Belize for Birders With Mass Audubon Naturalist David Larson Feb. 27 – March 6 or 9, 2010

White collared manakin by D. Larson

White whiskered Puffbird by D. Larson

Travel with the Massachusetts Audubon Society 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 800-289-9504 Birding Febr/ March 2010

Tour Terms and Conditions

Main Tour Price: $2800 per person, double occupancy, Single Supplement: $500 Singles are limited. Extension Price: $990, double occ. Single supplement: $500

Price Includes: All meals and accommodations as shown in the itinerary Services of Mass Audubon naturalist Local guide and naturalist All Tips and Gratuities All excursions, entrance fees Extensive trip preparation notes Medical Evacuation coverage Flight within Belize

Price Excludes: International airfare Passport and visa fees; Trip cancellation insurance; Airport taxes; excess baggage charges; Items of a personal nature, including alcoholic beverages, laundry and telephone calls; other items not specifically mentioned as included.

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS: A U.S. Passport valid for at least six months beyond the trip’s departure date is required. A departure tax must be paid (~ $35 US dollars) in cash when exiting.

MASS AUDUBON NATURALIST LEADER:

David Larson is the Director of Mass Audubon's Birder's Certificate Program, a college-level ornithology course, and is teaching a bird ecology course for naturalist guides in Belize. He is the Education Coordinator for Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport, where he designs and leads educational programs and field trips for participants of all ages. He holds a PhD in zoology from the University of Minnesota and has served on the faculty of Boston University. He is a member of the Nuttall Ornithological Club and is the Production Editor of Bird Observer. He has birded and led expeditions throughout North America, and in the Caribbean, Trinidad, Belize, Panama, Brazil, Botswana, and Japan.

Please Note: This tour will provide financial support for Mass Audubon’s conservation partners in Belize.

This trip is for those who would like to get a concentrated birding experience in Belize. While we will visit some of the ruins and always take note of other natural history delights, we will focus on birding. We will be joined by a first rate local Belizean birder and naturalist. There will not be long or especially strenuous hikes, but we will spend long days in the field and you should be generally physically fit.

Travel with the Massachusetts Audubon Society 2 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 800-289-9504 Belize Birding Febr/ March 2010

Daily Itinerary FEB 27 2010 : La Milpa Our Belizean Birding Adventure begins mid-day at the Goldson International Airport near Belize City. After clearing Immigration and Customs, we will be met by our in-country guide and driver, Nathan Forbes, and driven along the Northern Highway into Orange Walk District. We will stop at wetlands (looking for waders such as Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, White Ibis, Northern Jacana), agricultural fields (keeping a lookout for Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture), and riparian areas for birding before reaching the Rio Bravo Conservation Management Area (Programme for Belize). We will check into the La Milpa Field Station and get acquainted with some of the fabulous resident birds. Some of the big birds that have been extirpated in most of Belize are possible in this protected forest, including Ocellated Turkeys, Crested Guans, Great Tinamous, and Great Currasows. After dinner we will do a night walk or drive. [O/N La Milpa Field Station, L,D]

FEB 28 La Milpa We will have an optional early morning bird walk at 6:00 a.m. to the background chorus of Black Howler Monkeys, followed by breakfast. We will then bird the open areas and forest trails at La Milpa, with good chances of seeing King Vulture, Spot-breasted and White-bellied wrens, Purple-crowned Fairy, Strong-billed and Ivory-billed woodcreepers, Plain Antvireo, White-bellied Wren, Chestnut-colored, Black-cheeked, and Golden-fronted woodpeckers, and a host of other forest birds. After lunch we will visit the nearby La Milpas Archeological Site searching for more woodland birds including White Hawk and, with any luck, a mixed foraging flock of tanagers or an army ant swarm with attendant antbirds. There is always a chance of finding a cat (ocelot, jaguar) as well. After dinner we will take a night walk or ride looking for nocturnal mammals and birds. [O/N La Milpa Field Station, B,L,D]

