Belize and Guatemala | Neotropical Birds and Mayan Ruins

Upon arrival at the airport, you will be met and transferred to Golden Bay Belize Hotel. Gather this evening with your guide for an orientation to the program. Enjoy a welcome dinner at the hotel. Arrival to Belize City should be no later than 4:30 pm.

Early breakfast then check-out and depart for the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center. Situated upon 29 acres of tropical savanna, the zoo exhibits more than 150 animals representing over 45 species, all native to Belize. Residents include orphaned, rescued, and rehabilitated animals, as well as those born at the zoo or sent as donations from other zoological institutions. Here, have the opportunity to see the critically endangered Yellow-headed Parrot, Aplomado Falcon, White-tailed Hawk, and Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture. Enjoy a talk on Yellow-headed Parrot research and conservation efforts in Belize. (Note: This talk might take place in Crooked Tree, depending on the expert's schedule.) Continue to Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary and settle in. Before dinner, there will be a presentation on birding and conservation in Belize by a local expert. Optional night walk after dinner.

Today, enjoy a full day of birding activities in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. Established in 1984 to protect resident and migrant birds, the sanctuary is managed by the Belize Audubon Society and encompasses a network of inland lagoons, swamps, and waterways. During the dry season (November-May), tens of thousands of birds congregate here, taking advantage of abundant food resources in the wetlands. Bird along the lagoon and its tributaries in search of Wood Stork, Jabiru, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Boat-billed Heron, Black-collared Hawk, Snail Kite, Neotropic Cormorant, Anhinga, Limpkin, and American Pygmy Kingfisher. After lunch, spend the rest of the afternoon birding in the sanctuary. The pine savannas provide an opportunity to see near-endemic Yucatan Jay, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Yellow-headed and Yellow-lored Parrots, Aplomado Falcon, Canivet's Emerald, and Yucatan Woodpecker. Dinner at the lodge.

Early breakfast, check-out and then depart for birding at St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park and Caves Branch River and botanical garden. This region is karst habitat with vast underground caves and rivers, high limestone hills and deep shady gorges. These areas are home to Rufous-tailed Jacamar, White Hawk, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Orange-billed Sparrow, Great Antshrike, White-collared Manakin, Northern Emerald-Toucanet, White-necked Puffbird, Double-toothed Kite and Black Phoebe just to mention a few.This gives way to lush tropical forest at the surface with high biodiversity. Have lunch at Jaguar Creek. Continue birding. Return to the lodge for dinner.

Wake up early for birding around hotel grounds. After breakfast, check out of the lodge and begin the transfer to Tikal, Guatemala, with some birding stops en route. The drive to the border is approximately 2 hours. Note: The journey will include a stop at the Belize/Guatemala border for an examination of our documents. PLEASE HAVE YOUR PASSPORT READILY AVAILABLE. Once in Guatemala, continue 1 hour and then stop to go birding at Yaxhá National Park, where we will meet up with the local Guatemalan guide who will join us during our time in Guatemala. Not as well-known as Tikal, Yaxhá is an important archaeological site that is gaining prominence as researchers delve deeper into its history. The area is part of the Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo National Park, which protects the archaeological sites as well as a large expanse of forest. Here, large flocks of several parrot species move through the area, including Red-lored, White-fronted, White-crowned, and (less often) Mealy Parrots. The nearby lake provides habitat for water birds as well as shorebirds during migration; in open savanna along the shores of the lake, Yellow-tailed Orioles can be found. In the forests of Yaxhá, find a diversity of woodcreepers, Slaty-tailed, Gartered, and Black-headed Trogons, hummingbirds, and tanagers. Considered the third largest ancient Maya city in the region, Yaxhá comprised more than 500 structures, including nine temple pyramids. There are fewer crowds than at Tikal, making it advantageous for birding. On the quiet trails, you may run across one of the four species of Tinamou-Great, Little, Slaty-breasted, and Thicket-or perhaps the hard-to-find Pheasant Cuckoo. After lunch, continue approximately 45 minutes to El Remate town, arriving late in the afternoon. This evening, enjoy dinner and talk with members of the Petén Birders Association, a Guatemalan non-profit organization dedicated to avian conservation through citizen science and outreach.

Early breakfast at the hotel and then drive 40-minutes to Tikal National Park where you will enjoy a full day of birding with lunch at a local restaurant in the park. The 54,610 acres of rainforest in and around Tikal protect a wide range of insects, birds, mammals, reptiles, and plant life. Some iconic wildlife found within the park includes spider monkeys, margays, ocelots, jaguarundis, tapirs, howler monkeys, Ocellated Turkeys, coatis, and giant anteaters. Tikal, the ancient city around which the park was formed, is one of the most famous sites in Guatemala, with a long and mysterious history. The ruins are dominated by five enormous pyramidal temples, as well as an impressive network of causeways, aqueducts, and canals. Nearly 400 bird species have been recorded at Tikal, including many migrants that frequent the area during the North American winter, making the site an extraordinary backdrop for birding. Species here include the Collared Aracari, Northern Emerald-Toucanet, American Pygmy Kingfisher, Eye-ringed Flatbill, Royal Flycatcher, Roadside Hawk, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Lesson's Motmot, Stripe-throated Hermit, Crested Guan, Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Montezuma Oropendola, Brown-hooded Parrot, White-crowned Parrot, and Red-lored Parrot, among others. Return to the hotel for dinner. Tonight there will be optional owling near the lodge.

After breakfast, check out and say goodbye to our Guatemalan expert. Start the journey back to Belize (PLEASE HAVE YOUR PASSPORTS READILY AVAILABLE). After driving approximately 3 hours, have lunch at Upe Nai in San Antonio, Belize. After lunch go birding on the Manakin birding trail. Continue 2.5 hours to Bocawina Rainforest Resort to check in and have dinner. Bocawina Resort is situated in Bocawina Mayflower National Park.

Depart early to Red Bank Village to see the Scarlet Macaws that are rebounding in this region. Visit with a local community member for lunch and a discussion about this important community-based project focused on Scarlet Macaw conservation. This afternoon, birding at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, a tropical moist forest sheltering an abundance of biodiversity including 300 plus bird species. Walk along its extensive trail system on the lookout for trogons, tanagers, flycatchers, and maybe a glimpse of a Yellow billed Cacique. The sanctuary is also recognized as the world's first designated jaguar reserve, so keen observers might even spot a paw print in the forest. In the late afternoon, return to the lodge and bird along the trails for various hummingbirds, woodcreepers, flycatchers, and tanagers, plus Pheasant Cuckoo, Green Honeycreeper, Rufous tailed Jacamar, Nightingale Wren, Green Shrike Vireo, and White winged Becard, among others. Return to Bocawina for dinner.

Early morning birding at Bocawina National Park, check-out and then transfer to Dangriga for flights to Belize City. Please plan international flights after 12pm.