The small Central American country of Belize is the perfect tropical getaway and provides an excellent introduction to the region’s birdlife. Over 60% of the country’s 23,000 sq. kms. have been protected. This protection has allowed the birds and wildlife to continue to flourish. Belize is home to over 600 species of birds with easy access to great birding hotspots and excellent lodges! Belize is the last Central American stronghold of the majestic Jabiru which nests in the savannas and wetlands of the north. Many regional and Yucatan endemics are possible including Yucatan Jay and Yellow-lored Amazon! 

This tour begins in the Rio Bravo Conservation Area in western Belize near the Guatemalan border. We will spend 3 nights based out of the La Milpa Field Station to explore the vast forests here. The lodge is named for the Mayan archeological site nearby. Next we’ll move north through Orange Walk to the Corozal District, and stay at Orchid Bay Resort for two nights to find target birds of far-northern Belize. From there we will move to Crooked Tree Lagoon - a massive inland freshwater estuary! We will spend two nights based out of Bird’s Eye View Lodge, with boat trips around the lagoon and along the New River to the Lamanai archeological site. Finally, we will spend two nights at the world class Black Rock Lodge where we can bird the property’s extensive network of jungle trails! 

This is an active but comfortable trip, with a focus on introducing our participants to Central America’s incredible birding by visiting some of northern Belize’s top hotspots. We will definitely put in the time to track down as many species as we can! About 275 bird species are possible along this route including many regional specialties and endemics! With multiple nights based out of each lodge, we can explore the region at a more relaxed pace. Our guide, Rudy Crawford, was born and raised in Crooked Tree and is an expert in the wildlife and destinations along our route! Join us for the trip of a lifetime to beautiful Belize!

Brief Itinerary:

Day 1 - Early arrivals to Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport (BZE) and drive toward the Rio Bravo Conservation Area, with some birding stops along the way. Night at La Milpa Field Station within the reserve. 

Day 2 - Morning birding at La Milpa. Afternoon visit to the Mayan archaeological site and more birding around Rio Bravo Conservation Area. Night at La Milpa Field Station.

Day 3 - Morning birding at La Milpa. Afternoon birding the Blue Creek rice fields. Night at La Milpa Field Station. 

Day 4 - Morning birding near La Milpa, and then drive toward Orchid Bay with stops to bird at Shipyard and other Orange Walk hotspots. Night at Orchid Bay Resort.

Day 5 - Morning birding at Orchid Bay, and then drive toward Sartenaja. Afternoon birding the Sartenaja and Corozol areas. Night at Orchid Bay Resort.

Day 6 - Morning birding near Orchid Bay, and then drive toward Crooked Tree. Afternoon and evening birding around the western causeway of Crooked Tree Lagoon and in the nearby pine savanna. Night at Bird’s Eye View Lodge. .

Day 7 - Morning birding near Crooked Tree and afternoon boat trip to Lamanai archaeological site. Night at Bird’s Eye View Lodge.

Day 8 - Morning boat trip on the famous Crooked Tree Lagoon! Afternoon drive toward Black Rock Lodge, with stops along the way including to Green Hills Butterfly Ranch. Night at Black Rock Lodge. 

Day 9 - Full morning and afternoon birding the trails at Black Rock Lodge. Night at Black Rock Lodge.

Day 10 - Limited morning birding and then drive to the airport. Afternoon departures from Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport (BZE).

Please plan for morning or noon arrivals to Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport (BZE). Our guides will pick you up outside the terminal, and we will begin a 3-hour drive west toward the vast tropical lowland forests at Rio Bravo Conservation Area (RBCA) near the Guatemalan border, where we will be staying at La Milpa for the first three nights of the tour.

As we depart from the airport, keep an eye out for iconic tropical birds along the roadways including Social Flycatcher, Tropical Kingbird, Tropical Mockingbird, Roadside Hawk, Common Black-Hawk, Brown Jay, Western Cattle-Egret, Great Egret, and Groove-billed Ani! The common roadside pigeons and doves include Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Common Ground-Dove, and White-winged Dove!

