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En
route to our first overnight stop, Alvin pulled off to show us a
Jabiru Stork nest with mama's head poking out the top.
At 6:30 a.m., we took off in the lodge
boat for a three-hour birding expedition through the wet wildlife
refuge. We were treated to some beautiful Snail Kites, which feed
on Apple Snails.
Along the cruise, we saw Kingfishers (Green, Belted, and Pygmy),
Wood Rails, Limpkins, Great-tailed Grackles, Mangrove Swallows,
Blue-winged Teals, Lesser Yellowband Vultures, Egrets (Snowy and
Great), American Coots, Iguanas, a rare Squirrel Cuckoo, Northern
Jacanas, Herons (Tricolored, Great Blue, Little Blue, Green,
Boat-billed, and Black-crowned Night Herons), Cattle Egrets
standing on cows, White Ibises, Pied-billed Grebes, Social
Flycatchers, Cormorants, Tropical Kingbirds, Great Kiskadees, Sun
Grebes, Hawks (Black-collared and Great Black), and these
Black-necked Stilts..
Pied-billed Grebe posing among the water lilies.
This majestic Great Egret was perched in the midst of pink Acorn
Snail eggs pasted on every wooden object.
We were led on an afternoon nature walk where we saw beautiful red
Vermilion Flycatchers, cashew trees, bromeliads, termite nests,
Anis, Hooded Orioles, and Trogons. We came across a huge flock of
Black Vultures--in the air, in trees, and on the ground. Looking
around, we found the attraction--a dead horse. We saw iguanas on
rooftops and racing across the ground. We closely studied an Acorn
Woodpecker on a power pole for awhile, making noises of
agitation because we were standing too close to the post where he
had implanted some acorns to attract worms, which the woodpeckers
come back to eat.
The Hooded Oriole was a special treat spotted on our walking
tour around Crooked Tree.
This Ringed Kingfisher stayed perched on this power line
posing for a lot of photographs.
Tropical Kingbirds were plentiful on power lines and fence
posts.
Back at the lodge, Mick the owner had a big jug of rum punch
waiting for us. We all relaxed on the waterfront deck with our
punch, laptops and Scrabble game. In the yard we saw the resident
four-foot crocodile. Other pets included two cats, four outdoor
dogs, two baby chicks, and a young rabbit who nibbled on the
tomato plant. A horse skull decorated one of the posts. From the
deck, we watched many beautiful birds such as the Ringed
Kingfisher, a pair of Northern Jacanas, a White Ibis and Great
Egret. American Coots were swimming and feeding along the edge of
the water the entire time we were at Crooked Tree.
The last morning at Crooked Tree, we had another beautiful
sunrise...the beautiful awakening songs of the Great Kiskadees,
Kingfishers belting out their chirps, ducks occasionally letting
out little quacks, and a Little Blue Heron silhouette as it fed in
the shallow water. All the while, kis-ka-dee, kis-ka-dee,
kis-ka-deeeee. |
The
drive ended at the Crooked Tree Lodge for the first two nights.
The lodge is a complex of one-bedroom cabins on the edge of a
fresh-water bird sanctuary. The open windows exposed us to an
all-night chorus of Northern Jacanas and Limpkins, and an
occasional burst of barking dogs. We wondered if they had seen an
armadillo, gibnut, skunk or porcupine. We were greeted to
beautiful sunrises each morning.
We noticed some beautiful empty Apple Snail shells beside the
water.
Getting up early enough for a 6:30 a.m. boat cruise wasn't
hard at all with this beauty surrounding us.
It was great seeing this unusual Grey-necked Wood Rail.
The Little Blue Heron and Northern Jacana were competing for
food.
Great-tailed Grackles were plentiful in Crooked Tree.
Olive-throated Parakeets perched in the very top of the trees.
This Pygmy Kingfisher was a quite unusual sighting for us.
Brown Jay watches as we walk by
These Snail Kites seemed to be competing for the same snail.
A male Vermilion Flycatcher perches on one of many fence posts
at Crooked Tree.
A flock of Yucatan Jays crossed in front of our Crooked Tree
walking tour. It was difficult to capture their bright blue
plumage.
So,
this was just our first destination. How could it get any better,
we wondered. But we resumed our drive to Orange Walk to board our
cruise to the Lamanai archaeological ruins--and lots more
wildlife. NEXT
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