tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75827887579143334792011-04-21T20:54:24.446-07:00PADI Staff Instructor Elbert Greerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06624842637449726211noreply@blogger.comBlogger31100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7582788757914333479.post-36350826792636815422008-12-21T11:33:00.000-08:002008-12-21T11:36:56.039-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_88j5Da_5fWs/SU6aj49iO1I/AAAAAAAAAqk/IxRo_W8fq4E/s1600-h/book+photo+cover.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 190px; height: 303px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_88j5Da_5fWs/SU6aj49iO1I/AAAAAAAAAqk/IxRo_W8fq4E/s400/book+photo+cover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282329354328750930" /></a><br /><a href="http://www2.xlibris.com/books/webimages/wd/47589/">http://www2.xlibris.com/books/webimages/wd/47589/<br /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7582788757914333479-3635082679263681542?l=birdsbelze.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PADI Staff Instructor Elbert Greerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06624842637449726211noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7582788757914333479.post-1334976420343409492007-04-06T15:33:00.000-07:002007-04-06T15:35:39.757-07:00<div class="Section1"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right; line-height: 200%;" align="right"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right; line-height: 200%;" align="right"><span style="color: black;">2006<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right; line-height: 200%;" align="right"><span style="color: black;">Two point five<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoHeading9" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-weight: normal;">BIRD WATCHING WITH BUBBA<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoHeading9" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-weight: normal;">Two Point Five<o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“You can observe a lot by just watching”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style="">Yogi Berra<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">"A humorous gonzo style of bird watchers guide to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>SAN PEDRO SUN<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">“ Probably the only bird watching guide in the world that includes a recipe! Very informative and delicious”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>THE <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">BELIZE</st1:place></st1:country-region> SUN<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">“I didn’t really say everything I said.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>BUBBA<o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="">PREFACE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I am by most peoples' fantasies one of the luckiest men on the planet. I’ve built myself a little beach house on a small island in the Caribbean off the coast of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It sits overlooking the barrier reef in the middle of two acres of coconut trees. I purchased the land from a coconut farmer. The older mestizos in the village on the other side of the island call it a Cocal. I named it ‘Dos Perros Negros’ in honor of a black <st1:place st="on">Labrador</st1:place> named Bubba that I have lived with for the last 12 years. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">There is a river without a bridge between my end of the island and the village with little more than a beach path for six miles to reach my Cocal. Bubba and I come and go by boat along the reef. It's a fine boat, 23 feet of fiberglass with a good engine. In a way it is my car. I keep it at my dock on the <st1:place st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> side where we fish and nap in the hammock under the palapa. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>One of the nicer aspects of my home is that it's all paid for, no mortgage, no bills and no telephone and, like that old hippie dream, the land provides me with food and water when pizza and beer are in short supply.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region>, an obscure British colony known as <st1:place st="on">British Honduras</st1:place> until independence in September 1981, is a not so well known, relatively new nation. It has one of the lowest population densities in the world, an extraordinarily rich ethnic and linguistic mix, abundant forest and marine resources, significant potential for eco-tourism, an important role as conduit in the international drug trade, and a strong colonial heritage. My new home.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I have become a Belizean citizen and tour guide, taking tourist from the village SCUBA diving on the barrier reef, fishing and bird watching in the jungle.<span style=""> </span>It's a nice way to make a living. I have as good a time as they do...you think I’m lucky also, don’t you?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Bubba and I set out to write this book about birds almost 10 years ago. I was a school teacher in the <st1:country-region st="on">united states</st1:country-region> at a local collage in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Memphis</st1:City></st1:place>, married and living in midtown near the campus. My wife and I didn’t have children, and I thought a dog would be good for our waning relationship; of course it wasn’t, and I wound up with the dog. He did turn out to be a rather smart dog, and, of course, we are the best of friends. He seems to think I had a mid- life crises, I tell myself I just got bored, either way I ended up here, no wife and talking to a confused birddog that thinks ornithology is his calling.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I’ve made this book as a collection the stories we published in the local newspaper.<span style=""> </span>The stories, 120 total, are printed here as they were published in our ‘bird of the week’ column for the SAN PEDRO SUN.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><st1:country-region st="on"><span style="color: black;">Belize</span></st1:country-region><span style="color: black;"> is not a large country, about the size of <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Maine</st1:place></st1:State>, but it has the most varied habitats within its boarders you will ever find. These rich habitats support a variety of exotic avifauna that has not yet been accurately numbered.<span style=""> </span>Those who try and count them such as The Belize Audubon Society, come up with figures like 530 species. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The names of the locations are real, and right where the book says they are. It's not a guidebook but if you wish to read it as such, I used all the bars and bartenders' correct names so you won’t get lost. We tried to make all the bird information as accurate as possible, but that's not at all what ‘BIRD WATCHING WITH BUBBA’ is about, as you will see.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h4 style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black; font-weight: normal;">Contents<o:p></o:p></span></h4> <h3 style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black; font-weight: normal;">Preface<o:p></o:p></span></h3> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">1.<span style=""> </span>Bubba<span style=""> </span>51. Grackle<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">2.<span style=""> </span>Ambergris caye<span style=""> </span>52. Mayan Oriole<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">3.<span style=""> </span>San Pedro<span style=""> </span>53. Gray Silky Flycatcher<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">4.<span style=""> </span>Cleo<span style=""> </span>54. Cormorant <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">5.<span style=""> </span>The Jabiru Stork<span style=""> </span>55. Kingfisher<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">6.<span style=""> </span>Kiskadee<span style=""> </span>56. Grayheaded Kite<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">7.<span style=""> </span>Birdwatchers Guide<span style=""> </span>57. Osprey<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>for the complete idiot<span style=""> </span>58. Chachalaca<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">8.<span style=""> </span>Bubbas Birdwatching<span style=""> </span>59. Discourse with Birds<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Philosophy<span style=""> </span>60. Royal Tern<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">9.<span style=""> </span>Shorebirds<span style=""> </span>61. Magnolia warbler<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">10. Barstool Birdwatching<span style=""> </span>62. Rufous Tailed Hummingbird<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">11. Limpkin<span style=""> </span>63. American Great Egret<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">12. Mangrove Swallow<span style=""> </span>64. Little Blue Heron<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">13. Subspecies<span style=""> </span>65. BIRDS OF <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">BELIZE</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">14. Bumblebee Hummer<span style=""> </span>66. La Laguna Del Pajaros<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">15. Lovely Rita<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>67. Barstool Birdwatching ,Maskall<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">16. The Great Blue Heron<span style=""> </span>68. The Blackcrowned Tityra<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">17. Birdmanship<span style=""> </span>69. The whistling Duck<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">18. Squirrel Cuckoo<span style=""> </span>70. Woodcreepers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">19. Black<span style=""> </span>Eagle<span style=""> </span>71. Birdlistening<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">20. Savanna Vulture<span style=""> </span>72. Leaping Lizards<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">21. Ambergris Owl<span style=""> </span>73. Faith and Science<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">22. Black Catbird<span style=""> </span>74. The Blackheaded Gull<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">23. Bubba meets Birdzilla<span style=""> </span>75. Bubba’s helpful ‘ Birdwatching Guide Techniques’<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">24. Littoral Forest<span style=""> </span>76. The King Vulture<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">25. Emotions<span style=""> </span>77. Courtship and Mating according to Bubba<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">26. Migration<span style=""> </span>78. The Blackheaded Stilt <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">27. Reverend Bill<span style=""> </span>79. Scarlet Macaw<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">28. Laughing Gull<span style=""> </span>80. Chan Chich<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">29. White Ibis<span style=""> </span>81. Forked-tailed Flycatchers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">30. Boobies<span style=""> </span>82. The Snake Bird<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">31. Big White Bird<span style=""> </span>83. Barstool Birdwatching-Chan Chich<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">32. Northern Jacana<span style=""> </span>84. Bubba’s Death<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">33. White Winged Dove<span style=""> </span>85. Lesser Yellowheaded (savanna) Vulture<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">34. Outrage to Action<span style=""> </span>86. The Halfmoon Rookery<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">35. Rufus Necked Woodrail<span style=""> </span>87. The Bubba Report<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">36. Yellow crowned night Heron<span style=""> </span>88. ‘Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated’<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">37. Woody Woodpecker<span style=""> </span>89. Sightings log.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">38. Keel Billed Toucan<span style=""> </span>90. Groved Billed Ani (missing)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">39. Roseate Spoonbill<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">40. Nightjars<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">41. Tiger Heron<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">42. <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Yucatan</st1:place></st1:State> Jay<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">43. Song<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">44. Aztec Parakeet<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">45. Migration 2<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">46. Snipe<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">47. Death of a Hero<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">48. Frigatebird<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">49. Woodpeckers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">50. Chachalaca <o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Bubba<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">There was no time. It was dark. I felt little. I wasn’t afraid, tired or hungry. There was no anxiety. It seemed that I was alone but at the same time I felt that I was a part of something other than myself, something larger. Then suddenly it ended and began again at once with pain. I was lost, cold, hungry, scared and crying when she found me. She licked my body clean with her tongue, slapped my face with it then nudged me under her leg against her warm belly, where I found my first joy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I remember then thinking of life as warm and good, my mother's teat was plump, and all I wanted was to suck and sleep. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Time was vague but I suppose it was two weeks ago I opened my eyes and discovered myself in a row of black comrades enjoying the same ecstasy. Time flowed forward in an indistinguishable mixture of day and night until at some point I noticed my mother, the clan of sucklings and myself were all laid out on paper with odd black markings.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">It started with boredom! I studied the small symbols beneath us and in time understood and read what seemed to be accounts of human behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Each day I awoke to a fresh floor of newsprint from a publication called "The Commercial Appeal." I read about terrorist bombings, elections, crime and stock exchanges but my favorite has become a random collection of complex idioms known as 'Comics'.<span style=""> </span>Comics seem to revolve around the art of not taking life too seriously.<span style=""> </span>I was reading one Sunday afternoon on this favorite page of mine a story about two men walking down a road that I can only imagine represented life. One was expressing concern about a dilemma of his.<span style=""> </span>It seems that his brother thought he was a chicken.<span style=""> </span>The second man replied that this would easily be resolved by taking his brother to a doctor. "No, you don't understand," said the first man, "my family needs the eggs!".<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Upon reading this, a sudden profound consciousness seemed to strike me.<span style=""> </span>I exist for a reason.<span style=""> </span>Someone must extend themselves in life to provide these eggs.<span style=""> </span>This surely must be my destiny.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">With an elated feeling I roamed the yard until I found a shady spot under a tree.<span style=""> </span>I lay to rest with a curious yellow bird looking down at me from its perch.<span style=""> </span>And as I lay contemplating my new found destiny and watching a flea crawl through the fine fur of my round belly, I noticed something odd.<span style=""> </span>Two large black gourd-like protrusions between my legs<span style=""> </span>I'm sure they weren't there yesterday!<span style=""> </span>I was compelled to return to my siblings for a comparison study.<span style=""> </span>Abruptly tumbling each revealed that I alone had the affliction.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I remembered something I had read in Ann Lander's column.<span style=""> </span>One of her readers made the comment that a man's brains were between his legs.<span style=""> </span>I must be a man and these undoubtedly are my brains.<span style=""> </span>My life was beginning to gel.<span style=""> </span>I was the first of the lot to open my eyes and the first to walk; now I've got brains!<span style=""> </span>Life seems to be a collection of wonderful discoveries.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I returned to the shade of my tree and its little bird to absorb the day and nap and dream. Life has so much to offer to a man like me.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>I awoke to a commotion in the yard.<span style=""> </span>Two humans, a man and a woman were lifting my sisters over their heads one at a time and peering underneath.<span style=""> </span>The yard was a scramble of screaming and crying puppies.<span style=""> </span>Before I could run to the safety of my mother's house, the female grabbed the flesh behind my neck and flipped me over to examine my bottomside.<span style=""> </span>"Babe, look, this one has them."<span style=""> </span>Her eyes were hidden behind a large pair of gauche designer sunglasses but she seemed to be staring at my new brains.<span style=""> </span>"Isn't he cute."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The male put his hand under my belly and raised me over his head looking directly at my brains, then into my eyes and said, "Mary Ellen are you sure, because once we make this decision it...."<span style=""> </span>She cut him short by saying, "I'm sure, and this is the best one."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">He unfolded a newspaper he had held under his arm, spread it out in a cardboard box, plopped me down on top of it and closed the lid.<span style=""> </span>I slid, tumbled and rolled in the semi darkness of the box.<span style=""> </span>I could see through a slit in the box that we were approaching a black Mercedes. There was jolt as the door slammed, the engine started and we began to move.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I was face down and after an hour or so, in the dim light of the box I began to read a very curious ad in the newspaper I rested on.<span style=""> </span>Circled in blue ink was the </span>confirmation<span style="color: black;"> of my </span><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:oval id="_x0000_s1026" style="'position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;margin-left:97.2pt;" allowincell="f" filled="f"> <w:wrap anchorx="page"> </v:oval><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="position: absolute; z-index: 1; left: 0px; margin-left: 129px; margin-top: 15px; width: 2px; height: 22px;"><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/user/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image001.gif" shapes="_x0000_s1026" height="22" width="2" /></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black;">fear. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="margin-left: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;">PUPS-5 solid black,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="margin-left: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;">7wks, mother reg.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="margin-left: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;">Golden<span style=""> </span>retriever,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="margin-left: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;">father reg. choc. Lab, $25 ea.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent2" style="margin-left: 0in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;">458-9242<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I hadn't been kidnapped at all, but rather sold into slavery for my brains.<span style=""> </span>Everything was so wonderful yesterday, and now my life is in the toilet.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">AMBERGRIS CAYE <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Perfumeries of <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:City> in the 16^th century sought after ambergris, the desired rare ingredient needed to supply their wealthy pompous clientele of twitching olfactory receptors with aromatic stimuli, perfume. The hottest industry in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">France</st1:place></st1:country-region> was for a century dependent on the highly sought after ambergris, a substance secreted by temporarily infirm whales.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>As the whale consumed its limit of indigestible shrimp, krill, grit, octopus beaks and sour Sargasso polyps, the objectionable indigestible build-up was disposed of as vomitus bile, regurgitated into the warm gulf of its winter home.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>In 1775 <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Whale</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placename st="on">Puke</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Island</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> could have been its name had the chart maker for Her Majesty's ship had any sense of humor.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>News spread in the Old World of an island in the <st1:place st="on">New World</st1:place> with beaches decorated in ambergris. Great sailing ships doing business in the Central American Bay of Chetumal began to visit with regularity laying the groundwork for a settlement. Suddenly French alchemists discovered that coal tar fixatives could replace the expensive and rare ambergris ingredient from the rapidly diminishing whale population.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">As its brief popularity faded, Ambergris was left hanging like a teardrop from the tip of the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Yucatan</st1:place></st1:State> peninsula. Its shores now decorated only with the dregs of renegade buccaneers and expatriated pirates who had mated with the Mestizo and Maya refugees.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>For 200 years Ambergris' population grew slowly, a place where who you were or what you were didn't matter; wild fowl roamed the island; coconuts fell from the trees; and fish were pulled from the ocean enough to provide an existence for those who could not or did not want to go else where.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>A hideout in the world where pirates and misfits could be themselves without worry of law and order, an island paradise!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>In the 1960's drug dealers discovered its unprotected boarder with <st1:country-region st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region>, and it became a drop off point for transportation between the Central American producers and the rapidly growing <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> markets. Its bars were filled with pilots and boat captains using fictitious names, willing to take risky cargo for some quick cash.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Meanwhile, paradise was entering its maturity, as all paradises do. Tourists were discovering its carefree fishing village. It was unavoidable. Ambergris would soon be filled with pasty white bodies clad in tacky floral print asking inane questions and photographing the mundane.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>In the 80's real estate became the popular scam, and Ambergris was learning about a new kind of pirate.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Poor Ambergris, from roly-poly whale puke and renegade buccaneers to Central American drug dealers and, now, unscrupulous scoundrels were selling bits of her to tourists.<span style=""> </span>When Elbert and I arrived, the coconut industry had died and the fishermen's cooperative was not providing like it had in the past. Even Jimmy Buffett had come and gone.<span style=""> </span>It was the birth of tourism that lured Elbert.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>SCUBA diving in the <st1:place st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> was hot, and Ambergris Caye, a virgin in this new industry, was in possession of a hundred miles of the most pristine coral reef in the hemisphere, but It was for freedom that I was coming to this island.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>The rest of the world was unwilling to accept me for what I was. I had been promised that on this island I would never wear a leash. I would never be fenced and my new life would include what many like myself would die for - freedom of expression. He had agreed that for the first time my unique abilities wouldn't be kept a secret. Together we were going to write a bird book.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>After landing at Belize International, Elbert released me from my cage in the cargo hold. Customs was still ahead of us and on the other side another flight to the island. Both Elbert and I expected trouble. The agent looked at me, my documents and then announced to Elbert that he would have to quarantine me for 30 days. My heart sank. Elbert shook his hand, smiled and said, "No problem, I'll bring him back tomorrow.’’<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>No problem? I thought, "What does he mean 'no problem'?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I was puzzled for a moment and then noticed the lingering handshake. As we walked outside to the tarmac, Elbert disconnected my leash and discretely tossed it in a passing luggage cart. He winked and said, "Welcome to <st1:place st="on">Central America</st1:place>, Bubba. You owe me $100 <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Waiting for us on the field was a classic Piper super cub. Its yellow paint was faded with oxidation and from the teddy bear emblem on its tail I suspect it's the original paint. Beside the PA18 stood our pilot. His big white teeth and smile lit his deeply tanned face. He wore mirrored aviator sunglasses and a white epauletted short sleeve shirt. His forearms were decorated with the tattoos of a Catholic fisherman. He shook hands with Elbert and introduced himself as <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chino</st1:place></st1:City>. Elbert introduced me and did the sit, shake routine. I shook <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chino</st1:place></st1:City>'s hand, decided I'd had enough of this style of humility, jumped into the plane's front seat and put a paw on the stick. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chino</st1:place></st1:City> laughed and made a joke about my flying his plane. Elbert crawled into the back and <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chino</st1:place></st1:City> started the engine. He ran through a sloppy mag check, laughing and speaking Spanish on the radio about his new co-pilot. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chino</st1:place></st1:City> struck me as someone who was willing to bend the rules. As the tail dragger rose from the short runway it provided me with my first view of the reef. Unlike the jet, this aircraft really flew. We soared at 1000 feet.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chino</st1:place></st1:City> put the headphones on me and said, "Bark for the dispatcher in San Pedro." Everything was so funny for them until I throttled up and pulled back on the stick, jamming Elbert deeper into the luggage cubby and banging <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chino</st1:place></st1:City>'s head against the window.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>I leveled off at 3000 feet and dipped the wing to get a good look at my Promised Land. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chino</st1:place></st1:City>'s face was going though a lot of changes but ended in an approving smile. Elbert looked concerned but from his position couldn't effectively react to anything I decided to do. He yelled, "Don't let him try to land us!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>All I wanted was to get to the island and end this chapter of my old life. I pushed the stick forward until the altimeter read 100 and leveled off at 50 feet above the water surprising a flock of cormorants that were flapping wildly and literally running atop the surface of the water in an effort to take off. They appeared to be double-crested cormorant, the <i style="">Phalacrocorax auritus</i> from the order of <i style="">Pelecaniformes</i>, large aquatic birds highly adapted for swimming. A very ancient order dating back 20 million years.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>As I glanced at <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chino</st1:place></st1:City>, his face read concern; 90 mph at 50 feet above water with a bird dog at the stick is probably stretching his limits of a good time. If it weren't for the heelbrake configuration I would have landed it on the island.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>At the San Pedro airfield while Elbert was recovering form the flight and collecting our baggage, I got my first chance to meet the people of Ambergris.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">SAN PEDRO<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Exploring town and finding a cool spot to rest was my priority, so I wandered ahead without Elbert. All the streets were sand and everyone I encountered, children, adults, shopkeepers and bartenders alike were barefoot and dressed in a simple fashionless style adorned only with gold teeth and tattoo. A sign outside a tavern read, "No shoes, no shirt, no problema." Contented faces of a widely varied descent smiled, waved or nodded at passing strangers and fellow Ambergriseans. They spoke an odd form of Spanish mixed with Mayan among themselves and broken English to outsiders. In the entire town no building was over two stories. An ancient Roman Catholic Church’s bell tower that rose above everything marked the town’s center.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>The trade winds cooled <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Front Street</st1:address></st1:Street> best, and my quest ended at a beachfront establishment called the Holiday Hotel. Its heavy carved mahogany doors to the street were propped open in a gesture of welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>I walked in, crossed the lobby, passed the bar and stuck my head out the beachside exit to a verandah overlooking the reef.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>It was furnished in brightly colored adirondack style furniture and surrounded in red Hibiscus, busy with visiting Cinnamon Hummingbirds. It and the beach beyond were shaded by towering coconut palms. The whole unbelievably serene setting was graced with the low and distant roar of the reef<span style=""> </span>beyond...heaven!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Suddenly from the lobby a disturbing gruff voice boomed, "Is that your dog?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I turned to discover Elbert behind me and confronting him was a large scowling woman.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"He's my dog, Elbert said, "or I'm his person. However you want to look at it."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">She bellowed, "There are no dogs allowed in this Hotel," pointing a stiff arm with crooked finger at the door to the verandah she yelled, "Afuera!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"He doesn't understand Spanish," Elbert said calmly. "Bubba would you wait outside while I have a drink at the bar?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I quickly exited and plopped down on the verandah. With no adieu, the woman turned and stomped away. From behind the bar a short, stocky Spanish man said, "That's Celi, she owns the Hotel, lives upstairs. What would you like to drink?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Elbert settled in the stool and asked, "Is she always like that?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>He chuckled, "Only when she's awake!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"I'll have a <st1:place st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> rum and coke with lime, thank you."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">After mixing the drink his eyes cut to the door and he asked, "What's your dog’s name?"<span style=""> </span>I glanced over to see Bubba's head sticking inside. His mouth open, with his drooping tongue supporting a long slobber sickle.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"Bubba," I responded, "and mine's Elbert. What's yours?