Hawks and Flycatchers from Belize!!

 

This hawk stumped us and after many hours I came to the conclusion it is a juvenile Common Black Hawk, Buteogallus anthracinus. It was huge, at first we thought it was the rare Solitary Eagle. I took many photos as it was very cooperative, much more than the dim morning light was.

This guy I almost got in trouble with Roger as I used wordsI should not have said in getting him to stop the car in time. This White Hawk, Leucopternis albicollis landed next to the car and I got a few photos out the window before it flew off. I would have loved to see it soaring, maybe the next trip.

We saw this guy soaring like our Northern Harrior and found out it was a Snail Kite, Rostrhamus sociabilis! Really enjoyed watching it fly but it was too far away to get a decent in flight photo.

Some birds are easier to ID, like this Vermilion Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus I have seen this one in the US in Texas where it is common and in North Carolina where it shows up every 5 years or so.

This  Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Tyrannus savana was an easy ID too. Never seen such cool tails on a bird before!

 

Not sure if this is an Tropical Kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus or the Couch's Kingbird, Tyrannus couchii. They both look alike and the only way to tell them apart is by the calls. We saw lots of these and never heard any calls, nor did we know the calls anyway.

The garden here is still covered in snow and it is raining now. maybe we'll get the peas planted soon. Last year the peas were coming up by now!

Stay tuned for some butterflies from Belize in the future.

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.