Birds from the Belize trip

Everyone,
I'm thinking of making a "nature only" blog, worked on it yesterday rlephoto.worldpress.com but when it came to custom designing the layout worldpress wants you to pay $15 a year.... So guess I'll stick to blogger any thoughts??

Anyway Belize was very nice, we found just over 100 bird species and for me 55 new species! My favorite place we stayed was Clarissa Falls , Chena the owner took us birding and her brother took us out at night to see Northern Potoos in the pasture on the fences. If you want to experience Belize Clarissa Falls Resort is the place to visit.

Northern Potoo, Nyctibius jamaicensis they perch on posts and dead trees to camouflage themselves. We found this one from a 1/4 mile away with a strong flashlight, the eyes can be seen easily with the flashlight. We drove up and approached this guy from 4-5 foot away and he stayed on the post the entire time.

The White-necked Puffbird, Notharchus hyperrhynchus was the first bird I photographed in Belize.

Not my best photo, yet a beautiful bird. This is an  Violaceous Trogon, Trogon violaceus. 

I didn't get the photos I wanted of the Northern Jaçana, Jacana spinosa. When they get ready to fly they lift the wings up and you get delighted with pale yellow undersides of the wings.

This is an Collared Aracari, Pteroglossus torquatus, it is a tucan. They feed on palm berries next to the bathroom at Clarrissa Falls. We saw the Keel-billed Toucan eating the same berries as well.

The Brown Jay, Cyanocorax morio was the first new bird we IDed in Belize. At 16 inches it is a huge and noisy Jay. The last evening I was in Belize a small flock of them flew in out in the open along the road I was walking on and allowed me several photos.

We saw lots of new kingfishers like this Ringed Kingfisher, Megaceryle torquata. I think I have seen this one from a distance in southern Texas years ago.

The Gray-necked Wood-Rail, Aramides cajanea was the last new bird I saw in Belize. Good thing I'm tall was the pond it was in was blocked with bushes and I barely got a clear photo of it.

A small flock of Groove-billed Ani, Crotophaga sulcirostris entertained the heck out of me while walking a small road the last evening we were there. They chased and mocked each other to no end, to my delight.

I still have 3 hawk species to post so do stay tuned! Once I get the butterfly IDs right there will be a lot of them too.