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City>," he answered quickly and distinctly unlike the others I had met. With a large hand, genuine grip and warm smile he gave me a masculine single shake.<span style=""> </span>"Nice to meet you. Would your dog like some water?"<span style=""> </span>"Well...Bubba would prefer a beer. Could you pour some beer in a bowl for him?<span style=""> </span>He'll drink it outside!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>He poured the beer into a large stainless steel bowl, and I sat it outside. Bubba was gazing at the frigates soaring overhead.<span style=""> </span>Before lapping up the beer he looked up at me and smiled.<span style=""> </span>I could tell he was not going to mind the verandah at all. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>I returned to the bar and asked <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> to request the front desk reserve me a room for the night.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>As the afternoon progressed <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> began a line of questions that I'm sure he asks everyone who sits at his bar for any extended length of time, but still he managed a convincing display of concern.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Reciting as he washed bar glasses in the sink he asked, "How long are you here for?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"I'm going to stay. I'm not really a tourist. I plan to build on some land I've just bought on the island."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"What kind of work do you do?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"I'm a vocational teacher but I plan to teach SCUBA diving down here."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"Want to go diving?<span style=""> </span>I'll introduce you to my cousin Tito."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> how many dive masters are there on the island?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"Well let's see. Tito, Nano, Marko, Turiano..." He began to count on his fingers and mumble to himself eventually coming up with a figure of ten, all with names ending in "o."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">"Sure let's set something up!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">"What else would you like to do? I know everybody."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">"Well, I like to write, and Bubba likes to do bird watching."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">"Your dog is a birdwatcher?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"Sure, he's a bird dog. Loves the sport."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="color: black;">Chico</span></st1:place></st1:City><span style="color: black;"> offered to set up a tour with his cousin Cholo to ‘<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Rosario Caye,'</span> a neighboring island he claimed was inhabited by hundreds of Herons and Spoonbills.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Continuing with his repertoire of questions he asked, "What do you write?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"Witticisms, but nothing lately! I was hoping the local newspaper might humor me with my own column."<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"A column about what?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>" I don't know yet but I'm sure it will come to me."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"I'll introduce you to Bruce and Victoria and the <i style="">San Pedro Sun.</i> They will print anything. Don't worry I'll fix you up! Want another drink?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"Yes and could Bubba have another bowl of beer?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"You're going to get me in trouble!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City>, you are full of information. I seem to have stumbled into the right bar. I was hoping you could help me find my way around the <st1:place st="on">Island</st1:place>."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> responded with, "It’s easy:<span style=""> </span>we have Front, Middle and Back street. The sea is in the front of the island and the lagoon, in the back. Put your right foot in the <st1:place st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> and you're going north. Left foot, south. Simple! The town ends just a little way to the north in a river with no bridge, and the south end is a Maya Ruin called Marco Gonzalez."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"<st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City>, my property is on the north end."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>"UA-OH, you are going to need a boat. My cousin Turiano can find you one quick!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The following weeks at the Hotel, Bubba and I got to know San Pedro. Diving , fishing, exploring, drinking with <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Chico</st1:City></st1:place> and trying to stay out of Celi's way. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>One could say San Pedro is a dream. Someone could say San Pedro was as if it were set in another time. Someone else could say San Pedro is as if it was in another world and they would all be saying the same thing.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>There is salt and sand, towering coconut trees, fishing boats pulled unto the beach, large piles of empty conch shells, tall stacks of lobster traps and bleached wooden houses.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>San Pedro is a Roman Catholic fishing village and early every morning, except Sunday, the men went out fishing. The mayor was a fisherman so he went out. The town councilors were fishermen so they went out; the justice of the peace was a fisherman. It gave the town a peaceful air during the day, nothing important or official could happen. All shops and businesses closed for lunch and most for the remainder of the day. Afternoons were for sitting in a shady spot. During the morning if you needed meat you went to see Hipalito the butcher. If you wanted vegetables you went to see Mario at the vegetable stand. Fish were at the co-op and bread was at the bakers. If you had a problem you went to visit Constable Orio at the police station. San Pedro was a poem and in some way it all seemed to surround Celi's Holiday Hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The tourists stayed at her hotel, ate at her restaurant and drank in her bar. The locals and expatriated gringos of the village seem to be drawn to its lobby. Some waiting to see what would come to town next, others just drinking to forget life before San Pedro.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The bar opened at dawn and didn't close until the last wandering vagrant dollar had been spent or retired for the night. Not that Celi was avaricious, she wasn't, but if one wanted to spend money she was accommodating. Celi's position in the community surprised her, as much as she could be surprised. Over the course of years everyone in the village that drank had owed her money. She never pressed her clients, but when the bill became too large, Celi cut off credit. Rather than patronize another bar, the client usually paid or tried to. Her wealth may have been entirely in unpaid bar tabs, but she lived well and had the respect of the village. In some sense she was San Pedros benevolent Queen.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I kept looking for some sign that this wasn’t paradise, but it eluded me.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">CLEO<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>There wasn't a man in San Pedro that hadn't looked on Cleo with thoughts of what her form had to offer.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>If she held motionless and didn't speak, a simple smile could cause an unwitting man to swear his soul to this beauty, but with the slightest hint of voice or movement a great enigma arose. Cleo was born on the northern river in a village called Bomba deep in the jungle where she developed a wealth of practical knowledge for such an upbringing, but few thoughts where given to anything else. Any man complimenting her on her appearance was quickly told, "Shadup!" Cleo found it much more comfortable eating with her fingers and wiping food from her face was a waste until after the meal.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>She was a business woman and made herself busy with the boat captains willing to bring from her village exotic fruits and fresh meat to sell to San Pedranos. Deer Crocodile, gibnut, papaya, banana and cashew where in demand on the island and Cleo had the connections.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>She worked in the <st1:place st="on">Holiday</st1:place>’s gift shop fashion boutique in the lobby. Celi allowed her to dress from its inventory. Her elegant selections fueled the enigma. To view Cleo in the latest sleek gowns was a heart stopper. However, while indulging in the wealth of offerings for the boutique, Cleo never considered a pair of shoes, partly because no one on the island really needed shoes, but mostly because of her feet!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Cleo's shiny black hair was full and always woven in elaborate braids. Her teeth were white and straight, hidden beneath full and naturally rosy lips. Her skin was smooth, creamy brown and flawless. Her feminine figure was proportioned like a centerfold, her back lightly arched, her legs slender, but her feet!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Her feet were the product of a barefoot life, large, thick, spread out and twice sized for the support one might need while lumbering through the jungle. They had developed outside normal restraints into their fullest potential.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>She walked like a 300 pound man shifting from one hip to the other in an elephantine manner, planting each foot flat and solid as she moved across the lobby positioning herself behind the bar. The gift shop business was slow and Cleo was learning the bartender trade by filling in for <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> on his day off.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>"Cleo, may I have a rum and coke? And could Bubba get another beer? Where's <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City>?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">She studied the mirrored wall of bottles and asked in an inappropriate, loud tone, "What's in a rum and coke?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>"You don't drink do you Cleo?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>"Shadup! You want a drink or not? Which one is it?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>"It's that one.....there. The one that says Dark Caribbean Rum."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">She grabbed the bottle, removed its cap and planted her feet before the pouring station holding a glass of ice. Studying the bottles label she asked, "How much does he put in it?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Watching from where he lay in the door way Bubba put a paw over one eye. Some of the regulars at the bar, Reverend Bill, Scary Sherry, Lovely Rita and Tequila Steve watched silently from the other end.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I pointed to the shot glass and said, " <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Chico</st1:City></st1:place> fills these little glasses to measure it and then pours it over the ice."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Cleo poured the rum slowly and she viewed the red fill line from two angles with the concern of a freshman chemistry student involved in their first experiment. Then dumped it into my glass and filled it with coke to the rim.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>"Four dollars!" she said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Reluctantly I asked, "May I have a lime?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>She shifted her feet to angle herself towards <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City>’s cutting board, quartered a lime and gave it a squeeze over my drink squirting my face, shirt, top of the bar and in the rum and coke.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Tequila Steve became unsettled. He shifted his weight on the barstool and looked up over the paperback book that seemed to always cover his face,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“May I get another tequila over here?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The rum and coke episode had taken 15 minutes and Steve drinks three shots an hour. His sudden restlessness seemed to be concern that Cleo might not supply his demand timely. Cleo stepped back to the mirrored shelf to replace the rum bottle, looking down the bar to his request she said, “hold your horses!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Reverend Bill who had not been seen without a drink in his hand since the end of the Vietnam War began to pay close attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Lovely Rita who likes lime with her rum and soda, but does not wear protective eye wear, also perked up. Scary Sherry maintained a fearful silence.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I thanked Cleo and said, “Cleo you look very beautiful in that dress.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“Shadup!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“Cleo, do they have Jabiru Storks in Bomba? It’s a woodstork indigenous to that area.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“Don’t talk to me!” She then turned her feet in the direction of the trio at the end of the bar and stepped up in front of Lovely Rita, “What do you want?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Lovely Rita flinched at the abrupt attention, “Rua…Rua…Rum and soda.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Thinking ahead Lovely Rita decided not to ask for the lime. Cleo returned to the mixing station before me and began filling a glass with ice.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Forced to face me I took advantage of this posture and asked, “Could you show me a Jabiru. The San Pedro Sun is going to let me write a weekly column about birds and I wanted the Jabiru to be the first.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“I’m working, don’t you get it? Leave me alone!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I held up a blue Belizean $100 bill and said, “I’m willing to pay you.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>She grabbed for the bill but I dodged it from her grasp. She looked me in the eye and said, “ I’m going to show you a Jabiru, take your money and your going to be sorry if you don’t leave me alone!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>She returned to her tense patrons at the other end and I raised an eyebrow at Bubba who seemed to give me a look of approval. Bubba’s in charge of our bird watching budget and I took his look as this being a worthwhile venture.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>With her next return to the mixing station I said, “They prefer to live in <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Riverine</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Forest</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, like that around your village. I hear their nests are ten feet in diameter.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“OK! Gringo, give me the blue note and I promise I’ll show you a Jabiru!, OK?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I held out the bill again; she snatched it. With her right hand she began to fold it in thirds. With her left she pulled out the neck line of her dress. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>She held the folded bill in front of my face showing me to my surprise an illustration of a Jabiru on the note, then quickly stuffed it in her bra.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“Stupid Gringo,” she said as she waddled Reverend Bill’s drink to the other end of the bar.<span style=""> </span>Bubba gave me a disgusted look and sighed. That was the last time we did business <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">with Cleo.<span style=""> </span><i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span></span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">JABIRU<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span></span></i><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>In the world of aves there is an order known as <i style="">Ciconiiformes</i> and within that order there are seven families. One of these families known by the name ‘ciconiidae’ has two branches that live in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>. They are the Wood Storks and the Jabiru mycteria. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Like the Manatee and Howler Monkey, the Jabiru is another rare and valued resident of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The Jabiru is the largest flying bird in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Americas</st1:country-region></st1:place>, standing over 5 ½<span style=""> </span>feet tall with a wingspan of over 8 feet. It has long legs and a massive black bill. Its head and neck are black and without feathers. At the base of its bare neck is a broad red band of skin. Its plumage is entirely white.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Some friends have pointed out that a likeness of the Jabiru can be found printed on the Belizean 100 dollar bill. After a few failed attempts and false starts, Bubba and I set out to find a Jabiru nest on our own.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>We had heard rumors of nesting Jabiru with chick along the New River Lagoon in Lamanai. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Early Spanish frontiersmen accessed this area of <st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region> via the Bahia Bay of Chetumal traveling up the <st1:place st="on">New River</st1:place> to a large bluff. The bluff is adorned with very impressive Mayan temples that date from 1500 BC until the arrival of the Franciscan Friars in 1650. ‘Lamanai,’ as they called it, means ‘submerged crocodile’. Bubba and I spotted several along the way. Quite a fascinating boat trip with more <i style="">Auifana</i> that can be appreciated in a single cruise.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The whole order of <i style="">Ciconiiformes</i> are fish eating birds with long legs for wading in shallow waters and this river seemed rich with all that savannas and marsh land could provide. The Jabiru is not limited to fish. They enjoy amphibians, reptiles, snakes and small mammals. Bubba pointed out that the Jabiru’s featherless neck was an indication that it ate carrion as well. Birds like buzzards for instance, that also have featherless heads and necks, will take a meal from a large dead animal. Collecting rotting flesh on feathers can cause infection and disease. Having slick skin is much safer for such activity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Finding a Jabiru nest is easy, if there is one to be found. It will be atop the tallest tree on the highest ridge overlooking the savanna not far from the water. We also could have just been incredibly lucky.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>As we got closer to the nest I was rudely reminded of something I had read about how the parents feed their chicks. The Jabiru has a well-developed throat pouch or ‘crop’ as it is sometimes called. As the Jabiru eats its daily variety of mice, lizard or fish, the food collects at the base of the throat. Upon arriving at the nest the hunting parent regurgitates its catch into the nest to feed the chicks and attending parent. The smell around the base of the tree with the nest should be sufficient reason to have most admire the Jabiru from afar.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style="">Lamanai, for the Birds<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lamanai is a Maya word meaning “submerged crocodile”, but also the name of the third largest, and possibly the most interesting archeological site in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>Located in the Orange Walk District, the Lamanai temple complex sits atop the western bluff of the New River Lagoon and is surrounded by pristine rainforest. <span style=""> </span>This Pre-Classic site had its origins 3,500 years ago and experienced the longest period of occupation and development of any other Maya archeological site in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The journey to Lamanai is as interesting as Lamanai itself.<span style=""> </span>Tour operators on Ambergris Caye sell this day trip as an eco-adventure and for the aware “birder” it may be the most productive of rare and unusual sightings <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place> has to offer.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The trip leaves the dock in San Pedro for the New River Lagoon at approximately 7:30 a.m. and passes through a number of diverse avian habitats along the way.<span style=""> </span>The boat first crosses through mangrove channels at the southern tip of Ambergris Cays offering opportunities for sighting Belted Kingfishers, Great White Herons, Little Blue Herons, Great Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, Black-Necked Stilts, as well as the common occurrence of Brown Pelicans, Frigates, Cormorants, Ospreys, Plovers, Pipers and Terns. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The boat then exits the mangrove on Ambergris’ west side and crosses the southern end of the Bahia de Chetumal.<span style=""> </span>Early Spanish frontiersmen accessed Lamanai via the <st1:placetype st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">Chetumal</st1:PlaceName> from Corozal traveling up the <st1:place st="on">New River</st1:place> to a large bluff.<span style=""> </span>The bluff is adorned with very impressive Maya temples that date from 1500 B.C. until the arrival of the Franciscan Friars in 1650.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our crossing to the shortcut takes approximately 45 minutes and ends entering the <st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region> mainland at the mouth of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Northern</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> in the Northern Rover Lagoon.<span style=""> </span>Elbert spotted a Green Heron fishing the shallows of a small island lagoon, the only island that was supporting tall coconut trees.<span style=""> </span>The <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Northern</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> runs through tropical swamp where the fresh water of the river mixes with the tidal salt water, so that salt levels fluctuate.<span style=""> </span>Characteristic in this area are Red Mangroves (Rhizophora harrisoni), with spreading silt roots.<span style=""> </span>The flowering orchids, vermilions and epiphytes they support are the chief source of nectar for the Mangrove Hummingbird.<span style=""> </span>In this swamp, Mangrove Vireos, Mangrove Warblers, Flycatchers and Snail Kites permanently reside, and many water birds rest, forage and nest.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This leg of the trip ends on the firm earth and dark soil at the edge of the swamp in the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">village</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">Bomba</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>, where you are transferred from boat to bus for the trip along the <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Old Northern Highway</st1:address></st1:Street>.<span style=""> </span>During the 50-minute trip to the <st1:place st="on">New River</st1:place> you will pass through savanna.<span style=""> </span>Elbert and I spotted three Jabiru Storks in the marsh grasses along the way as well as a flock of White Ibis and a variety of Hawks, Vultures and Egrets.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We boarded a different boat on the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">New</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placename st="on">Northern</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> near Tower Hill.<span style=""> </span>The New Northern River between Tower Hill and Lamanai runs through Riverine/Gallery Forest and is a habitat for Limpkins, Kites, Bitterns, Rails and a variety of Herons, such as the Tri-colored and the Chestnut-bellied.<span style=""> </span>A common site along the river is the female Northern Jacana trotting along its lily pads foraging for water bugs and small frogs or fish.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The journey ends at the base of the bluff and the edge of the rainforest on the New River Lagoon at Lamanai.<span style=""> </span>Our group was introduced to a very will informed Belizean Archeological Tour Guide who led us through a field museum first and then on a jungle walk – up, down and around several Maya temples set under the rainforest canopy.<span style=""> </span>He identified flora and fauna of the forest along the way, stopping at a tree of Howler Monkeys and pointing out the need to not stand directly under them.<span style=""> </span>He also gave notice to the Wood Creepers, Yellow-headed Parrots, a Groove-billed Ani, a Keel-billed Toucan and a Slaty-tailed Trogon.<span style=""> </span>We had a wonderful lunch on a picnic table under the shade of a giant Bullet tree at the edge of the river before returning.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yes, definitely.<span style=""> </span>Lamanai, for the birds.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoHeading8"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-weight: normal;">THE KISKADEE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">In the order of <i style="">Passeriformes</i> is the <i style="">Pitangus sulphuratus</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Large for a flycatcher, the kiskadee has a bright yellow belly, rufous tail and yellow crown with white streaks running from its bill above the eye to the back of its head.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I don't think I would be able to write a weekly bird column if it was up to me to chose the bird.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I was having my morning coffee on the new deck with Bubba, and a male kiskadee landed on a bending coconut frond above Bubba's food and water bowls. It made a sound that I could only imagine is a communiqué to the others that Bubba has left some dog food bits in his bowl and fresh water. It's a sharp, high-pitched cry that probably carries a long distance. My book spells it "eeeeek".<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>After doing his doing his duty to inform the others, he sprung to the dog food bowl of kernels and grasped one in his bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>He seemed perplexed by its hardness and his inability to crunch it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>A female landed on the same bent frond but seemed content to watch the male struggle with his dilemma.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>He beat the kernel on the wood deck with a quick, flipping right and left movement of its head that reminded me of the kingfisher's technique for killing its sardine. When this didn't work he held it to the deck with his left foot and pecked it twice sharply.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Frustrated, he then flew off with the unaffected kernel in his bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The female cocked her head to have a quick look at me and then one at Bubba sleeping.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Her approach was with much more caution than the male. She was a much duller color than the male and surly must be less obvious to a predator while sitting on the nest.. Loss of the male would be less of a consequence to procreation of the species, so he seems to be the colorful bold ‘scout’.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>She, after a long analytical pause, fluttered down to perch on the bowl's rim, picked up a kernel, hopped to the water bowl and dunked it under the water. When the water softened it to her particular palate, she stretched her neck and threw it back!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I wonder if she will be kind enough to relay this discovery to the male?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoTitle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoTitle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The American Redstart<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoTitle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The American Redstart is a New World Wood Warbler found in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Their Order is Passeriform and within that order the family name is Parulidae. They are small Songbirds.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This week The American Redstart chose itself as bird of the week by being seen in all the right places around San Pedro. Just back in town from a summer vacation in the Rocky Mountains near the Canadian border the American Redstart will be here and all of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Yucatan</st1:State></st1:place> until spring. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Your going to notice this bird, as it is bold and fast allowing them to comfortably forage in close proximity to humans. Its favorite spots are one of the many outdoor Bars or restaurants of San Pedro. Sugary drinks attract flies and Warblers are for the most part insectivorous. This bird is darty as it hops onto the bar tops and tables. They sometimes display a wing-spreading maneuver to flush insects up to be quickly nabbed. Oddly the American Redstart is not red but <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Orange</st1:City></st1:place> and black, The word Redstart describes a group of Wood Warblers such as the ‘Painted Redstart or Slate-throated Redstart with very similar characteristics and Aerial Fly catching habits. They have a specialized type of feather around the bill with only a few barbs at the base. The rest of the shaft is naked. These are called Bristles, and many birds that catch flying insects have them. They have flat bills with a broad base, the surest way to score an allusive meal.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>I asked Bubba what he could tell me new and different about the Wood Warblers. He said,” One of the most distinctive characteristics of the warbler is the variety of sounds they make. Vocalizations of Songbirds like the American Redstart are divided into songs and calls, depending primarily on their message. They are being studied with our new technologies and discoveries of what, why and when uncover interesting facts about the use of song as language. Much like an Italian Opera, each song has a distinct purpose with little dialog between.”<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Among the Wood Warblers usually only the male sings. The American Redstart has a different song depending on the stage of the breeding cycle, time of day and occasion. The songs have function and Wood Warblers share a common song system that has two distinct groups or categories.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The first groupings, sometimes called the accented-ending are sung during the day, are simple and sung near females. These songs seem to serve primarily in mate attraction.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Males that lose their mates will rapidly increase the number of first category songs they sing.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The second type of song is referred to as unaccented-ending or second category song.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">These songs are typically delivered rapidly at Dawn, are male-to-male interactions and usually more complex. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The messages are defined as; </p> <h1><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">First Category<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="">The ‘I don’t have a mate and I’m looking for a mate’, song, sung by the male.</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="">‘Contact Calls’ usually passed back and forth during the day between males and females inside the territory. Little ‘Chirp Notes’.</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="">‘The Female to Female conflict’. These songs are thought to strengthen the pair bond. (Did I mention Wood Warblers are monogamous?)</li></ol> <h1><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Second category<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 30pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">1.