Nature Treks and Passages
in collaboration with Desert Botanical Garden
presents
BIRDING IN BELIZE AND TIKAL: JUNGLE, RUINS, AND REEFS
$3499
For a trip list of birds seen on our previous Belize trips, see http://www.naturetreks.net/belizetikal07.htm.
If you would like to read about one of our past Belize trips, just click on this Trip Report.
A trip for all birders --- from beginners to the “obsessed” advanced! Our tour includes a sample of many of the diverse bioregions of Belize, from savannah to rainforest to an island inside the barrier reef. Plus two outstanding Mayan ruins! Belize is one of the most exciting countries a birder can visit, with over 550 bird species and 350 bird species in Tikal in Guatemala alone.
Tinamous, Hawk-Eagles, Forest-Falcons, Crakes, Parrots and Parakeets, four kinds of Trogons, Puffbirds, Woodcreepers, Potoos, and Becards ...all of these and others await you there.
Belize teems with other wildlife as well including jaguars, pumas, tapirs, iguanas, and monkeys. We’ll be staying at comfortable inns and "jungle lodges" throughout the trip. We limit our group size to 12 participants with 2 guides to ensure that everyone enjoys the best possible wildlife viewing.
DETAILED ITINERARY
Day 1 – Pick up by 5 PM from the Belize airport. Transfer to Bird’s Eye View Lodge near Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, managed by the Belize Audubon Society. Good chance to see Jabiru Storks by the lagoon. Dinner at our lodge. The bird count-down begins!
Day 2- Early AM bird walk. After breakfast, we take an hour and one-half boat ride on the New River through the jungle to visit the archaeological site of Lamanai where we’ll be guided by a local naturalist. There are 700 buildings in this complex that is believed to have supported at least 35,000 people at its peak around AD 200 to AD 900. Picnic lunch at Lamanai. We take the boat back up river to our pick up by bus. We then drive back to Crooked Tree Sanctuary to bird. Drive to lodge. Dinner at our lodge.
Day 3- Early AM bird walk. After breakfast, we drive to the Belize Zoo to see Belize wildlife close-up. Picnic lunch near zoo. Drive to a remote jungle lodge near Hopkins. On our afternoon birding trip we may walk to bird at a waterfall in the nearby Mayflower Bocawina Preserve, another Mayan archaeological site.
Day 4-Early AM bird walk. After breakfast, we drive to Maya Centre to visit a Mayan indigenous craft co-op and then to Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Reserve, managed by Belize Audubon Society, for a walk while birding through the rainforest. We then return to our nearby lodge. Possible night birding.
Day 5-Early AM bird walk. After breakfast, we drive to the Cayo District at the Western edge of Belize, stopping at Blue Hole National Park on the way to bird and take a swim in its famous cenote/swimming hole. We stay at a well-appointed jungle lodge in the rainforest right on the Macal River.
Day 6-Early AM bird walk. A free day to mountain bike, visit a butterfly farm, get a world-class massage, canoe, tube down the river, or just lounge around. Stay at the same lodging.
Day 7 - After breakfast, we drive to Tikal in Guatemala. Because it has been a well protected national park for many years, the wildlife we find there has become accustomed to human viewers and is easy to spot. We stop to shop for Guatemalan arts and crafts right across the border. Our lodge at Tikal is right outside the entrance to the ruins. It is quite comfortable and has a swimming pool. Afternoon birding outside the ruins.
Day 8- This entire day will be devoted to touring Tikal with its amazing variety of birds and other wildlife. We will tour the site with a local naturalist versed in ornithology and archaeology. The archaeological site of Tikal was a powerful Mayan city occupied by large numbers of people between AD 250 and AD 900 and is the best embodiment of the extraordinary accomplishments of the Maya. Tikal was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979 and is part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, the second largest neo-tropical rainforest in the world.
