7
Sep

The Birds! – Belize

Posted on September 7th, 2011 :: Posted in Belize, bird watching, birds, Outdoor

With huge tracts of protected forest and jungle and more than 400 species of birds that either live in or pass through these areas it’s almost impossible not to turn into a bird watcher while you’re in Belize.

Karen Birdwatching at La Milpa Field Station where we saw 50 different species of birds we'd never seen before in just two days.

During our nearly three months in Belize we saw hundreds of species we’d never seen before in stunning natural places like Chan Chich Lodge and La Milpa Field Station in the vast Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area. That’s where we met guide and naturalist Vladimir and dubbed him the bird ninja. Then there’s Lamanai Outpost Lodge and the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. Some birds simply appeared by the side of the road.

We saw the flashy colors of trogans and aracaris and the shimmery, orange-dotted get-up of the ocellated turkey. We learned to recognize the frog-like call of the toucan, marveled at the near-perfect camouflage of the great potoo (which still looks just like a tree limb even after you know it’s there) and tried and tried and tried to see a harpy eagle in the wild.

Here are just a few of our favorite feathery finds, no binoculars required.

A rare orange-breasted falcon.	A ferruginous pygmy owl.
A pair of collared aracaris.	A toucan spotted at La Milpa Field Station in Belize.
A lineated woodpecker.	A great egret.

An ocellated turkey on the grounds of Chan Chich Lodge in Belize.

A pygmy kingfisher tucks in for the night near the Lamanai archaeological site in Belize.	A black-headed trogan seen in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.
A laughing falcon along a rural road in southern Belize.	A black-collared hawk heads out to hunt near the Lamanai archaeological site in Belize.
A violaceous trogan spotted in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.	A slaty-tailed trogon in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.

A red-footed booby and fledgling on Half Moon Caye Natural Monument in Belize.

A white-necked jacobin (hummingbird) in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.	A tiger heron in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.
Look close. There are two great potoos (an adult and a juvenile) sitting on that branch.	Yucatan nightjars nest on the ground where they practically disappear into the foliage.
An aptly-named roadside hawk on the grounds of Hidden Valley Inn in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve in Belize.	An osprey eagle spotted in Belize.

Magnificent Frigatebird, birds of Belize

Magnificent frigatebirds (these are courting on Half Moon Caye Natural Monument) have a seven foot wingspan and can stay in the air for weeks.

An orange oriole seen from the epic bird watching platform built 100 feet up a ceiba tree at Jungle Camp, part of Belize Lodge & Excursions.	A boat-billed heron along the river that runs through the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.
A northern jacana seen near the Lamanai archaeological site in Belize.	A great blue heron seen near the Lamanai archaeological site in Belize.
We'd hoped to see an endangered harpy eagle in the wild while in Belize but we had to settle for this one in the Belize Zoo.	A crested guan in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.

Wood Stork - Birds at Crooked Tree wildlife sanctuary, Belize

Wetlands in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary attract enormous wood storks (with the black heads), herons, egrets, cormorants and other water birds.

Chestnut-headed Oropendola, birds of Belize

A chestnut-headed oropendola.

A group of rare king vultures way off in the distance on land owned and preserved by the Hidden Valley Inn in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve in Belize.

An ornate hawk-eagle in deep jungle.

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2
Sep

Live-Aboard Life (the diving) – Aggressor III, Belize

Posted on September 2nd, 2011 :: Posted in Animals, Belize, Ocean, Outdoor, SCUBA, video

We think SCUBA diving under practically any conditions is great. Then we got on our very first live-aboard dive boat with The Aggressor Fleet in Belize and learned that on a live-aboard conditions are always perfect. Yeah, the Aggressor III and staff spoiled us. Here’s how.

11 reasons live-aboards rule

1. No elbowing the diver next to you. The Aggressor III has a very roomy dive deck with plenty of space to stow and dry your gear and ample room for suiting up (hey, it requires plenty of room to get into and out of a wet suit).