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->‘This is my territory’ sung by the male (usually sung at dawn)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 30pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">2.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->‘I have a mate in this territory’ sung by the male to another male.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 30pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">3.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->‘The dispute of territory’ sung pro and con.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 30pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="">4.<span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->Then an undefined message sung to the female within the male’s territory after mating.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 12pt;">Even during the mating season when birds sing, the songs do not communicate all of<span style=""> </span>a birds concerns. Aggression, alarm, danger, and food location are other kinds of information some birds convey by the short unmusical notes labeled ‘calls’, often heard throughout the year. Calls can be understood by other species and have a common bond.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Birdwatching is for the millions of people who enjoy watching and identifying birds and for those who would like to go beyond recognition skills to the hows and whys of bird biology and behavior ‘Birdlistening’ is another fascinating sport.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>I needed to allow Bubba to publicly express himself as promised so we agreed the two of us would co-author my weekly column for the Sun. The newspaper must have printed this under an assumption that I was writing using a dual personality pen name! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>Bubba believes that educating the masses is the best place to start his campaign for bird awareness, so for his first article he wrote..........<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoTitle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">How To Change The World<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoTitle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">In Three Easy Steps<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;" align="right"><span style="">By Bubba<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is said that when a human stands on the rim of the <st1:place st="on">Grand Canyon</st1:place> and looks to the other side, they have an emotional experience.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’ve heard them say, ’we just seem so damn tiny.’</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Likewise, the challenge that afflicts Ambergris Caye can seem overwhelming in scope and scale. When problems are as big as overfishing, Pollution and coastal overdevelopment, it’s easy to think that there’s no way one person can do anything to bring about positive change. But just as the trek to the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">peak</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:placename st="on">Mt.</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> Everest is made step by tiny step, positive change often comes in tiny increments. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Awareness, Legislation and Enforcement are the blue print for positive change. My big rock to chip at is Awareness!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We understand there is no easy way to reverse the tide of environmental degradation, but we also understand that given a simple choice between eco-friendly and environmentally damaging practices, the vast majority will choose to do what’s best for the <st1:place st="on">Island</st1:place>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ambergris Caye in its remote and forgotten corner has been exempt in the past from the consequences the rest of the world has been paying for its mismanagement of development and the environment but that’s about to change with paradise discovered.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>What, you may ask, has this to do with Birds? The Birds environment and the environment we live in, are the same environment. Efforts for either are parallel. Standing on a soapbox and shaking your finger to the sky in this age will get you ignored but entertain and you message will be remembered Pointing out the beauty and creating awareness of its care and maintainace to the masses who read the newspaper may be just one birddogs effort, but with every person I successfully effect to smile, the situation improves incrementally,</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And suddenly we don’t seem so tiny anymore.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;" lang="ES-GT"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">A Birdwatchers Guide <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">for the Complete Idiot<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">By Bubba<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">The recent extraordinary growth in popularity of Birdwatching as a hobby and the wave of interest in exploring, protecting and learning about the environment seem to be symptoms of a single desire: to become part of the natural world. I would like this involvement and participation in Birdwatching to be un-intimidating and easy, so with Elbert’s help I have put together a few thoughts and helpful hints that might gently introduce the novice or even the complete idiot to the Avian world.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>We will begin by clarifying what a Birdwatcher is….already it gets confusing! There are a few terms we should define first.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">ORNITHOLOGIST- It simply means a person who studies birds, a term usually reserved to describe those serious scientific types that have some sort of degree in the subject and thus a rightful claim to moral superiority. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">BIRDWATCHER - Well, I hope you can get this one without much explanation, just a person who watches birds. Beginning or experienced, usually they own some binoculars, a field guide, know where to find a Roadside hawk, and keep a list of sightings. Today the connotation of birdwatcher is not hip and although it’s an accurate and descriptive title, there are just too many to constitute an elite.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">BIRDER - As you may have already guessed, the hip, elite and seriously involved in identifying and collecting listings. Example: If you are a “birder” you don’t go birdwatching, you go “birding” to adventurous locations. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">TWITCHER - This list wouldn’t be complete without listing the “Twitcher”. Bill Oddie, in his famous “Little Black Bird Book” defines it as, “Someone who is obsessed with ‘Ticks’ (British for “mark it off your list”), races around the country chasing rare birds, uses all the correct terms and marks off the list as he goes.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>Now that you know the players, let’s take a look at EQUIPMENT and CLOTHING. You will need: binoculars, an old hat, a field guide to bird identification, a rain poncho, insect repellent, a notebook and pen, a water bottle, a camera and film and sun screen.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>Think you’re ready? Not quite...what are we looking at? You think that’s a trick question, don’t you? Birders are identifying birds! This seems to be the largest most important subject—what is it? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>Identifying a bird correctly isn’t easy. It’s best to start by putting it in an order, which brings us to “Taxonomy”. Taxonomy is simply categorizing the bird in related groups. It’s done with Latin names. The groups start with the largest group to the smallest individual. This is how it goes: Kingdom - whether it’s a plant or an animal; Class - in this case, Avian (things that have feathers); Order - there are 34 orders that make up the big groups, for example, Herons, Hummingbirds, Owls, etc.; Family - medium-size groups within the big groups; Genus - a small group of closely related species; Species - the smallest division. It’s best to think of species as a population; Subspecies - simply stated—a race!<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>Birders seem to only be concerned with the last three. You would record, for example, Caracara c. cachinnans (the Laughing falcon). Don’t worry, it’s all there in the field guide.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>Ah yes, the field guide, a book of color pictures, names all in order and you’d think that would make it easy. There is your bird sitting on the telephone wire patiently waiting while you look it up, correctly identify it and record it in your notebook. You have the binoculars focused in on it, but it just doesn’t look like the illustration. Your problem could be another favorite topic of a true Birdwatcher, Molting and Plumage. When it doesn’t look like the photo in the field guide, it can usually be blamed on the fact that birds change feathers for the occasion. Feathers are different patterns and colors at different stages of their lives for a variety of reasons. “Immature” is one of the most common reasons you may not find it easily identifiable. For example, the little Blue Heron is white for its first year until it goes into its breeding season. Molting is the process by which birds change their plumage. Old feathers simply don’t fly a bird as well as new feathers, neither do they attract the opposite sex. So migration and breeding are the two major reasons to molt. Plumage is used to describe what one might call your wardrobe “summer plumage, winter plumage, breeding plumage,” all different looks of the same species. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>Now before you go out into the world thinking you’re keen on birds, let’s arm ourselves with a vocabulary and take a look at some terms you’ll need to use. Birders use words you won’t find in spell check. “Ish” is used to describe something that’s not quite what it is, for example, blue-ish, red-ish, dark-ish. This gives you a lot of latitude to cover a mistaken ID. Eyeshine is the color reaction to a bird’s eyes when they have a light shined on them at night, for example, blue eyeshine or green eyeshine. Topknot, as you might guess, is the strange thing on the top of the bird’s head. Understory is the place where you might find a jungle bird, in the “Understory” of the trees. Rufus is a color, sort of red-ish rusty-brown and surprisingly most birds have something you could describe as rufus. Use it a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>So, what have we learned? Even you can be a Birdwatcher. You’re not an ornithologist; don’t twitch, be prepared, keep a list of birds you identify, and don’t ever take yourself too seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><span style=""> </span>Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">I was concerned for Bubbas obsession with birdwatching in that compulsive behavior usually isn’t healthy and his phrase’ search for birding truth’ concerned me. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;" lang="ES-GT"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">The Bubba Birdwatching Philosophy<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">By Bubba<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">For Elbert birdwatching is another way to relate to life.<span style=""> </span>He says it's a different, more graceful path that makes living enjoyable and its problems easier to solve.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I find my entertainment by not limiting by observations to birds alone but including birdwatchers.<span style=""> </span>Elbert calls it Bubba style.<span style=""> </span>Watching birdwatchers has revealed more to me about human behavior than birding techniques.<span style=""> </span>I've resolved the greatest discovery of the human will be that a human being can alter its life by altering its attitude. Elbert said, "One of the cardinal rules of 'Bubba Birdwatching' should be that judging others takes a great deal of energy and, without exception, pulls you away from where you want to be." I think he doesn't understand.<span style=""> </span>Being a birddog is probably an advantage for me.<span style=""> </span>In my search for 'Birding Truth' I have discovered many opinions-and if they don't fall in line with my belief I try not to dismiss it or if I find fault in it I try to see a positive side.<span style=""> </span>For<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">example, 'The Aggressive Compulsive Lister', I admire them for how seriously they can take themselves. In my adventures I've run into quite a few with this birding malady, a personality that seems to polarize 'Bubba Birdwatching'.<span style=""> </span>They go about recording details, listing and counting as if they were in a birdwatching emergency.<span style=""> </span>In some ways this strategy epitomizes the essential message of 'Bubba style'.<span style=""> </span>It is as if someone prescribed to them birdwatching as an anti-anxiety medicine and their medication is out of adjustment.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The human trait of being in a hurry to relax has always confused me.<span style=""> </span>The aggressive compulsive birder wants to see that bird now!<span style=""> </span>So they can get onto the next one and the next, then hurry back to the lodge to write them down on the 'life list'. Elbert said, "almost every opinion has some merit, especially if we are looking for merit, rather than looking for errors, and I should try to help them with their birding enjoyment by showing them value in 'Bubba Birdwatching'."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">There are three excellent reasons for becoming a Bubba Birder.<span style=""> </span>First, when you are aggressive you put yourself and everyone around you in an uncomfortable birding mood. Second, birding aggressively is extremely stressful.<span style=""> </span>Your blood pressure goes up, your grip on the binoculars tightens, your eyes are strained and your thoughts are spinning out of control.<span style=""> </span>Finally, you end up wasting time in getting to where you want to be emotionally.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Bubba Birdwatching is done to relax.<span style=""> </span>When I ask birders, what does it mean to relax? Most will answer in a way that suggests that relaxing is something you plan to do later - you will do it on vacation, in a hammock, when you retire or when you get through birdwatching.<span style=""> </span>The obvious implication is the rest of your time should be spent nervous, agitated, rushed and frenzied.<span style=""> </span>This is not the 'Bubba way'. It's useful to think of relaxation as a quality of heart that you can access anytime rather than something reserved for a later time.<span style=""> </span>it's helpful to remember that relaxed people can still be birdwatching super achievers.<span style=""> </span>When I'm feeling uptight, for example, I don't even try to write.<span style=""> </span>But when I feel relaxed, my writing flows quickly and easily.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Being a Bubba Birder involves training yourself to respond differently to the dramas of birdwatching.<span style=""> </span>It comes in part from reminding yourself over and over again that you have a choice in how you respond.<span style=""> </span>For instance, upon seeing a new and unusual bird one can run crashing through the jungle trying to focus the binoculars, looking for a pencil, and looking it up in Peterson's all at the same time or be a true Bubba and simply whisper, "Wow, did you see that?" ......this plateau is achievable.<span style=""> </span>You can learn to relate to your thinking as well as your circumstances in a new birding awareness.<span style=""> </span>With practice, making these choices will translate into your becoming a true Bubba Birder.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;" lang="ES-GT"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">Shorebirds<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">from the order of Charadriiformes<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Early each morning I walk down to the beach , and all along the shoreline troops of small shorebirds scurry along the water's edge, looking for food. The shorebirds, by which is meant the sandpiper and plovers, are tough to identify.<span style=""> </span>They run along the shoreline the length and breadth of Ambergris. Most shorebirds are small, like a sparrow or medium-sized like a robin, with slender bills for probing in the mud or sand and slender legs for wading.<span style=""> </span>Don't be discouraged if you can't positively identify them.<span style=""> </span>Just try to answer, is it a sandpiper or plover.<span style=""> </span>Hundreds of different patterns on these birds make it almost impossible.<span style=""> </span>We probably have six species of plovers and possibly twenty or more sandpipers running up and down the beaches of our island. Plovers are generally smaller than sandpipers with shorter, thicker bills and have a behavior of run and stop, run and stop from looking for food in the wave action on the beach. They eat crustaceans and small marine life as they go. Sandpipers have longer, slimmer bills and behave more independently than the flocking plovers.<span style=""> </span>They are generally taller and are in a different family called Scolopacidae. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Plovers are in a family known as Charadriidae.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">My little friends I see on the dock each morning, to the best of my ability, are Ruddy Turnstones.<span style=""> </span>They sleep in flocks and lay eggs right atop the sand in the low grasses on the beach crest's slope. Bubba likes to run up the dock and make them all fly away.<span style=""> </span>I suppose he’s studying their flight. As they fly away their sharp voices say, "kek, kek, kek, kek, kek," and they display a striking upper and lower wing pattern.<span style=""> </span>I should put Bubba in charge of showing me how birds fly away!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;" lang="ES-GT"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Barstool Bird Watching<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>I first discovered bird watching<span style=""> </span>from a barstool, and ever so often, I find myself back on that stool gazing over the <st1:place st="on">Caribbean</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> is my favorite bartender on the island, partly because he makes excellent conch ceviche and partly because of his tolerance of my antics. One afternoon while warming the stool, he asked me how I found the time to bird watch enough in order to write my weekly column on birds.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>I explained how bird watching for some isn't a planned event and that birds are always around us. We merely have to stop time and look!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>He looked at me strange and asked if I would like another beer.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>I could tell he didn't fully understand bird watching, so I enticed him into a round of "barstool bird watching" with a challenge, "I can identify more birds than you without leaving my stool!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>I knew from watching <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> play dominos that he enjoyed gaming, so I bet a round of drinks for the bar.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>Luckily, "Tequila Steve" had left us with some binoculars, and the afternoon was young.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> washed his chopping block in the bar's sink and began to sharpen his knife, peering out the windows overlooking the shoreline. "I see frigates," he said, ". . . five of them! Flying around the fishing boats."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>I explained how each specie only counted for one sighting, and the score was <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Chico</st1:City></st1:place> - 1, Elbert - 0, Bubba - 0.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>After a few other declarations of the rules, <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Chico</st1:City></st1:place> agreed to include Bubba's sightings if he barks first.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> began to chop a large, white onion. Two little ground doves were bobbing for sand flies just off the veranda. "Doves!" he yelled, "That's two for me!" "What kind of doves," I asked. "Little doves!" he responded.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>We talked a while about the rules stating "species". He opened me another beer, and I conceded his score of "little doves".<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Chico</st1:City></st1:place> -2, Elbert - 0, Bubba - 0. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> had just settled down and started chopping the conch into bite sized cubes when Bubba suddenly jumped up from his nap in the doorway, ran across the lobby and barked across the street at the breadfruit tree, startling two white-winged doves to fly away.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Chico</st1:City></st1:place> - 2, Elbert - 0, Bubba - 1.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>Before I could swivel around in the bar stool to face the shoreline again, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> had Peterson's <i style="">Field Guide</i> in his hand and was yelling, "Magnificent Frigate and the Great Frigate. If Bubba can count two kinds of dove, I can count the Great Frigate. That's three for me, one for Bubba, and you don't have zip!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>As fast as I could rattle them off, I took the lead with "Royal Tern, Brown Pelican, White Pelican and Neo-tropical Commorant."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>The game's momentum was interrupted by <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City>'s calling foul on my commorant sighting. "It's underwater," I explained. After a few minutes of studying the surface of the waters around the dock, a commorant surfaced its head with a wiggling eel in its beak and began swallowing. "You're lucky," <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> said in a low voice, "That's four for you . . ."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Chico</st1:City></st1:place> - 3, Elbert - 4, Bubba - 1.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> opened me another beer and began to chop habañera peppers. We had not noticed Bubba slip out to the end of the dock until he barked in the air at a soaring osprey; prancing back up the dock, Bubba pointed his nose up again at a black-headed gull and<span style=""> </span>gave a short, cocky bark. I could tell he was in a mood to show off. He leaped from the dock landing in the middle of six sandpipers with his third bark, then walking to the veranda, he stopped to give a "woof" into the hibiscus, giving notice to the Cinnamon Hummingbirds. He honestly looked smug as he plopped down in his favorite spot at the bar.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Chico</st1:City></st1:place> - 3, Elbert - 4, Bubba - 5.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>The ceviche was ready! <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> was putting it in cups equipped with small forks.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>He handed me a cup, and at the same time held up a fresh, cold beer. I reached out with both hands and took hold of the two. "Thanks, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City>." <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> paused, and then asked with a smile, "We forgot to decide how this game ends."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>After a few bites I began to sweat the pepper with a flush to my face. I explained, "The game never really ends; you just pause awhile and time restarts itself." <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> always looks at me strange when I talk like that. He offered me another beer, and I drank it like water. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> pointed out that the sun was going down and encouraged me to take my boat home before dark.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>Just one more point and it would be a tie. I asked <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> if he had ever been beaten by a dog before, and he said, "It ain't over until the fat lady sings; good night, bye, so long, you and your dog get out of my bar!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span>Walking to my boat, I noticed the moon and tide had exposed the turtle grass beds beside the dock, and hunting in the middle of the bed was a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron. I opened my mouth to yell to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City>, but before I could utter a word, there was a soft "woof" from my side . . . how humiliating.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Chico</st1:City></st1:place> - 3, Elbert - 4, Bubba - 6.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;" lang="ES-GT"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">Mangrove Swallow<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The “Golondrina Manglera” is Tachycineta a. albilinea, of the Hurundinidae genus from the order of Passeriformes, known to its friends as the mangrove swallow.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You don’t have to look hard for this week’s bird, it’s Ariel displays of swoop, sweep, soar, dive, bank and dip are going on island-wide.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Swallows are small to medium-size songbirds with long, pointed wings; long, forked tails’ short, wide bills; and inconspicuous legs and feet.<span style=""> </span>Their plumage is brown, gray and iridescent metallic blue-green. Martins are simply large swallows, by another name.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Swallows are most often found in or near <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s coastal lowlands and are ‘insectivores’. this is why you are seeing them this week.<span style=""> </span>Recent rains followed by calm weather have been giving birth to an abundance of flying bugs and the swallows have a large appetite for them.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Their bills have a wide gape for scooping insects from the air, thus the aerobatics. Swallows employ a feeding strategy, foraging far and wide in search of ephemeral (living one day only, as in insects) food sources.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The only known breeding colony in <st1:place st="on">Central America</st1:place> is in Isla Cozumel and that is only 60 miles up the coast as the swallow flies.<span style=""> </span>So it is a safe assumption they are from that island.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Outside of the breeding season, the presence of swallows may change dramatically.<span style=""> </span>Mangrove swallows can be found where the airborne bugs are, usually coastal lagoon or in association with mangroves, and only at certain times, such as a Termite swarm.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Swallows do most everything while flying.<span style=""> </span>I’ve been watching them drink and bathe in the many swimming pools at hotels around the island.<span style=""> </span>They simply fly over the water and dip their bill to drink in passing or splash into the water momentarily to bathe.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bubba said, the mangrove swallows at times roost in hundreds and it’s speculated that during these times information is shared concerning food sources.<span style=""> </span>‘Opportunistic foraging habits’ are how Bubba describes it.<span style=""> </span>Like Ambergris’ annual September rainfall creating a flying bug fest, they are probably discussing another area that produces airborne insects in masses during select weather conditions they may then visit as a group. </p> <p class="MsoFooter" style=""><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Swallows present an interesting paradox for conservationists.<span style=""> </span>Human activity has increased the numbers of barns Swallows, cliff swallows, cave swallows, and tree swallows by inadvertently creating nesting sites.<span style=""> </span>However, development has simultaneously and dramatically shrunk some of the mangrove swallows’ native habitat, notably the mangroves.<span style=""> </span>Researchers have no idea what effect deforestation, and agriculture have on swallows, although obliviously they reduce the number of nest sites and prey. <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">El Salvador</st1:place></st1:country-region> no longer enjoys the presents of Mangrove swallows due to pesticide pollution and habitat loss. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Bubba said, and I’m sure he was quoting some old ornithologist, “Birds are not just something to be marked off of a list by a birder.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I was having a conversation with a Scientist from Harvard named Margaret. We where joking about my cliché image a Scientist, always in a white lab coat, with flasks of bubbling colored liquids and mice in little cages.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I asked her seriously, why little mice? And she said,” They are born, live and die in a short period of time and it allows me to see the effect of what I’ve done.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>It should be a ‘heads up’ when the swallow fails to return to San Pedro. Birds are indicators of the health of our island, a sort of ‘ecological litmus paper’.<span style=""> </span>Because of their furious pace of living they reflect changes in the environment, the environment we all share.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;" lang="ES-GT"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">Bubba on Subspecies<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>While passing a quiet afternoon in my hammock with Bubba fishing from the dock, the low roar of the reef was all the sound to be heard. I thought I would entertain myself by asking him something about the birds. Just to start a conversation, I asked, “Why do you spend so much time studying the birds?” He responded with “It helps me understand humans!” <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">“Maybe I should restate my question. Why do people study birds?” <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">He replied, “It helps them understand themselves.”<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“Well I guess I can see how behaviors can be similar and parallels can be drawn but all that classification stuff seems unrelated. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“No, you’re wrong! All that classification ‘stuff’ as you call it has more value in understanding ourselves than behavior parallels. I’ll give you a profound example. From what I’ve learned from taxonomy I have an understanding of what’s happening in Kosovo between the Serbs and Albanians, and how that could never happen to us in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“I’m going to call you to task on that one Bubba; that’s a little farfetched for me to believe!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“I’ll show you, let me first explain taxonomy how classification began. The word is derived from Greek, taxis(‘arrangement’) and nomos(‘law’). A Swedish taxonomist,<span style=""> </span>Carolus Linnaeus, invented a system of classifying living things into divisions. The first division was plant or animal; he called it the Kingdom. Then there was a class dividing creatures such as reptiles and mammals from birds. Then came orders separating, heron from sparrows, and finally genus and species. The species was to be the smallest division; example: Buho Cornudo, Heliconia bihai, Homo Sapiens, etc. A subdivision of species was called race. He defined race as an isolated breeding population of a species that developed distinction or traits. A good example would be the Great Blue Heron and the Great White Heron. Peterson described the Great White Heron as the white race of the Great Blue. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Linnaeus published his theories and created a standard of divisions under which for centuries the world lived and believed. The demise of his theories validly came with assumptions he made about race. He declared that humanity fell into just four races and described characteristics of each that are considered humorous in today’s societies, or most of today’s societies I should say.