Our lodging in La Milpa is within the RBCA. This protected area covers 5% of Belize’s land area and contains some of the most extensive and important tracks of tropical broadleaf evergreen forest in Central America. The La Milpa Field Station, named for the ancient Mayan ruins found on the site, offers very nice accommodations and great food! This will be our home base for three nights.

We can begin birding the grounds of the field station early in the morning while we wait for breakfast to be prepared. We’ll listen for the winnowing calls of tinamous and start to familiarize ourselves with the more common tropical birds and a diversity of hummingbirds! Rufous-tailed Hummingbird is one of Belize’s most common hummingbirds, but we also hope to see Purple-crowned Fairy, Stripe-throated Hermit, Green-breasted Mango, Wedge-tailed Sabrewing, and many other species in this area!

This massive forest preserve is home to a variety of raptors. More common species include Laughing Falcon, Collared Forest-Falcon, Bat Falcon, and Double-toothed Kite but we will definitely be looking hard to find Ornate Hawk-Eagle and/or Black Hawk-Eagle. In fact, Rio Bravo Conservation Area even produces regular sightings of the rare and elusive Crested Eagle and this area was where Harpy Eagles were reintroduced but have not persisted. 

La Milpa is a great place to see the kaleidoscopic and endemic Ocellated Turkey in addition to  Great Currasow, and perhaps the (rare) Crested Quan! We’re likely to at least hear Gray-headed Dove and maybe Pheasant Cuckoo! 

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher migrate from the boreal forests to winter here in Belize alongside resident Yucatan Flycatcher and the wild-looking Tropical Royal Flycatcher! Other tropical specialties we could find include Stub-tailed Spadebill, Red-crowned Ant-tanager, Red-throated Ant-tanager, Red-legged Honeycreeper, Green Honeycreeper, Black-throated Shrike-Tanager, Green Shrike-Vireo, Black-faced Grosbeak, Long-billed Gnatwren, White-browned Gnatcatcher, White-breasted Wood-Wren, Green-backed Sparrow, Red-capped Manakin, and maybe White-collared Manakin. 

Keel-billed Toucan, Lesson’s Motmot, and a variety of Central American trogons are possible including Slaty-tailed Trogon, Collared Trogon, Black-headed Trogon, and Gartered Violaceous Trogon. Pale-billed Woodpecker, Lineated Woodpecker, Chestnut-colored Woodpecker, and Golden-olive Woodpecker can be joined by wintering Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers! 

Central America is famous for its “Furnariids” - the large family of shy, forest-dwelling woodcreepers and other similar, largely brown-colored birds. Some Furnariids we will look and listen for in this region include Scaly-throated Leaftosser, Olivaceous Woodcreeper, Ruddy Woodcreeper, Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Northern Barred-Woodcreeper, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, Northern Plain-Xenops, and Rufous-breasted Spinetail! We’ll also focus efforts on finding Mayan Antthrush! Overgrown pastures and roadsides can produce sightings of Blue-black Grosbeak, Blue Bunting, Indigo Bunting, and Morelet’s Seedeater!

After dinner we explore the forest for nocturnal birds and other wildlife. We’re often able to find Middle American Screech-Owl, Mottled Owl, Black-and-White Owl, Northern Potoo, and sometimes even Spectacled Owl! Many mammal species become active after darkness falls, and we’ve previously seen Kinkajou, Baird’s Tapir, Margay, Jaguarundi, and even Jaguar! Night at La Milpa Field Station.

We’ll spend another day birding the La Milpa and greater Rio Bravo Conservation Area. Mixed flocks (or hopefully an ant swarm!) can congregate a nice diversity of species for us to enjoy! White-necked Puffbird, White-whiskered Puffbird, Rufous-tailed Jacamar are possible in addition to Scaled Pigeon and a variety of parrots. We’ll hope to see Brown-headed Parrot, White-crowned Parrot, Red-lored Amazon, White-fronted Amazon, Mealy Amazon, and Olive-throated Parakeet. 

Up to 20 species of warblers have been observed in this area, with resident Golden-crowned Warbler and Gray-crowned Yellowthroat joining a large number of wintering neotropical migrants including Worm-eating Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, and Kentucky Warbler! Endangered Yucatan Black Howler Monkeys and Central American Spider Monkeys roam the forests of Rio Bravo too! Night at La Milpa Field Station.

