely and we are in a cabana with a private bath. However, The cabanas are built two to a building with a thin wall between them. Bert and Shari are in the adjacent unit. After a brief orientation we went birding on the entrance road. We saw dozens of birds, many new for us. The biggest bird we saw was the occellated Turkey. The smallest was a white bellied emerald hummingbird. After supper we went in search of night creatures. Nine of us piled in the back of a pickup with our guide Vlademir and we drove lowly down the dirt road scanning the trees and fields for wildlife We saw white tailed deer, wooly opossum, yucatan nightjar and common potoo. When we went to bed Sandy wanted to use the mosquito net around the bed. It wasn’t necessary but it added a certain “eco-tourism ambiance” Carl got tangled in the mosquito net in the morning and almost killed himself. So much for ambiance.

What a wonderful place. The Rio Bravo Conservation area was started in 1984 with a land donation from the Massachusetts Audubon Society (Mass Audubon wanted to help protect the migratory birds that spend winters in Central America and summers in the US.). It has since been expanded to about 250,000 acres, managed by the non-profit Program for Belize. The La Milpa Station is one of two facilities within the area. With ten cabanas, about 80 dormitory beds and a communal dining hall, it’s a lot like summer camp for eco-tourists. We certainly made the most of our only full day here. We were up early for a birdwalk before breakfast. After breakfast we headed down a different trail and encountered a huge ant swarm moving across the jungle floor. There were several different kinds of rarely seen birds feeding on the ants. We saw five new birds standing in one spot. The trail led out to the road and the mid day sun wilted us as we walked back to the station. We got rejuvenated over lunch and we both took pictures of the hummingbirds at the feeders. After lunch we drove a few miles to the site of an Ornate Hawk-Eagle nest, though the hawk eagle was elsewhere. After a brief mid-afternoon rest we headed down the trail to “the Pit”, where the station garbage is dumped. In 45 minutes we saw 12 different species of bird and an agouti at the pit. It was such a productive spot that we decide to walk back after dark. Though it was tranquil in the moonlight, we saw no birds but plenty of bats (of the 70 mammal species in the Rio Bravo area, 35 are bats!).. Back in our cabana we showered and were in bed by 8:30, ready for another day in paradise.

We leave right after lunch and wanted to make the most of our morning. A 6:15 birdwalk followed by breakfast. After breakfast the main group drives to the ruin site of La Milpa. Carl decides to take his camera back to the pit for some more bird photography. We then packed up, had lunch, said our good-byes to the staff and headed for the school in San Felipe. It was a K-8^th grade school with 30 to 40 students per classroom. We piled the books on the floor of the sparsely filled school library, took a bunch of pictures and got a tour of the school from the principal. The kids were delightful, waving, cheering and hamming for the many cameras flashing away. Next stop was for some delicious home made ice cream in OrangeWalk Town. Back at the campground in Corozal, we moved back into the motorhome. It was nice to be “home” again. We had dinner at Tony’s Restaurant across the street with Judy & Ken Smith and Sue & Bob Schmidt.

A free day to catch up on sleep and chores. We washed and vacuumed the car and Carl washed the motorhome. We used our internet connection to arrange hotel rooms on Ambergris Caye for some of the other caravaners. At 5:30 we met with the other birders to discuss the birds we might see on tomorrow’s trip to Lamanai. There are sure some interesting possibilities among the 362 birds recorded for the area. We leave at six for an all day and evening adventure.

Today was a wonderful trip to Lamanai Ruins. We drove about an hour to Orange Walk then boarded a boat that would take us about 25 miles down river to the ruins. We searched for birds all along the river. Of the many we saw, the highlight was an Agami Heron, a beautiful two-tone blue wading bird. Our guide also pointed out the nest of a 5 foot tall Jabaru Stork off in the distance we could see one of the adults and two chicks. The guide also pointed out five small bats clinging to the bark of a tree only a few feet above our heads. Once we arrived at the ruins we spent about another hour birding. Here we spotted the white whiskered puffbird. After lunch we visited the on-site museum, shopped for crafts and T shirts in the few small shops then headed off to see the ruins, including a 112 foot high pyramid tower that was a steep climb for Carl and a few of the other guys. The view from the top across the lagoon was fantastic. We boarded the boats for the return trip after five. It was soon dark and we searched for night creatures just like we did from the back of the pickup truck at La Milpa. We saw Potoo, Nightjar and a Kincajou as well as a few crocodiles. The boat got back at eight and we were back to the coach by nine. It was 15 long but wonderful hours.

We have a free day today. Our first thought was to go out on our own to visit a nearby ruins or return the wonderful Crooked Tree Sanctuary about 50 miles from here. However, after the long day yesterday, we decided that relaxing and getting caught up was a superior plan. We slept late (8:00) and spent the morning cleaning, shopping and journaling and sending off pictures from the book donation in San Felipe. The mid day sun here is brutal as the temps and humidity rise into the 90’s. We read and relaxed, Sandy outside and Carl inside with the AC on for the first time in over a week. At 5 PM we had an ice cream social. Mel & Beth drove back to Orange Walk and bought a bunch of that great ice cream. Once we were full f ice cream, we went back to the coach and had the rest of our dinner.