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Our conversation seemed to be going just one way and getting a little dry so I asked, “How does a race get started in a species?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“Ironically the most classic explanation uses birds as an example. The theory goes like this. There is a swamp where a species of birds live, eating crustaceans from the bottom of the water. Something causes the water to get a little deeper and those birds with a little shorter legs are forced to move elsewhere to survive. This effectively removes them from the gene pool leaving only those long legged birds, reinforcing even longer legs. In time the water rises again, strengthening the long legged gene even further, eventually resulting in a distinctly different bird of the same species.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“Bubba, are you saying this is true with humans also?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“Brother Elbert, I’m saying it’s as obvious to me as the nose on your face! Have you ever wondered why it’s so long and skinny? Your ancestors more than likely evolved in a cold dry climate where having a long skinny nose moistened and warmed the air before you breathed it in giving you a health advantage over a broader shorter one used in moist warm climates.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">“What about skin color?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">“That’s easy. It’s simply a protective reaction from harsh sun or no reaction from little sun.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Bubba pulled in his line and replaced the sardine something had stolen from the hook.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“OK Bubba, that all sounds very logical but I haven’t forgotten you said you could explain the war in Europe and how <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place> couldn’t have those kind of problems from what you know about birds.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“Well, let’s go back to those short legged birds that had to move from the swamp. Let’s say for the sake of example, the new shallower swamp they moved to contained shrimp. As you know birds that eat a lot of shrimp retain the shrimp’s pink color in their feathers. Imagine then, that some act of nature causes the two swamps to become one big swamp mixing the two, now very distinctly different flocks of the same species in a common feeding ground. One with extra long legs and gray, the other short with pink feathers. They might not recognize one another as the same species and fight to defend their feeding ground,<span style=""> </span>mistakenly from their own kind.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>“Bubba you do amaze me! But what about <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place> and how it could never happen here?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">“Well, in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> we have Spanish, Mestizos, Creoles, Garifuna, Mayan, Mennonites, Arabs, East Indian, British, Mopan, Ketchi and Yucatec all living in a 6000 square mile area. And for hundreds of years we have been mixing like a box of crayons in the <st1:place st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> sun, creating no majority and no minority. Who’s going to throw a stone at whom?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Suddenly Bubba’s fishing pole bent violently with a strike. After a short fight he reeled a large fish onto the dock.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>“What’s that Bubba?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>He replied, “Epinephelus, Mycteroperca of the superclass Pisces, in the family of Sea Bass, commonly known as a Black Grouper.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I said, “Bubba, your taking this classification stuff all too serious, let’s clean him and eat!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL.<i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">The Bumblebee Hummingbird<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoHeading7"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: normal;">Trochiladae<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">In the world of Avian there is an order known as a podiformes is a family called Trochiladae. They are the most aerial of all birds. This is to say they continue rapid flight throughout life, they eat, drink , collect nesting material and even copulate in the air. Taxonomy is going through some revision due to modern technology and Bubba said the Himmingbirds will soon be in their own order but for now the BBhummers are Selasphorus Heloisa of Trochilidae in the order of Apodiformes. He ask to try and not get hung up in taxonomy because the times they are a changing!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">BBHummer is new to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> if you believe what all the Bird Books say it just isn’t here. However, Ambergriseans seem to sight it regularly. It is the smallest bird in the<span style=""> </span>world and usually mistaken<span style=""> </span>for an insect. 90% of the books on Bubba’s shelf say it’s endemic to <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cuba</st1:place></st1:country-region> and endangered.<span style=""> </span>In <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cuba</st1:place></st1:country-region> they call it the ‘Zunzuncito’ or losely translated if you can. ..’little buzz buzz’ why is it on Ambergris? Well, look at a map .. the NE tradewinds would blow it right in. I ask Bubba why would it leave <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Cuba</st1:country-region></st1:place>? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">It’s always chance asking Bubba this kind of question. He said , “100 years ago <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Cuba</st1:country-region></st1:place> was covered with forest. However for the raising of cattle and sugar cane this has been reduced to 18% and of course hummingbirds need a very specific flora and fauna. This had contained<span style=""> </span>the solandria grand; flora extreme biodiversity. Bubba feels they were forced out by hunger not communism like many of Ambergris other Cuban inhabitants. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Migration is definite in Northern Hummingbird species but those of the tropics have seasonal movements related to the abundance and distribution of flowers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on"><span style="color: black;">Cuba</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: black;"> is proud of its largest and smallest species of flora and fauna and the BBHummer is sometimes mistaken though be its national bird. Not true !<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The Cuban Trogon is its national bird because of its red, white and blue colors, like the<span style=""> </span>flag. Nesting habits of the BBHummer are little to unknown but certain assumptions can be made. All hummingbirds lay two whitish eggs as far as it is known and typically the male plays no part in nesting. Nests are often found hanging under banana leaves or coconut fronds. They are small cups of finely woven plant fiber and sometimes contain spider silk collected by the female to bond the nest to the leaf. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The Ambergris sightings have all had one common first reaction. They thought it was an insect, possibly the Rhinoceros Beetle.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The BBHummer is colored similar to most hummingbirds, greenish cinnamon with rufous tail and violet blue highlights, however, iridescent colors are referred to as ‘glittering’ in the accounts and, as they are produced by refracted light rather than pigmentation often appear blackish unless seen in the ‘right light’.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">This fact with its small size, 2 1/2 inches would make it easily mistaken for an insect. Bubba had a helpful hint in field identification....find out what kind of flower it likes and watch for something buzzing that has the ability to hover and fly backwards.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="">BIRD BRAINS<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>By Bubba<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Expressions such as ‘Birdbrain’, ‘Booby’ and ‘Dumb as a Dodo’ imply that birds are not intelligent. I’ve had similar problems with my name. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some Avian behaviors appear to support the impression of stupid. Species that evolved on remote islands with no significant predators, such as <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s Booby Bird on Halfmoon Caye, can seem absurdly oblivious to humans, a large mistake for big birds that go well with beans and rice. The Red Footed Booby of Belize, except for their protection by government would have gone the way of two other extinct island species, the Great ‘Auk’of the north Atlantic and the ‘Dodo’ of Mauritius, who both where killed by sailors seeking fresh meat to subsidize their sea fairing diet. In all three cases, individual birds seemed unable to respond to the harm humans intended them, and most perceive this as not smart. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The existence of these stereotypic behaviors should not obscure the highly refined and adaptive behaviors that birds exhibit in other situations. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">An array of Avian behaviors, awe inspiring to observe in nature, make one wonder how intelligent birds must be to perform them.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Humans are tool making and tool using specialists. However, the common assumption that only humans have the intelligence to create and use tools is false. Birds also make tools or use selected objects as tools to obtain a goal. For example,</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>The Belizean Brown Jay has been seen catching insects using miniature tools they constructed from thin pieces of wood, thorns or cactus spines.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Several species of Belizean Woodpeckers select a twig straiten it by breaking of tiny pieces hold the twig in its beak, poke it into cracks and scrape it around crannies until an insect is flushed out. It then quickly tucks the twig away and devours the insect.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>The Green Heron, fishing in Ambergris’s lagoons uses its own feathers like a fly fisherman to lure fish into its grasp. Using tools is just a small indicator of intelligence. Creativeness and design are more advanced indicators.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The male Silk Bowerbird colorfully paints the walls of his bower after he finds some kind of fibrous material that can be used as a brush and a color producing substance, such as berries or charcoal that can be used as paint. After applying a color he steps back and looks at his work much like an artist pausing to evaluate his canvas.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Prenatal care awareness is displayed by <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s Acorn Woodpecker by storing away bone fragments prior to the breeding season, to use as a dietary supplement of calcium during egg formation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In building their homes, birds can manifest the skills of a tailor, mason, carpenter or other human craftsman. Birds also have capabilities that are superior to those of humans. Using information found in the environment, migrating and homing birds can determine precise direction and passage of time (the “avian compass” and the “avian clock”).<span style=""> </span>They can use natural information to ‘read’ barometric pressure, wind patterns, the earth’s magnetism, polarized light patterns, subtle odors, movements of the sun, patterns and movements of the stars, infrasound and subtle landmarks.<span style=""> </span>They use these natural cues to find their way much better.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>The avian world is much older than ours.<span style=""> </span>They live gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained.<span style=""> </span>They are not our brethren or our underlings; they are another nation, caught with us in the net of life, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of earth. Does that sound cuckoo to you?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">The Great Blue Heron<o:p></o:p></span></p> <h5 style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black; font-weight: normal;">Ardea herodias<o:p></o:p></span></h5> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>In the world of <i style="">Aves </i>there is an order called <i style="">Ciconiiformes </i>(long legged fishing birds) and within that order there is a family known as <i style="">Areidae</i> (herons). The Great Blue Heron is a member of that family and by far the most majestic of its 58 members.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Ambergris is home of many and is considered part of the breeding area for the non-residents. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The Great Blue has yellow eyes, a yellow to orange bill and pale yellow legs. Its upper parts are gray. It sometimes appears to have dark shoulders. Its name ‘Great Blue Heron’ must come from its slaty gray color but in truth is not blue at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The juvenile of Ambergris have an entirely white plumage and can be distinguished from the other white<i style=""> Ardeidae</i> by its bill, eye and leg color. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The masterful fishing bird hunts mainly by standing and waiting, or stealthy stalking. Ambergris has many non-migratory residents but populations from the <st1:place st="on">Northern Americas</st1:place> migrate to our warmer fishing grounds in October - November; raising the population on the island dramatically.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Adult Herons stand 40 to 50 inches tall and are often mistaken for Cranes. A sure way to tell the difference is to see it fly. A heron flies with an S-shape bend in its neck, and a crane flies with its neck extended.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Sanding motionless most of the time, this very patient fisherman will on occasion lift its wings not to fly but to cast a dark reflection on the surface of the water that allows it to spot prey below.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I was assuming that the broken Soya Shells strewn on the sand flats between the beach crest and lagoon were the work of raccoons. (Soya is a local name for a variety of Hermit Crabs that chose shells from large swamp snails). One evening I observed a tall long legged bird standing in the moonlight put its foot down on an unsuspecting Soya. It thrust its pointed bill down to crack open the shell and removed a nice bite of meat, then threw its head skyward and swallowed. Not being able to resist any longer Bubba turned on the flashlight. With a start it took off saying, ‘Quok - Quok - Quok’ as it slowly flapped its wings and disappeared into the shadows of the lagoon.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>That same evening back at the cabaña, I read most <i style="">Ardeidae</i> have a rough guttural voice and give their vocal sounds in a row, simultaneous with the down beat of its wings. I haven’t been able to get deep enough into the lagoon’s mangrove to see the nests but from my book’s photographs they seem to be crude stick platforms on the crest of the mangrove. Maybe after the mosquito festival I’ll look again. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black;">Birdmanship<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Because I like to watch birds and write about the in the newspaper, the impression is given to many that I'm a 'Birder'.<span style=""> </span>This is simply not true.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The sport of birdwatching has many sides and I seem to be involved with only one.<span style=""> </span>This assumption, along with Bubba's and my new notoriety has placed us in many awkward positions with Birders.<span style=""> </span>The increase in confrontations with these well meaning souls has caused me to seek help from a book by Stephen Potter titled The Art of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating!<span style=""> </span>If you're a troubled birdwatcher like myself and not a 'Birder', I would like to pass along some survival techniques for problems that might arise as you pass through the Birdworld.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">When approached in a social setting you're likely to be introduced as an authority on birds and inevitably your questioner will say, "Oh how interesting.<span style=""> </span>I've been seeing these little brown birds that hop around on the beach, can you tell me what they are?" The best defense is to stun them with a comment and retreat abruptly.<span style=""> </span>For example, rapidly answer, "No!<span style=""> </span>But it's interesting that you would ask me about that particular bird. I've seen references to it in early Dutch literature."<span style=""> </span>Then smile, quickly turn your back and move away before questions can be asked about Dutch literature.<span style=""> </span>It works every time!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">When meeting Birders in the field you can avoid their wasting your prime Birdwatching time by attacking first.<span style=""> </span>One of the most vulnerable spots is their equipment.<span style=""> </span>Insulting remarks about a Birder's Banana Republic clothing or Eddie Bowers hat will only serve to irritate them.<span style=""> </span>Go straight for the binoculars.<span style=""> </span>"Nice little toy you've got there; but can you see with them?"<span style=""> </span>Then pick your moment carefully, flick your ancient pair to your eves and say, "Gosh that juvenile fooled me for a second; I thought it was a female, oh sorry, didn't you get yours up in time?"<span style=""> </span>Caught at a disadvantage you can finish them off with a helpful suggestion that the weight of those glasses is holding them back, then studiously proceed down the trail unmolested.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The final arena of confrontation is the most difficult.<span style=""> </span>God forbid you ever get involved in a Birder's committee meeting.<span style=""> </span>Your greatest test will be taking part in an ornithological discussion. I don't normally smoke a pipe but on these occasions find it very useful.<span style=""> </span>The excused silence as you light up and puff with the literal smoke screen to follow is a great tool. Wait until the speaker makes any assertion not backed by a mass of evidence, cough, and say with equal emphasis on each monosyllable: "Do ,we, know, that ?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">If you are called to speak on any subject, immediately acknowledge your indebtedness for the help of your most likely critic and keep your subject simple, never come to any conclusions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">If the food was good say, "Perhaps by this time next month, if everything goes well, we'll have some more data to help us."<span style=""> </span>This remark is good for two or three dinners at least.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Like I said in the beginning, birdwatching has many sides to it and Birders are only one....thank God!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I'll try to get back on track with next week's 'Bird of the Week', the Squirrel Cuckoo; not a Birder but an unfortunately named Ambergris bird.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <h1 style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black; font-weight: normal;">Squirrel Cuckoo<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <p class="MsoHeading7"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: normal;">Piaya cayana<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The order is Cuculiforme, the family is Cuculidae, the genus is Coccyzus and the species, Piaya cayana.<span style=""> </span>I hope that's right!<span style=""> </span>Taxonomy isn't my best subject, and Bubba isn't one to ask about taxonomy either.<span style=""> </span>He thinks that I'm a subspecies of a hybrid family in the kingdom that hasn't learned to use two of its four legs yet.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Ambergris is home for three species of cuckoo; the Squirrel Cuckoo, the Mangrove Cuckoo and some parts of the year, the Yellowbilled Cuckoo.<span style=""> </span>The Ambergris Squirrel Cuckoo looks like most cuckoos - elongated body with moderately long neck and tail. The cuckoos around the Basil Jones area of Bacalar Chico have red eyes, light green bills, the upper parts of the tail and body are a rich rufous color, but the tail's underside is dark.<span style=""> </span>The underside of its tail feathers are white on the ends but from a distance, appear to be four or five white horizontal bands.<span style=""> </span>its belly is gray and its throat is cinnamon.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The roadrunners are a family member of the cuckoo, and the majority of cuckoos live close to the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Cuckoos have special purpose feet called "zygodactyl" (two toes pointing forward and two pointing back).<span style=""> </span>zygodactyl feet are also found in woodpeckers and seem to be helpful moving around trees rapidly.<span style=""> </span>A very hard bird to get a good look at! I found an odd discrepancy in its nesting information and have not seen its nest yet, so I can't tell who's correct.<span style=""> </span>Birds of Costa Rica by Skutch, Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America by Howell and Webb, and Mexican Birds by Peterson and Chalif all suggest that Squirrel Cuckoos make a nest and describe it in detail but Reader's Digest's Birds say they are parasitic.<span style=""> </span>Parasitism is a strange practice where the parent lays its eggs in a nest of another species and allows the other species to hatch, care for and feed the nestlings.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Reader's Digest says that all the Cuculinae members (Ambergris cuckoo's family) are thought to be parasitic and confined to the American tropics.<span style=""> </span>I believe Reader's Digest! It also said the two chalk white eggs of the cuckoo are laid at a late stage of development when the embryo inside the egg has already formed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Reader's Digest has a great amount of fascinating details on parasitism.<span style=""> </span>I was amazed at the deviousness the cuckoo parent uses to get the host to accept the eggs and nestlings.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I asked Bubba about the vernacular name, Squirrel Cuckoo, and he said, "Probably its in reference to their agility running through trees and bush like a squirrel.<span style=""> </span>'Cuckoo' is, of course, the sound they make when exiting a Swiss wall clock."<span style=""> </span>I think Bubba is half right, but the noise is more likely for the defense of its mating territory; females defend separate territories within the males' territory.<span style=""> </span>In other words, the polygamist mate will stake claim to a large grove and within the grove, several females will have claim to their separate spaces to which he visits. "Cuc-loo" is how a European cuckoo says, "This is my territory!"<span style=""> </span>The Ambergris Squirrel cuckoo says, "Ch'kaow!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL.<i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">The Black Eagle?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Hawks, kites and eagles all fall into a category known as <i style="">Accipitridae</i>, a family of 217 species. They all seem to have a few things in common; strong feet with hooked claws, strong flyers and are large birds of prey.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The Black Eagle around the Cocal where I live seems to defy identification.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I first noticed one in 1992 when two vacationing birders with scopes called me over to have a look at what they called a `black eagle' perched in a gumbo limbo tree.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>They failed to find it in the field guide, so decided it must be a Common Black Hawk.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The field guides I have say the solitary eagle (Black Eagle) is rare and found in the mountains, but it seems to fit the description well.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>It's black with raptor claws and a sharp hooked bill. This month I got a close look when he landed atop my beach palapa to eat a crab he picked up on the beach.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I got comfortable in the beach chair with my binoculars and watched a large black bird with the same eagle profile I've been looking at on the green money all my life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>It had a deep yellow color at the base of its hooked bill that was black on the end. It had thick, swept back, black feathers half way down its deep yellow legs and feet. It looked around cautiously with amber eyes and as he flew away, he displayed a single, distinctive, white bar fanned across his tail.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>What confuses me is eagles like to nest on cliffs or tall tree tops and we don't have that on the island.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The field guide said, "Habitat: Forested mt. slopes, pines." Fishing eagles are very territorial and defend it violently from high perches and nest. It's very unlikely that he lives at any altitude like all the books describe because the cocal is fronted by the Caribbean Sea and backed with a 3 mile wide bay then 20 miles of savanna before he could even get as high as 600' above sea level.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>If it wasn't for the distinct single tail bar, I would say it's a Common Black Hawk. The Black Hawk has several and the whole tail is tipped in white. The Common Black Hawk doesn't have the square shape to its head and forehead the eagle has.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span><i style="">Birds of Costa Rica</i> by Stiles and Skutch gave me my best clue. It says the Solitary Eagle has dark iris and the Common Black Hawk has brown, but then it concedes that there may be a separate species called the Mangrove Black Hawk (<i style="">Buteo gallus subtilis</i>) that <u>may</u> live on the <st1:place st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> coast but is uncertain.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I'm willing to call it the `Mangrove Black Hawk'. I'll keep watching for a better i.d.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Stiles and Skutch say, "We encourage further study of this problem!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">The Savanna Vulture<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The guides on the mainland point to circling vultures and say to the tourist, "Turkey Vulture," and in fact the red, featherless, head and neck make me feel that's correct, but the Ambergris guides need to take a closer look at another vulture.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">It has some red on its head but most of the color is yellow with blue.<span style=""> </span>It is the Savanna Vulture and can be seen gliding low over the island's back savanna, rocking its wings as it goes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Vultures can be seen on the mainland by driving down almost any highway that has traffic producing road kill foods.<span style=""> </span>We have no roads or traffic on the north end of Ambergris and vultures have to be more resourceful to eat.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Sometimes it becomes necessary to kill instead of waiting to find animals already dead, and this characteristic moves them from the behavior of a vulture' to the behavior of 'raptor' like its cousin the Black Hawk.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">One hundred and fifty million years ago Jurassic lithographic limestone deposits preserved imprints of feathers on a reptile, " a carnivorous dinosaur bird". Our friend, the Savanna Vulture, has earned the name 'raptor'.<span style=""> </span>It displays physical and speculated behavioral characteristics of its prehistoric ancestor.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Vultures use their keen sense of smell to locate the carrion but also have eyesight like a hawk and can see small things on the ground while gliding at high altitudes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Vultures lack the vocal elements that allow most birds to sing and are reduced to grunting, guess when..when it's eating!<span style=""> </span>Its featherless head and neck are designed for inserting into carcasses for a bite.<span style=""> </span>A wonder no one likes them! When it's mad and fighting over food it hisses like a snake.<span style=""> </span>I'm glad it's not bigger than I am.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">In the island's dry season the small lagoons in the savanna start to dry up and as they do, fish are trapped in distressfully shallow waters.<span style=""> </span>This attracts the Savanna Vulture, and it kills these doomed fish for food.<span style=""> </span>When the rains come and fill the lagoons, not being a true fisherman, this unique, innovative vulture will catch lizards and snakes to survive.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Most vultures have a physical make-up that causes them not to desire living food and must wait until something dies.<span style=""> </span>This might explain "rapacious behavior", long periods of no food waiting for something to die causes greedy, voracious, rude, desperate actions and fighting over food after it finally dies.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I'm speculating that at some time in the Savanna Vulture's development, it must have thought, "Why don't I just kill something!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The Ambergris Owl<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">When! I was in school my teacher told me this story about a young reporter who was sent out by the editor to cover as important trial at the courthouse.<span style=""> </span>Upon returning to the newspaper office he was asked by the editor for his article.<span style=""> </span>The young reporter said that the court had not been held that day because the judge had fallen on the courthouse steps and broken his leg.<span style=""> </span>So there was no article.<span style=""> </span>The wise old editor looked over this spectacles and replied, "You're fired."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I think what brought this story to mind is I've failed to identify the bird of the week this week!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Since a major part of the island is still undeveloped and covered with trees and brush, it isn't surprising to find exotic, rarely seen birds in this treasure trove of nature.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Owls can be identified by their voice, Who-hohohoho-who in the night lets me know this owl.<span style=""> </span>I read about him and see evidence of who and what he is doing.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The deduction of published possibilities tells me it's a "screech owl". whether it's spotted, whiskered, horned or neo-tropical, I won't know until I find where he sleeps in the day or spotlight him at night.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I live in a large, white, sandy clearing in the middle of the savanna's high bush, between the beach and lagoon.<span style=""> </span>At night, except when the moon lights it, there is black night with stars only.<span style=""> </span>From a perch that must be overlooking the clearing, this owl sits and says "Who-whowhowhowho--who".<span style=""> </span>I imagine he's looking for that foolish mouse or snake that might step into the light of its hunting ground.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Hunting is better or worse during different cycles of the tide and moon, so during some dark times of the month he must be hungrier than others.<span style=""> </span>During the early evening when magic light happens he will fly out to get what he can before the moonless<span style=""> </span>night falls and he can't hunt.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Owls belong to the order of<span style=""> </span>Strigiformes and are nocturnal predators with forward-directed eyes set in a facial disk of radiating feathers.<span style=""> </span>These disks function like parabolic reflectors to direct sound waves to the ear for location of the sound source, and the owl uses this to hunt by sound as well as sight.