Happy divers! Eric and Karen pre-dive on board the Aggressor III live-aboard dive boat in Belize.

2. No freaking out about basic gear. The Aggressor III is stocked with spares of basic essentials in case something in your kit stops working or you forgot something. For example, Eric borrowed a wet suit hood (he’s modeling it, above) from dive master Jordy and wore it for most of the diving to stay warmer underwater. This made his dives much more enjoyable.

3. No waiting until you get back on dry land to use the bathroom after a dive. On a live-aboard your bathroom is always right there immediately after a dive. Anyone whose done any SCUBA diving knows how important this is.

4. No soggy towels. After every single dive on the Aggressor III we were handed a clean, warm towel fresh out of a dryer right on the dive deck. You heard us.

Eric taking the plunge off the Aggressor III's ample dive platform. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

5. No stale crackers and over-ripe fruit to keep your energy up. Diving is hard work. The staff of the Aggressor III knows this and they keep the platters of freshly baked cookies, conch fritters, lionfish fingers and more coming so everyone stays fueled up.

6. No scrambling in and out of small boats to travel out dive sites. Just turn up on the dive deck of the Aggressor III, gear up and step off the specially designed platform at the back of the boat. Think of it as a chauffeur service for divers.

7. No fighting for the fish i.d. books. There were more than enough copies of marine life reference guides on board the Aggressor III to satisfy all of the curious divers.

Photo courtesy of fellow diver Michael Eppoliti.

8. No nasty regulator taste. Crew members came around with a spray bottle full of diluted mouthwash to shoot into our mouth pieces before each dive. Yeah, that happened.

9. No sand. When diving off a live-aboard your feet never touch the ground.

10. No vague (or non-existent) dive site maps. The dive masters on the Aggressor III drew wonderfully detailed 3D maps of every site we visited.

11. Perhaps our favorite live-aboard touch? The two hot shower heads (with shampoo and conditioner dispensers) right on the dive platform which made post-dive rinse-offs a complete pleasure.

Karen all wet. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

Dive! Dive!

Another plus about live-aboard diving? The sheer amount of diving you can do–up to five dives a day. During our week on the Aggressor III we did 22 dives totaling about 20 hours underwater at 12 different dive sites including the famous Blue Hole–a cave with a collapsed ceiling that’s been engulfed and filled by the sea (photo below–click image to enlarge).

So, what did we see down there? Plenty, including seahorses, lots of turtles, lot of amazing spotted eagle rays, colorful reef fish galore, gorgeous corals (soft and hard), barracuda, frogfish, reef sharks, dolphins, octopus and hammerhead sharks!

Eric spends so much time taking pictures on dry land that he leaves his camera behind when we dive. We thank Captain Simon Marsh and fellow divers Michael Eppoliti and Brian Shea for the use of their awesome underwater images from our time on the Aggressor III.

A pair of spotted eagle rays "fly" by. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

Okay, we didn’t see the hammerhead. But fellow diver Brian Shea did and he shot the underwater video, below, to prove it.

We also got the chance to try out a very James Bond hand held underwater scooter which was fun, though we startled the heck out of a curious eagle ray.

The strange underbelly of a spotted eagle ray. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

We also put our Nitrox certifications to use for the first time and we have to say that we agree with those divers who claim that this mix (which is lower in nitrogen) left us feeling more energized at the end of a long day of diving than regular old air. Then again, it could have been the post-dive hot showers and warm chocolate chip cookies…

Aquarium-like reef fish and corals underwater in Belize. Photo courtesy of Michael Eppoliti.

Eric hanging around checking out a seahorse. Photo courtesy of Michael Eppoliti.

Divers exploring coral heads. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

Eric and I watching a spotted eagle ray "fly" past. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

A common reef shark. Photo courtesy of Michael Eppoliti.

A great example of a brain coral. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

An angel fish dining on coral. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

A turtle with a pair of remoras attached to its belly. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

That's why it's called a spotted eagle ray. Photo courtesy of Michael Eppoliti.

