Birding at duPlooy's
 All photos taken
at duPlooy's
Words and photos by Richard
P Fray © 2009
See the Photo
Gallery for more or watch the duPlooy's Birding Slideshow
The Cayo District of Belize is well known
for its abundant bird life and duPlooy's
Jungle Lodge could no be better placed,
with its rich mixture of habitats and equally
varied avifauna. More than 300 species have
been recorded within five miles of the lodge.
Set in secondary growth rainforest on the
edge of the Macal River, duPlooy's offers
an unparalleled opportunity to get close
to forest birds. The lodge is built on the
edge of a fairly steep wooded incline, and
the unique canopy walk takes you straight
into the canopy and amongst birds not normally
encountered at ground level. The canopy
walk extends out from the bar - forest birding
has never been so civilized!
Each morning we put out a tempting
plate of fruit and throughout the
day the birds will come in and feed
just a few feet from our guests as
they enjoy lunch or a drink at the
bar. Early morning is best though,
and one of our bird guides is always
on hand to help with identification
over the complimentary tea and coffee.
Species such as Collared Aracari,
Wood Thrush, Blue-crowned Motmot and
several tanagers are regular at the
fruit table, usually in numbers, bickering
over the melon!
|
|
|
|
|
Wood Thrush |
|
Collared Aracari |
|
Blue-crowned
Motmot |
|
|
|
|
|
Yellow-winged
Tanager |
|
Red-throated
Ant-Tanager |
|
Blue-gray Tanager |
Other visitors to the fruit include Gray
Catbird, Clay-colored Robin, and the noisy
Plain Chachalacas that will also double
as your daily wake-up call! Whilst around
the deck, you will invariably find pairs
of Rose-throated Becard, Masked Tityra and
several flycatcher species in the canopy,
especially if one of the trees is fruiting.
|
|
|
|
|
Gray Catbird |
|
Rose-throated
Becard |
|
Masked Tityra |
|
|
|
|
|
Plain Chachalaca |
|
Clay-colored
Robin |
|
Social Flycatcher |
As well as the deck birding, there are
many genuine rainforest trails at duPlooy's
that offer more possibilities for true forest
birding, and the recently opened trails
in the outlying forest are potentially even
more exciting. Parrots, trogons, toucans,
honeycreepers, woodcreepers, puffbirds,
tinamou, and many more highly prized birds
are all out there, just waiting to be found.
The cacophony of tropical sounds is constantly
punctuated by the screech of a parrot, and
underpinned with the cooing of White-tipped
Doves and Red-billed Pigeons.
|
|
|
|
|
Violaceous
Trogon |
|
Black-headed
Trogon |
|
Emerald Toucanet |
|
|
|
|
|
White-crowned
Parrot |
|
Red-lored Parrot |
|
White-fronted
Parrot |
|
|
|
|
|
White-tipped
Dove |
|
Red-billed
Pigeon |
|
Red-legged
Honeycreeper |
The river and the forest trail that runs
parallel have obvious advantages to birders,
with the addition of many more species including
swallows, herons, cormorants, five species
of kingfisher, and the stunning and often
comical Gray-necked Wood-Rail. The river
is also a good place to see a dashing Bat
Falcon and occasionally the elusive Sungrebe.
|
|
|
|
|
Yellow-crowned
Night-Heron |
|
Bat Falcon |
|
Gray-necked
Wood-Rail |
The Belize Botanic Garden offers a different
habitat again, the lawned areas and plentiful
flowering and fruiting trees being home
to various hummingbirds as well as species
of more open habitat. Flycatchers abound,
orioles and anis adorn the trees, and pygmy-owls
scowl, whilst the grasses and undergrowth
are alive with buntings and other seed-eaters.
|
|
|
|
|
Yellow-tailed
Oriole |
|
Groove-billed
Ani |
|
Great Kiskadee |
|
|
|
|
|
Tropical Kingbird |
|
Tropical Pewee |
|
Dusky-capped Flycatcher |
|
|
|
|
|
Ferruginous
Pygmy-Owl |
|
Swainson's
Thrush |
|
Indigo Bunting |
|
|
|
|
|
White-collared
Seedeater |
|
Blue Bunting |
|
Yellow-faced
Grassquit |
The "inland lagoon", complete
with bird hide, is an obvious focal point
for birders. Look out for jacanas, Least
Grebe, Blue-winged Teal, sandpipers, herons, egrets
and the odd waterthrush or two.
|
|
|
|
|
Blue-winged
Teal |
|
Least Grebe |
|
Northern Jacana |
|
|
|
|
|
Cattle Egret |
|
Solitary Sandpiper |
|
Northern Waterthrush |
Along the approach road to duPlooy's, the
open fields and crops are excellent feeding
grounds for many species. Large flocks of
seed feeders such as grassquits and buntings
can be found along the roadside, Ruddy Ground-Doves are plentiful, raptors
hunt over the fields and perch on roadside
posts and egrets, swallows, martins and flycatchers
are everywhere. When ripe the sorghum crop
is a particular favorite of the parrots.
|
|
|
|
|
Gray-breasted
Martin |
|
Olive-throated
(Aztec) Parakeet |
|
White-tailed
Kite |
The forest and surrounding lands offers
excellent night birding as well, with several
species of owls and nightjars screeching,
hooting and purring their way through the
night.
As you can probably tell from the photos (when you consider that I'm purely an amateur) duPlooy's is a fantastic place to enjoy wildlife photography. The range of habitats, the close proximity of the subjects and the stunning beauty of the birds, mammals, butterflies, dragonflies, flowers and other wildlife make duPlooy's one of my very favorite places on the planet. If you get the opportunity, you must visit!
We have three of the best bird guides in
Belize on the staff at duPlooy's, and whether
you want to take advantage of our birding
package or would rather explore on your
own, we will be happy to give you all the
advice and expertise you need to make your
Belize birding trip an unforgettable one.
 More Belize Birding Info...
|
