Exotic Birdwatching Adventures
Jabiru
One of my favorite aspects of travel is getting to see the wonders of the world that you’ve only ever heard about, seen in movies or television, or read about in books. Whether it’s the Great Pyramids, the Colosseum, or Macchu Pichu, certain places capture our imagination and are only truly experienced via travel. It’s the same with me and birds. While I too, am intrigued at visiting these places around the world, what I’m also interested in is the birds I might find there. From hiking in Peru and scanning the sky for an Andean Condor to finding a Resplendant Quetzal quietly devouring tiny avocados in the misty cloud forests of Costa Rica, my bucket list is a tad different than most…
American Pygmy Kingfisher
I’ve been a self-admitted bird brain since I was about twelve years old. One of the best parts about birding is that no matter where I go, there will be birds. I heard it recently described by Corina Newsome, the Community Engagement Manager at Georgia Audubon, and one of the organizers of Black Birders Week, as a “treasure hunt.” Everywhere you go, there are birds to be seen, from your backyard to the far flung reaches of the globe. But that said, there are some species that capture your imagination in a special way.
So as a kid, thumbing through my dog-eared “Birds of North America” field guide, I first saw the Jabiru. The field guide described it as a “huge stork of Central and South America, casual straggler in south Texas, recorded once in Oklahoma”. But the illustration is what grabbed me. It was a giant white stork, with a black head, blood-red throat patch, and a MASSIVE black bill. I was hooked. I was going to see one of these amazing birds, someday…
Now, several decades later, I might finally get my chance.
Snail Kite
Today, Julie and I are on a one-day birding excursion with Mayawalk Tours in Belize. We are making the best of our one day stop in Belize as part of our cruise of the western Caribbean aboard the Celebrity Apex. We found Mayawalk and they were willing to pick us up at the cruise terminal and take us out for a day of birding.
One of the first things I do when going somewhere new, especially a new country (like Belize was to us), is to see what we might see bird-wise, and are there any species we’ve never seen before. And in my research, guess who’s there? Yep. Jabiru! There were two spotted not far form the cruise landing, so as we got underway with our guides, Aaron and Roni, I brought up the possibility of trying to see one. As it turned out, our main destination of the day was Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, and they are one of the most reliable spots in Belize to find Jabiru!
Black-Collared Hawk
After a short, comfortable ride on a modern highway, we arrived at Crooked Tree. After a cup of coffee and quick, tasty bite to eat at the Main Lodge, we jumped aboard a small skiff to go and explore the freshwater lake. The lake is ephemeral, meaning it dries up and fills up each year, but we were there at a good time, as the water level was high enough to allow the boat to travel easily and take in the birds. And boy howdy, were there birds!
As we wound through the deeper channels of the lake we were treated to amazing views of dozens of species of birds. Raptors on display included the dapper black-collared hawk with its cinnamon plumage and the snail kite, with its finely curved beak, perfectly suited for getting the meat from apple snails.
We spent some time admiring the kingfishers, from the massive blue and chestnut Ringed Kingfisher to the diminutive American Pygmy Kingfisher. But the group that really stood out were the waders. Every turn revealed snowy egrets, tricolored and little blue herons, night-herons, boat-billed herons, the cryptic bare-throated tiger-heron, and on and on! But then we rounded another corner and BAM! There is was! Towering above a foraging group of herons and egrets was a JABIRU! They say that you should never meet your heroes, but this didn’t disappoint! We watched it for several minutes as it stalked the shallows looking for prey, the smaller birds around it giving it a wide berth in deference. Deciding it was time to move on, it finally rose up on its enormous wings and treated us to a fly-by before soaring out of sight.
Bare-Throated Tiger-Heron
We shared some big grins and high fives, as the dream of seeing this bird in the wild had finally been realized. As we moved along to continue our amazing day of birding, we asked our boat driver what Jabiru ate, and he dead-panned, “Whatever they want…”.
