| Begins in Belize City Friday afternoon |
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$2475 |
April 10-18, 2009 (9 days, 8 nights)
Single Supplement = $300 |
Our Belize Highlights birding tour features a variety of Yucatan endemics and specialty birds not found or not readily seen in Costa Rica. The tour is led by Wilfred Mutrie, an excellent Belizean birding guide mentored by H. Lee Jones, author of A Field Guide to the Birds of Belize. Our tour visits the newly formed Mayflower Bocawina National Park, Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Reserve, Blue Hole National Park, higher elevation areas around Hidden Valley in the northwestern Maya Mountains of Belize, and the water wonderland of Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary.
At Mayflower Bocawina National Park and nearby Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Reserve, we'll be looking for birds whose ranges barely extend into Costa Rica, if at all. These include Olive-throated Parakeet, Keel-billed Motmot, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Black-throated Shrike-Tanager, Yellow-winged Tanager, and Black-headed Saltator. We'll spend a morning birding at Blue Hole National Park, where our primary target birds are the coveted Tody Motmot and Golden-crowned Warbler, both of which were seen on our 2008 tour. In the western Maya Mountains we'll enjoy exquisite accommodations at Hidden Valley Inn as well as superb birding. Some of the specialty birds we hope to see there include Orange-breasted Falcon, Stygian Owl, Azure-crowned Hummingbird, Rufous-capped Warbler, and Rusty Sparrow. While at Hidden Valley we plan on taking a full day excursion to Caracol Archaeological Site where we hope to see Ocellated Turkey and Keel-billed Motmot as well as more common lowland forest species. We'll also have time to view the ruins at this extensive Mayan site. At Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary we'll take a magical boat ride onto the lagoon, where we'll look for specialty aquatic birds such as Agami Heron, Jabiru, and Sungrebe. We should also see a variety of raptors including the beautiful Black-collared Hawk, Snail Kite, and Yellow-headed Vulture. On the island of Crooked Tree we'll look for several Yucatan endemics. These include Yucatan Bobwhite, Yellow-headed Parrot, Yucatan Woodpecker, Yucatan Vireo, and Yucatan Jay.
For those wanting to spend more time in Belize, we can arrange a visit to Caye Caulker before or after our tour. Several specialty birds can be seen there, including the scarce Caribbean Elaenia, the near endemic Black Catbird, and a bird whose range barely extends to Crooked Tree on the mainland, the Altamira Oriole. It's also possible to take a glass-bottom boat trip out to the famed Belizean barrier reef, go snorkeling on the reef, or go out fishing on the gulf.
Feel free to call us any time at 877-247-3371 (inside US) or 303-325-5188 (outside US) for more information about this tour.
