So, today my day started with an alarm clock. That is very unusual for me. Alarm clocks are one of the things I happily left behind in my past life. We don't even have a clock in the bedroom. When I'm not tired anymore, I wake up. But today was a special day. The Audubon Society of Belize has organized a number of bird walks all around the country. Belize is an incredible destination for bird lovers and the Audubon Society was eager to show that many species can be found in urban settings and you don't necessarily have to trek out into the wild jungle. Hence, the Urban Bird Walk tours and today was tour day in San Ignacio.
So, I pumped a little coffee into my veins, gathered my essential tools for bird watching (binoculars and camera) and headed to town just as the sun was coming up. There is actually quite a bit of activity in town at 5:45am, even on a Sunday. I guess some people gotta work and such! As I pulled into the parking lot I was greeted right away by our guide for the tour. His name is Roni Martinez and he's with the Belize Audubon Society. A very nice guy and, as I was going to find out, he really knows his birds! A few more people showed up along with my friends, Nicole and Louise, and we were off.
So, I pumped a little coffee into my veins, gathered my essential tools for bird watching (binoculars and camera) and headed to town just as the sun was coming up. There is actually quite a bit of activity in town at 5:45am, even on a Sunday. I guess some people gotta work and such! As I pulled into the parking lot I was greeted right away by our guide for the tour. His name is Roni Martinez and he's with the Belize Audubon Society. A very nice guy and, as I was going to find out, he really knows his birds! A few more people showed up along with my friends, Nicole and Louise, and we were off.
Before we even left the parking lot, a toucan flew by. That was good. It would be embarrassing to do an official bird count in Belize and not see a toucan. It is the national bird, after all. How seriously cool is that??? I live in a place that you can 'expect' to see a toucan on a morning walk in town!! Amazing!! Roni's wife, Stephanie, was our record keeper. So, the toucan was recorded and off we went. In three hours we (mostly Roni) spotted 98 species of birds! 98 species!!!!! And this was all right in town. I'll say it again....amazing!!
Until moving to Belize I had no idea that I enjoyed bird watching. The birds here just make it so easy. They are everywhere so I really don't even have to try very hard. Just sitting on our deck in the morning I can easily spot 10-20 species. Yup...pretty cool. Thanks, Audubon Society of Belize. What a great morning.