Birds Eye View

The Birds Eye View Lodge is located on a lagoon at Crooked Tree. The lagoon receives its water from river overflow, so the water level can vary substantially. When we were there in Feb, the level was high, the result of Hurricane Wilma and substantial rains in January. When the water is lower, there are many shorebirds, but there were few during our stay.

Birding is excellent on the grounds. Walking the road through the Crooked Tree settlement and beyond into the adjacent savannah offers birding in different habitats. We also took a boat ride on the lagoon with one of the excellent resident guides.

Click on any thumbnail to see a larger picture, then use "back" to return to this page. All photos © George Oetzel, 2006.

	There is very often a Vermillion Flycatcher (usually female) perched on the BEV sign by the entrance.
	Northern Jacanas wander in the field next to the lodge. This picture shows the very long toes that spread the bird's weight so that it can walk on floating lily pads and other aquatic plants.
	White Ibis are also common by the lodge. This picture, and the jacana, were taken from the road near the lodge entrance.
	The Social Flycatcher is very common around the lodge. Flycatchers are very common all over Belize - the moist tropics supply plenty of insects.
	Here's the male Vermillion Flycatcher showing off.
	This is the other side of the Vermillion Flycatcher.
	The Tropical Mockingbird looks and sings much like its northern cousin.
	A Yellow-throated Warbler on the roadside fence.
	A few Grey-Necked Rails hung out around a pig farm up the road.
	Marti and I have long thought that Groove-billed Anis are rather cute, as they look somewhat fuzzy. You can see the grooves in the bill in this picture.
	We made an afternoon tour to the Baboon Sanctuary. (Early settlers called these monkeys baboons.) The sanctuary is quite large, but we were taken only to a 3-acre plot in the middle of a settlement. A family of 7 Howler Monkeys lives in the plot, and they come to the guide's offer of some leaves to eat. We didn't think the tour was worth the time and cost, but it was something for a rainy afternoon.
	The Pygmy Kingfisher is hard to find. Leonard, our sharp-eyed guide spotted this one from the car along the road through the savannah. The road is bordered on one side by more water.
	Little Blue Herons were common both here and at duPlooys.
	Little Blue Herons are white during their first winter, as shown here.
	The Black-collared Hawk, here seen from our boat ride on the lagoon, was our pick for most spectacular of the birds we saw at BEV. It's a fish eater, much like an Osprey.
	An artsy pose by an Anhinga, also from the boat ride.
	Another boat view, a Great Blue Heron, resting on one leg.