Quietly but steadily Ambergris Caye has been developing a private bird sanctuary. The sanctuary is located in the narrow but rich littoral forest region south of San Pedro, at Caribbean Villas.

The littoral forest is filled with a vast abundance of fruiting trees and shrubs. Some of the most important are the gumbo lumbo, the bearded fig, the wild sapodilla and the coco plum. These trees support a great array of birds.

Sitting in the center of the littoral forest is their towering "people perch". This multi-level observation tower was built especially for birders. It provides birders a superb opportunity to view birds from above the canopy of flowers and trees. This 360 degree view reaches to the Caribbean to the east, Hol Chan Marine Preserve to the south, San Pedro on the north and west to the San Pedro Lagoon and the Chetumal Bay beyond.

Birds frequently seen from the "people perch" include the white-eyed vireo, Yucatan vireo, common tody flycatcher, great Kiskadee, black catbird, yellow-bellied elaenia, white-collared seedeater, golden-fronted woodpecker, black-headed salator and the hooded oriole.

Less frequent but recent visitors have been a pair of green-breasted mango hummingbirds, numerous eastern kingbirds, both the scarlet and summer tanagers, two regal white-crowned pigeons and a rose- throated becard.

One of my favorite birds, the yellow-backed oriole, returned about a month ago. Its melodious song is very alluring and I frequently hear it as it perches in the sprawling bougainvillaea near our balcony.

One of my favorite birds, the yellow-backed oriole, returned about a month ago. Its melodious song is very alluring and I frequently hear it as it perches in the sprawling bougainvillaea near our balcony.

In Belizean Creole, blackbirds are birds such as grackles, orioles and more but blackbird generally refers to a family of songbirds. The family (Icteridae) includes orioles, cowbirds, meadowlarks, orependolas and grackles. Icteridae comes from Greek, which means jaundice or yellow, maybe referring to the orioles' color. Of the 94 species of blackbirds in the New World, 17 live in Belize. Blackbirds breed in almost every environment in the New World from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska. Belize is close to the heart of blackbird country. The adjacent lowland of the Mexico plateau is where orioles evolved and where the highest concentrations of blackbird species breed.

Blackbirds are unusual in having a particular behavior that enables them to exploit a wider variety of habitats and prey on species in a way that others cannot. This is referred as gaping. Most birds have strong muscles to close their bills to crush or grasp its prey. Blackbirds have strong muscles to open their Montezuma Orependola bills against the resistance of soil, roots, wood etc. e.g. They would insert their closed bill into an area such as soil or the bark of a tree and open the bill, exposing the hiding place of an insect or grub.

Only the female blackbird incubates the eggs and in almost all cases she builds the nest. However, with the Melodious Blackbird, the male feeds the female while she incubates the eggs, and in some situations he helps build the nest.

Orependolas nest in colonies. You may see groups of pendulous nests in a tree, with a male giving a bowing display at the nesting site as he sings away. Nest building can be very complex in many blackbirds such as orependolas and orioles. Other members of the family such as cowbirds are brood parasites who have lost the need and ability to care for their young or build a nest.

Click here to see photos of area birds.

Yellow tailed Oriole Blackbirds build their nests in various areas and situations, always looking similar in structure and using similar materials. Orioles and orependoles first construct a loop or ring from which the nest hangs. Most of the weaving is done while upside down using the bill. Once a cup is formed the bird uses both the feet and the bill to manipulate the material. The birds may shred leaves with their bill while holding it down with the feet, producing fine materials to line the nest. Orioles and orependolas nests are often hung on branches away from predators and sometimes overhang water.

Red-Throated Ant-Tanager: One of the greatest attractions of tropical birds is the brilliance of their plumage. A birder from North America, where male birds are often much more colorful than the females, may be surprised to find that the sexes of most richly plumaged tropical species, including tanagers, parrots, and orioles, are alike or similar. Many of the more brilliantly colored birds tend to frequent the upper levels of the forest and open country, whereas those that inhabit the dimly lit undergrowth mostly wear dark, dull colors, often with attractively barred or streaked patterns. Birds such as the Barred Antshrike and Dotted-wing Antwren have contrasting areas of white buff and or black that are normally concealed but can be strikingly exposed in display.

Many of Belize's birds, especially some of the thrushes, are fine songsters. The dawn songs of the Melodious Blackbirds are quite lovely. The Rufous-tailed Jacamars have charming, elaborate songs. Trogons sing melodiously, and the song of the tinamous can be deeply stirring. At times, in the deep forests and thickets, we may have to identify birds by their songs and calls. Although sometimes we may not get a chance to see them, knowing their vocalizations makes it easy to identify them. It is fascinating seeing these Belize birds. For great birding trips contact as us at Birding in Belize.