After breakfast we will depart La Milpa and begin the drive north through Orange Walk toward Orchid Bay and Sartenaja. Along the way, we’ll keep an eye out for Fork-tailed Flycatcher and Swallow-tailed Kite. Around our lodging at Orchid Bay Resort it's possible to find Common Squirrel-Cuckoo and after dark we will search for Yucatan Nightjar and Northern Potoo! Night at Orchid Bay Resort.

The Corozal District of northern Belize is where we hope to find a number of Yucatan endemics and other specialties including Caribbean Dove. Boat-billed Flycatcher, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, and Altamira Oriole occur here. Views of the Caribbean Sea from Sartenaja could produce sightings of Sandwich Tern, Laughing Gull, or Brown Pelican! Magnificent Frigatebirds often soar overhead! Night at Orchid Bay Resort.

After some morning birding near Orchid Bay, where we may find Black-headed Saltator and Cinnamon-bellied Saltator, we will begin the drive toward Crooked Tree. The Bird’s Eye View Lodge sits quietly along the edge of the large freshwater lagoon here in north-central Belize. The seasonal wetlands congregate massive numbers of waterbirds during the winter months, and the birding and photo opportunities can be outstanding! Russet-naped Wood-Rail and Limpkin can be seen running around the lodge grounds, while Roseate Spoonbill, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Little Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, and Great Blue Heron can all be spotted from the dock! Along the western causeway, we will try to spot a Pinnated Bittern but their camouflage is perfectly evolved to match the vast reedbeds.

The pine savanna surrounding Crooked Tree Lagoon is home to many Yucatan endemics including Yellow-lored (Yucatan) Amazon, Yucatan Woodpecker, and Yucatan Jay! Black-cowled Oriole, Red-billed Pigeon, Striped Cuckoo, and Grace’s Warbler are possible, in addition to the resident subspecies of Botteri’s Sparrow! Under the streetlights near our lodge, it's common to see Common Pauraque hunting for moths! Night at Bird’s Eye View Lodge.

Some additional birding targets near Crooked Tree will include Yellow-tailed Oriole, Mangrove Vireo, and Rufous-browed Peppershrike. This area is where we are most likely to see wintering Orchard Oriole and Baltimore Oriole in addition to Vermillion Flycatcher and Great Kiskadee!

For the majority of the day we will enjoy a boat cruise along the New River to visit the Mayan ruins of Lamanai. The ruins here are some of the best examples of the Mayan civilization in existence. We are likely to see many bird species along the water’s edge and along the archeological site’s jungle trails! Sungrebe is a major target along the boat cruise, but they are a shy secretive waterbird usually hiding in the shadows of overhanging vegetation. Pale-vented Pigeon are common here, as are a variety of kingfishers including Ringed Kingfisher, Belted Kingfisher, Amazon Kingfisher, American Pygmy Kingfisher, and Green Kingfisher! Watch overhead for Aplomado Falcon and Crested Caracara! Yucatan Black Howler Monkeys can be commonly heard and seen, as well as Morelet’s Crocodile! Night at Bird’s Eye View Lodge.

For the morning we will take a lengthy boat cruise on Crooked Tree Lagoon and some side creeks. The massive Jabiru is a major target in this area. Jabiru are large storks that tower over the Wood Storks and various herons and egrets that it shares the wetlands with. Much more secretive wading birds we will search for include the stunning but shy Agami Heron and tiny Least Bittern! Northern Jacana are residents here and up to 12 other shorebird species migrate through! Gull-billed Tern hunt for dragonflies and we’ll have more opportunities to see kingfishers, especially Ringed and American Pygmy Kingfisher! 

The wetlands are very attractive to a variety of raptors including Black-collared Hawk, Great Black-Hawk, Snail Kite, Crane Hawk, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, and wintering Osprey, Turkey Vulture, and Black Vulture. Fulvous Whistling-Duck and Blue-winged Teal can be found in addition to Yellow-breasted Crake, Sora, Purple Gallinule, and American Coot! Back channels may also give us another opportunity to find a Sungrebe. Overhead there should be a nice diversity of swallows including Mangrove Swallow, Purple Martin, Gray-breasted Martin, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, and others! Keep an ear out for Barred Antshrike too! 

