BELIZE’S HIDDEN TREASURES: POOK’S HILL & BLACK ROCK LODGE JANUARY 19-25, 2020 ©2019 Golden-hooded Tanager © Michael O'Brien In western Belize’s Cayo District, two outstanding lodges, Pook’s Hill and Black Rock, serve as a perfect base for exploring the Maya Mountain foothills and Mountain Pine Ridge. This interesting area has a different mix of species than lowland Belize, including many regional specialties and possibilities for several very rare species. Pook’s Hill lies in a private reserve along the Roaring River, adjoining the vast Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve, and offers some of the best forest birding in all of Belize. A full day exploring the trails here will seem barely adequate to soak in the bounty of this fabulous place. From before dawn when calls of Great Tinamou and Spectacled Owl echo through the forest, to mid-morning when White Hawk and King Vulture circle overhead, we’ll amass an amazing list of species. Some highlights may include Great Curassow, Purple-crowned Fairy, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, Great Antshrike, Wedge-billed Woodcreeper, Royal and Ruddy-tailed flycatchers, and Rufous Mourner. At Belize’s Hidden Treasures, Page 2 St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park we’ll search for Nightingale Wren and Lesson’s Motmot, as well as such dazzling beauties as White-collared Manakin, Passerini’s Tanager, and Orange-billed Sparrow. A short distance to the west, Black Rock Lodge is one of a kind. Operating off-grid, Black Rock uses micro- hydroelectric and solar power to run their facilities, and is also extremely comfortable. From the main veranda, a grand vista over the Macal River Gorge offers some of the best raptor watching in Belize, including resident Orange- breasted Falcon and Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and often eye- level Swallow-tailed Kites! When we tear ourselves away from the veranda, excellent birding along the trails and entrance road may yield Spotted Wood-Quail, Collared Trogon, Northern Emerald- Toucanet, and Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher. A day trip to Mountain Pine Ridge will bring us to a whole new set of birds, such as Azure-crowned Hummingbird, Green Jay, Cabanis’s Wren, Grace’s and Rufous-capped warblers, Rusty Sparrow, Yellow-backed and Yellow-tailed orioles, and Black-headed Siskin. To make things even more exciting, this itinerary allows reasonable possibilities for some true rarities including Solitary Eagle, Uniform Crake, Pheasant Cuckoo, Stygian Owl, Black-crested Coquette, Lovely Cotinga, and Blue Seedeater. We won’t see all of these, but we’ll certainly look for them! January 19 Day 1: Arrival and Transfer to Pook’s Hill. Participants should plan to arrive in Belize City (airport code BZE) by 2:00 p.m. Upon arrival, you’ll be met by a representative of Pook’s Hill and transferred to the lodge, a drive of less than two hours. Many of us may travel to Pook’s Hill together, but our first official meeting will be at the veranda and bar at 5:30 p.m. NIGHT: Pook’s Hill Lodge (near Teakettle) January 20, Day 2: All Day at Pook’s Hill. Pook’s Hill was built around an ancient Mayan residential complex, referred to as a Plazuela Group (a “diminutive plaza”), and much of the forest surrounding the main clearing contains unexcavated Mayan settlements. In our wanderings, we will likely see mounded piles of stones, indicating the presence of an ancient Maya family dwelling. The lodge is simple but very comfortable, and is set in some of the finest forest we have birded in Belize. We’ll take a full day to explore this fabulous site, and should expect well over 100 species without ever getting into a vehicle! Belize’s Hidden Treasures, Page 3 Pook's Hill Lodge © Louise Zemaitis Our day will be entirely on foot, but broken up into several segments, with ample time to get off our feet, use the restroom, and take in some wonderful meals. Some of the many species we’ll look for include Great Curassow, Purple-crowned Fairy, Lesson’s Motmot, Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Mealy Parrot, Great Antshrike, seven species of woodcreepers, Stub-tailed Spadebill, Band-backed Wren, and Golden-crowned Warbler. With a great deal of luck, some of the rarer possibilities at Pook’s Hill include Uniform Crake, Pheasant Cuckoo, Scaly-throated Leaftosser, and Blue Seedeater. When conditions are right, we’ll position ourselves to watch the sky for soaring raptors, such as King Vulture, White Hawk, and Hook-billed and Double-toothed kites. At the same time, we’ll watch for the four possible swift species here: Vaux’s, White-collared, Chestnut-collared, and Lesser Swallow-tailed. In the evening, we may hear Spectacled, Mottled, and Black-and-white owls, and if so, will make an effort to see them. NIGHT: Pook’s