Belize Notes
by Barb Graf

Apparently, during the Miss Teen U.S.A. contest, Miss Teen South Carolina was asked why people couldn’t locate the United States on a map. She gave a rather circuitous answer which included references to Iraq and Africa. This prompted a local radio station to ask a geography question for one of its call-in quizzes. They asked people to name three countries in Central America. (O.K. how did you do? There are seven.)
Last winter, Leonard and I visited Belize, the youngest country in Central America. It also has the smallest population in Central America, about the size of Grand Rapids (315,000), Belize gained full independence from the United Kingdom in 1981, a process which took at least eleven years.
While Belize is a young country it has a long history, and we were able to see several Mayan ruins, it was for the birds that we went. And birds we saw. In the three and a half weeks that I was there, I saw 107 “lifers.” As Leonard drove all the way, was on the trip for three months, saw Mexico and more of Belize, (and studied more, too!), his list of “lifers” grew to 188.
What were some of these “lifers?” Keel-billed Toucans with a bills so large you wondered how they maneuvered in the trees; a Sungrebe that was a challenge for many of us to see hidden at the river’s edge, a Northern PoToo that blended expertly in with a snag; five species of Kingfishers-Ringed, Belted, Amazon, Pygmy and Green; a Tiger-heron that hid itself as our Bitterns do. From huge raptors—Kites, Forest Falcons, Orange-breasted Falcons, White Hawks, and King Vultures to tiny birds--Hermits, Starthroats, Sabrewings, Purple Fairies, Hummingbirds—we were excited each and every time. Names new to us--Euphonias, Woodcreepers--and familiar—Woodpeckers, Owls, Wrens—abounded. Colors so vibrant—a tiny Green Shrike-Vireo high in the canopy, a Blue Ground Dove on the forest floor, Scarlet Macaws flying gracefully in pairs against a radiant blue sky—you find it difficult to believe.