Very soon birders can look for signs identifying this area as a private sanctuary open to birders from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact Caribbean Villas Hotel for additional information at 226-2715 or [email protected].

Here are other related birding links about the island:

• Field Guide to Ambergris Caye
• Caribbean Critters, a column on the beasties of Belize
• Information on many varieties of Birds in Belize
• Birds of Ambergris Caye by Elbert Greer
• BIRD WATCHING WITH BUBBA - A fantastic series of adventures with Bubba and the art of birdwatching.
• Belize Ocean Divers, Scuba Steve
• Birding Photo Gallery
• Videos, photos, and information about birding in Belize.
• For videos about birding in Belize, click here.
• Birding in Belize

For a listing of tour guides in the area, click here.

For a historical prespective Bruce Miller wrote an article Ornithology in Belize 1960-98.
http://scientific-papers.s3.amazonaws.com/Miller_etal1998.pdf

Here is a list of the birds spotted recently on a birding expedition:

Pied-billed Grebe Anhinga Brown Pelican Magnificent Frigatebird Double-crested Cormorant Olivaceous Cormorant Royal Tern Gull-billed tern Forster Turn Least Tern Sandwich Tern Laughing Gull Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull American Golden Plover Wilson's Plover Semipalmated Plover Snowy Plover Black-bellied Plover Collared Plover Ruddy Turnstone Killdeer Spotted Sandpiper Bairds Solitary Sandpiper Upland Sandpipper Least Sandpiper Western Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper Stilt Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Common Snipe Sora Little Blue Heron Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron (white phase) Snowy Egret Great Egret Black-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Northern Boat-billed Heron Cattle Egret Green Heron Reddish Egret American Bittern Least Bittern Bare-throated Tiger Heron Tri-colored Heron White Ibis Wood Stork Black-necked stilt Willet Whimbrel Sanderling Lesser Yellowlegs Greater Yellowlegs Roseate Spoonbill Clapper Rail Gray-necked Rail Purple Gallinule Sungrebe Sandhill Crane American Coot Swainson's Thrush Louisana Water Thrush Northern Water Thrush Wood Thrush Ringed Kingfisher Belted Kingfisher Green Kingfisher Osprey Common Black Hawk Great Black Hawk Roadside Hawk Gray Hawk White-tailed Hawk Black-shouldered Hawk American Kestrel Merlin Turkey Vulture Black Vulture Laughing Falcon Peregrine Falcon White-tailed Kite Black-and-White Hawk-Eagle Chachalaca Common Night Hawk Lesser Night Hawk Common Pauraque Potoo Blue-Winged Teal Green-winged Teal Northern Shovler Blk-Bellied Whistling Duck White-crowned Pigeon Pale-vented Pigeon Caribbean Dove White-winged Dove Common Ground Dove Ruddy Ground Dove Gray-headed Dove Gray-fronted Dove Rock Dove Aztec Parakeet Mangrove Swallow Cliff Swallow Cave Swallow Bank Swallow Barn Swallow Rough-winged Swallow Tree Swallow Gray-breasted Martin Brown Jay Yucatan Jay Tropical Mockingbird Gray Catbird Black Catbird Black Albinated Catbird Clay-colored Robin Summer Tanager Scarlet Tanager Crimson-collared Tanager Blue-gray Tanager Black-headed Saltator Buff-throated Saltator Gray Saltator Blue Grosbeak Rose-breasted Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Dickcissel American Red Start Bay-breasted Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Black and White Warbler Blue-winged Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Common Yellowthroat Canadian Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Mangrove Warbler Magnolia Mourning Warbler Northern Parula Palm Pine Prairie Yellow Warbler Yellowthroated Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Tennessee Warbler Townsend's Warbler Swainson's Warbler Yellow-breasted Chat Bananaquit Ovenbird Green-backed Sparrow Lark Sparrow Clay-colored Sparrow Cedar Waxwing Solitary Vireo Mangrove Vireo Yellow-throated Vireo White-eyed Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Yucatan Vireo Cozumel Vireo Philadelphia Vireo Rufous-browed Peppershrike Veery Bronzed Cowbird Great-tailed Grackle Baltimore Oriole Hooded Oriole Orange Oriole Altamira Oriole Orchard Oriole Yellow-backed Oriole Yellow-billed Cacique Yellow-headed Blackbird Oropendola White-collared Seedeater Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater Black Seedeater Sharpe's Seedeater Clay-colored Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Bobolink Cinnamon Hummingbird Rufous-tailed Hummingbird Little Hermit Ruby-throated Hummingbird Green-breasted Mango Forked-tailed Emerald Masked Tityra Great Kiskadee Social Flycatcher Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher Streaked Flycatcher Forked-tailed Flycatcher Great-crested Flycatcher Boat-billed Flycatcher Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Olive-sided Flycatcher Common-tody Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Duskey-capped Flycatcher Rose-throated Becard Tropical Pewee Eastern Wood Pewee Tropical Kingbird Eastern Kingbird Squirrel Cuckoo Mangrove Cuckoo Black-billed Cuckoo Groove-billed Ani Smooth-billed Ani Yellow-bellied Elaenia Caribbean Elaenia Citreoline Trogon Black Headed Trogon Golden-fronted Woodpecker Lineated Woodpecker Yucatan Woodpecker/Red-vented Ladder-backed Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Birding Videos.....

