Oh For A Few Days Of Sunshine!

Mandarin duck enjoys a brief glimpse of sunlight

All the signs are here. The chaffinches are calling to each other, the coots are having serious battles over territory, the little brown duck, Lonely, and her mate are checking out the nesting boxes, but the weather is anything but Spring like. We've had the occasional sunny day, and some half-hearted sunrises and sunsets, but for the most part grey skies, bucket-loads of rain, and cool temperatures are all we have to show for the approach of Spring. The mandarin ducks turn up for food most days, but even they couldn't be bothered to brave the heavy rainfall one day this week.

Mrs. Pochard

The Pochards are here so often they are part of the scenery. Even they, however, disappeared for most of yesterday when the heavens opened. The two male escorts are elegantly coiffured with not a feather out of place.

We've had a less frequent visitor to the garden twice in one week, and I'm hoping it will stop by on a regular basis. There was a flash of blue and, when I took a closer look, I saw a kingfisher sitting in the fig tree looking down at the pond. I don't know whether we still have any fish but I think the kingfisher was checking things out. I saw him/her again two days later, sitting on the railings, but I couldn't tell whether it was watching the pond or the shallow river water outside the front door.

Boats in tandem

On a cold, grey morning these boats came through the lock in tandem, saving fuel by using only one engine to power the two of them. Even when the weather's dull there's nearly always something to see on the river, whether it be birds or boats.

Bidou is getting restless

Bidou has become very vocal these days. She chats away to us when she's feeding and she becomes positively distraught at the sound of swans flying overhead. She must be sensing that the mating season is fast approaching and still she has no partner. Although I shouldn't assume that she has 'human' emotions, there are times when she appears to be desperate for company. I can see her now, as I'm writing this, tailing the pair of dominant mute swans as they head here for their last 'wheat treat' of the day. Bidou was here only 10 minutes ago and she was crying out quite pitifully, as if she were calling to her 'friends'. She's not hungry for food but she is hungry for company.

Southern Cormorant

With all the rain the cormorants have enjoyed some good fishing. They seem to be getting quite tame, too. I surprised one by the front door and, instead of diving in panic, it just looked at me and stayed where it was. The southern cormorant, pictured above with its coarse, silver neck plumage, is equally bold and frequently surfaces really close to the houseboat. The other day I saw it fighting with an eel but the eel appeared to win and the cormorant abandoned the fight! Unfortunately, the light was low and I was unable to get a good image of the 'encounter'.

The 'two fat ladies' have just been for supper and were extra hungry tonight. They hadn't called by for breakfast or lunch today but made up for the deficit of wheat when I hand fed them. Were they hungry!!

It's almost dark, but at least it is already 5.40pm, and the evenings are getting lighter. The mandarin ducks are still tucking in to a late supper on the deck. And now, it's time to think about our evening meal . . . and it won't consist of wheat!

How many Pochards?

Dawn patrol

The dominant mute swans don't tolerate interlopers and, with Spring approaching, have increased the early morning patrols of their territory. The mute swan tagged UPH and his partner have been sneaking in for a quick beakful of wheat but it's a risky business. Over the past fourteen days they've been chased away at least a dozen times! They took flight just in time on this occasion but I hope they won't be foolish enough to come back. This was a grab shot, as I hadn't been paying attention and only noticed the action at the last moment. I should know by now that, when the light is lovely and there's wildlife about, I should have my camera close by and be prepared for what might happen!

Bidou stretches her wings

Bidou has become very vocal recently and 'chats' away to us whenever we feed her. In fact, if we don't notice her, she makes sure that we're aware of her presence by increasing the volume of her calls for attention. I've noticed that she responds to any swans flying overhead by 'trumpeting' very loudly as they pass. It's sad that she is still alone, three years after settling in the area, and attaches herself to the pair of mute swans for company whenever she can. It's obvious that they don't really want her around but at least they're not beating her up at the moment.

There's no 'entente cordiale' among Pochards

Monsieur and Madame Pochard have become regulars now and we assume they are the pair that nested in the area last summer. We were rather surprised the other morning to see five pochards hanging around at first light, two pairs and a 'spare' male. We wondered, at first, whether 'the regulars' had brought their mates in from Bushy Park but it soon became apparent that there was no love lost between them and the newcomers haven't been seen since that morning. There's little 'entente cordiale' between the pochards and the mandarin ducks either and there are frequent squabbles but it's fun to watch them all interact. The colourful plumage of the mandarins and the vibrant crest and beak of the male pochard brightens up the rather drab days at the moment.

A determined tufted duck

The current has been strong recently and the waterfowl are having to swim hard against the flow to make any headway. This male tufted duck saw me come out to throw some wheat on the plank and put on a spurt to make sure he didn't miss out on a treat.

Mute swan thrusts against the current

The dominant cob spots a rival

I'm always amazed at just how powerful the dominant pair of mute swans are. They make an impressive pair when they 'see off ' rivals and the wake they create gives some indication of their strength as they surge through the water.

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.