<span style=""> </span>So my friend is not wholly dependent on the light to hunt.<span style=""> </span>I suspect he is a member of the <i style="">Strigidae</i> family, but I can't prove it yet.<span style=""> </span>I only know him by his voice.<span style=""> </span>Each owl seems to have a pattern of hoots, whos or boos that are separated by pauses like the dots and dashes of Morris Code and can be used not only to identify it but will even tell you what mood it's in and what it's doing.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">My first record of this owl is in my bird journal recorded as: Owl-screech,11/24/92,after 5:30, 6:30. Morris Code sound ID, "Who-whowhowhowho-Who", 1-1234-1 (. - - - - . )<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I imagine also that during the day he must sleep in the cool, shady depths of the high grove near the lagoon in a hollow-out tree.<span style=""> </span>Screech owls don't build, so it must owe its shelter to the work of some woodpecker or find a rotting coconut trunk.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I give you this synopsis: we have owls on Ambergris but I sure don't know what kind!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">The Black Catbird<o:p></o:p></span></p> <h1><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: normal;">Pajaro Gato Negro<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <h1 style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: normal;"><span style=""> </span>by Bubba<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">In the order of <i style="">Passiformes</i> is a unique family exclusively of the new world called "<i style="">Mimidae".</i><span style=""> </span>The <i style="">Mimidae</i> consist of the Mockingbird, Thrashers and Catbirds.<span style=""> </span>This week's bird of the week is known as <i style="">Dumetellas galbrirostris</i><span style=""> </span>or the Black Catbird.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The Catbird looks like a small grackle.<span style=""> </span>It has the same blue-black plumage, but grackles have yellow eyes and walk with powerful legs and big feet.<span style=""> </span>Catbirds have amber eyes, hop on skinny legs and have classic passiforme feet.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">They are known to exist only in a small part of Central America that includes northern <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> and Ambergris Caye.<span style=""> </span>They are considered rare and I suspect will be increasingly so.<span style=""> </span>Their food source and habitat is rapidly disappearing from the recent popularity and development of beach properties.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The black Catbirds depend on the thick brush and hedge at sea level to provide them with a diet of seeds, berries and wild fruits.<span style=""> </span>The uniqueness of the family is that many of its members such as the Catbird have the ability to mimic sounds it hears. A friend and I recently had an encounter with one.<span style=""> </span>I don't normally associate with alley cats for the obvious reason, but Ray is an exception; he keeps to himself, speaks when spoken to doesn't smell bad, that sort of thing.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Yesterday afternoon while visiting with him I noticed he seemed nervous about a blackbird perching in the seagrape tree.<span style=""> </span>He was pacing and couldn't keep his eyes off the tree.<span style=""> </span>Unusual for a guy like Ray, but he seemed to be afraid of<span style=""> </span>a bird!<span style=""> </span>Even inside the house he stared out the window.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">We walked outside for a drink from his bowl.<span style=""> </span>The Catbird flew down, quickly perched on the porch rail above him, aimed his red eye at Ray and made a startling 'meow' sound.<span style=""> </span>This completely undid Ray who bolted for protection under the steps. The Catbird seemed pleased with himself and enjoyed water from the bowl undisturbed before flying away.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Catbirds can be extremely tame, however, territorial aggression, at times, may take the form of physical attacks on invaders such as dogs, cats and even humans.<span style=""> </span>Mimicry can be a form of intimidation.<span style=""> </span>In Ray's case the Catbird has his number and just decided to spook him, however, I wouldn't doubt part of Ray's fear is from a previous peck on the head.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">the Catbird's vocal repertoire is extremely varied and I would not attempt to describe it here, but it's capable of warbling song, clicks, clucks, buzzes, and of course meows!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I read its nests are a bulky cup of twigs and grass.<span style=""> </span>It produces 2 greenish blue eggs yearly.<span style=""> </span>Nesting is done in dense bush and small trees.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Replacing its loss of habitat with shrubs and berry producing brush in the landscapes of human developments will help this unusual species survive.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL.<i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BUBBA MEETS BIRDZILLA<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">AND THE CINNAMON HUMMINGBIRD<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Unlike the title might imply this isn’t an article about a clash of titans. www.Birdzilla.com is a new and wonderful discovery of Bubba’s. A monster web site for birders that obviously want to promote the sport of birdwatching and is providing free information services for birders. It has a place for searches, sightings, announcements, discoveries and more.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>What won my affection was its accounts of backyard birdwatching, not barstool, I said<span style=""> </span>“backyard”. I learned birdwatching from my mother while washing dishes and looking out her kitchen window. She would say, “Look! a cardinal” or “a spring robin”, even a sparrow got attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>It became contagious; however, I washed a lot of dishes before I discovered her joy. Forty years later I find myself a birdwatching tour guide taking birders up jungle rivers to show them birds they will not see in their backyard. A little point of irony is that some of my best sightings are still out the window washing my dishes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Yesterday, in my boxers with soapy hands and no binoculars, I got a close look at a rarity, a perching Cinnamon Hummingbird in the coconut tree only a few feet away. It seems to use my hibiscus as a territory, returning to its supervisory perch outside my window to wait for intruders.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Birdzilla puts them in order of Apodiformes; there are two families, the swifts and hummingbirds. The hummingbird's family name is <i style="">Trochilidea</i>, and it has 365 or more members. Depending on whose book you're reading, the figure goes from 330 to 365. I suspected some of my books were just old and more species have been discovered since 1937. My 1979 edition of <i style="">Reader's Digest Birds</i> seem to be the most complete, and agrees with Birdzilla, 365.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Through Birdzilla links I found that hummingbirds are in general the smallest and fastest birds on the planet. The largest being the Giant Patagona gigas at eight inches, and smallest the Bumble Bee Hummingbird of Cuba at 2.5 centimeters (about the size of a bumble bee).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>It's true that hummingbirds are attracted by red nectar flowers and get a lot of their tremendous energy from its sweet, sugary<span style=""> </span>juice, but their diet's protein comes from eating insects.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>My cabaña is circled with red blossomed hibiscus but it’s still just luck that I’m getting this rare, close look at a Cinnamon perching. I've avoided writing about hummingbirds because it's so difficult to identify one. They almost never quit moving long enough to see and are so fast, all you see is a blur. Trying to identify it while it’s hovering is your best hope; I saw a long slender orange to red bill, with a black tip. Most of its body was an iridescent green, its entire body seemed only about three inches long, and its throat and under-parts were, of course, cinnamon. Its eyes were black. This was the first time I had seen hummingbird wings not moving. They looked surprisingly normal for things that can move that fast. I guess I expected to see wings like an insect, but they were feathered and had a gray color. The feet were too small for me to even describe. Those flying around the hibiscus seem to fight. The fight always seems to be the same; one will be hovering and darting from flower to flower. My guy charges at it and chases it off into the distance. Afterwards, it returns to its perch outside the kitchen window where it waits for the next intruder.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Several weeks ago I was chopping coconut fronds with my machete from a bushy tree close to the back of my house, when I saw on the underside of a frond I was about to cut, an intricately woven nest firmly attached. Not knowing what kind of bird could make such a sturdy hanging nest and because it was so unique, I went straight away to the book shelf in the house. It looked like a hanging basket, but glued, as it was woven to the palm.<span style=""> </span>I read they lay usually two leathery, buff eggs and Birdzilla.com said hummingbirds steal spider web and use it for the bonding material.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I'm sure Ambergris has more than one kind of hummingbird, but they're so damn hard to identify while moving. The Cinnamon outside my window seems to be a lucky find but even greater is Birdzilla.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>THE <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">LITTORAL</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">FOREST</st1:PlaceType></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>OF AMBERGRIS<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Bubba got out his Latin dictionary for this weeks title, ‘Littoral Forest’ are by definition coastal forest, not mangrove or cocal but a special ecosystem and unique habitat for birds such as Rufous Necked Woodrail, White Crowned Pigeon, Boobies, and Black Cat Bird. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The Littoral forest habitat covers the smallest area of any in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> it’s found on the high sandy ground of coastal mainland and cayes such as halfmoon and ambergris. Its dense vegetation harbors a rich variety and large number of birds, supported by a seasonal succession of fruits and berries.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Of all the habitats in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> the littoral forest on the cayes are the most endangered due to coastal development. Littoral forest grows on a thin strip along a windward beach ridge of Ambergris and is composed of seagrape, cocoplum, poisionwood, wild oregano, gumbolimbo, and palmetto. Many cayes have no beach ridge at all and are too tiny to support the plant diversity necessary to maintain large bird populations. Cayes like Ambergris can be easily cleared of native vegetation in a very short period of time during rapid unplanned development and as a result<span style=""> </span>Ambergris Caye has been pointed out in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place> environmental studies to be where littoral forest are most rapidly disappearing. Bubba said he understood this to mean many of the birds of ambergris would disappear also, and I agree. I asked him how is this happening and what could we do about it. He explained that a major step toward the solution of the problem was the creation of the 12,000 acre <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Bacalar</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placename st="on">Chico</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">National Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> on North Ambergris, however there still seems to be two large problems. The National Parks Systems Act of 1981 intention was to preserve and protect. The act itself is flawed. It contains a clause termed ‘dereservation’ which allows the minister the right to dereserve or change boundaries of any protected area, and forest reserves have a history of having portions dereserved for development. Developers can influence ministers and target areas for their own activities that could deprive locals of both income and their environments healthy future. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The second problem is in ‘enforcement’, funds for officers and boats to patrol such areas always seem to be insufficient to protect it from those who would abuse. The demand for post for docks, sticks for fish traps, and palmetto for cabanas has created a slightly new slant on illegal logging. Bubba came up with a profound thought on the subject he said, “In the absence of government we must govern ourselves”. I think what he is trying to say is we ourselves must make sure we are not guilty of misuse of these habitats, help by respecting these areas and report their abuses. I have a thought of my own about it, If it isn’t shown that we care by our actions our country will run us instead of we run our country.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">People wishing to write letters should contact either or both of these<span style=""> </span>offices:<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> Audubon Society <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""> </span><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">12 Fort St</st1:address></st1:Street>.<span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize City</st1:place></st1:City> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""> </span><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The Department of Environment <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Chief Environmental Officer<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">1012 Ambergris Avenue</st1:address></st1:Street><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Belmopan</st1:City>, <st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL.<i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">The Ambergris Owl "Buho Grande”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">This is the first time I've written about the same bird twice, but this pajaro has got my interest at peak.<span style=""> </span>Last week I said I thought this was a screech owl, and almost in a mystical coincidence as I sat on my veranda, two evenings before the full moon of last week the hooting began.<span style=""> </span>The noise is "who-whowhowhowho-who" or "who-whowhowho".<span style=""> </span>From the call happening at the same time from different directions I think there were two.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">One landed on a bending coco frond that silhouetted it in the moonlight about 25 feet in front of the veranda where I was sitting.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">It took me a few minutes to determine it wasn't a hawk because of its hunting posture.<span style=""> </span>It just didn't fit the sitting and sleeping posture in photographs and illustrations that the bird ID book depicts it doing.<span style=""> </span>Powerful legs with feathers.<span style=""> </span>It stood with its tail in an upward angle and I was apparently behind it as it looked out on the moonlit clearing in front of us.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">After I looked and looked I decided to chance a hoot myself to get its reaction.<span style=""> </span>To my surprise it turned to look at me from 180º without moving anything but its neck, then it threw up two very large ears that seem<span style=""> </span>to point at me with accuracy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The ears were pointed and longer than the height of its head.<span style=""> </span>I could see the light color of its parabolic disks that contained his eyes.<span style=""> </span>Nothing else moved!<span style=""> </span>It reminded me of Linda Blair's neck trick in the <i style="">Exorcist.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">This creature was a hungry, hunting animal that was looking for a small mammal.<span style=""> </span>When I read that it eats opossums, I realized in the absence of opossum on the island my little missing puppy could have been a nice meal.<span style=""> </span>I wonder if they could be trained to eat cats?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I'm leaning toward it being a Great Horned Owl, aka "Buho Grande" ! Even though the books say things like, "rare and doubtful in this area", What do they know; it was there and hooting its song to me!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Bubba on Bird Emotions<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Not being a scientific writer, I enjoy some freedoms of opinion and at times cross over into fiction and fantasy. Usually, it's easy to tell the difference. I would like to seriously propose to birdwatchers that birds have a full array of emotions!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>In his book <i style="">The expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals</i>, Charles Darwin even dared to imagine a dog's conscious life. He was correct in that I have dreams, anger, love, jealousy, relief, curiosity, compassion and disappointment to a degree of intensity that is paralleled to humans.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I lead an intense emotional life and believe I am no different than the birds in this respect.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The Booby chick is born with jealousy to a degree that it kills its siblings, leaving only one chick per nest that gets all the food and attention. Ornithologists classifying bird mating have defined a number of systems in which it would be in a bird's genetic interest not to allow its partner to mate with others. They speak in terms of "monopolizing", "defending", or "guarding" mates, not in terms of love and jealousy, but jealous behavior enforced with an exclusivity in mating which can certainly have genetic effects.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Birds seem to get angry; they certainly do commit aggressive acts against each other, fight for turf, and hurt and kill one another.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The bird books will say "brutal" or "savage" but the word anger does not appear.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Hate is most obviously displayed in parrots. Haven't you heard parrot owners make comments like, "He hates all men," or "It hates children," "redheads", or "dogs"?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">It remains unknown whether these kinds of eccentric dislikes are found in the wild, but perhaps these parrots simply enjoy having enemies. This may promote flock solidarity, prevent interbreeding between species, strengthen the pair bond, or have some other valuable function.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Most psychological theorists have tried to list emotions that are universal. The lists range in number from 154 to 3. Theorists do not agree on which emotions are basic ones. I found it interesting that love never fails to appear on the list.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>For Elbert to describe the birds of Ambergris Caye without including their emotions would be a disservice.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>To understand birds, it's essential to understand how they feel. Knowing the emotions of birds is easy as knowing your own emotions; what would they feel can be answered with, what would you feel?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE Migration</span><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <h2><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-weight: normal;">‘Birds don’t fly South for the Winter’<o:p></o:p></span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s September, and from now until late April Bubba and I will be enjoying an unusual variety of migratory Avifauna visiting Ambergris Caye and its Bacalar Chico Reserve.<span style=""> </span>The northern part of the planet has begun to lean away from the sun.<span style=""> </span>Invisible plotable lines of temperature gradients called ‘isotherms’ move further south on the weather maps and all life on earth pays them heed.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Bacalar Chico Reserve on the north end of Ambergris is a 60 square mile terrestrial reserve and serves as a refuge for migratory birds.<span style=""> </span>About 225 species of long distance migrants occur in <st1:country-region st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region> and <st1:place st="on">Northern Central America</st1:place>. Observers have long theorized that migrants use mountain ranges, rivers, and coastlines for guidance.<span style=""> </span>Scientific research suggests that some birds may also set their courses by the sun, by the patterns of stars, even by the lines of force in the Earth’s magnetic field, perhaps in combination with gravity. Scientists don’t know exactly how the migrating birds find their way over long distances, but they are discovering that birds tune into an astonishing variety of sensory cues that may be used for navigation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bubba believes Birds use specific migratory paths that consist of rivers, lakes, and various other food sources like a dotted line of rest stops.<span style=""> </span>These paths are called flyways.<span style=""> </span>The Atlantic flyway leads migratory birds from as far north as Greenland down <st1:state st="on">Florida</st1:State>’s eastern coast across the Caribbean into <st1:country-region st="on">Cuba</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region st="on">Haiti</st1:country-region>, and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Dominica</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Mississippi flyway leads birds from Alaska and middle Canada down the Mississippi River Valley to the Gulf of Mexico where it divides, leading some to Cuba and some to the Yucatan.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is the Central and Pacific flyways that lead the majority of migratory birds to Ambergris Caye.<span style=""> </span>The bottleneck effect of the flyways narrowing at the base of the Yucatan cause a concentration of migratory Avifauna looking for shelter, food, and water.<span style=""> </span>The Bacalar Chico Reserve seems to be a logical place to stop for this, and creates a birdwatching spot second to none.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I said to my resident expert, “Birds in the North use this cooling as a signal to begin their annual migration southward.<span style=""> </span>Bubba gave me a look that made me feel I had said something wrong.<span style=""> </span>With a little bit of an annoyed tone he said, “birds don’t fly south for the winter, Canadians do.<span style=""> </span>The birds fly North for the summer and I bet you think that’s the same thing!”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Yes, and the way I look at it that’s called ‘the same difference.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bubba sighed and said,” If you look at this properly, you’ll discover something you didn’t know about migration.<span style=""> </span>Birds we see in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>, (Neotropicals) have been moving north slowly each season and retreating a little less south since the end of the ice age.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The American continent was very different during this frozen era. Most living things where compacted into areas near the equator. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The ancestors of neotropical migrants originated in Amazonia (an area believed to be 15 million years old, known today as <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region></st1:place>).<span style=""> </span>Areas north of this were not at that time in the earth’s history temperate enough to reside in.<span style=""> </span>Amazionia was then and today the greatest expression of life on the planet. One third of the world's birds still live there. As the ice age ended, areas to the north of <st1:place st="on">Amazonia</st1:place> were habitable during summer months and provided refuge from competition for food and shelter in this over-populated area.<span style=""> </span>But in winter months migrants were forced to retreat. Each year as the ice receded, more <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">northern territory</st1:place></st1:State> became available as refuge during summer months and migration distances increased. As some found the decreasing winter months tolerable they became residents in places like <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Canadians go home in spring and birds migrate north. Does that seem like a ‘same difference’ still? I said you where going to learn something new.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal">San Pedro tour operators are now offering day trips into the Bacalar Chico area September also marks the beginning of the slow season for tourism this might be just the time to explore the <st1:place st="on">Island</st1:place> we are living on.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">Reverend Bill The Boat Captain<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Reverend Bill, the boat captain, was not a reverend and his name was not Bill; also, he was not really a boat captain. Reverend Bill had colored himself with stories of adventures in the <st1:place st="on">North Sea</st1:place> where he lived most of his life although he had never been there. Feverishly he followed in periodicals, sailboat construction and designs. Regularly he revolted against new techniques and materials. One season he continuously discredited fiberglass, “If God had wanted man to have fiberglass boats, he would have made fiberglass trees,” he would say. The next season it was fuels, “Gasoline is foolish and smart captains should use diesel.” Finally he gave up construction and design entirely. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>He was Reverend Bill, the boat captain, because what he once was had become unimaginable to him. It was not known whether Bill was a good captain or not, for his days were spent on a stool at the Holiday Bar where he had thrown himself so violently into the sea he had very little time left for sailing of any kind.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>For sport, Bill was an active member of the chicken drop. San Pedro did not have a symphony, a movie house or even a miniature golf course. San Pedro had the chicken drop. Every community needs a social event to gather together and satisfy its need to gossip, brag, argue and court. The chicken drop was this for San Pedro.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Every Wednesday night Celi would hire a band and conduct a large beach barbecue where fresh fish with beans and rice were sold cheap enough for everyone to afford.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>In the middle of this grand event was a large checkered floor surrounded by a low chicken wire fence. Each square was numbered. There were one hundred squares and one hundred chances to win.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Bill sold chances by allowing participants to reach into a large pickle jar and draw from 100 numbered poker chips. Each chip cost one <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> dollar and represented one square on the game floor inside the chicken wire.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> and Bill worked the event with the skills of a good bartender. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> served a few beers and Bill sold a few chips. A few beers and a few chips - by the time the last number went out everyone was well served and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the chicken.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>A procession lead by <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> holding a large covered basket would then march outside to the squares. Bill, the master of ceremonies, would then remove the chicken from the basket, hold it over his head, blow on its tail and toss it into the numbered arena. Theory was that the surprised chicken drawn from the dark basket, feeling an abrupt cool wind on its ass and jolted as it hit the floor in the middle of thirty cheering drunks would cause it to immediately soil the number on which it landed providing its owner with $100 cash prize,…… But that never seemed to be the case.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The dazed chicken would dance around from number to number causing waves of cheering and hooting from the crowd screaming. “¡Caga Pollo Caga!” There seem to be only one rule governing the conduct of the gallery imposed by Celi: “Thou shall not throw beer bottles at the pollo!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Eventually the chicken rewarded its audience with a small gift atop a lucky number, and the cycle began again with more beer, poker chips and a fresh chicken. By the end of the evening everyone was well fed, drunk, grandly entertained and socially exorcised.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">One Wednesday evening Reverend Bill laid his eyes on a short Guatemalan Indian woman. Through his veil of rum he might not have noticed or cared about her large hooked and broken nose or the extent of rot in her teeth from years of chewing sugar cane.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style=""> </span>It might not have mattered to him her rotundness and inability to speak or understand a word of English. Even so, he fell in love with this beautiful woman God had sent him in his time of need. Ignoring the chicken festivities, they sat at the bar as he told her of his whaling adventures in the <st1:place st="on">Atlantic</st1:place> and sailing around The Horn in a typhoon. She held his hand and looked into his eyes smiling as he spoke. From her look you would have thought she understood every word.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Tequila Steve, usually immune to activities around him, was peering over his paperback and was witnessing this miracle in the making. He started buying rounds of<span style=""> </span>tequila in celebration of Bill’s new found love. Everyone was feeling very well.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>During the course of the evening, unnoticed by the chicken drop enthusiasts, Bill and his new love walked arm and arm from the bar onto the pier where Bill was suddenly struck with one of his greater ideas. Tied to the dock before him was Tito’s small skiff and outboard. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>He could borrow the boat, motor off shore just a little and have some private moments under the stars with his little angel. Without hesitation they hopped in the boat and he motored towards the reef.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>San Pedrano men love and care for their boats and even though no one would ever dream of stealing from them, it was a common practice to take your gas tank and anchor home with you in the evening. A clean, tuned 30 horsepower Yamaha will run three or four minutes on just the little bit of fuel in its lines and filter housing.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Bill only noticed they were far enough off shore for the right amount of privacy required for the affair when the engine stopped. He did not investigate as to why. The heat of this magic moment was rising fast.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>When the cool breeze began to blow Bill probably thought it was another present from God to cool him and his sweaty little maiden.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Ambergris became a different place when a northerner blew. It placed San Pedro in the lee silencing the roar of the reef. The giant Cypress Trees permanently bent by the relentless trade winds whistled as this cool air traveled through them from this unusual direction. A peaceful air covered the island that seemed to calm not just the sea but its people.