Day 1, March 10 - Welcome to Belize! You will be met at the Belize International Airport in Belize City and transfer to your hotel. If timing permits, you can enjoy some birding on the ground of the lodge.
Day 2, March 11 - We will wake up to the sounds of Belize’s morning bird chorus around Black Orchid. After breakfast, will depart the lodge and make our way to the Guatemalan border through the town of San Ignacio and be dropped off in the capable hands of your local Guatemalan birding guide. You will start the drive through the picturesque countryside of eastern Guatemala, into the Mayan Biosphere Reserve. You will make your way to Tikal, where you will check in to the lodge and enjoy lunch. You will spend the rest of the afternoon birding with your guide around the grounds outside of the cabins and nearby sites. Red-capped Manakin, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Montezuma Oropendola, Keel-billed Toucan, Ruddy Woodcreeper, Masked Tityra and many others are found around this birdy area.
Day 3, March 12 - Today you will spend the day at the world-famous Mayan ruins at Tikal. Surrounded by extensive rainforest within Tikal National Park, the temples of the ancient city emerge above the forest canopy, while thousands of structures and artifacts are scattered through the forest understory. Tikal was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 and sets the scene for a great day of exploration and birding ahead. As you slowly make your way through the ruins with your guides, there will be plenty of opportunities to see some of the birdlife around this highly biodiverse area. Around the grounds you may encounter Black-headed, Slaty-tailed and Gartered trogons, Yellow-throated Euphonia, Great Tinamou, Ocellated Turkey, Mealy Parrot, Green Honeycreeper, Crested Guan, Great Curassow and Rose-throated Tanager. Keep an eye out for Orange-breasted Falcon around the taller temples, and rare forest raptors such as Crested Eagle and Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle have been recorded here. It will no doubt be a very memorable day!
Day 4, March 13 - This morning you can enjoy some final morning birding around the lodge before breakfast, then you will check out and drive one hour toward the town of Flores. Along the way, you will stop for some birding at Peten Itza Lake, where waterbirds, including Purple Gallinule, Ruddy Crake, Northern Jacana, Limpkin and Pinnated Bittern are possible to find. Forest edge and open area birds here are many, and include Green Jay, Plain Chachalaca, Scrub Euphonia, Vermillion Flycatcher, Spot-breasted Wren, Grayish Saltator, Yellow-tailed Oriole and Green breasted Mango. You will carry on birding at some nearby fields where some Yucatan specialties, including Black Catbird, Black-throated Bobwhite, White-bellied Wren, as well as Striped Cuckoo, White-fronted Parrot and Botteri’s Sparrow can be found. In Flores, there will also be the opportunity to check out the colorful artisan markets that adorn the region.
Day 5, March 14 - This morning we can take in some early morning birding at Tikal, which will allow us to continue enjoying the abundant birdlife of the area. Slaty-breasted Tinamou, Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Stub-tailed Spadebill and so many others are possibilities here. From here, we will drive southeast to the Belize border, and carry on to the Mountain Pine Ridge – a unique, mountainous area in Belize’s west, an excellent place to find many special bird species including King Vulture, Acorn Woodpecker, Scaled Pigeon, Rusty Sparrow, Azure-crowned Hummingbird, and Grace’s Warbler. We will spend the remainder of the afternoon birding the numerous trails and access roads around the lodge, followed by dinner.
Days 6 & 7, March 15 & 16 - Over the next two days, we will have ample time to explore the vast expanse of the Mountain Pine Ridge. Within these hills, you will find broadleaf forest, dry pine savannah, flowing rivers, unusual rocky pools, lush waterfalls and amazing views all around. This area is a mecca for Neotropical raptors and is home to some rare species including Orange-breasted Falcon, Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Solitary Eagle, and Stygian Owl. In addition to that, it is an excellent place to find Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Short-billed Pigeon, Blue-black Grosbeak, Canivet’s Emerald and many others. The birding is excellent along Las Cuevas Road, we will hope to see some new species for the tour including Stripe-throated Hermit, Purple-crowned Fairy, Black-faced Grosbeak, Morelet’s Seedeater, Keel-billed Motmot, Collared Trogon, Slate-colored Solitaire, Northern Emerald-Toucanet, White-winged Tanager and Golden-crowned Warbler are all found here, among many others.