• Yellow-throated Euphonia, 1min. Filmed at Crested Caracara Private Reserve, Belize.
  
• Crested Caracara, 1min. Filmed at Crested Caracara Private Reserve, Belize
  
• Black and White Owl, 1/2min. Filmed at Chan Chich Lodge, Belize.
  
• Rose throated Becard, 1min.
  
• Cinnamon Becard, 1/2min. Filmed at Chan Chich Lodge, Belize
  
• Black throated Shrike Tanager, 1min.
  
• Black-and-white Owl - Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, 1/2min. For me, filming at night, by myself, is always a challenge. And here, my best spotlight had already failed (!) so there is a fair amount of noise. But, in my mind at least, this is a beauty I cannot just discard....
  
• Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 1/2min. Filmed at Crested Caracara Private Reserve, Belize.
  
• Self-portrait, with Roni Martinez - Despair Camp, 1/3min.
  
• Smoky-brown Woodpecker - BFREE , 1.5min. Shortly after sunrise on the Northern Boundary trail this guy was hammering away. This clip starts off at full speed then transitions to 1/2 speed, then 1/4 speed to be able to see more of what he is doing.
  
• Painted Bunting - Maya Centre, Belize, 1min. Located at the entrance to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, Maya Centre is just the second place I have seen the Painted Bunting. My only other sighting was at Caracol and I did not have enough time to film it. The only reason I was able to see and film this one in Maya Centre is due to the observations of my friend, CBWS Ranger Brijilio Bolon who lives in Maya Centre.
  
• Green-breasted Mango, 1.5min. April 14, 2016, morning at Crested Caracara Private Reserve, Cayo, Belize. A bunch of Belizean friends have come to join me birding on my last morning in the field. They are all great birders and we saw a lot of birds, many of which I was unable to film due to a camera malfunction (aka Operator Error). But there was a hummingbird that looked a little different. After some excitement and a lot of discussion, it was determined to be a Green-breasted Mango, a real beauty but we were hoping for something more uncommon. But still, this guy looks a little different – what is up with the obvious post-ocular eye spot? Is that common?
  
• Orange-breasted Falcon - Hidden Valley Inn, 1/2min. The folks at hidden Valley Inn were kind enough to let me move around their property seeking birds....
  
• Boat billed Heron, 1min.
  
• Tropical Pewee, 1/2min.
  
• Black and white Owl, 1min.
  
• Red throated Ant Tanager, 1min.
  
• White Ibis, 1min.
  
• Plain Chachalaca, 1/2min.
  
• White Ibis, 1min.
  
• Plain Chachalaca, 1min.
  
• Little Blue Heron, 1/2min.
  
• Great Kiskadee, 1/2min.
  
• Black-headed Trogon, 1min.
  
• Acorn Woodpecker, 1min.
  
• Least Sandpiper, 1min.
  
• Glossy Ibis, 1/4min.
  
• Ruddy Ground Dove, 1/2min.
  
• Vermilion Flycatcher, 1/2min.
  
• Northern Jacana, 10sec.
  
• Glossy Ibis close, 1min.
  
• Great Egret lagoon, 1min.
  
• Mangrove Swallow, 1/2min.
  
• Ruddy Ground Dove, 1min.
  
• Green Heron, 1.5min.
  
• Ringed Kingfisher, 1/2min.
  
• White winged Dove, 1/2min.
  
• Prothonotary Warbler, 5sec.
  
• Spotted Sandpiper, 1min.
  
• Great Blue Heron, 1/2min.
  
• Yucatan Flycatcher, 1/2min.
  
• Ringed Kingfisher, 1/2min.