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Early Thursday morning while <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Chico</st1:City></st1:place> swept the peanut shells and chicken feathers from the veranda of the Holiday Bar he glanced out at the pier and noticed Tito’s skiff missing. Lobster season was on and it was not too unusual for fishermen to take their boats out before dawn. So he continued collecting dirty drink glasses and picking up empty beer bottles, thinking little else about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>By midday Tito was at the police station lamenting his missing skiff in front of<span style=""> </span>constable Orio’s desk. Shortly after, two and two began to add up for <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> when he noticed Reverend Bill’s bar stool vacant after 12:00 for the first time in years. During the day after, Tequila Steve and Scary Sherrie made some wild suppositions about Bill eloping with the Guatemalan woman. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chico</st1:place></st1:City> turned to Lovely Rita and said, “You know, Bill disappeared at the same time Tito’s skiff turned up missing and this northerner started to blow!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The <st1:place st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> sun had just begun to warm the surface of the rolling sea. The slow rising and falling had been like the rocking of a cradle for him during the night, but now they had drifted from the protection of Ambergris lee, the pitch had quickened and white caps replaced the calm.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>It could have been the waves or possibly the pounding in his head that woke him. The rum had done its job of making him forget his past and sometimes even the present. He slowly opened his eyes. At first he did not remember anything of the evening or how he came to be adrift in this small boat with by far the ugliest woman he had laid eyes on. Little by little, like small flashes in his brain, his memory started coming back. He began to assess his predicament. Slowly with collective realizations the picture sharpened.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Suddenly sleeping beauty came alive with a very loud, “¿Quien demonios eres tu?, y ¿Que diablos hacemos aqui?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>This painful noise gave Reverend Bill’s headache fuel. He squinted with a wrinkled forehead and said, “Do you speak English? Habla English?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>As if speaking to the tiny vanishing island on the horizon she said, “Chingus su madre!! </span><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">¿Como llegamos aqui y mas aun quien eres tu? ¿Que es lo que esta pasando?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black;">Realizing his English would be falling on deaf ears Bills sighed with, “Oh my God your an ugly bitch!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Unaffected by Bill’s obvious lack of understanding she looked at him with fire in her eyes and said, “ Dime idiota <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">como</st1:City></st1:place> p**** se te occurrio hacer algo asi sin tener ni una simple migaja de comida o agua.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Bill understood the look and tone but was trying to ignore the shouting and concentrate on the dilemma at hand.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>There seemed to be no anchor, no oars, only a little rope and a fuel line to nowhere. The northern breeze had just pushed them out of sight of land and moving at a steady pace to the south east.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>There is no hope of explaining a series of misfortunes like this to someone who does not speak your language. His black haired lover had become a beast in the light of day and his concern was only to blot out the painful noises she was making so he could think.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">“¡Ademas de idiota eres una mula. La poca gasolina que tenemos no sera suficiente ni para llegar a visitar a tu madre!”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black;">Making a zipper motion with his fingers across his lips Bill said, “Please shut up.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">With no decrease in volume she continued with, “Y fue…dime dime - Hijo de p***, qué hacemos ahora. Te tiras en el aqua y nos regresas o nos damos aqui come acabados!” <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: black;">Bill’s hopes were sinking as they seemed to drift further and further to sea. His luck turned when she lunged to the side to vomit. The sounds of her heaving and regurgitation seemed far more pleasant than her screaming vile Spanish at him. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The sea sickness had weakened her and she raised few objections to giving up her skirt to the sail Bill was making. He fashioned a sea anchor from one of the seats and the stern line. He enjoyed a few sips of water from floating coconuts they gathered. The little chunks of coconut meat worked well as bait on the hand line he found in the bow. He fashioned a rudder from the remaining seat using a piece of bamboo they passed as a tiller. By night fall he had caught three small mackerels.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Bill now seemed in control of his little ship and unwilling crew. A swell of pride took him over. For the first time in a long while he was in touch with reality. This was in fact his only experience at sea and he would not only survive it but was in command.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Bill and his dehydrated green honey were picked up by a fishing smack on the Turneffe Atoll on his third day at sea and returned to San Pedro with Tito’s skiff in tow. Upon docking his first mate disappeared never to be seen or heard from again. Having no one around to dispute his heroics, The Captain Reverend Bill’s epic adventure grew and grew through the years as he told it proudly from atop his stool overlooking the <st1:place st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> at the Holiday Hotel Bar.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE Laughing Gull<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">Order <i style="">Charadriiformes</i>, family <i style="">Laridae</i> is the <i style="">Larus atricilla</i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The fisherman of San Pedro go out at dawn to check their traps and bring the catch back to the shoreline to clean and dress.<span style=""> </span>The scraps fall into the water from cleaning tables erected at the water's edge.<span style=""> </span>The terns and kites swoop down and gather a good meal, but even with this abundance, there are aerial dogfights between them over strings of fish meat, and the terns usually win.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Today a new bird showed up and put the terns to task.<span style=""> </span>What brought it to my attention was the noise.<span style=""> </span>The gull seemed to be laughing at the other birds as it stole their food.<span style=""> </span>Even Bubba looked up as this bird made its cackling, laughing noise.<span style=""> </span>The terns seem to be out-matched by the flying ability of this bird and lost parcels of food in mid-air from skillful, swift attacks.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">At first glance it looks like a tern, but it has a black hooked bill instead of the bright orange wedge like the tern, and its wing tips seemed as if they had been dipped in black ink.<span style=""> </span>It had white underparts with gray on top and a white border along the trailing edges of its upper wings.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I quickly looked up in my field guide this appropriately named gull.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">It said, " Omnivorous scavengers, breeds in monogamous pairs and the male feeds his mate during courtship.'<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">All these birds around the dock look very healthy, eating the fisherman's scraps.<span style=""> </span>They are a good example of a species that has gained from the presence of man, unlike many others that have suffered from his influence.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoHeading8"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-weight: normal;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">The White Ibis<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">The " Bird of<span style=""> </span>the Week" has a way of picking itself, as did this bird of the week, for instance.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I was cruising through the lagoon river and a white bird flew over that seemed to be carrying a twig in its bill.<span style=""> </span>I watched it, hoping it would reveal a nest in the mangrove hollow, when I noticed it wasn't carrying a twig at all; it was just the proud owner of the longest, most odd-shaped nose (bill), I've seen since Jimmy Durante. Another in the order of <i style="">Ciconiiformes</i> from the family of <i style="">Threskiorenithidae</i> is this 'white ibis'.<span style=""> </span>Flying above, it can be distinguished from an egret by its outstretched neck and black wing tips that look like five black fingers on each wing, of course, if you're close enough, a long slender decurved bill. One bird book calls it sickle-shaped; it reminds me of a Hermit Hummingbird's bill, only big.<span style=""> </span>The ibis uses it as a specialized tool for eating animals from the lagoon's shallow bottom.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I watched it walk for a few minutes.<span style=""> </span>It steps forward a step and extends its neck forward with each step, cocks its head to point one eye downward, then quickly puts its special bill to work. I had hoped to hear the soft, grunting noise I read that they make while eating and hunting, but I disturbed it by getting to close, and it made its alarm noise instead, and flew off. It nests inside the mangrove tree for protection, not on top but in the middle.<span style=""> </span>The mangrove grows like bars around its nests that prevent things like me from even getting close. I've only seen six white ibis on this island; three flying along the coast at Basil Jones, one in San Pedro lagoon, one at the Cost Del Maya lagoon.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE Boobies<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">In order of <i style="">Pelicanformes</i> ( large birds with webbed feet) is the family of <i style="">Sulidae</i> and in that family are two species of Booby that are this week's birds.<span style=""> </span>Sharing the spotlight are <i style="">Sula leucogaster</i> (the Brown Booby) and <i style="">'Sula Sula'</i> (the Red-Footed Booby).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">My first exposure to a Booby Bird was when one landed on Tito's Dive Boat.<span style=""> </span>We were quite a bit out from shore.<span style=""> </span>Tito laughed and said, "He's tired!"<span style=""> </span>It seemed unafraid and since the boat is only 20 feet long it provided us with a very close look at one another. The bird was primarily brown with a darker brown breast and big webbed feet that had a pale orange tint. I thought about Tito's comment about needing a rest and noticed how large this bird was, flying was probably a lot of work and this boat was the only place nearby to land. It seemed to look us over real good.<span style=""> </span>It was probably thinking we were the oddest looking humans he had ever seen.<span style=""> </span>Tito and I both had on SCUBA gear and this Booby cocked his head sideways to look us up and down with one eye and then the other.<span style=""> </span>I'm sure he was wishing he had his field guide with him. I firmly believe the longer an animal's order has existed the more propensity it has for intelligence and <i style="">Pelicaniformes</i> have fossil evidence that dates as far back at 20 million years.<span style=""> </span>However, stupidity is associated with this bird in that its name means clown, and if you've ever seen a tourist walk around in their swim fins then you can picture how a Booby walks.<span style=""> </span>Its biggest mistake may be allowing a close approach by humans.<span style=""> </span>An average Bobby weighs 5 pounds and tastes like chicken.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Boobies have waterproof plumage and special nostrils that close for diving under water after fish.<span style=""> </span>The Brown Booby seems not to draw a line between diving for its own food or stealing someone else's meal.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Boobies nesting are unique and intriguing.<span style=""> </span>They nest in colonies and have social interaction like most communities, fighting and stealing among one another.<span style=""> </span>When density increases respect fails.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Halfmoon Caye off the coast of Belize is home for a large nesting colony of two species of Booby and one of Frigate that nest in high density.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">From an observation tower on the caye's west end you can stand among the colony's nests and look out over the scrub tree tops to witness undisturbed colonial life of Boobies.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The young of the Brown Booby and also the White Booby have a very unusual reaction to one another.<span style=""> </span>Two eggs are laid, but the first chick to hatch always kills its nest mate.<span style=""> </span>Only allowing one chick to a nest is a rule.<span style=""> </span>The chicks hatch almost naked and grow fluffy white in two or three weeks.<span style=""> </span>They are large and comical in appearance much like what one would imagine <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Sesame Street</st1:address></st1:Street>'s "Big Bird's" chick would look like.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Territorial dancing and elaborate ceremonies prior to copulation make the tower on Half Moon a very entertaining spot for even the mildly interested birdwatcher.<span style=""> </span>The trip to the caye is a 45 mile long boat ride from Ambergris Caye.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Some dive boat excursions to the caye's neighboring "Blue Hole" allow a short visit to the rookery.<span style=""> </span>This is a world class Birdwatcher's destination!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span><st1:country-region st="on">BELIZE</st1:country-region> <st1:place st="on">CENTRAL AMERICA</st1:place><span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">The Big White Bird!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">By Bubba<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>In the order of <i style="">Ciconiiformes</i> (herons) there are six very similar birds that are all longlegged, white birds, and for the casual observer are all "big white birds". Being able to tell the difference in these six can be a challenge for the new birder.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Ambergris is blessed with almost every species of <i style="">Ciconiiforme</i> found in the <st1:place st="on">New World</st1:place>. Some are easy to identify because of obvious color differences like the Tiger Heron, the yellow crowned Green Heron, or the mature Reddish Egret. Others have odd shaped bills like the Boat Billed Heron. However, identifying the island's Great White Heron from the Great Egret, Snowy Egret or immature Little Blue Heron sometimes requires a closer look. I think I've got a system that can make it easy. The color of the eyes, bill and legs seem to be the key.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.75in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -2.75in; line-height: 200%;"><u><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Big White Bird<span style=""> </span>feet<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Bill<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>legs</span></u><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Great Egret<span style=""> </span>Black<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Yellow<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Black<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Snowy Egret<span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on">Orange</st1:place><span style=""> </span>Black<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Black<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Cattle Egret<span style=""> </span>Orange<span style=""> </span>Yellow<span style=""> </span><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Orange</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">(Young) Little Blue Heron<span style=""> </span>Black<span style=""> </span>Yellow w/black tip<span style=""> </span>Greenish<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Great Blue Heron (morph)<span style=""> </span>Yellow<span style=""> </span>Yellow<span style=""> </span>Yellow<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Reddish Egret(young)<span style=""> </span>Black<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Pink w/black tip<span style=""> </span>Grayish Blue<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 153pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -153pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">The chart can be used as a short cut to recognition. By applying it, you can gain a background that took most of the old birders several years to acquire. It has always amazed me how, when I identify a bird, I suddenly see it everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I hope this list helps Ambergriseans to become aware of the multitude of birds with which we live, or at any rate, avoid pointing with the comment, "Look! A Big White Bird.</span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE Northern Jacana<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">From the order of <i style="">Charadriiformes</i> in the family of <i style="">Jacanidae</i> is the species of <i style="">Jancana</i> <i style="">Spinosa</i> or Northern Jacana.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">In the world eight species of Jancana are known to exist.<span style=""> </span>They are a moor-hen like birds of marshes, lagoons and ponds of the tropics.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The word 'Jacanas' is an Amerindian name meaning 'lily-trotters'.<span style=""> </span>They have developed special feet that give them the a unique ability of walking on lily pads and marsh grasses without sinking.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Its habit of throwing its wings high above its head exposing banana yellow underwings is probably the reason our Cuban neighbors on the <st1:place st="on">Isle of Pines</st1:place> refer to it as the 'Banana Coot'.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Its body is a purplish chestnut color, its bill yellow with a bright yellow frontal shield, its head and neck are contrasted in black.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">We have been watching a female Jacana this week in the mangrove channels behind the island.<span style=""> </span>When it flies it carries its large long feet dangling below as if they were limiting its flight.<span style=""> </span>The highly specialized feet of the Jacana are unwebbed and its toes and toenails are extremely long.<span style=""> </span>When it spreads its toes and feet apart the area covered is greater than its body's size, dispensing its weight over a large area giving it the ability to stand on floating lily pads and marsh grasses without sinking.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Of all the unusual aspects of this bird, its mating habits could be the most interesting.<span style=""> </span>I had just gotten Bubba to understand that monogamy wasn't a tropical hardwood and his seemingly indiscriminate sex life was because he is polygamous being like the grackle, when he ran across the word 'polyandrous' used to describe the sexuality of the Northern Jacana.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">It might take the rest of the week to explain this one, for now Bubba understands that one female Jacana defends a large territory that contains several males.<span style=""> </span>Each male builds a separate nest of floating grasses within that territory and she lays two to four eggs for each of them to hatch and raise.<span style=""> </span>The eggs are the most unusual I've ever seen.<span style=""> </span>They have a high gloss water-proof finish and the brown with cream marbleized design would make Fabergé jealous.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Unlike the majority of the bird world, the female is larger and more robust than the male.<span style=""> </span>Bubba still can't seem to grasp the polyandrous concept other than the men do all the work.<span style=""> </span>I tried explaining that unlike most of the kingdom, she was on top but he still didn't get it!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The White Winged Dove<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">In the order of columbiformes is the family of pigeons and doves called <i style="">Columbidae</i> with 285 members.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">the names "pigeons" and "dove" are vernacular and interchangeable, however it was pointed out by one author that smaller <i style="">Columbidae</i> are usually referred to as dove and larger <i style="">Columbidae</i> are referred to as pigeons.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I was walking along the beach at the Sunbreeze Hotel after my lunch and a covey of pigeons sprung up from under the almond tree and flew across the courtyard.<span style=""> </span>They flashed white fan bars on their tails and upper wings.<span style=""> </span>It was a pleasant sight but what struck me the most was the noise of the wings.<span style=""> </span>It was a pleasant sight but what struck me the most was the noise of the wings beating.<span style=""> </span>It gave me a memory flash of being downtown in a city and disrupting pigeons in the park.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I read later the noise is from the wings beating together on the downstroke of a power surge to get airborne in a hurry.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The city park pigeons are a relative of the Old World Rock Dove.<span style=""> </span>It lived on the cliffs by the Mediterranean Sea in <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place> and came to this continent in domestication and escaped into the wild. The tall cement buildings in the cities of <st1:country-region st="on">America</st1:country-region> became man-made cliffs for them and without their natural enemies to control the population, they flourished into every corner of the <st1:place st="on">New World</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>This long lost cousin called the morning dove has something similar in mind; it likes towns and has obviously discovered San Pedro. I looked and looked for rhetoric about being the symbol of peace, but what I found was that not one of the fifteen books I have on birds had anything to say about doves and peace; instead I read insulting comments like "not one of the 285 species of columbiformes could build a sturdy or attractive nest", or that their young quite often fall to their death below from shoddy construction! One book actually used the phrase " not the most intelligent bird", and one even implied it was a cousin to the dodo! A close inspection of the statue of Saint Peter, <st1:city st="on">Saint Paul</st1:City> and <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Saint John</st1:place></st1:City> showed no signs of over-population as yet. Bubba, of course, likes them because they are one of the few birds slow and dumb enough for him to catch!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-align: center; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">“From Outrage to Action”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Bubba got this unusual title for this week’s story from an old document in my mother’s attic. It told of an ornithologist who had taken a stroll through <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Manhattan</st1:place></st1:City> in 1886 and counted 542 exotic birds ------ all of them stuffed and mounted on top women’s hats.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>In 1896 this account, and many like it, incited Mrs. Augustus Hemenway to collect a list of names from her “BOSTON BLUE BOOK.” The list of names was of the women most likely to wear feathers, plumes, and even whole birds on their heads.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Within a few weeks, circulars had been mailed asking <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:City>’s most fashionable ladies to join a society for the protection of these fashionable animals.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>By 1899, this action on the part of Mrs. Hemenway had fueled alliances between concerned socialites, sportsmen and ornithologist who met and agreed, ”To discourage the buying and wearing, for ornamental purposes, of the feathers of any wild birds except ducks and game birds; and to otherwise further the protection of native birds”.<span style=""> </span>Mrs. Hemenway’s letter-writing caused a movement that grew into an organization that<span style=""> </span>has 7 million members and over the years has expanded their concerns to protection of eggs, nests and habitat, resulting in thousands of inland and coastal sanctuaries with strict laws to protect them. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Today in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place> this same group is largely responsible for the creation<span style=""> </span>of our countries many reserves. Their work is seen in a stately heron stalking its next meal outside your window, in a flock of terns diving to catch small fish that swim just below our clean waters surface and majestic pelicans gliding effortlessly above San Pedro.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The strength for this organization for 100 years has come from the same source, “Someone has to decide to take some action and write a few letters!” <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I’m not sure Bubba truly understood the message or this story People , all afternoon he’s been designing ladies hats made entirely of cat fur.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Anyone wishing to write letters should contact either or both of these offices: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> Audubon Society, <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">12 Fort St</st1:address></st1:Street>., <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Belize City</st1:City>, <st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The Department of Environment,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Chief Environmental Officer, <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">1012 Ambergris Avenue</st1:address></st1:Street>,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 22.5pt; text-indent: -22.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Belmopan</st1:City>, <st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Rufus Necked Woodrail<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">In the order of Gruiformes and the family of Rallidae is the species <i style="">Aramides axillaris</i> or the Rufous Necked Woodrail.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Bubba and I were strolling along a path through the mangrove on our way to visit the golden nymph of the river when this remarkable bird crossed our path. I was impressed with Bubba's restraint in not chasing it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The rail stood about 10 inches tall and looked like a colorful marsh chicken.<span style=""> </span>Its head and neck are rufous, with a white throat, yellowish green bill and red eyes.<span style=""> </span>At the base of its neck is a light gray area.<span style=""> </span>Its rump is black with an oddly turned up tail that wags when it trots.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The legs are red, long and bare feet that have three long toes forward and one rear toe that is raised and doesn't appear in its footprint.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Its walk seemed very similar to the domestic chicken, strutting its head forward with each step.<span style=""> </span>It only scurried a short distance at the sight of us until it was protected by the thick mangrove, where it slowed, then stopped to look at us as well.<span style=""> </span>I would like to hear its description of what we look like.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Most rails are flightless birds, as are most of its order, however, some have the ability to fly feebly for short hops to taller perches or from running, flapping, take-offs can glide short distances, usually with legs dangling.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">In a predator free environment that some islands provide, flightlessness evolves quickly in most species.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE YELLOWCROWNED NIGHT HERON<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">The Yellow Crowned Night Heron in the order of <i style="">Ciconiiformes</i> is the <i style="">Nyctanassa vidacea</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>A very rare and elusive bird. To find this bird, like any bird, it's necessary to understand what its life is like. When and where it will be is predictable, but sometimes it's just luck. The sun going down and coming up sets a timetable of activity; high tide and low tide can provide for many a time to eat or a time to build nests. A full moon or no moon give opportunity to hunt or a window for sleeping. The newspaper prints tide tables as well as moon and sun schedules. This can be an important tool for the birdwatcher who wants to see a specific type of bird or a particular kind of activity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The Yellow Crowned Night Heron is a difficult one to see. It's called a night heron because of its nocturnal habits. It likes a cool sleeping spot and nesting over still water. It seems to pick dark shade deep in the savanna woods at lagoon's edge or in a gallery of trees that stand in water.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>It lays pale blue-green eggs in a platform of sticks with a depression in the center that's lined with leaves . . . not easy to visit as it seems to prefer branches that protrude over water. Watch for crocodiles!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>This night heron has a truly unusual appearance. It looks a little like a Boat Billed Heron in that it's short and stocky for a heron with big eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I was ready to do anything to see this heron and was preparing for the extreme. In Tennessee where I hail from, hunting deer, raccoon, possum or anything was illegal if you used a spotlight and hunted at night, but very productive!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The game warden worked another part of the forest than where I hunted because of the donut shop's proximity, so I got some experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I was just wondering where I left the battery cable to my spotlight for this obtrusive technique when a northerner hit the island, lots of gray, thick clouds and a cool wind blowing from the lagoon to the front beach shallows.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>This condition must have given an opportunity for this unusual heron to hunt its favorite meal of crabs in the front of the island.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>It was 6:30 a.m. in a gray mist of rain as I passed the old, rusty barge permanently beached at Tres Cocos. I poled in with my motor off and steadied my binoculars for a treat. Thank goodness I left Bubba at home today!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The bird's iris is a rich, reddish orange and its bill is thick and shaped like a spear point, not as wide and blunt as a Boat Billed, but unlike any other heron I had ever seen.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>It has a yellow crown, of course, and it swept back to a point behind its black head. A patch of white on each side of its head seemed to flow from the eyes, lower front corner to the back of its head, I suppose to assist its vision over reflective water.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Its body color is a powder blue instead of the gray I had read about.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Each feather of its folded wings was lined in white. It must be in its breeding season because it had long, white occipital plumes protruding from its nape. Its legs were a yellowish green and was standing in water about 2 or 3 inches deep, snatching small coral blue crabs. It threw them down its throat in a typical heron manner. I've got a few more herons on my list that I hope to find on the island. I hope they are this beautiful and easy to <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">find.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center">The Yellow Crowned Night Heron</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the world of Aves from the family of Ardeidae is Nyctanassa violacea commonly known as The Yellow Crowned Night Heron.