Day 9 – We drive back to Belize City from Tikal. We take a 45 minute boat ride to the island of Caye Caulker. This beautiful long sand atoll sits next to the barrier reef. We stay at a hotel adjacent to the sea, where all rooms have a view of the beach. Time to relax!
Day 10 –– Right after dawn we enjoy a nature walk in Caye Caulker’s Nature Preserve with a local naturalist. After lunch we take a boat trip to snorkel and view marine preserves off the island. Belize’s awesome coral reef is in great shape and offers us views of a wide variety of tropical fish. We stay at the same hotel.
Day 11- After breakfast we take the boat back to the mainland, then take a taxi to the airport for the flight back to the US.
Itinerary is subject to change, based on weather or other factors.
YOUR GUIDES
Larry Liese is well known among Tucson birders as a field guide for Tucson Audubon Society as well as the author of the “Dastardly Duos” column in Tucson Audubon’s newsletter. In the past few years he has led over 35 birding trips to Belize and Mexico and led over 75 birding trips in Southeastern Arizona. He has a special talent for helping beginning birders feel comfortable in the field.
Keith Kamper came by his interest in natural history at a young age. While in his early teens he was vice president of the Holland Audubon Society in West Michigan for which he led field trips and edited the group’s newsletter. He was a regional coordinator for the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas. While attending university he led birding trips for the Alabama Field Ornithologists. He has birded throughout the lower 48, Alaska, and Mexico. Keith has published articles in the Arizona Field Ornithologist’s journal Arizona Birds. He compiles the Rare Bird Alert and leads birding field trips for Tucson Audubon Society. He enjoys sharing his passion with those who are new to birding.
REFERENCES
Books
Belize, Miller Carlstroem, Carolyn and Miller, Debra. Lonely Planet Publications, 2002
Hidden Belize, O'Neal, Catherine. Ulysses Press, 2001
Belize & Northern Guatemala, Beletsky, Les. Natural World Academic Press, 1999
Birds of Mexico and Central North America, Howell, Steve and Webb, Sophie
Jaguar: One Man's Struggle To Establish The World's First Jaguar Preserve, Rabinowitz, Alan
Maya Nature, Janson, Thor. Vista Publications, 2001
TRIP COST AND POLICIES
The price of this 11-day trip is $3499 based on double occupancy and a minimum of 6 people. The single supplement is $300. We will match you with a roommate of the same gender if you choose, but if this is not possible you will be charged the single supplement fee. The tour fee includes all accommodations, meals, guides, entrance fees, tips, and transportation from Belize City. It also includes trip insurance covering emergency medical services and emergency medical evacuation. The following are not included: airfare to the starting place of the trip, alcoholic beverages, tips for the birding guides, optional activities on Day 6, immigration fees levied by Guatemala and Belize, and costs resulting from illness, injury, or emergency evacuation, program changes and delays beyond our control.
To register for this tour, contact Debra Tranberg at info@naturetreks.net or call(781) 789-8127 for a registration packet. A deposit of $400 per person is required to reserve a spot on the trip. Full payment of the tour fee is due ninety days prior to the tour departure. Please send your checks to Nature Treks and Passages, P.O. Box 542, Bryantville, MA 02357. If you have any questions, please contact Debra Tranberg at(781) 789-8127 or info@naturetreks.net.
TRIP CANCELLATION POLICY
Refunds are made according to the following schedule. Cancellations in writing made more than 90 days before departure will forfeit $400. Cancellations made 70 to 90 days before departure will forfeit 50% of the trip price. There is no refund for trips cancelled less than 70 days before departure. No substitutions can be made for cancellations. It is highly recommended that you consider purchasing trip cancellation insurance to cover your financial investment in this trip. You may purchase this insurance by clicking the "Travel Insurance" button at the top of this page.
TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
A current passport valid for six months beyond the date of your return is required for US citizens to enter Belize. You will be issued a tourist card by the airline; leave your copy of this in your passport, as it will be collected by customs upon departure.