Join professional photographer Laura Fellows and our expert Belizean guide, Wilfred Mutrie, on an extraordinary photo tour of Belize and Guatemala. Our tour will emphasize photography of tropical birds, but we'll also photograph the extensive Mayan ruins at Tikal in Guatemala and have ample opportunity to photograph other subject matter.
CROOKED TREE WILDLIFE SANCTURARY
Crooked Tree is a small Belizean village located about 30 minutes north of the Belize International Airport within a wildlife sanctuary consisting of dry forest on the island and a vast wetland of lagoons and interconnecting waterways. Here a plethora of aquatic birds, hawks, and notable land birds that are found only in the Yucatan peninsula and northern Belize gather to forage and nest. The abundance of birds increases as the dry season progresses and water levels drop, making April a superior time to visit the area. Later in the year, rains can dampen photo opportunities and hot, humid weather can make a visit more uncomfortable, while earlier in the dry season water levels remain high and fewer birds are found on the lagoon.
During our visit to Crooked Tree, we'll take a specially arranged 4-hour private boat trip on the lagoon with an expert boat driver who knows where all the channels are located, essential when water levels are low, and also where the birds we wish to photograph are to be found. We can expect some birds to be quite common around the lagoon, including a variety of herons and egrets, Anhinga, possibly Wood Storks, possibly Jabiru depending on water levels, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Northern Jacana, Snail Kite, and several species of kingfishers. We should also be able to find and photograph less common birds such as Boat-billed Heron, Great Black-Hawk, Black-collared Hawk, and Sungrebe. We'll look for the very secretive Agami Heron a prized bird to see and photograph among both birders and bird photographers. We also hope to photograph some land birds, such as Yucatan Woodpecker and Yellow-billed Cacique from the boat.
We'll spend the remainder of our time at Crooked Tree looking for a variety of land birds to photograph. Certainly one species we'll want to photograph is the near endemic Yucatan Jay. Other birds we may find and photograph include Aztec Parakeet, White-fronted Parrot, Red-lored Parrot, Yellow-headed Parrot, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Brown Jay, Hooded Oriole, and Black-cowled Oriole.
TIKAL ARCHAELOGICAL SITE AND PARK
The well-excavated Mayan temples and pyramids of Tikal are a must-see for visitors to Guatemala. Our local guide will accompany us as we tour the site and photograph the well-excavated ruins. For those feeling more energetic, several temples can be climbed to gain a better vantage point. There is also a wooden stairs and viewing platform in the main square at Tikal where wide-angle photos can be taken.
Tikal is an excellent area for birds. The amazingly adorned Ocellated Turkey, a near endemic found only in the Yucatan, western Belize, and Guatemala, is easily photographed as it walks about in the grass near the entrance area. Tikal is the best place to photograph this bird, as it is quite wary and hard to see elsewhere because of hunting pressure. Rufous-necked Wood-Rails are often seen in the open along the pond edge where they are readily photographed. A variety of other birds can be photographed near the entrance and along the forested roadway leading to the temple complex. Possibilities include several species of trogons, Blue-crowned Motmot, Collared Aracari, Keel-billed Toucan, Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, Linneated Woodpecker, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Ruddy Woodcreeper, Northern Barred Woodcreeper, White-collared Manakin, Sepia-capped Flycatcher, Northern Royal-Flycatcher, Masked Tityra, Black-throated Shrike-Tanager, and Rose-throated Tanager. Endangered Orange-breasted Falcons typically nest near the Mundo Perdido pyramid within the temple complex and often perch in the open where they can be readily photographed. Every visit to Tikal brings different photo opportunities, and the above are just an indication of the possibilities.
POOK'S HILL
The drive from Tikal takes the better part of a day, partly because it takes time to go through customs at the Guatemala-Belize border. We'll stop a few times en route when photo opportunities present themselves along the road and also for lunch near San Isidro. After lunch we'll proceed to the lodge and stop for to make photographs along the rural access road to Pook's Hill. This dirt road goes through an agricultural area where a variety of open country birds are readily seen and photographed. Here we'll spend some time making photographs of birds such as Aztec Parakeet, Groove-billed Ani, Great Kiskadee Tropical Kingbird, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Tropical Mockingbird, Blue-black Grassquit, and Variable Seedeater.
Pook's Hill offers comfortable accommodations in private cabanas as well as excellent opportunities to photograph tropical song birds in grassy open areas and along forest edges. Hummingbird feeders around the dining area offer a chance to photograph several hummingbirds including Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, White-bellied Emerald, and Azure-crowned Hummingbird. The park-like grassy areas around the lodge attract Collared Aracari, Keel-billed Toucan, Yellow-tailed Oriole, Black-cowled Oriole and other songbirds. Around forest edges and within the forest we will seek out and photograph additional birds such as Linneated Woodpecker, Black-headed Trogon, Northern Violaceous Trogon, Collared Trogon, Slaty-Tailed Trogon, Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Red-throated Ant-Tanager, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Gray-headed Tanager, Crimson-collared Tanager, and Blue-black Grosbeak.