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s a resident breeder in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> from Ambergris Caye to Punta Gorda this rare and unusual Heron is thriving, but it is seldom seen.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This stocky, black and gray nocturnal heron roosts camouflaged during the day in the salty mangroves and freshwater habitats of the mainland. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">One of Bubbas many bird books says,’ at night they forage in the shallows. The males stand up to 24” tall and have a bold head pattern of black with white cheeks, red eyes and of course a yellow crown. The juvenile and female are brown with some thin white edges to the feathers.’ </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Another of his books says,’ Night Heron are crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) and are nocturnal feeders.’ but I’ve seen them forage in the daytime during the nesting season, probably to feed extra mouths, they are requester. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">They are strictly carnivorous and prefer crabs. Their long legs and neck allow them to forage in aquatic habitats such as <st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region>’s <st1:place st="on">Caribbean</st1:place> shoreline behind the barrier reefs and along the banks of its many lagoons.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bubba said there numbers are increasing in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> and this is probably due to this country having placed one-fifth of its land mass in nature reserves many years ago.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you’re an incidental birder and not willing to walk your flashlight at night along the secluded moonlit beach or lagoons side in search of this rarity, overcast days seem to be a break in the nocturnal behavior. You may discover them stalking Soya in the savannas or in the shade or the littoral forest. Soya is a local name for a terrestrial crab the birds eat. Local fisherman value them as a prize fish bait. I would have to call it a hermit crab that commonly takes up residents in empty Apple Snail shells, or what ever shell is available. The Night Herons bill is especially adapted for removing such an escargot delight or any substitute tenant.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Most Birders who find rare birds are looking for rare birds. A rarity hunter will be prepared with an intimate knowledge of the bird, its habits, likes, and dislikes. Chances improve as rare species tend to occur in specific habitats and only at certain times.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><br /> <br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE "Woody", the Lineated Woodpecker<o:p></o:p></span></p> <h1><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: normal;">Dryocopus lineatus from the order of Piciformes in the family of Picidaes<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">My generation thinks of large woodpeckers being like "Woody Woodpecker" a Warner Brothers buffoonish cartoon character that could peck wood at the carving speed of a chainsaw.<span style=""> </span>Anything wooden was whittled down in TV seconds to nothing especially if it supported and authoritarian figure who then fell to a painful crash, causing Woody to give his famous laugh...Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha - Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha - ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Hollywood Woody was fashioned after a group of special woodpeckers within the<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Picidae family referred to as crested.<span style=""> </span>They are large and have flaming red heads.<span style=""> </span>One species of this group lives on Ambergris.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Ambergris' male lineated woodpecker has a red moustache that adds to his dramatic and somewhat comical appearance.<span style=""> </span>His large black body is contrasted with white bars thus the name 'lineatus'.<span style=""> </span>(The female has a black moustache stripe.) <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> is home for 25 species of woodpecker, but none have caught my attention like the lineated. Bubba has been hanging around the new Mata Chica Restaurant behind which a pair have taken up residence along the resort's electrical corridor.<span style=""> </span>Supposedly Bubba is observing their mating habits!<span style=""> </span>However, I suspect his propensity for fine Italian garlic bread has much to do with his selecting this site.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The courtship and selection of a prospective nest site involves a slow, rhythmic form of drumming or tapping.<span style=""> </span>Red-headed woodpeckers engage in reverse mounting in which the female mounts the male before he mounts her.<span style=""> </span>Both sexes excavate the nest cavity, usually on Ambergris it's a dead coconut tree.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Woodpeckers cling to the trees by means of strong claws, with second and third toes directed forward, the fourth out to the side and first or smallest toe below.<span style=""> </span>This configuration is called zygodactyl feet. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of a woodpecker is the long protrusible (able to stick out) tongue.<span style=""> </span>This is supported by hyoid bones so long that they extend around the back of the skull.<span style=""> </span>The hyoid are attached to muscles that enable Woody to dart his sticky<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">tongue in and out with great rapidity collecting a variety of small wood bring insects such as termites or ants. Just yesterday large amounts of Malathion were introduced to their diets by means of aerial spraying for mosquitoes.<span style=""> </span>I'm curious as to the effect it will have on the island's population of insect eating birds. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span></span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><span lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE Keel Billed Toucan<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Bubba has been excited about government giving him a tour guide license for birdwatching, and all week he’s been acting like the world’s greatest authority on birds. His excitement has influenced me to have this week’s “Bird of the Week” be the National<span style=""> </span>Bird of Belize. The Right Honorable George Price adopted the Keel-Billed Toucan on September 21st, 1981 when <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region> became an independent nation. They live in the forests of <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place>, travel in flocks, eating the fruits of the jungle as they go.<span style=""> </span>Toucans are among the few tropical birds that are widely known to non-ornithologist.<span style=""> </span>The bill's color and great size is most probably the reason for this notoriety.<span style=""> </span>The bill is composed of thin plates and is surprisingly light for its size. Most oddities in nature can be explained by specialization but the toucan's need for a bill four times the size of its head is a mystery.<span style=""> </span>One book I read suggested its use was picking fruits and berries from thorny bush with little effort. Its colors are startling, from its rainbow bill to its iridescent blue legs, few birds display such a variety of color.<span style=""> </span>Its face, throat and chest are yellow with a narrow border of red on the chest; its body is black with red undertail converts and white upper tail converts. The plumage is soft and lax.<span style=""> </span>The Keel-Billed has a patch of bare green skin around the eye and 'lores' (the area between the eye and bill).<span style=""> </span>The feet are arranged in the 'zygodactly' pattern like a woodpecker (two toes forward and two toes back).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The Keel-Billed, as most toucans are gregarious, occurring in small flocks that roam together through the tree tops in search of a varied diet of fruit.<span style=""> </span>Toucans are known to be frugivorous however, the Keel-Bill's diet includes insects, bird eggs and tree frogs.<span style=""> </span>Flight for this bird is labored with bursts of flapping followed by a glide. The call of the toucan could hardly be called song but rather a croaking noise similar to a frog, my book describes it as RRRK - RRRK - RRRK....or RRUK - RRUK - RRUK..etc.,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">try that aloud a few times....in private!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Toucans roost throughout the year in holes of trees, often old woodpecker holes.<span style=""> </span>Each flock has number of dormitories in which several adults crowd with their tails folded over their backs to save space.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Clutches are of 2 or 4 white eggs which are incubated by both parents.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Bubba got himself a little hat with an embroidered toucan on the front that says 'Tour Guide' and has been hustling tourists as they get off the plane for excursions into the jungle.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">He looks ridiculous but is getting a lot of attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> Roseate Spoonbill<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><i style=""><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">(Ajaia ajaia) Espatula Rosada<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">From the family of the <i style="">Threskiornithidae</i> (ibises and spoonbills), a family of 33 species<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I asked Bubba about the spoonbills genera and he explained, "There are three genera of spoonbill: the <i style="">Platibis</i> in <st1:country-region st="on">Australia</st1:country-region>; the <i style="">Platalea</i> of the Old World; and the <i style="">Ajaia</i> of the <st1:place st="on">New World</st1:place>. Ambergris Caye and its collections of <st1:placename st="on">Bird</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Island</st1:PlaceType> is in the <st1:place st="on">New World</st1:place>." Bubba is great for info like that, but I wanted to sneak up quiet and unnoticed to <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Bird</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Island</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, so Bubba stayed at home. There are so many islands in the back bay that it becomes confusing as to which one you're visiting. To add to the confusion some are known by as many as three different names. Most bird watching tours given by the local guides are visiting Rosario Caye, aka Guano Caye.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>It's home for a few ibis, spoonbills and frigate birds, but has the most frequent visitation. <st1:placename st="on">Bird</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Island</st1:PlaceType> is almost six miles more to the north and falls within the boundaries of the proposed <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Bacalar</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placename st="on">Chico</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">National Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and Marine Reserve.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I took the boat through the river and cruised up the back to the northern point of the island. I had heard rumors from the rangers that the spoonbills were nesting there, and it's early spring in <st1:place st="on">Central America</st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Spoonbills are found worldwide in warm tropical regions and when swamps and marshes in which they breed, dry up, they may go thousands of miles in search of suitable habitat. The rains have filled the flats in the back of the island with some regularity and over a period of years it’s become a big food source.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I can only believe this must be the attraction for these birds to chose <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Bird</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Island</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> as a nesting spot.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Spoonbills find their food by touch more than sight; they walk in the shallows with their heads down and their long peculiar looking duck bill silting the bottom in search for clams or shrimp. Bubba said, "Morphologically, they are closely related to flamingoes who are also pink and have specialized bills used to eat crustaceans from the bottom of shallow waters. When mating, the male Roseate Spoonbill will offer presents of nesting material to the female in courtship; she builds the nest."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Looking into a nest should be done carefully and is almost never done without scaring the hell out of mama. Eggs are a wonderful diet for so many predators; she can only believe you're looking for lunch. Nothing should be touched and bending a branch for a view is done with care not to break the branch. One or the other of the parents is always watching the nest.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>They fly using show powerful downbeats to lift the large body with a rhythm of flap, flap, flap, glide . . . flap, flap, flap, glide . . . A flock of five or six is a thrill to watch. I hope they like this place and stay.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span><st1:country-region st="on">BELIZE</st1:country-region> <st1:place st="on">CENTRAL AMERICA</st1:place><span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE Nightjars<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">If you have become an Ambergrisian bird watcher and have been able to observe each week's bird, this will be a challenge! I had been seeing what I thought were large bats in post-sundown's magic light that gives you little more than silhouettes of fast flying figures with abrupt direction changes.<span style=""> </span>I couldn't imagine any other creature it could be.<span style=""> </span>Then Bubba pointed out to me the rapid<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">wing movement without gliding that all bats do, and how distinctly different the gliding, diving and swoops of this winged creature were. It was difficult to get a positive I.D. on it because it moves so quickly and only in dim light.<span style=""> </span>I understand now why an early ornithologist shot the bird to get a closer look.<span style=""> </span>One<span style=""> </span>evening as it darted past my deck chair I got a glimpse of white upper wing bars and it<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">cried out, "Pur-wé eeer." I had been hearing this call for years but had never placed it with a specific bird – very loud and distinct in the night.<span style=""> </span>Stiles spells it, "who-whick who whick wick-wich-wick<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">wip WHEEEEUR."<span style=""> </span>I know it is hard to imagine this sound but it's the key to knowing this bird.<span style=""> </span>Try, "Kwah-REE-O? or "cuyeer." Anyway I got my I.D. without having to shoot one.<span style=""> </span>Peterson said, "It seldom flies by day and is a voice in the night."<span style=""> </span>A 'Nightjar' but Peterson calls them 'goatsuckers' a strange nickname I can't explain and won't try.<span style=""> </span>The family name is Caprimulgidae: Nightjars, a<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">family of about 67 species.<span style=""> </span>The Nightjar we have on Ambergris is known as a pauraque. Their wings are long and they fly through the night with their mouths open scooping up insects.<span style=""> </span>The bill is surrounded by bristles that probably assist in catching flying insects. Their eyes are big and good for night navigation.<span style=""> </span>The small legs and feet seem to help the streamlined look in flight.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The pauraque sleeps and nests directly on the ground in dry leaves and has an unusual way of protecting its eggs and young.<span style=""> </span>some books refer to it as 'the broken wing distraction. 'The broken wing distraction' is a ploy used by a few birds with little defenses to protect their young or nest.<span style=""> </span>The parent will pretend to be wounded, in this case a broken wing. It will allow the predator to chase it on the ground dragging one wing staying just ahead of its grasp, then flying a short distance and suddenly falling and dragging the wing again as the predator gets close.<span style=""> </span>The tactic is intended to frustrate the predator and lead them away from the nesting area, intelligence in a bird!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>It is very hard to tell in the dark but the pauraque has a brown to rust pattern that camouflages it well as it sleeps in dry leaves on the open ground deep in the savanna.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Don't expect to see this one right away.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The Tiger Heron<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I was cruising the back lagoon in my little boat. The bird of the week was waiting for me somewhere! I slowed the boat down and went up one of those unexplored lagoon fingers that seem to just get you lost looking for a way to access a new lagoon.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>It was low tide and fishing was good for wading birds. This Ciconiiforme stood fishing in a few inches of water near the edge of a mangrove as I rounded the corner into a small lagoon. I got comfortable in the boat and steadied my binoculars for a long, close look, Bubba was asleep.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>It was a long-legged wading bird, shorter than a Great Heron, and its neck didn't have the characteristic "S" shape. I remember seeing it in my book as a Tiger Heron, but the colors where all wrong. It was the correct shape with its stout neck, and its bill was black on the end with a chisel point, but its throat was yellow and it had a gleaming chestnut nape and hind neck. The upper wings were blue, cyan gloss.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I remember reading about how bird colors change due to factors like environment, diet, sex and maturation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Little Blue Herons are snow white for their first year of life and a mangrove cuckoo is pale brown when it is just a year old but rich yellow, cinnamon and has jet black markings when it has its first mating desires.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>So why not a cyan blue Tiger Heron? I suspect this is a young bare-throated Tiger Heron, most likely a close cousin to the Bittern. One book refers to it as a "Tiger Bittern" definitely still in the Ardeidae family.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>As I drifted closer in the boat, it got a little nervous and took a frozen posture of a Bittern camouflage by holding its neck up pretending to be a stump.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Bubba heard me whispering to myself about the Heron and woke up to the realization we were bird watching and had not yet seen it fly! "Quok, quok, quok," it said as it flapped off showing white and patterned under wings and sporting dark olive green feet and legs. Thanks Bubba.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Yucatan</st1:State></st1:place> Jay of<span style=""> </span>the Ambergris Habitat<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">From the order of Passeriformes in the family of <i style="">Corvidae</i> is the <i style="">Cissilopha</i> <i style="">yucatanica/ambergrisica?<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">A habitat is the natural area where a species of bird or other form of wildlife lives.<span style=""> </span>Typical habitats for birds are areas such as: tropical forest, grasslands, savannas, mountains, rivers, lagoons and islands.<span style=""> </span>The characteristics of these varied habitats provide food and shelter for birds.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">New species of<span style=""> </span>birds sometimes evolve from environments of different food supplies and isolated choices of mates under the same influences of environment in a limit gene pool!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The relationship of an island habitat to its continent and the history of the island's evolution markedly affect its bird life.<span style=""> </span>When an island develops as Ambergris has (from plate shifts and sea-eroded connections with the adjacent continent), they inherit an amount of flora and fauna of the mainland and may retain a varying amount of it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Extinction’s are a regular occurrence on islands such as this because of its rapid change in habitat after disconnection.<span style=""> </span>( Remember, we are talking about 15,000 years or more.)<span style=""> </span>this change has created a different habitat and avifauna possibilities on the south half of this 22 mile long island that is typical to most barrier islands off the coast of Belize, but not in the area to the north known to most as Basil Jones where you can find flora and fauna from the mainland that do not occur on any other island in Belize.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The prerequisite for speciation (the process for development of new species) is that there should be two areas where a single species of bird can live separated by some form of physical barrier like the bay between the island and the mainland which cuts down movement between the two groups so that they evolve sufficient differences to become a separate species.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I'm saying the uniqueness of the habitat on the northern half of Ambergris is such that it has possibilities of giving rise to new and undiscovered species of birds, and certainly we shouldn't be surprised at sightings of birds that just shouldn't be on a barrier island.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Bubba and I were in the Holiday Hotel bar listening to <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region></st1:place> archaeology lecturer, Dr. Herman Smith, relay a sighting of a colony of Yucatan Jays when visiting an archaeological site on the back side of Basil Jones.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The Yucatan Jay lives all year in closely knit, extended families, jointly taking care of one another's young.<span style=""> </span>The young are easily distinguished from the adult by their yellow bills with white head and underparts.<span style=""> </span>The adults have black bills with black around the face and eyes and are a beautiful royal blue, the only blue jay said to be found in <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Yucatan</st1:place></st1:State>.<span style=""> </span>It's also said that <i style="">Corvidaes</i> are considered the most intelligent of birds and are omnivorous, meaning they eat anything from small animals to fruit, even marine life or stolen eggs of other birds.<span style=""> </span>A very robust bird!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">What didn't jell with Dr. Smith's observations of the jays was the yellow iris and bill in mature birds with absolutely no white feathers.<span style=""> </span>So the next morning, Bubba was in the mood and I had the gasoline.<span style=""> </span>We went south to the river cut at San Pedro and then north up the back side of the island past the last bird caye to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Santa Cruz</st1:place></st1:City> at Basil Jones.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I put my boat bow on the shore, walked just 100 feet into a grove where it seemed like the jays were just waiting for me.<span style=""> </span>They must get the name from the noise they make.<span style=""> </span>I got too close and an alarm of "Jayy! Jayy! jayy" went off around the grove.<span style=""> </span>I think I saw four, if not three and one twice.<span style=""> </span>Herman was right, blue jays with yellow bills that turn down on the end.<span style=""> </span>No white feathers, and they were as large as a big robin.<span style=""> </span>The black on their face around their eyes extended down the neck and became almost navy blue on the chest,<span style=""> </span>but a larger one had a black bill and I suppose the others are just not fully mature.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">All the bird books that I have shown a confusing variety of blue and black jays,<span style=""> </span>some without white feathers and yellow bills.<span style=""> </span>Not a jay that I know to be the Yucatan Jay but something I can't identify; maybe not the most unique bird, but it certainly is evidence of the uniqueness of<span style=""> </span>this habitat.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Something rare and unusual on the north end of the island!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Song<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Everything around the cocal is singing. The cheerful noise incited me to ask Bubba which birds these were and why have they so suddenly started singing. It was almost a rhetorical question, but he explained, "It's the Passeriformes; the order contains sparrows, crows, flycatchers, some swallows and is the largest order in the Kingdom. Passeriformes have extraordinary vocal capabilities of the "syrinx" which enables them to utter very elaborate sounds. Song is a simple, efficient way for subdivision of territories among males and for sexual choice on the part of the females."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">I need to remember, he always takes me very literally.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">So! These singing Passeriformes around the cocal are singing courtship songs of spring.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I got busy and started reading about courtship and discovered that ritual courtship dances with elaborate displays of plumage or singing are characteristic of each species and are unique to that species, enabling the female to select a correct partner more easily; the more prolonged the courtship, the more likely that one or the other will recognize its mistake if it's courting with a member of another species.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>This mastery of song by the Passeriformes is in part due to the fact that different species within the order look very similar and only the song will allow the female to know the difference. The more he sings, the more she's sure she's picked the right guy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>One of my pleasures of birdwatching is the insight it gives me into human behavior. So far I've discovered birds in courtship singing, dancing and displaying colorful plumage before having sex with one another, and now I understand more clearly the bizarre events in San Pedro on Saturday nights.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.3pt;">Aztec Parakeet<o:p></o:p></span></p> <h2><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: normal;">Psittacidae Aratinga Astec<o:p></o:p></span></i></h2> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>When Bubba was a puppy and I told him he was a "bird dog", he took this to mean something entirely different, thus the ornithological studies and his many published bird articles.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I found him last week staring into a "Field and Stream" magazine in a state of shock! He hasn't spoken since. I truly believe all this time he misunderstood.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>This week he's not contributing and I'm having to do all the research myself. The editor is on my case about deadlines. So in a desperate act, I tried to work the magic by walking into the back bush with my binoculars alone.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I retreated with swarms of mosquitoes on my tail to the security of my veranda and sank in my adirondack chair where I solemnly decided to give up bird watching. Its just too much work and it's too easy to nap in the shade. As the shrieking squawks came to my ear I woke to a flock of Aztec parakeets passing to home for the evening.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Peterson identifies our bird of the week as: "Aratinga Astec", (olive-throated) parakeet.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>On Ambergris flocks can be seen traveling late morning, to areas of ripe fruit trees and returning to roosts in afternoon.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The family of <i style="">Psittacidae</i> contains about 330 species classified into approximately 60 genra and six to eight subfamilies, which some zoologists consider should be regarded as a separate family. The name "parakeet" is a division of many opinions, and it is very possible parrots and parakeets are separate families.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>All <i style="">Psittaciformes</i> have zygodactyl feet as do woodpeckers, but use them with more dexterity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>All <i style="">Psittacidae</i> like to eat fruit and nuts so they are said to be, "frugivorous".<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>They nest in holes in trees that they discovered, not made by themselves. Abandoned woodpecker holes in coconut trees seem to be preferred on Ambergris.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Identifying the Aztec parakeet may be difficult at first. Fast flying flocks passing between you and the late afternoon sun are almost impossible to identify by sight, but voice identification is useful.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>As they fly, members of the flock make a raucous scream of "krrieh krrie krreach", randomly and without chorus. Some assumption can be made by knowing which species occur in your area, as rarely do two similar parrots occur in the same range or habitat.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Next week I'm going to tell Bubba his father was a retriever and that retrievers retrieve information about birds for their masters.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE MIGRATION<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>From now until late April, an unusual variety of migratory Avafana will be visiting the Bacalar Chico Reserve.<span style=""> </span>Ambergris' new 60 square mile terrestrial reserve is serving as a refuge for migratory birds from the north.<span style=""> </span>About 225 species of long distance migrants occur in <st1:country-region st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region> and <st1:place st="on">Northern Central America</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>Bubba and I will be watching for which of those choose the Reserve to winter.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I asked Bubba why birds migrate hoping to break his silence from his discovery of being a birddog and it worked! Bubba explained, "By late September and early October the northern part of the planet has begun to lean away from the sun.<span style=""> </span>Measurable, plottable lines of temperature gradients called 'isotherms' move further and further south on the weather maps and all life pays them heed. Birds in the north use this cooling as a signal to begin their annual migration southward. At the same time thousands of miles to the south of Ambergris, far beyond the equator, that part of the planet reciprocally leans closer to the sun causing the Avafana on that hemisphere to migrate in the other direction."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Last year in November, I noticed a large number of new birds I would never expect to see on this island and I guess that would explain it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Bubba really didn't seem to be in a mood to talk, but I interrupted his study again by asking why the north of our island, in particular, was so popular with migrating birds He gave a long sign and said, "Birds use specific migratory paths that consist of rivers, lakes and various other food sources like a dotted line of rest stops.<span style=""> </span>These paths are called flyways and this continent has four major flyways.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The Atlantic flyway leads migratory birds from as far north as Greenland down <st1:state st="on">Florida</st1:State>'s eastern coast across the Caribbean into <st1:country-region st="on">Cuba</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region st="on">Haiti</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Dominica</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The <st1:state st="on">Mississippi</st1:State> flyway leads birds from <st1:state st="on">Alaska</st1:State> and middle <st1:country-region st="on">Canada</st1:country-region> down the Mississippi River valley to the Gulf of Mexico where it divides leading some to <st1:country-region st="on">Cuba</st1:country-region> and some to the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Yucatan</st1:place></st1:State> but most stay at that conjuncture.