Day 8, March 17 - We will enjoy a final morning of birding around the lodge to seek out any other species not seen yet – Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Black-headed Siskin, Plumbeous Vireo, and Melodious Blackbird, to name a few. After some morning birding, you will travel north to Bocawina National Park and Cockscomb Basin. This highly diverse area of Belize is home to hundreds of species of birds of lowland tropical rainforest and is a stronghold for one of the largest Jaguar populations in the world. Upon arrival, you will check in at the lodge and head out to explore the grounds. In the gardens it is easy to see Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Cinnamon Becard, Great Kiskadee, Clay-colored Thrush, Morelet’s Seedeater and other common species. This afternoon you will head to one of the trails of the national park where you will spend the afternoon birding and enjoying the tropical habitat found here. Stripe-throated Hermit, Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Bright rumped Attila, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Squirrel Cuckoo and even the impressive Great Curassow are all possibilities here. Time permitting, you will head to Hopkins Wetlands and Sittee River, a very productive birding area with rich history to share. You will return to the lodge later in the day and enjoy dinner together.
Day 9, March 18 - You will have an exciting day ahead of you as you depart early to spend the full day exploring Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. This park, known for its spectacular scenery with jungle waterfalls, mountain vistas and dense tropical rainforest, is home of the world’s first Jaguar preserve. You will spend the day birding the access road and some of the preserve’s numerous trails. White-collared Manakin, Crested Guan, Dot-winged Antwren, Green Shrike-Vireo, Yellow-winged Tanager, Golden-hooded Tanager, Black-headed Saltator, Crane Hawk, Pale billed Woodpecker, Chestnut-headed Oropendola, Scarlet-rumped Tanager and Slaty-tailed Trogon are just some of the birds you could encounter today. If lucky, you may see Scarlet Macaw, Ornate Hawk-Eagle or even King Vulture! In the late afternoon you will return back to the lodge for dinner. This evening take advantage of seeking out some of the nocturnal wildlife of the area – Common Pauraque and Spectacled, Mottled and Black and-white owls are possible here.
Day 10, March 19 - After a final morning of birding in the Bocawina area, you will depart northward toward Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Belize’s best birding destinations. Crooked Tree is an extensive area of wetlands, broadleaf forest and pine savannah and is home to hundreds of species of water birds, open area birds and more. Upon arrival in Crooked Tree, we can start to bird the grounds of the lodge, where Northern Jacana, Groove-billed Ani, Russet-naped Wood-Rail, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, White-fronted Parrot, and Vermillion Flycatcher are common. In the early evening, we will explore the sanctuary by boat (boat tours are dependent on water levels). At a slow pace, keep an eye out for Agami Heron, Jabiru, Snail Kite, Mangrove Swallow, American Pygmy Kingfisher and other water birds and forest edge species. As dusk falls over the landscape, we will head back to the lodge for dinner.
Day 11, March 20 - Today we will head out early, departing by boat into the winding rivers and make our way to Lamanai Mayan Ruins, tucked deep in the wetlands west of the sanctuary. We will arrive early to take in the fantastic birding in the area: Red-billed Pigeon, Plain Chachalaca, White-bellied Emerald, Laughing Falcon, Green-backed Sparrow, Black-headed Trogon, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Pale-billed Woodpecker, White-collared Manakin, Black-cowled Oriole and even Tody Motmot is found here. We will spend the better part of the day enjoying the spectacular birding and learning about this incredible archaeological site, an ancient Mayan city that dates back to as early as the 16th century BC. We will return to the lodge in the afternoon, with time to relax, or continue birding, followed by dinner.
Day 12, March 21 - A morning boat ride (water levels permitting) though the calm waters of Crooked Tree will allow us to take in the early bird activity of the day. We will look for Yucatan Woodpecker, Green and Yucatan jays, Yellow-lored Parrot, Limpkin, Rose-throated Becard, and Black-collared Hawk, among many others. Then we will drive back to Belize City where we will get dropped off at the international airport to catch our return flights home.