MARCH 1 , New River, and Crooked Tree We will have an optional early morning bird walk at 6:00 a.m. After breakfast we will drive through agricultural areas to the Lamanai Archeological Site. We will bird through the ruins, looking for Red-lored Parrots, Black-headed and Slaty-tailed trogons, Keel-billed Toucans, and other forest birds. After lunch, we will board a boat at the adjacent New River Lagoon and motor down the New River to the Northern Highway Bridge. This trip gives us a great opportunity to search for Belted, Ringed, Green, and American Pygmy kingfishers and other riparian birds, such as Snail Kites, roosting Yucatan Nightjars, Boat-billed Herons, and, with lots of luck, Agami Herons. After the boat ride, we will drive the Northern Highway to the Belize Audubon Society’s Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary where we will spend the next two nights. We will spend the rest of the day birding the sanctuary and the grounds of the Bird’s Eye View Lodge. We expect to see the ubiquitous Tropical Kingbirds and Social Flycatchers, as well as Ruddy Ground-Dove, Yucatan Bobwhite, Yellow-lored Parrot, Red-vented Woodpecker, Yucatan Flycatcher, Yucatan Jay, Barred Antshrike, Yellow-bellied Elaenia, White-collared Seedeaters, and Groove-billed Ani. In the fields and along the edge of the wetland, we will also look for one of the newest Belizean birds, Southern Lapwing. [O/N Birds Eye View Lodge, B,L,D]

MARCH 2 Crooked Tree We will have a pre-breakfast boat trip into the Northern Lagoon. We should see a wide variety of wetland birds including White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Northern Jacana, Purple Gallinule, Least Grebe, Limpkin, Wood Stork, Boat-billed Heron, Black-collared Hawk, and Wood Stork. With luck, we could also find a Jabiru, the largest wader in the western hemisphere. Later in the day, we will drive out into nearby pine savannah areas to look for Yellow- headed Parrots, Azure-crowned Hummingbirds, Forked-tailed and Vermilion flycatchers, Aplomado Falcons and other birds characteristic of this habitat. [O/N Birds Eye View Lodge, B,L,D]

MARCH 3 Crooked Tree to San Ignacio We will have an optional early morning bird walk at 6:00 a.m. After breakfast we will depart the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary to drive to San Ignacio. En route, we will visit birding locations near Burrell Boom and visit the Belize Zoo. This zoo provides a great introduction to Belizean wildlife, as well as a good woodland birding experience. We will bird along the Western Highway and then check into Black Rock Lodge. This lodge has over Travel with the Massachusetts Audubon Society 3 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 800-289-9504 Belize Birding Febr/ March 2010 240 acres along the banks of the Macal River, with over 1100 feet of elevation change which lends itself to viewing nearly 300 species of spectacular resident and migratory birds. The diversity of the lodge’s geography and habitat will provide us with the opportunity to look for all three species of toucans, the Olive-throated Parakeet, the Orange-breasted Falcon, Lineated and Pale-billed woodpeckers, trogons, White Hawk, King Vulture, Golden-hooded Tanager, Purple-crowned Fairy, and both the Tody and Blue-crowned motmots, not to mention various tanagers, woodcreepers, flycatchers, vireos, manakins, and puffbirds. This lodge will be our base of operations for the next three days as we explore the beautiful Cayo District. [O/N Black Rock Lodge, B,L,D]

MARCH 4 San Ignacio We will have early morning birding on the deck followed by breakfast. Then we will bird on the grounds of the Black Rock Lodge. The lodge is above the river and has well-maintained paths along the Macal River as well as the hillside above. We should have great opportunities to see forest and riparian birds such as Amazon, Green, and Ringed kingfishers, Slaty-tailed Trogon, Brown Jay, Great Kiskadee, Squirrel Cuckoo, Black Phoebe, Gray-necked Wood-Rail, and with luck, Sungrebe. After lunch, we will bird the local archeological site – (“Maiden of the Rock”). To reach this wonderfully restored Maya site, we will drive along the Western Highway toward the Guatemala border and then take a hand-cranked ferry across a small river to reach the ruins. The birding in the broadleaf forest surrounding the historic site and among the structures is very productive. [O/N Black Rock Lodge, B,L,D]

MARCH 5 Mountain Pine Ridge We will have early morning birding on the deck followed by breakfast. Then we will explore the Mountain Pine Ridge region of western Belize – an area of great natural beauty and diverse wildlife. As the name implies, this area is very different from the broadleaf forest we have explored previously during our adventure and offers the opportunity to see many new species of birds. Target birds for the Mountain Pine Ridge include Orange-breasted Falcon, Rufous-capped Warbler, Grace’s Warbler, Red-crowned Ant-Tanager, Black-headed Siskin, King Vulture, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Rusty Sparrow, Hepatic Tanager, Yellow-backed Oriole, and the elusive Stygian Owl. We will drive south to the Thousand Foot Falls, (Hidden Valley Falls). Actually, the falls cascade 1,600 feet over a sheer cliff to a forest-lined pool below. An observation platform provides great views of the falls and the surrounding area. We should have excellent birding here.

