Guest post by Holbrook Ambassador Debbie Jordan
Earlier this month, I was honored to represent Holbrook as the keynote speaker at the fifth annual Belize Birding Festival. Way down in the southeast corner of the country, Punta Gorda Town hosted over 200 birders from all six districts in Belize, including a delightful number of students!
My talk was about bird-based tourism, sustainable travel and what makes a good birding destination. Along with Reymundo Chen (a head ranger with TIDE) and Elizabeth Dorgay (science director at Ya’axché Conservation Trust), I participated in a panel discussion moderated by Belize Audubon Society educator Dareece Chuc. Learning about the amazing and often difficult work being done by these NGOs to manage some very important Belize Protected Areas is always inspirational.
Belize is the size of Massachusetts and has 103 protected areas that encompass national parks, marine reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, forest reserves, nature reserves, natural monuments, and archaeological reserves—over one-third of the country!
There were 35 vendor booths comprised of lodges, tour companies, non-profits, plus crafts and delicious local food. You could even try out rappelling inside the auditorium.
The birding events were very well attended, with 56 species seen on Saturday’s Urban Bird Walk. On Sunday, it was great fun seeing the variety of raptors flying over Cattle Landing, the Belize Bird Conservancy Hawk Watch site not far from town.
Thank you to my hosts and festival sponsors—Belize Audubon Society, the Belize Tourism Industry Association, the Protected Areas Conservation Trust, and for the lovely lodging at Creekside Oasis! The 2026 festival date and location has not been announced yet, but I’m sure it will be a good one.
