Belize (formerly British Honduras) is a small Central American country bounded by Mexico to the north, Guatemala to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.  It seems to have one foot planted in the jungle and the other dipped in the sea.

Belize was the center of the vast Mayan civilization, and dozens of pyramids and ruins – most not yet excavated – are found throughout the country.   With less than 300,000 inhabitants, the countryside feels somehow undiscovered.

On the other hand, bird-watchers know this territory well.  Belize is one of the top birding destinations in the world, and we travelled here with the JB Journeys/Travis (Texas) Audubon Society and our friends Jo Wilson and Carol Bennett.

We were in Belize for 10 days:  a few days on Ambergris Caye on the east coast, a few days in Orange Walk District in the northwest, and a few days in Cayo District in the central part of the country near the border with Guatemala.  The following pages describe what we did and what we saw. 

A word about the birds.   We saw lots of them – a total of 227 different species, most of which were new to us.  Without Laurie, our escort from JB Journeys/Travis Audubon Society, and our guides – Reuben and Raul at Lamanai, and Rick and Walter at Mountain Pine Ridge, we wouldn’t have seen a third of those – and we sure wouldn’t have been able to identify them.  Seeing them is one thing and photographing them is another altogether, and we didn’t come home with too many bird pictures.  Thanks again to Laurie, the group pooled photos and we’re grateful that we can share some of their pictures and ours in this blog. 

Have a look:

Ambergris Caye: http://belizedecember2011.blogspot.com/2012/01/ambergris-caye.html

Lamanai: http://belizedecember2011.blogspot.com/2012/01/lamanai.html

Mennonites, Belize Zoo, and Cheers: http://belizedecember2011.blogspot.com/2012/01/mennonites-belize-zoo-and-cheers.html

Mountain Pine Ridge: http://belizedecember2011.blogspot.com/2012/01/mountain-pine-ridge.html