WHAT’S NEW
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OUR DETAILED ITINERARY IS OUT FOR THE DECEMBER 2012 RAPTOR TOUR 6 January 2012
BRRI 2012 Raptor Tour Detailed Itinerary
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OUR MOST RECENT ISSUE OF OUR NEWSLETTER, ‘SOLITARIUS’ 1 December 2011
BRRI Newsletter Solitarius Issue3 Winter 2012
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THE FIRST BRRI NEOTROPICAL RAPTOR ID WORKSHOP A SUCCESS 26 August 2011
Our first Raptor ID Workshop was a success thanks to our instructor Bill Clark, the fantastic accomidations at Hidden Valley Inn, and all the great participants. We tallied 16 species of raptors including the rare Orange-breasted Falcon, lingering Plumbeous Kites, many flocks of migrating Swallow-tailed Kites, numerous Great Black-Hawks, including one with a snake, both a juvenile and adult Ornate Hawk-Eagle, numerous Double-toothed Kites, all plumage types of the King vulture, a cooperative perched White Hawk, and a rare Stygian Owl pair, just to name a few of the highlights.
Thank you to Bill Clark, Hidden Valley Inn, and all the participants for supporting BRRI and our conservation efforts. We look forward to our second workshop.
Participants included (listed from left to right and top to bottom in the photograph):
Louis Juan, Jonathan Urbina, Audrey Martin, Victor Gamez, Freddy Pineda, Andrew Bradshaw, Bill Clark (Instructor), Michael Miller, Emil Gamez, Alicia De Toro, Jana Clark, Roni Martinez, Darwin Mai, Ryan Phillips (Instructor), Rick Romero, Eric Tut, Philip Mai, Oscar Cisneros, Camille Meyers (not in photograph), and Ildiko Szabo (not in photograph).
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THE FIRST NEST OBSERVATIONS OF THE SOLITARY EAGLE 26 August 2011
Over the past two months of monitoring the recently discovered Solitary Eagle nest (found by Roni Martinez) we have recorded 21 prey items, of which 18 were snakes. The most unexpected prey item was an armadillo! The juvenile has fledged and continues to be fed by the adults at or near the nest. The juvenile spends most of its time flying from tree to tree and occasionaly soaring while continously food soliciting. Stay tuned to when the juvenile leaves the nest area.
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A NEW STYGIAN OWL PAIR LOCATED IN THE MOUNTAIN PINE RIDGE 26 August 2011
It has been confirmed that another pair of Stygian Owls has been found in close proximity to the radio-tagged male 034. This new pair had been observed before in this location, but it was suspected that it was the same pair of radio-tagged 034. After we radio-tagged 034 this pair was not observed at this roost site until now, where we were able to determine that this is indeed a different pair only 1 kilometer from the radio-tagged pair. This constitutes at least 4 known pairs in our study area.
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OUR MOST RECENT ISSUE OF ”Solitarius” PUBLISHED 26 July 2011
solitarius-brri-newsletter-summer-2011
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BIG NEWS!!! A RARE SOLITARY EAGLE NEST LOCATED IN THE MOUNTAIN PINE RIDGE 1 July 2011
Yesterday, Roni Martinez of BRRI and Blancaneaux Lodge, with the assistance of Camille Meyers, Matt Allshouse and Stacia Novy of The Peregrine Fund, located the first Solitary Eagle, Harpyhaliaetus solitarius, nest since 1959, which contained a single chick. The finding of this nest is a big step forward in understanding this virtually unknown species. The Solitary Eagle is a rare and local resident with a small population size (less than 1000 individuals) within its broad, but patchy distribution. It is currently listed as Near threatened by the IUCN, but may be uplisted based on further evidence of decreasing population size and trends. Most aspects of its natural history, breeding biology, and population demographics are unknown, making this species of top research priority. Prior to this nest, only two nests have been discovered in the 1950′s in Mexico and either the eggs or adults were collected for museum specimens, so no data was collected on nesting biology.
