One of the benefits of booking a package with Caves Branch Jungle Lodge: a complimentary bird watching session. Now, for the adventurous folks in the room, this probably sounds a bit…. ehh, tame. We felt the same way, and considered skipping it altogether in favor of getting some free time back. But after spending a few days in the jungle and starting to notice all the little bits and bobs of color singing and popping out in unexpected places, we decided to give it a go. And now we can say thank GOODNESS we had an open mind! Bird watching in Belize – just as in any rainforest or jungle – is not an experience we’ll soon forget.
Our excursion bird watching in Belize
Caves Branch’s bird watching tour starts at 6am, sharp, so we got to the lodge at 5:45am to squeeze a glass or two of fresh juice to sharpen our eyes a bit. At least, that’s what we told ourselves…
Boyfriend Perspective: What time did we have to get up? Early. Did it matter? Nope, we were already awake (though uncaffeinated, so does that count?). Was it a blast? Absolutely, 10/10, would do it again. Besides, breakfast was waiting for us when we finished.
Marvin, our equal parts quiet and nice guide, met us as we wrapped up and set up his pro-grade scope under the cover of the lodge roof while a morning drizzle petered out around us. We saw a black-cowled oriole and several rufous-tailed hummingbirds, then moved on to circle around the swimming pool.
Marvin screeched to a halt and started pointing into one of the palms around the pool so we could see a black-crowned night heron, snuggled up and spending the day in the shade. And that’s when the outing really kicked into gear.
A short hike down into the dried up riverbed let our group of 3 spot a limkin and a tropical cormorant, as well as a few species of finches and seedeaters. Another pass by the pool gave us a black phoebe and a black-headed trogon. Walking back along into an employee-only area netted us a view of some red-lored parrots, an ivory-billed woodcreeper, several varieties of flycatchers, and a black-headed trogon. We then walked around to the welcome center, where Marvin told us they often see toucans in the mornings. While we didn’t see toucans on this particular day, we did see a couple more hummingbirds, a melodious blackbird, a ruddy ground dove, and a few thrushes and wrens of different varieties. Who KNEW that many birds could naturally occupy such a relatively small area?
The best parts of our experience bird watching in Belize
On the path to the welcome center, Marvin got our attention and pointed into the brush – there we could see the very top of a very pretty bird’s head, complete with iridescent blue stripes. He told us it was a lesson’s mot-mot, and that they’re very shy. If that doesn’t make you want to get a glimpse of the whole bird, I don’t know what will!
Then, on the walk back to the lodge, where we start, Marvin grabbed my rain jacket, pulled my in front of his line of sight and pointed from behind me straight into the brush, again. There, in a small clearing, sat another mot-mot in all its glory. He set up his scope, and we all took as many pictures as we could.
Perhaps the coolest parts of the excursion came from Marvin. Listening to him make bird sound after bird sound to encourage birds out of the brush, or stopping dead in his tracks to point out a bird we could barely even make out was truly a treat. He even took the extra time after the tour to get our email address so he could share a list of the birds we saw from his daily log.
Boyfriend Perspective: Marvin must have been a bird of prey in his previous life and kept his eyesight. That man not only spotted birds in a tree from great distances, but he was able to determine it’s type. He spotted a pair of birds flying through the sky, looking like nothing more than dots on a stick to us, and he said, “Those were red lored parrots, we just missed them.” We promptly asked how he could tell, and the answer was: “the flight pattern.” MIND BLOWN!!!
Also, since even the longest lens we had on us couldn’t quite capture some of them – especially since the sky was mostly cloudy and the glare very bright – Marvin took my phone and used it to take photos of what he could see through his scope. Meaning, my iPhone got photos that no iPhone has ever gotten before! 🙂
Should you go bird watching in Belize?
Guys, we are by no means ornithologists, and we typically very much prefer ACTIVE activities. But on the plane back to the States, we already started talking about which lenses we’d want to bring with us, and what kind of bird watching tour we’d want to take on our next trip. Which pretty much means it’s happening 🙂
The answer is YES, everyone should try bird watching in Belize and, honestly, in any new ecosystem. It’s yet another facet of whatever new area you’re exploring, and another perspective to see the world from.
Boyfriend Perspective: We weren’t that thrilled about getting up early and walking around in the humidity looking for birds, because it just seemed so mundane compared to sleeping in and eating a delicious, slow breakfast. But… as I’m typing this I have another window with potential super telephoto lens options for what I’m going to bring with me on the next trip. This bird watching tour would have been worth paying for, and we plan to do it again.
Pro tip: In the case of bird watching in Belize, just be sure to bring plenty of bug repellent, and to wear thick enough clothes on your non-sprayed skin that mosquitos can’t take a taste. I made the mistake of wearing yoga pants, and I’ll be honest… I ended up with mosquito bites on my butt. It’s funny, but it made for an… uncomfortable plane ride home! BP: Get Jungle Oil!
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