Belize and back again

Wood Stork

When we used to live in Belize, back in 1991, Crooked Tree Wildlife Reserve was not particularly well known. Now, with the help of the Belize Audubon Society, access and information are much improved. Though we were disappointed not to see any Jabiru storks, the tallest flying bird in Central America and South America, we did see plenty of other lovely water birds including the Wood Stork pictured above.

Green Heron

We followed a few trails at Crooked Tree and also drove along some of the village roads where we spotted a number of herons and a hawk, including the Green Heron, above.

Little Blue Heron

Tricoloured Heron

Common Black Hawk

Jaguar

We stayed for one night at the Tropical Education Centre and visited The Belize Zoo. The zoo was founded by an American, Sharon Matola, because indigenous animals used in the filming of Mosquito Coast, would not have survived had they been released back into the wild. We had the pleasure of taking a special 'night tour' of the zoo, which was amazing, and returned the next day in the pouring rain.

Puma

Ocelot

Yellowthroat Warbler

We spotted this handsome and cheeky bird while having lunch at Cheers on the Western Highway. Many thanks to Chrissy from Cheers for letting me know. According to Chrissy, he visits every day.

Roadside Hawk

On our way to Hopkins Village we regularly spotted several Roadside Hawks, including this one whose surprised expression may have been connected to the unusually shaped stream of excrement that he'd just released. I edited it from the picture because it looked very like a Johnson's ear bud!

Long-tailed Hermit Hummingbird

While we were staying in the jungle at the delightful Hickatee Cottages the rainforest lived up to its reputation with abundant downpours. The already shady jungle canopy was darker than normal which made bird photography quite a challenge, especially that of hummingbirds that are in the habit of flitting from flower to flower at lightning speed. They also seemed to know which flowers I had focused my camera on and would seek nectar from other blossoms before I had a chance to re-focus!

The No Sus Falls

There are some stunning waterfalls in the Toledo district including this one. Even though the weather was wet and grey the falls were breathtakingly beautiful. I should imagine that, on sunny Sundays, the local Maya and Ketchi Indians bring their families here to enjoy the refreshing, cool waters of the pools and lagoons.

Rio Blanco Falls

The Rio Branco Falls, also in the Toledo District close to Guatemala, were even more impressive and we had the pleasure of watching a Kingfisher plunge into one of the clearer pools in search of lunch. There's a rather alarming cable bridge over part of the falls and it feels most unsafe walking on small slats of wood that swing as you move. The fact that you can see the water beneath you between the widely spaced slats adds to the experience!

Boats outside Barfield Marine

On our return home we had the pleasure of one fresh snowfall before the white landscape turned to grey . . and wet. Fortunately, the following Sunday was a glorious day and we took the boat out for a trip upstream to see whether anything had changed over the past five weeks. There was little evidence of change and it didn't take long for our 'regular' wildlife to find out that we were back. The wildlife and Dave and I are very grateful to Claudia for looking after garden birds and the waterfowl while we were away.

Astoria

Belize was wonderful but it's good to be home again and there's a lot to be said for messing about by the river on a sunny Sunday afternoon. However often we 'cruise' around Hampton and Platts Eyot we never tire of the beauty of this area.

Jungle & coast

Yellow crowned night heron

After leaving Caye Caulker we spent some days in the Cayo district which was really beautiful, but the weather was, for the most part, cold, wet and grey. We went zip-lining, spent a day at the ATM cave, which was quite an experience, visited the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich and Cahal Pech, went to the Botanical Gardens in the jungle and bounced some thirty odd miles along a 'washboard surface' road to the lovely Rio On Falls. On the final day, the sun shone and we drove almost to Guatemala to the beautiful Mayan ruins of El Pilar. We were the only visitors that day and had the whole site to ourselves. A grey fox stopped and stared at us several times and there were many exotic species of birds and butterflies to enjoy.

An osprey just above our friends' house in Belize City

We spent 5 days over the Christmas period with our friends from 20 years back. They have a magnificent house by the sea at Bella Vista and I spent many a happy hour there watching an osprey, the frigate birds, pelicans, herons, egrets and some lovely garden birds. We also fished from the dock, but only David managed to catch a yellow-fin Jack.

Frigate bird chasing a bait fish

The magnificent frigate birds usually steal fish from other species but they also take advantage of panicked bait fish when a large predatory fish goes on the rampage. Here you can see a female frigate bird just about to swoop on a tiny bait fish leaping from the sea to avoid whatever was hunting beneath the waves!

Hibiscus flower in the late afternoon light

Our friends have a lovely front garden and hummingbirds are sometimes attracted to the hibiscus flowers. I waited patiently for some time but lucked out.

West beach on the Northern Lagoon

David & Debbie took us on an amazing day out, which included trolling for snook and tarpon, a trip up the Sibun river to visit Bird Cay on Northern Lagoon, lunch on West Beach, and a 45 minute trip in an amphibious vehicle through water and then into the jungle as far as Gracie Rock.