Hill Lodge (near Teakettle) January 21, Day 3: St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park; Transfer to Black Rock Lodge. After an early breakfast, a 45-minute drive will take us to St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park. We’ll spend much of our time in the vicinity of St. Herman’s Cave, a limestone cave best known among birders as a reliable site for Nightingale Wren. This cave was an important Maya ritual site during the Classic Period and many artifacts such as pottery vessels, torches, and spears have been found here. The trails here can be incredibly birdy and we’ll keep an eye out for Lesson’s and Tody motmots, Royal Flycatcher, Eye-ringed Flatbill, White-collared Manakin, Northern Schiffornis, Cinnamon Becard, Crimson-collared and Passerini’s tanagers, and Orange-billed Sparrow. Around the entrance to the cave, there are likely to be several “Ridgeway’s” Rough-winged Swallows, a subspecies which nests in caves and limestone sinks, primarily in the Yucatan Peninsula. We’ll return to Pook’s Hill for lunch, and in the afternoon, transfer to Black Rock Lodge. NIGHT: Black Rock Lodge (near San Ignacio) January 22, Day 4: Black Rock Lodge. Our first full day at Black Rock Lodge will be spent entirely on the grounds, nearby trails, and entrance road. This top-notch resort is a true eco-lodge, with a passionate commitment Belize’s Hidden Treasures, Page 4 to sustainability and environmental stewardship. Operating off-grid, they use micro-hydroelectric and solar power to run their facilities, have a micro wetland for wastewater processing, and grow their own produce. The rooms are extremely comfortable, and the main veranda has a stunning vista over the Macal River Gorge in Black Rock Canyon. What’s more, the birding here is outstanding! Looking out over the gorge, one may see a swirling group of Swallow-tailed Kites at eye level, or see an Ornate Hawk-Eagle sail by, or even see a courting pair of Orange-breasted Falcons in a noisy tail chase overhead, or perched on a nearby cliff. Meanwhile, the feeders will likely be covered with Yellow- throated and Olive-backed euphonias, Red-legged Honeycreepers, and maybe a Yellow-winged Tanager or Black-cheeked Woodpecker. This 250-acre private reserve abuts the vast Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, and is one of Western Belize’s true gems. Three species of toucans nest right on the grounds, and four species of trogons can be found in the immediate vicinity. Our explorations of the lodge, trails and entrance road should yield a large list of species, possibly including Spotted Wood-Quail, Long-billed and Stripe-throated hermits, Wedge- tailed Sabrewing, Amazon Kingfisher, White-necked and White- whiskered puffbirds, Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Green-backed Ornate Hawk-Eagle © Michael O'Brien Sparrow, and a host of North American migrants. White-whiskered Puffbird © Michael O’Brien On one of our evenings here, we’ll take a night drive in search of Northern Potoo, and possibly an owl or interesting mammal. NIGHT: Black Rock Lodge (near San Ignacio) Belize’s Hidden Treasures, Page 5 January 23, Day 5: Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. Today we’ll make the long (~1.5 hour) drive up to Mountain Pine Ridge, a 100,000-acre reserve situated largely on a granite massif, and established in 1944 to protect Belize’s forest of native Honduras Pine (Pinus caribaea hondurensis ). The birds here are quite different from those in the broadleaf forest of the foothills, so we’ll expect to find a good number of new species. Some of those on our target list today include Azure-crowned Hummingbird, Greater Pewee, Plumbeous Vireo, Green Jay, Sedge and Cabanis’s wrens, Grace’s and Rufous-capped warblers, Rusty Sparrow, Hepatic Tanager, Yellow-backed and Yellow-tailed orioles, and Black-headed Siskin. And if we’re very lucky, we may also see Solitary Eagle, Rusty Sparrow © Michael O'Brien Stygian Owl, or Lovely Cotinga. If time permits, our return trip may include at least a brief stop at some private hummingbird feeders. NIGHT: Black Rock Lodge (near San Ignacio) January 24, Day 6: Xunantunich and Black Rock Lodge. This morning we will visit the Mayan ruins at Xunantunich, located on a ridge above the Mopan River near the Guatemala border. The site was a Mayan ceremonial center during the Late and Terminal Classic periods. Its name, which means “stone woman,” was given in modern times for the ghost of a woman reported to inhabit the site in the 19 th century. Birding can be excellent at the ruins, and there are often mixed songbird flocks including various flycatchers, vireos, warblers, orioles, tanagers, and euphonias. The forest edge here is frequented by Gartered and Black-headed trogons, and is also very good for finding Lesson’s Motmot.