Hummingbirds in Belize (1 Viewer)

billhiltonjr · Mar 29, 2012

As noted previously, it takes a long time to put together each photo essay that summarizes an Operation RubyThroat hummingbird expedition to the Neotropics. Nonetheless, I've just completed the on-line write-up about our third trip to Crooked Tree in Belize and have posted it as our "This Week at Hilton Pond" installment for 10-18 March 2012. In it you'll find lots of colorful images of Belizean birds and other wildlife and scenery, but the most important content is what we learned this year about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and other Neotropical migrants that may show up in your own backyard in the U.S. or Canada. (We might mention our field crew this year was an eager bunch of undergraduate students from Keystone College in Pennsylvania.)

To view the report, please visit http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek120310.html , and then get your hummingbird feeders ready for the ruby-throats' annual return from wintering grounds south of the border.

Happy (Neotropical) Nature Watching!

BILL

MJB · Mar 30, 2012

billhiltonjr said:
As noted previously, it takes a long time to put together each photo essay that summarizes an Operation RubyThroat hummingbird expedition to the Neotropics. Nonetheless, I've just completed the on-line write-up about our third trip to Crooked Tree in Belize and have posted it as our "This Week at Hilton Pond" installment for 10-18 March 2012. In it you'll find lots of colorful images of Belizean birds and other wildlife and scenery, but the most important content is what we learned this year about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and other Neotropical migrants that may show up in your own backyard in the U.S. or Canada. (We might mention our field crew this year was an eager bunch of undergraduate students from Keystone College in Pennsylvania.) To view the report, please visit http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek120310.html , and then get your hummingbird feeders ready for the ruby-throats' annual return from wintering grounds south of the border. Happy (Neotropical) Nature Watching! BILL

Bill,
Your write-up brought back many happy memories of visits to Crooked Tree and its environs, the last time in 2004. Excellent stuff!:t:

I spent many hours there trying to follow and photograph hummingbirds, with blurry results.

I would urge birders unfamilar with the Neotropics to make their first solo visit to the Region to Belize, for here most people speak English as their first language, which helps greatly to encourage those who have no Spanish to get to grips with the local avifauna.
MJB
PS 'Vermilion' has only one 'l'...

billhiltonjr · Mar 30, 2012

MJB . . .

Thanks for your note. Belize is indeed a great place to start birding in Central America, although some folks might jokingly disagree that the residents speak English.

The British accent is sometimes hard to follow, and when they start going in Creole it's impossible to follow!

My dictionary says "vermillion" can be spelled with one or two "l's." I prefer two because the flycatcher is so bright it's worth a million!

Best wishes,

BILL

MJB · Mar 31, 2012

billhiltonjr said:
MJB . . . Thanks for your note. Belize is indeed a great place to start birding in Central America, although some folks might jokingly disagree that the residents speak English. The British accent is sometimes hard to follow, and when they start going in Creole it's impossible to follow! My dictionary says "vermillion" can be spelled with one or two "l's." I prefer two because the flycatcher is so bright it's worth a million!
Best wishes, BILL

Bill,
That damn Noah Webster's got a lot to answer for!

The Creole may be hard to follow, but it's such a musical tongue it's a pleasure to listen to. Steve Tillett and his family were kind enough to 'interpret' for me when neighbours came around!

There were quite a number of unexpected species within walking or easy boating distance of the village - the sheer variety of habitats held isolates from more northerly or southerly distributions - and the propensity for raptors, especially immatures, to wander means that you have to keep watching the skies.
MJB

Hummingbirds in Belize (1 Viewer)

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