On the way we saw a green heron

A great blue heron outside the Geggs' house

A bare-throated Tiger Heron

From Belize City we drove along the stunning Hummingbird Highway on our way to Punta Gorda. This was new territory for us as the Hummingbird Highway was unpaved when we lived in Belize which made for long, slow, uncomfortable driving and we never got as far as Punta Gorda. It's probably the wettest part of Belize - the rain supposedly falls mainly at night - but it rained far more than we'd have liked which put the dampers on most photographic opportunities. We stayed at a lovely jungle lodge with attractive trails into the jungle, but the grey skies and jungle canopy meant that the light was too low for bird photography. I was lucky enough to come across the immature Tiger Heron on the outskirts of town, however, where there was a clearing.

Passion flower

The owner of the lodge was good enough to show us around a butterfly farm and on the way we stopped to look at some of the leaves and flowers needed for the successful breeding of butterflies.

Butterfly feeding on a banana

The Tiger Heron was in the same spot the next day

Hummingbird in the rain

Sunset on the way back from the Maya ruins of Lubaantun

Nature notes from the Caribbean

Osprey returning to feed his young

We've swapped the Thames Riviera, as Taggs Island and environs is called, for a more exotic location with the wildlife to match. Instead of swans and ducks we're surrounded by pelicans, egrets and magnificent frigate birds. The temperature's a little different too - it's in the high 80s here while back home Jack Frost is biting.

Little blue heron joins us for a fish lunch!

It's a different world here in Belize, where time obligingly expands to optimise recreation and relaxation. We've lived in the country twice, some twenty years ago, and revisited in '98, and it is probably our favourite place to be. They say you can never go back, and we had some concerns as to whether we'd still like it here, but little's changed, even in Belize city, and the people here are just as friendly as ever.

Pelican checks out a fisherman cleaning a yellowfin jack

For the last five days we've been unwinding on Caye Caulker, an unspoiled, laid back island of Belize. It's so good to slow down to the local pace, a gentle amble with nowhere to go in a hurry. A pace set by the pelicans and frigate birds that cruise by on the breeze, just like the locals and tourists alike who drift down main street checking out what's hot and what's not!

This magnificent frigate bird stole a sardine head from a gull

We've found an ideal place to pass the time, a bar on the bay called The Lazy Lizard. It has the best of almost everything - clear turquoise water, sunshine, shade, happy people and, best of all, an osprey nest close by. I've been in seventh heaven, watching the osprey bring fish for its partner and offspring while fending off frigate birds, the flying pirates of the Caribbean. It's not often you can sit at a bar, swim in crystal clear water, have fun with the local people, drink rum punch AND take photographs of ospreys on their nest!

Aquabatics are just part of the backdrop

Between relaxing at the bar, swimming, chatting to locals and tourists, and taking photographs, there's always plenty to take in. People watching, something my father loved to do, is great fun here - a few days would provide enough material for a book. As well as the passing boats, canoes, kite surfers and the like, yesterday's high spot was a sailing boat that hit the sand bar before it reached our bar. The poor guys tried really hard to push it into deeper water, hampered by a strong onshore breeze, and after various locals and a small craft tried to rescue them a boat with a serious engine came to their aid and towed them off the sand bar.

Mandingo performs his party trick

Mandingo, a guy with a flare for entertaining tourists, put on an unusual show, too. He took some fresh sardines from a local fisherman (who was busy gutting a huge yellowfin jack) and hand-fed the frigate birds. It was an impressive sight, especially when he placed a sardine in his mouth and one of the frigate birds swooped down and snatched it from his lips. When that party trick was over, Mandingo lured a moray eel from under the dock and enticed an array of colourful fish into the shallow water by the jetty. The price . . . a beer at the bar!

After the moray eel had eaten the smaller fish headed for the fish head

The lazy lizard

Now we know why the bar is called The Lazy Lizard. This little iguana couldn't be bothered to move out of my way and I had to step over him while he just blinked in the sunlight.

Global wetting

A sunny day during a week of rain

For a few brief hours today we enjoyed bright skies and brilliant sunshine. We took advantage of a break in the intermittent yet persistent downpours we've been enduring for several weeks,
to deliver Christmas cards to several friends upstream who live on the next island. Some may question claims about global warming, others question whether climate change is 'man made', but few can deny that the south east of England is getting, wetter, warmer and windier . . . and the rain is more like monsoon rain these days!

Guilty!

This furry felon raids the bird table every day, feasting on the sunflower hearts meant for the finches and tits. Magpies and pigeons also sneak on to the bird table to grab what they can, and that leaves little for the smaller garden birds. Fortunately, I have a window feeder by the kitchen and that helps feed the 'little' birds. No one has told the parakeets that they're not supposed to use the window feeder,though, and one in particular enjoys a leisurely breakfast there most mornings.

Another rainy day in paradise!

Believe it or not this was a colour image! More rain is forecast and the river is flowing faster but is not in spate yet. In fact the river is being well managed at the moment, almost too well as islanders found the levels too low for safety several weeks ago. Some couldn't get off their houseboats! Apparently a sensor failed and river levels dropped too low for most of us.