For the afternoon we will drive toward Black Rock Lodge, with a birding stop at the Green Hills Butterfly Ranch. The ranch isn’t just for butterflies though! We hope to see 8-10 hummingbird species here too! Night at Black Rock Lodge.

Black Rock Lodge is a world class ecolodge with lots of room for us to explore! Over 200 species of birds are possible on the property including three species of toucan! These include Keel-billed Toucan, Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, and Collared Aracari. We’ll slowly bird the trails and entrance road in search of forest and jungle species we have not found yet on the tour such as Slate-headed Tody-Flycatcher and others. Rare Orange-breasted Falcons and angelic White Hawks may be seen soaring above the river! It's possible to hear a few species of tinamou, and if we’re lucky maybe one will pop out on a trail for us to see! Pheasant Cuckoo is another top target we hope to at least hear, and then track down for a view! Night at Black Rock Lodge.

The dining area at Black Rock Lodge features a wide deck with a spectacular view of the limestone cliffs and river below! We can enjoy a final morning birding off the deck while breakfast is prepared. After breakfast we will pack up the van and head back east toward the airport. We plan to arrive at the Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport (BZE) before noon. Please plan for afternoon departure flights. There are many lunch options inside the airport to enjoy while you wait for your flight. 

Belize: Northern Belize PRIVATE 5-Day Dec 2024 eBIRD TRIP REPORT

Belize: Northern Belize Nov 2-9, 2025 eBIrd TRIP REPORT

Belize: Northern Belize with Chris & Rudy Mar 2025 eBIrd TRIP REPORT

Belize: Northern Belize with Chris & Rudy Jan 2025 eBIrd TRIP REPORT

Belize: Northern Belize & Black Rock Lodge Jan 4-12, 2025 eBIrd TRIP REPORT

• Great Tinamou

• Crested Guan

• Great Currasow

• Occellated Turkey

• Caribbean Dove

• Striped Cuckoo

• Pheasant Cuckoo

• Yucatan Nightjar

• Northern Potoo

• 10+ hummingbird species

• Rufous-necked Wood-Rail

• Yellow-breasted Crake

• Ruddy Crake

• Sungrebe

• Northern Jacana

• King Vulture

• Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture

• Black Hawk-Eagle

• Ornate Hawk-Eagle

• Crane Hawk

• Black-collared Hawk

• Snail Kite

• Gull-billed Tern

• Jabiru

• Boat-billed Heron

• Agami Heron

• Middle American Screech-Owl

• Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

• 4 trogon species

• Keel-billed Toucan

• Yucatan Woodpecker

• Black-cheeked Woodpecker

• Yellow-headed Amazon

• Yucatan Flycatcher

• Mayan Anthrush

• Green Shrike-Vireo

• Mangrove Vireo

• Yucatan Jay

• Yellow-tailed Oriole

• Orange Oriole

• Tropical Royal Flycatcher

• Stub-tailed Spadebill

• Mangrove Swallow

• ~20 warbler species

• Trails & Walking: We will walk a few miles per day on mostly flat, well-maintained paths, wide dirt tracks, and other reasonable paths with minimal tripping hazards. 

• Pace: Leisurely, but with frequent stops. Daily field time 8+ hours. Easy access right to the birding spots. Plenty of time to stop and enjoy the birds, with helpful tips from our expert guides! Due to remote location, there can be lengthy gaps between bathroom stops.

• Elevation: Minimal elevation gain.

• Weather: From October through March, northern Belize shifts from a warm, rainy period into the cool, dry season with temperatures averaging 75°F to 88°F, and occasional northern cold fronts moving through. It can be very humid, and sometimes the temps rise over 90°F. Rain is always possible. Please consult weather forecasts leading up to the tour dates!

• Logistics: With multiple times at some lodges, guests may elect to skip whole days or portions of some days, but please consult the detailed tour description.

• Vehicle Seating: We typically use 12-passenger Ford Transit rental vans for this tour, but we try to limit the number of guides + birders to 9 total people per van. Other times we use minivans or larger SUVs. There are no drives longer than 3 hours during the course of this tour, although some travel can be over rough and bumpy dirt roads.