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31
Aug

Live-Aboard Life (topside)- Aggressor III, Belize

Posted on August 31st, 2011 :: Posted in Animals, Belize, National Park, Ocean, Outdoor, SCUBA

We love SCUBA diving and we’ve managed to do a lot of it, racking up almost 400 dives between the two of us in some of the best dive destinations in the world including bucket list toppers like Palau and Sipidan. Yes, we’re lucky.

And, yet, we still have SCUBA dreams. Specifically, we dream about getting on a live-aboard dive boat–a dream we finally fulfilled in Belize.

The Aggressor III, our home and dive base for a week in Belize.

It’s fitting that we had our first (but hopefully not last) live-aboard experience with The Aggressor Fleet which has been taking small groups of divers out for multi-day, all-inclusive, full-service, intensively-dive-focused trips since 1984. The fleet currently has 10 ships serving 11 of the world’s best dive destinations including the Cocos Islands and the Galapagos Islands.

Aggressor is, admittedly, a terrible name unless you’re a pirate. But that’s what their fleet is called and who are we to argue? The company’s live-aboard in Belize is called the Aggressor III and it was our home for a week of eye-opening diving.

Crew members navigate the Aggressor III through the notoriously tricky reefs off Belize. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

Live-aboard Life on the Aggressor III

We were welcomed aboard the Aggressor III by Captain Simon Marsh and his first mate (literally and figuratively) Andrina. They’ve both been diving for years and have both worked on other boats in the Aggressor fleet. We were in good hands.

Captain Simon Marsh with a 3-D dive map of Belize's famous Blue Hole dive site as he briefs us on board the Aggressor III live-aboard dive boat.

Dive master Jordy hoisting the ship's dingy, on board the Aggressor III live-aboard dive boat in Belize.

As the ship set sail we took a quick tour of our home for the week and found nine smartly-laid-out cabins (for up to 18 guests total) with A/C and televisions (for playing DVDs), ingenious storage/stowage areas and private bathrooms. The communal living room was cozy and had plenty of plugs for laptops and for charging cameras and batteries.

Upstairs on the top deck, a small wet bar even had a tap of local Belikin beer (though smart ship rules mean that once you have a drink you become a snorkeler for the day). Sadly, the top deck hot tub was out of commission.

One afternoon a pod of dolphins came to play around the boat, but by the time we got our snorkeling gear on and jumped in they were gone.

It was all kept spotlessly clean and neat by Randy who, when he wasn’t serving us delicious snacks or making sure our dinner plates were heaped high, was either polishing something, plumping pillows or ironing and folding napkins into amazing shapes. We wish him luck with his pizzeria in the town of Orange Walk. We can guarantee that it will be clean!

While the focus of the eight passengers on board was diving (we’ll get way into the dive sites and marine life in our next post), part of the live-aboard life occurs on the surface and, sometimes, even on dry land. You’ve got to let your body expel accumulated nitrogen (commonly called “out gassing”) above the water anyway, so you might as well have fun. Plus, it’s was much easier for Captain Simon to whistle “Hello” when he didn’t have a regulator in his mouth. The Lionel Richie’s hit quickly became the silly theme song of our sailing. “Hello. Is it sharks you’re looking for?”

Part of the Half Moon Caye Natural Monument as seen from the Aggressor III.

We spent an afternoon at the Half Moon Caye Natural Monument, a protected island that’s home to a thriving population of red-footed boobies and many of them had their red feet full with fluffy, demanding chicks when we were there.

Nesting red-footed boobies on Half Moon Cay Natural Monument in Belize.

Nesting red-footed boobies on Half Moon Cay Natural Monument in Belize.

Nesting magnificent frigate birds on Half Moon Cay Natural Monument in Belize.

The island is also a great place to have a picnic, especially with the talented Yanis, the chef from the Aggressor III kitchen, is on hand to handle the grill.