From the falls, we will drive on to the Rio Frio Cave. We can walk into the cave’s 65-foot high, arched entryway and enter a cathedral-like vault. Without the need for flashlights, we can also walk a quarter of a mile through the cave to view the many stalactites and stalagmites that have formed over thousands of years. For our picnic lunch, we plan to drive another half hour or so to the Rio On Pools where we can bird and relax. The Rio On Pools are a continuous series of basins formed among large granite boulders. Many of the pools are interconnected by small waterfalls. We plan to return to Black Rock in the late afternoon and have a farewell dinner for those who choose not to go on the extension. O/N Black Rock Lodge, B,L,D [ END OF MAIN TOUR. GROUND TRANSER TO GOLDSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON MARCH 5 FOR THOSE NOT CONTINUING ON EXTENSION]

EXTENSION: COCKSCOMB, RED BANK, AND THE COAST

MARCH 6 : Parks and the Hummingbird Highway We will have our customary early morning birding and, after breakfast, check out of our lodge and head east and south toward the Stann Creek District. Depending on our results to date, we may stop at the Guanacaste National Park near Belmopan, the nation’s capital, to look for Red-legged Honeycreepers, Black-headed Trogon, and several species of tanagers and flycatchers. We will proceed along the lovely Hummingbird Highway through some of the prettiest scenery in Belize. Our next scheduled stop is at Blue Hole National Park. This park has extensive forest trails, great birds, and a limestone sink-hole. After visiting Blue Hole, we will proceed to Hopkins, our base of operations for the next three nights. O/N 3 nights at Jaguar Reef Lodge or similar B,L,D

Travel with the Massachusetts Audubon Society 4 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 800-289-9504 Belize Birding Febr/ March 2010

MARCH 7 : Cockscomb and Man O’War Caye We will have an early bird walk on the grounds, breakfast, and then bird our way by vehicle to the Cockscomb Basin Forest Reserve/Jaguar Preserve, a huge forested tract administered by Belize Audubon Society. We will spend the morning through early afternoon birding streamside and forest trails in this preserve, with a picnic lunch onsite. Target birds for this area include Black-faced Grosbeaks, Buff-throated Saltators, Crimson-collared Tanagers, Bat Falcons, Chestnut-headed and Montezuma oropendolas, Cinnamon Becard, White-whiskered Puffbird and both White-collared and Red-capped manakins.

In the afternoon we will transfer back to our lodge and take a boat ride offshore to visit a breeding colony for Magnificent Frigatebirds and Brown Boobies. O/N Jaguar Reef Lodge or similar B,L,D

MARCH 8 - Red Bank We will have a very early morning departure to head to the small village of Red Bank. Every year, rare Scarlet Macaws visit the area near this village to feast on the ripe fruit of the annato and “pole wood” trees, which cover the hillsides. In the not-too-distant past, the villagers used to harvest these magnificent birds for food, but now they achieve greater benefit through bird eco-tourism. While looking for the Macaws, we will be viewing tanagers and euphonias attracted to these fruit trees. After spending the morning birding this area, we will bird our way back to Dangriga.