A new kit on the block

A newcomer to the island, this friendly young moggy spends a little too much time in our garden but he's very sweet. The birds aren't so keen, though. I love cats but am more concerned about the safety of the birds I feed. We seem to have an influx of new cats at the moment, all lovely and all in my garden! I 'm so tempted to stroke them but I do my best to resist the temptation and shoo them away.

Blustery days

Good days for sailing

We've had very squally weather over the last couple of weeks with quieter periods in between. The strength of the gusts last night was impressive - fortunately all is safe and in one piece this morning. The local sailing clubs have had some ideal weather conditions for their Sunday races. The above are Hampton dinghies, making the most of the brisk ,breezy weather.

Male mandarin duck

Only one pair of mandarin ducks visits us regularly at the moment. They always wait to be fed on the front deck rather than at the back of the house for the first feed of the day. The female is so much daintier than a female mallard but she can usually keep her place in the pecking order.
The male isn't so bold and flies off the deck when I put out food but his partner stands at the patio doors and stares in at me when she wants more wheat.

Dangerous territory

Territorial battles between mute swans have been less frequent this winter but occasionally the dominant pair takes exception to any intruder that strays into their territory. When they've driven off potential rivals they continue to flare their wings and flex their necks until they're sure there's no longer a threat.

After an absence of months the squirrel is back, raiding the bird table for sunflower hearts every morning. I had bought a bird table that was designed to foil large birds and squirrels but magpies, pigeons and the squirrel refuse to be deterred by the extra bars. Today I've delayed putting out food until the squirrel gets bored and goes elsewhere!

It's months away from the nesting season but Lonely inspects the two duck nesting boxes every day. Perhaps it's her way of laying claim to at least one of them. A hybrid male duck (one of the brown and white ones like Gobi) also spends a fair amount of time on the ramp of the nest box last used by Goldeneye.

Stormy nights and misty mornings

Leisurely preen

On colder mornings the swans spend at least an hour at the feeding station hoping for extra hand-outs. When they finally accept that feeding time is over, they relax mid-stream for a serious preen. This one caught my eye when it was backlit by the early morning sun for a moment. It's warm breath laced the cold air in wisp of vapour.

The mandarin ducks are back

Four days ago I noticed that the mandarin ducks were back after disappearing for several months from the scene. They're quite bold and the female stands right up close to the sliding doors and pecks on the glass for attention.

A typical misty scene for this time of year

It's time for the kids to leave

Every morning I'm greeted by the parent swans, three cygnets, the black swan, fifteen to twenty ducks, the two fat ladies and an assortment of tufted ducks and coots. Feeding them all is quite a challenge as they fight each other instead of getting stuck in! The two fat ladies eat what they can from the communal platform and then swim over to me to be hand fed. If I'm not careful, I nearly trip over a drake every time I move as he follows me like a dog and stands right by my feet hoping for his own private supply of wheat. If I feed him separately he is immediately driven off by other ducks and returns to my side. One day, if I'm not careful, I'll trip over him! Meanwhile Bidou, the black swan, expects to be fed in her usual spot but the swans and cygnets are wise to this and chase her off. After 10 minutes, things quieten down a bit (apart from the swans) and then some of the more shy ducks, like Lonely, turn up for their turn.

Battered by rain

During last night's storms winds gusted to 75mph and are still brisk this morning with a threat of more squalls to come. Yesterday this rose looked lovely but it's taken a fair battering overnight.

The end of an Indian summer

The lovely Indian summer is gradually coming to an end. We've started getting heavy rain at times and the temperatures have dropped significantly. I still haven't had to wrap my citrus trees in fleece yet, but it's handy for when the first frost is forecast. This morning is bright and sunny so I was able to take this picture of Bidou (below) stretching her wings after having chased one of the cygnets away from the food supply. It's almost a game with her. She picks on one of the cygnets and chases it round and round the boat until she gets bored. Apart from grabbing it by the neck or tail feathers occasionally, she does nothing else to harm it.

Bidou enjoying a leisurely stretch

A stream in Bushy Park

When the weather forecast predicted the end of the warm, sunny days, I grabbed the opportunity to take a walk in the park late one afternoon. The sun disappears from the woodland gardens all too early, but I still enjoyed the more muted light that lent a softer hue to the autumm colours. I had hoped to see some deer on my walk but not one showed as much as its antlers.

Tufted duck enjoying the early morning sunshine

The tufted ducks are so tame these days, having become habituated to humans. Dozens of them spend the day under the overhang of our walkway, taking advantage of any food that I put out for the swans and ducks. They love wheat and dive for the grains that are spilled by the careless ducks. At the moment the water is really clear, so we can watch them swimming underwater as they search for the wheat. Some of them now use our main plank to 'haul out' and preen, which is great, because one doesn't normally see tufties on dry land. The coots chase them off if they want the plank for themselves but, occasionally, the tufties have a chance to clean up and have a quiet kip without being disturbed.

The pond in late autumn

The leaves on our Acer have turned a magnificent rusty red and the pond plants, instead of dying off, seem to be growing again. There are gorgeous new flowers on the marsh marigold and one of the other plants is putting out new shoots. Even the watercress is doing well.