The Birds of Ambergris Caye

Part 1 by Susan Lala

Quietly but steadily Caribbean Villas has been developing a private bird sanctuary. The sanctuary is located in the narrow but rich littoral forest region south of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye.

The littoral forest is filled with a vast abundance of fruiting trees and shrubs. Some of the most important are the gumbo lumbo, the bearded fig, the wild sapodilla and the coco plum. These trees support a great array of birds.

Sitting in the center of the littoral forest is our towering "people perch". This multi-level observation tower was built especially for birders. It provides birders a superb opportunity to view birds from above the canopy of flowers and trees. This 360 degree view reaches to the Caribbean to the east, Hol Chan Marine Preserve to the south, San Pedro on the north and west to the San Pedro Lagoon and the Chetumal Bay beyond.

Birds frequently seen from the "people perch" include the white-eyed vireo, Yucatan vireo, common tody flycatcher, great Kiskadee, black catbird, yellow-bellied elaenia, white-collared seedeater, golden-fronted woodpecker, black-headed salator and the hooded oriole.

Less frequent but recent visitors have been a pair of green-breasted mango hummingbirds, numerous eastern kingbirds, both the scarlet and summer tanagers, two regal white-crowned pigeons and a rose- throated becard.

One of my favorite birds, the yellow-backed oriole, returned about a month ago. Its melodious song is very alluring and I frequently hear it as it perches in the sprawling bougainvillaea near our balcony.

Birders should look for signs identifying this area as a private sanctuary open to birders from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact Caribbean Villas Hotel for additional information at 226-2715.

Over the years my knowledge has grown. From time to time I will share my observations with fellow birders, so watch this site!

Stay where the birds stay, Caribbean Villas

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The black-headed saltators are zeroing in on our largest coco plumb tree. I hear their calls all day long as they swish in and out among the branches. This means the coco plumbs are getting ripe.

Looking back through very early photos of Caribbean Villas the earliest photograph I have, judging from the height of the tree, would have been when it was 3 or 4 years old. Just a bush then and not yet bearing fruit. But by the time we first moved onto the property it was flowering off and on throughout the year and fruiting bountifully. There are always a few coco plumbs on the tree anytime during the year, but in early winter and early summer the branches grow heavy with thousands of rosy marshmallow sized coco plumbs. The birds are delighted. Blackbirds and the black-headed saltators are rarely far away. The black-headed saltators are large birds 10 to 11 inches long. They have a rich yellow green mantel, black head and a bold white patch at the throat lined with black. The white patch seems to flash like a beacon in the early morning light when the sun is low. Their flight is swift and when they land they blend in with the foliage. But if you stand back a bit and let your ears lead the way you'll discover them soon.

Over the years my knowledge has grown. From time to time I will share my observations with fellow birders, so watch this site!

Stay where the birds stay, Caribbean Villas

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I'm always careful not to over state my knowledge about birds. When I moved to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye in Belize, I was amazed to discover the four acres of land on which my husband and I were building a hotel was hopping with birds of every description. Many more species than had come to our feeders in Kansas.

My first level of interest was "isn't that a pretty bird?" I would twist my neck in attempt to follow the flight of the birds passing. but I had no idea what I was looking at. But I wanted to learn. Then I began searching for bird books that could help me identify them. My daughter Lisa called this my collecting phase. According to her I spent more time buying books in an attempt to identify the birds around the hotel than actually identifying them.

During construction my husband, Wil, was still in the states and I was living here alone. One of the first birds I identified was the Tropical Mockingbird. It's singing provided welcome company. Another bird I learned about early on was the Magnificent Frigate bird. This is a bird that truly lives up to its name. It looks like a bird that should have appeared in Jurassic Park! Soon I entered phase three. This is when I decided that we should build a special tower that would allow hotel guests to get above the jungle canopy where they would be able to see far more. This idea lead to construction of a four story observation tower called the "People Perch".

I still hesitated to call myself a birder as I didn't feel I knew enough about birds but as one of guest said, "anyone that builds a four story tower for birding is definitely a birder."

Over the years my knowledge has grown. From time to time I will share my observations with fellow birders, so watch this site!

Stay where the birds stay
Caribbean Villas