This afternoon is a catch-up time. We can bird other localities to try to pick up any species we have missed, or you can engage the guides at Jaguar Reef (not included) to take you snorkeling on the reef, tubing on the river, shopping in Hopkins, a center of Garifuna culture in Belize, or just relax. O/N Jaguar Reef Lodge or similar B,L,D

MARCH 9 - Homeward Bound After breakfast we will be driven to the airport in Dangriga for the short flight to the international airport in Belize City to transfer for our international flights back home. [Breakfast only]

Travel with the Massachusetts Audubon Society 5 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 800-289-9504 Belize Birding Febr/ March 2010

TERMS & CONDITIONS OF TRAVEL RESERVATIONS, APPLICATIONS, DEPOSITS: Early reservations are required to ensure your place on this trip. All reservations must be accompanied by a completed reservation form and a $500 deposit. In the case of questionable health, we reserve the right to require a physician’s certification to affirm you are capable of the activities. You will receive a final invoice prior to departure with final payment due on Dec. 18, 95 days prior to departure. Final Payment must be by check. RATES: All forms and fares are accurate at the time of publication April 2009, but are subject to change at any time prior to departure. It is our policy to only pass on the actual amount of any increases in airfares or land costs such as those increases due to the devaluation of the dollar. A price increase may be called for if the group falls below the minimum of 10. The maximum number of participants is approximately 14.

FLIGHTS: Travelers are responsible for arranging their own international flights to Belize. We will send you suggested flights, including the flight details of our Mass Audubon leader. You may book your flights on-line, with a travel agent, or directly with an airline. Please be aware that most tickets are non-refundable, therefore you should not book your flight arrangements until you have checked with us to be sure the tour has the minimum number of participants for the trip to go.

CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS: All cancellations must be done in writing and are effective upon receipt in the Massachusetts Audubon Travel Office. Cancellations received up to 91 days prior to departure will be refunded all money less a $300 per person service fee. For cancellations between 90 and 61 days prior to departure, all deposits will not be refunded. There are no refunds for cancellations 60 days or less from departure. We strongly urge all travelers to purchase trip cancellation insurance. You will be sent information from the Massachusetts Audubon Society upon receipt of your deposit.

Your Responsibility: Although every precaution is taken to safeguard you and your belongings, group travel trips by their nature involve a certain amount of risk. Trip participants should understand that the domestic and international trips sponsored/operated by Massachusetts Audubon Society (Mass Audubon Tours) - hereafter collectively “M.A.S.” - involve known and unknown risks. M.A.S. assumes no responsibility for injuries, death, financial losses or damage to clients’ property caused by or occurring during participation in any of the travel trips sponsored/operated by M.A.S. Trip participants must assume responsibility for having sufficient skill and fitness to participate in the trips and activities offered or sponsored by M.A.S. Trip participants must also certify that they have no medical, mental or physical conditions which could interfere with their abilities to participate in the activities and/or trips they are participating in and they must assume and bear the cost of all risks that may be created, directly or indirectly, by any such condition. It is the responsibility of trip participants to have in place adequate insurance to cover any injury, damage or emergency transportation costs related to their travel and/or participation in trip activities and/or to bear the costs of such injury, damage or emergency transportation costs. Because of the risks associated with the travel trips sponsored by M.A.S. we urge all trip participants to supplement their own insurance with travel or vacation or emergency response types of insurance. M.A.S. requires that all trip participants acknowledge and assume these risks by reading and signing an M.A.S. Release and Waiver and Assumption of Risk contract prior to departure.

Travelers will be provided an itinerary and trip preparation information. It is expected that travelers will read this information prior to trip departure. Travelers will be responsible for completing a reservation form, a personal information form, and a release of liability form.

Travel with the Massachusetts Audubon Society 6 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 800-289-9504 Belize Birding Febr/ March 2010

Reservation Form for Belize Birding: February 27 – March 9, 2010

Mr./Mrs./Ms. Traveler Name (1) – as shown as passport

Mr./Mrs./Ms. Traveler Name (2) – as shown as passport

Address

City State Zip

Phone: Day Evening

Email address

Extension _____ YES, I would like to join the Extension March 6, 7, 8, 2010

Please indication accommodation preferences: I/We are non-smoker(s) ___ smoker(s) ___ (smoking is limited to outdoors in non-group spaces) ___ I request single accommodations where available and will pay the single supplement. ___ I would like to be assigned a roommate. If one is not available, I will pay the single supplement. ___ I am sharing with ______

Deposit: Please find my enclosed check ______or please charge ______my credit card for the deposit ( $500 deposit per person)

VISA___MC___ Card #______Exp.______

Checks should be made payable to “Massachusetts Audubon Society”

______Signature

Travel with the Massachusetts Audubon Society 7 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 800-289-9504