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">It's the Central and Pacific flyways that lead the majority of migratory birds to<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Ambergris.<span style=""> </span>The bottle neck effect of the flyways narrowing at the base of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Yucatan</st1:State></st1:place> cause a concentration of migratory Avafana looking for shelter, food and water. The Bacalar Chico Reserve seems to be a logical spot to stop for this, and it creates Birdwatching where even birders like yourself can find rare birds."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Bubba seemed to be getting annoyed with my questions so I let him return to the<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">bookshelf where he likes to bury his head undisturbed, most of the time.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Birdwatching boat excursions to the park this season will have some extra attraction for me now that I understand where these birds are coming from and why.<span style=""> </span>It will add to the fun. <span style=""> </span>I might even take Grumpy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>“Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us,”</span><i style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoHeading8"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-weight: normal;"><span style=""> </span>Snipe<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">In the order of Charadriiformes is the Gallinago delicata or "Common Snipe".<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Snipe hunting has been used as a device for college fraternity pranks and humorous stories for many decades.<span style=""> </span>The hunts traditionally are carried out at night with freshmen wearing loin cloths, flushing a snipe from the brush for the entertainment of beer drinking seniors.<span style=""> </span>It's not a surprise that a large part of the population believes the snipe is a fictitious bird. The common snipes on Ambergris are very real and visit during the winter months (October - April).<span style=""> </span>It's considered a shorebird in the same family as plovers, rails and sandpipers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Petersen's Guide calls it a 'casual visitor to the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Yucatan</st1:place></st1:State>' and says it has a 'very long bill, orange tail, and it zigzags in flight.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Snipes lay their eggs on the ground under little tufts of grass near the shore.<span style=""> </span>It hunts along the muddy banks of the lagoon using its long bill to forage in the mud for small insects and crustaceans. The feet are disproportionately large and rail-like to prevent it from sinking into its hunting ground. Bubba's research on the American snipes produced an interesting article from his now favorite Field and Stream Magazine:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <h1><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: normal;">Common Snipe<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">"Zig zagging, rapid flights are the trademark of the Common Snipe.<span style=""> </span>A dove-sized member of the sandpiper family commonly found along lake shores and marshes across the states.<span style=""> </span>This long-billed bird generally stays close to cover, while the similar looking but non-hunted 'dowitcher' prefers to feed in the open.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Hunters should look for the snipe's brown rump and orange tail in flight, and then utilize their quickest reflexes and smoothes swinging, open- choke shotgun.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Hunting season is October 15 to January 15<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Bag limit: 8 daily, 16 in possession after 1st day."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">No wonder they like to winter down here!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Bubba is insisting I take him hunting, he's having problems coming to terms with his newly discovered birddog genes. He plagues me with questions about genetic memory and his parent's bloodline.<span style=""> </span>So I oiled my shotgun and agreed to take him on a snipe hunt to see how instinctive it might be for him.<span style=""> </span>I canceled the hunt when he refused to wear the loincloth.<span style=""> </span>He's not a good sport.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <h2><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; font-weight: normal;">Death of a Hero<o:p></o:p></span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">"Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>I've asked Bubba many times why he insists we begin all the bird articles with this anonymous quote, but he would never answer.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Yesterday he got some sad news in a letter from the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> and this week he's decided it's time to explain it to me and our readers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Roger Tory Peterson used this line to start his first book, "A Field Guide to the Birds" in 1934.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Mr. Peterson was a modern day John James Audubon, who turned millions of Americans into bird watchers with his "easy to use" field guides.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Peterson combined artistic talent with a life long scientific interest in birds.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>During his 60 year career, he wrote, illustrated and edited 15 books that sold millions of copies, and were translated into 12 languages.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Audubon Magazine called him, "The man who turned bird watching into a sport."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>"A Field Guide to the Birds" was the single most revolutionary development in American birding.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Before him bird guides were burdened with confusing detail and written in terms most readers didn't understand or could not identify with, but Peterson's pocket-sized work focused on the essential features by which amateurs could swiftly identify a species.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>His bold, precise drawings and printings stressed coloration, shapes of beaks, wings, feathers and tails.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>His prose was equally clear and succinct: he summed up the male (gadfiner), for example, as "the only small yellow bird with black wings."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Peterson once said, "I consider myself to have been the bridge between the shotgun and the binoculars in bird watching. Before I came along, the primary way to observe birds was to shoot and stuff them."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>In the 1930's when he began his work, there were serious questions as to whether sufficient numbers of Americans cared or could be induced to learn about bird life. His editors only committed themselves t a first printing of 2,000 copies with reservations. It's now in its 5th revision with millions of copies in print.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Peterson has received every major award for ornithology, natural science, conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals and citations including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The list is longer than I have space for.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Peterson first visited <st1:country-region st="on">Belize</st1:country-region> (then <st1:place st="on">British Honduras</st1:place>) after the end of the Second World War with ornithologist Edward. L. Chalif.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>His experiences with the Neotropical Avifauna outside of Mexico influenced Peterson to expand his "Field Guide to Mexican Birds" to include Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador giving Belize its 1st major recognition as a bird watchers destination.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Peterson died on a Sunday after suffering a mild stroke. He was 87.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>The complete quote is: "Birds can fly where they want to, when they want to, or so it seems to us, who are earthbound. They symbolize a degree of freedom that we would nearly give our souls to have."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>Roger Tory Peterson<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"><span style=""> </span>1909-1996<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL.<i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoTitle" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">The Magnificent Frigatebird</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoSubtitle" style=""><span style="font-weight: normal;">Fregata magnificens<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;">The first bird most visitors to our island notice is the Frigatebird. As you settle on the veranda of your hotel in the afternoon gazing out at the reef you may notice soaring above the fisherman’s shoreline is a very large black sea bird with extremely long pointed wings and a deeply forked tail.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;">Bubba and I probably get asked by San Pedro’s tourist every week, ’what’s that large Teradactail looking bird up there?’ Small birds seem to go unnoticed by most nonbirders. The frigate is big! Wingspan runs more than 7 feet and soars high over the water never landing on its surface. Over the centuries of mans naming birds the Frigate has worldwide been referred to as ‘The Man-O-war Bird’.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;">Most ornithological groups have placed it in the order of Pelecaniformes. The males are black with an oblivious red Gular, the juveniles and female have a white head and neck. The description I like, having known this bird for some 15 years, is in David Siblys ‘Guide To Birds’, It says,” A distinctive aerial pirate”. What kind of personality would you imagine a bird would have if it ate only fish but could not swim? Born to steal.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"><span style=""> </span>Rodger Pasquier in his book, ‘An Introduction to Ornithology’ wrote,” Frigatebirds that lack waterproof feathers swoop to the surface of the water and pick up fish with out ever landing.” And ‘in theory ‘as they say Rodger is correct but if fishing was that easy wouldn’t we all just swoop down and pick up a bag full? What I’ve witnessed watching Ambergris’s Frigates is: Skilled fishing birds such as the Cormorant, Gull and Tern dive for the fish only to have the frigate swoop down and grab it from their mouths. The Cormorant can’t swallow its catch underwater and I’ve watched the Frigate circle above until it surfaces then quickly snatch a meal with little struggle on the part of the surprised Cormorant, however the Tern doesn’t give it up without a fight, The poor fish sometimes goes from the Terns mouth to the Frigates then retrieved by the Tern and back again to the Frigate with the Frigate ultimately being the prize winner.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;">Of the 5 species in the world Ambergris is densely populated with only the magnificent. Part of its success on the island is due to the many fishing boats cleaning their catch and sharing their scraps with the birds. From low altitude you can see the red gular area on the males neck. This can be inflated into two large balloons for display to the females. When courting the male, while sitting on the nest he has built for her, inflates the guglar bends his neck down and beats them rapidly with his beak like two drums causing an almost rattling noise. They nest atop the mangrove and in colonies sometimes in conjunction with the Boobies as on Half Moon Caye. The nest is a large platform of sticks constructed by the male but built from materials presented him by the female. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;">Frigates living in harmony with us on the island.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: left;" align="left"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">Woodpeckers<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Golden-fronted woodpeckers, <i style="">Centurus Aurifrons </i>(Stiles, 1972); Red-vented (<st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Yucatan</st1:place></st1:State>) woodpeckers, Centurus pygmaeus (Skutch, 1976); Southern Red-bellied woodpeckers (Peterson, 1973); Zebra-backed woodpeckers; woodpeckers, bar-backed woodpeckers; woodpeckers, woodpeckers, <u>woodpeckers</u>! Ambergris has more than its share.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The family is called <i style="">Picidae</i>, and the world contains 210 species within that family of chisel-filled, tree-climbing birds with special feet for holding on to vertical tree trunks.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Ambergris, in the world of woodpeckers, could be considered heaven.<span style=""> </span>Woodpeckers are masterful tree surgeons, testing the diseased trunks of coconuts trees with sharp raps of their bills digging out ants, termites or the larvae of woodboring beetles such as the rhinoceros beetle, and in case you haven't noticed the coco-nut trees are dying right and left because it is the beetle's favorite food.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The soft, carvable wood of the vaulting coconut trunks make easy home building for the island's many varieties of <i style="">Picidae</i> and the telltale holes can be seen in every cocal from Marco Gonzalez to Rocky Point.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The most obvious of the island's <i style="">Picidaes</i> is the <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Yucatan</st1:place></st1:State> woodpecker and without looking too hard, I run across about five every day, enjoying the festival of rhinoceros beetles and termites or having the palmetto's white berry for dessert.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The red cap and black and white zebra striped coat they wear make them easy to spot even if they didn't make themselves apparent with the constant tapping.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">If a woodpecker feels like it's found a good stand of rotting and infested trees that will provide the family with food and shelter for sometime, marking the territory is noisy!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Imagine you're a woodpecker and having a big tap is your sign of dominance and power.<span style=""> </span>Nature will provide a god hollow log for you to drum on but finding an empty water tank or the side of a wood house can make you feel like the Energizer Bunny in high gear.<span style=""> </span>Other woodpeckers will respect your claim in fear that this loud tap is from a much bigger bird.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The male and female woodpecker, unlike most birds, look very much alike in their brilliant red colors and share equally the work of nest building and caring for young.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>Feeding the chicks is done by regurgitation.<span style=""> </span>Nests are always holes in wood, carved out by this woodcrafter.<span style=""> </span>Each hole is home for the whole family.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>I would like to think the presence of so many woodpeckers on the island is a positive sign that something is being done about the rhinoceros beetles' devastation our island to our island's beautiful coconut trees,<span style=""> </span>but I'm afraid the reverse is true; the beetles can be viewed as circling vultures feasting on the dying cocals.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The Chachalaca<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">If you're one of the lucky people that live north enough on the island to escape the noise of airplanes and the city life of San Pedro, then you've probably heard the cackling of <u>Chachalaca</u> coming from the back bush.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The Chachalaca is a wild bush turkey.<span style=""> </span>Rarely seen but often heard at sun up and sun down.<span style=""> </span>Of the 39 species of Chachalaca in the world, 3 are found in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Belize</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style=""> </span>Ambergris Chachalaca are brown with pheasant like tail and a red throat, sometime weighing over two pounds.<span style=""> </span>This fowl was most definitely a food source for the Maya and buccaneers living on this island in its past.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Although I've seen hundreds of meadowlarks, I've never seen one in the woods and I have never seen a woodthrush in a meadow, just as a fisherman lives near the sea and a lumberjack in a forest or a cab driver in the city so each bird has its niche.<span style=""> </span>The Chachalaca lives in the protection of the savannah's back bush, walking on the ground and limbs under the thickets of sour sap and sea grape and coco plum on which it feeds, and nests in scrub usually in groups of 15 to 20.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Since bow and arrow hunting is a lost art and few locals have guns for hunting, the northern part of Ambergris is inhabited by hundreds, but only the most serious birdwatcher will ever see one, as they almost never leave the protection of thick bush.<span style=""> </span>Instead hearing them is our pleasure.<span style=""> </span>Each evening as a Chachalaca roosts it seems to let the other members of its group know who it is and where it is by making a loud 'cha - cha -LAW - ka' noise.<span style=""> </span>As each<span style=""> </span>member responds a rhythmical chorus seems to make the back bush come alive with a chicken-like Chachalaca cackling for several minutes.<span style=""> </span>They will suddenly stop as if listening and another more distant group will begin and stop only to give air time to yet another group, heard faintly and even more in the distance.<span style=""> </span>Then all quiet for the night.<span style=""> </span>In the morning as the sun starts to light the sky the chorus begins again as a rooster might hail the dawn, making an alarm clock useless!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">As the development of San Pedro calls for more clearing of bush in order to feed and roost the Chachalaca will be forced to move north on the island as will a number of birds and wildlife that need the savannah habitat.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Of the extreme variety of ideas proposed for the north end of the island, The Bacalar Chico Game Reserve sounds like a winner for an island trying to keep its tourist trade, and I'm sure if Chachalacas could vote it would already be one.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoTitle" style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Courtship and Nesting<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">It is essential that male and female come together at some time for copulation, so that the eggs of the female will be fertile. Courtship is the who and when of this action. Nesting is an intricate part of courtship. Acceptance or rejection of a mate often depends on the quality of the nesting potential and the identification of the correct male by the female through his dance and song for her. This drama is as much of a novella as is ‘As The World Turns’. The male Rock Dove I see on the streets of downtown San Pedro strut dancing in a circle around the female with their chest out strutting high and jutting their head forward with every step as she pretends not to notice and goes about her foraging. The Male Yellow-Backed Mayan Oriole of Ambergris must feel a broken spirit when his prospective mate inspects the hanging basket nesting materials he toiled days collecting with expectations, only to have her cast them aside in rejection.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bubba said,” these are called ’Reproductive Strategies’ and each species follows a fairly fixed plan which repeatedly tested by natural selection, has become the most efficient and successful manner of reproducing for that species in its environment”. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bubba never has been a romantic.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">90% of birds are monogamous and in most monogamous relationships it’s the female that makes the choice of with whom and where to mate and nest, usually on the basis of the males displays or the attractiveness of the territory he claims. Let’s not devalue the fact that his singing and dancing around in circles with his chest out is an important factor in her decision but let’s look at what his territory has to offer. Is there fresh water close by to drink and bath in for her. Is there a food supply, such as a berry producing bush, Blossoms attracting bees and fly’s, or termite nest, newly hatched chicks are demanding and ravenous. Does the territory offer shelter from the weather and security from predators? Trees usually supply this demand. Is there suitable building material for the nest? Plants such as Coconut trees and palmettos produce strong fibrous building material that is easily collected.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">On Ambergris, as in the World today, the loss of nesting and foraging habitat is probably the single biggest threat to birds.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The amount of birds we see is according to the amount the environment around us can support.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As clearing for development moves northward on ambergris replacement of specific food producing vegetation through mindful landscaping. Ambergris’s Yucatan Woodpecker is fond of the wild papaya. The black catbird and Caribbean Malking bird enjoy the white berries of the Palmetto. Birdbaths or other water sources such as fountains, Reflection ponds or even swimming pools, will help sustain our avian friends and they will continue to provide us with entertainment.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Birdhouses have saved many populations where massive land clearing for human needs has destroyed habitat. (Properly referred to as Bird boxes’).</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bird box construction, design and placement are an art. Birds are very specific about what they will accept. Nests are varied widely and successful Bird boxes must fit the specific demands of a group and not all groups will entertain the idea of nesting in your idea of what they will chose. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Remember the criteria she had? Protection from the weather and predators near water and food.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ambergris Caye has a large number of cavity nesters. Woodpeckers create holes that are used by cavity nesters that cannot create their own. The diameter of the hole determines who can or can’t get in. The size may vary according to whom you are trying to attract. I like 1.5 inches diameters. And so do most Cavity nesters.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thickness of the walls should be a minimum of 3/8^th of an inch thick. You may like UDP red or PUP blue but its not very likely she will. Colors have large meanings to birds and the natural brown or green of the environment mean camouflage from predators. Any paint at all or even treated lumber is probably going to get you thumbs down.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Placement is another important consideration. It should be high enough off the ground to deter most predators from climbing but low enough to not attract others who may like to swoop down on prey, a few branches overhead will usually prevent this.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The North East trade wind is blowing the majority of the time on Ambergris so the south West side would be a better choice to face the hole. Buy the way the little perch outside the hole is a cute idea a human had nothing at all useful or desired by the bird.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If I’ve inspired you and you install a Bird box, Birdbath or plant a berries producing shrub, be patient each year for about a month your box will be considered and may even be remembered from the previous years visit.<span style=""> </span>Don’t expect results the first season.<span style=""> </span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The Great-Tailed Grackle<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">On my first visit to Ambergris all around the little cabaña I rented was a very loud unusual noise of this raven-like bird.<span style=""> </span>As first impressions go, I will forevermore associate this bird's cry with the island as closely as its rattling palms and roaring reef.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The Great-Tailed Grackle is found throughout the island in great numbers and is seemingly undisturbed by the presence of the town.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The grackle belongs to a family of birds known as <i style="">Icteridae</i> of which most of its 90 members are permanent residents of the tropics.<span style=""> </span>Most species are black and superb songsters.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The male grackle is large and has a glossy purplish-black color that contrasts the bright yellow of its eyes' iris, giving its stare a more intelligent look than most birds.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The males loudest and most distinctive crow comes after a wind-up that ends with his neck stretched and bill pointing straight in the air.<span style=""> </span>This is usually for a display to the female, in courting prance on the ground under the coconut trees.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">The female looks almost like a different bird.<span style=""> </span>She's much smaller with a dull dark brown body, sooty brown flanks and black wings.<span style=""> </span>They always seem to accompany this polygamous male in twos or threes and lets the daring male venture forward first, staying in the safety of the background.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Part of this bird's success on the island must, in part, be due to the variety of things it will eat including; lizards, fish, eggs, grains, fruits, berries, and garbage from picnic.<span style=""> </span>In short he'll eat anything!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">However, a grackle doesn't seem to be a very successful builder on the island, but excellent elsewhere.<span style=""> </span>Its nests can be seen blowing around in the sand under the palms.<span style=""> </span>They are crude and course bowls of twigs.<span style=""> </span>High winds seem to be the villain.<span style=""> </span>Normally a grackle will cement its nest with mud and cow or house dung, possibly the sand soil and absence of literal house manure of this island is the source of its building problems.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Its eggs are blue with dark brown specks and blotches.<span style=""> </span>Despite this problem with building materials its numbers are increasing.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">My bird book says its voice is "a rapid clicking 'thick, thick, thick'; also a chattering and rattling calls: males have an exceedingly diverse repertoire of sharp, loud notes including a prolonged squeaky rising whistle, a stentorian, bugle-like tooting, metallic whistles suggesting a little tin horn, and various guttural or creaking notes."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Phonics for bird noises has always been difficult at best, and you won't hear me trying to imitate this one!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Reading attempts of ornithologist to describe bird noise has given me a lot of laughs.<span style=""> </span>I've always felt describing them was like what a person sees in the shape of a cloud.<span style=""> </span>It's different from person to person.<span style=""> </span>For instance, Famous birder pioneer, Rodger Tory Peterson said the Great-Tailed Grackle is saying, "kid-kid-kik-kik" but he also thought certain birds would say things like, "to you to" or "only for you" and "it's mine - it's mine".<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">More of a vocal Rorschach test for Peterson than an imitation of bird noise, however I did know a bird that seemed to spend its time looking for a man named Bob White!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Let's listen to the grackle and maybe some brave soul will stick their neck out and tell us what he's saying.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; color: black;"><br /> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;"><span style=""> </span>The Mayan Oriole<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">From that tremendous order of <i style="">Passeriformes</i>, (birds that perch) is the <i style="">"Icteridae"</i> family.<span style=""> </span>Most of the <i style="">Icteridae</i> are residents of the tropics and northern members migrate.<span style=""> </span>Of the 90 species in the family, all are living on continents and islands of the <st1:place st="on">Western Hemisphere</st1:place>, and one local member has acquired the vernacular name "Mayan Oriole" because its home is the boundaries of the old Mayan world.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">It is the yellow backed Mayan oriole or "<i style="">Icterus chrysater</i>" to its friends!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I first discovered a Mayan oriole when I heard a whistling early in the morning after dawn.<span style=""> </span>I had been listening to the kiskadee and working on my ear for it, when I was taken by a whistle that made me first think, someone's playing a joke on me!<span style=""> </span>This whistle is human, I thought, and one of my jocular friends is whistling outside my house.<span style=""> </span>I went out on the deck expecting to see my friend Bowman Tun, a Mayan bushman and prankster, instead the whistling persisted and my binoculars finally zoomed in on a brilliant deep yellow bird in the coconut tree, making a noise much like a human whistle.<span style=""> </span>The stark contrast of black wings, face and neck made the yellow seem even richer.<span style=""> </span>The wings had two slender white bars visible when folded.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I went back to the house to my bookshelf thinking how astonishing it is when a bird of the week announces itself.<span style=""> </span>I read: Cousin to the oropendoles I see at Chan Chich, a smart nest builder, lays 3 to 4 pale blue with white eggs in a finely woven pouch protected by being placed in a thorny bush.<span style=""> </span>I imagine some of the thorny bush in the back savanna would be a likely place to look if you were adventurous and possess serious mosquito protection.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">I also read it’s a fruit eater.<span style=""> </span>I'm assuming the sapodilla tree dropping yellow fruit at my back deck is why he's whistling around my house.<span style=""> </span>I think I'll plant another sapodilla.<span style=""> </span>This oriole makes over 20 species of birds I've counted during the month this tree's fruit ripened and dropped.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;" lang="ES-GT">SANPEDRO SUN<span style=""> </span>BELIZE CENTRAL AMERICA<span style=""> </span>VOL. <i style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">BIRDS OF AMBERGRIS CAYE<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="color: black;">The Gray Silky Flycatcher<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: black;">Bubba was telling me about this new bird hanging around the back.<span style=""> </span>He says, "In the largest of the 34 orders of the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Aves</st1:PlaceName> <st1:placetype st="on">Kingdom</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> is the order of Passeriformes containing 53 member groups of which many live on Ambergris Caye.<span style=""> </span>Passeriformes are known as "songbirds" because their order contains all birds that have the ability to sing.<span style=""> </span>Within that order is a group known as <i style="">Bombycillidae</i> are made up of three sub-families; waxwings, the hypololius ampelinum and silky flycatchers."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color