Belizean Birding

Belize records something in the order of six hundred bird species in an area smaller than many American states, and the combination of small distances, English as the working language and a well-developed lodge network makes it one of the easier places in the tropics to see a great many of them. The keel-billed toucan is the national bird and is common enough to be seen from a veranda. Scarlet macaws breed in the Chiquibul and are seen reliably along the Macal in season. The jabiru nests at Crooked Tree. Northern migrants swell the list from October, and the ocellated turkey walks around several archaeological sites.

What you actually see

• Keel-billed toucan - the national bird, common and unmistakable.
• Scarlet macaws - along the Macal river and in the Chiquibul in season.
• Jabiru - nesting at Crooked Tree, the tallest flying bird in the Americas.
• Ocellated turkey - walking around Maya sites in the north.

When to go

November to May combines the dry season with northern migrants, which is the best window. Scarlet macaws are most reliable on the Macal from around March to June. Dawn is the only serious birding hour anywhere in the tropics.

Honest expectations

Species density is high but the forest is dense and much is heard rather than seen; a guide makes an enormous difference and Belizean guides are generally excellent. Lodges with good birding are expensive. Roads to the best sites are rough. Numbers of some species, macaws above all, are under pressure from poaching for the pet trade.

Nearby

Crooked Tree, the Cayo lodges and the Toledo forests are the main areas.