With the discovery of this nest, we can take an important step forward in the conservation of the Solitary Eagle. We will be able to gather critical information on this little known Neotropical eagle and begin to understand its requirements, so that a management strategy can be implemented.
Our goal is to collect nesting biology data and fit the juvenile and at least one of the adults with a GPS transmitter. Stay tuned!
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HOT OFF THE PRESS: STYGIAN OWL FILM “The Quest for the Nest: The Belize Stygian Owl Project” 25 April 2011
Please view our newly released Stygian Owl film produced and edited by Wayne Hall. Thank you Wayne for all your support! Please pass it on to anyone you know that may be interested. Thanks for viewing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5DckfqTXmI
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STYGIAN OWL CHICK HAS SUCCESSFULLY FLEDGED 14 April 2011
After monitoring the nest for over 2 weeks the Stygian Owl chick has successfully fledged from only the second nest ever found in Belize of this rare neotropical owl species. During this time we collected vital data on their breeding biology via infrared video cameras.
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STYGIAN OWL NEST LOCATED IN MOUNTAIN PINE RIDGE 30 March 2011
After nearly three weeks of searching an area where one of our tagged males has been observed frequently vocalizing with the female, we successfully located only the second nest of the Stygian Owl for Belize and only the third nest to be studied throughout its entire range on March 30th. To our surprise, the nest was located in a thick patch of Tiger Fern in Pine-Oak Woodland in the Mountain Pine Ridge. The nest contained a single approximately 2.5 week old chick, which weighed 618 grams. Feather samples were collected to determine the gender of the chick. We installed a video system on the nest to monitor it until the chick has fledged and obtain critical information on breeding biology. Stay tuned to see when the chick has fledged and what sex it is.
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NEW HABITAT DISCOVERED FOR THE STYGIAN OWL, ASIO STYGIUS ROBUSTUS 28 March 2011
Through radio-telemetry we have discovered that Stygian Owls may not be the Pine-Oak or Pine habitat specialists that we once thought. One of our tagged males (034) has been observed moving nearly 15 kilometers through broadleaf forest and into farm fields where he forages for songbirds, bats, and insects before returning to his nest and roost site in Pine-Oak Forest. They may only nest and roost in Pine-Oak or Pine Forest, but other habitats may be critical in their foraging ecology and survival when Pine-Oak or Pine habitats are lost or altered. It is too early to determine if this is consistent across the population, but as we radio-tag more individuals we will be able to unravel this mystery in this little known creature of the night. View the below map. Each orange dot represents a single location on the male, the red dots represent its day time roost, and the red polygon represents its breeding season home-range.
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SWALLOW-TAILED KITES, ELANOIDES FORFICATUS YETAPA, OBSERVED DRINKING WATER 28 March 2011
Raptors rarely actively drink water with the exception of vultures, as they obtain their water balance from their prey. On March 28thweobserved eight Swallow-tailed Kites actively drinking water and cooling their legs by skimming from a private man-made lake in Mountain Pine Ridge. With the hot temperatures during the dry season this is an efficient way of cooling the body, which has been noted in Smithe 1966 “The Birds of Tikal.” This behavior could be explained by either as a cooling mechanism or a needed water balance due to lack of moisture from their primary diet of lizards and insects. Why this species has evolved this behavior while others have not is unclear, but may have to do with its physiological requirements.
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BRRI’S FIRST ANNUAL BIRD-A-THON FUNDRAISER A SUCCESS 25 March 2011
BRRI’s official team, The Bird-a-holics, consisted of eight members, Jim Beveridge, Dorothy Beveridge, Adrian Choco, Glenn Crawford, Rich Kuehn, Roni Martinez, Ryan Phillips, and Dean Schuler. On March 25th, the BRRI team birded a total of 14 hours starting at 11:59pm on March 24th with the first species being a vocalizing Stygian Owl. After a night of good sleep 4 members (Dean, Rich, Roni, and Ryan) of the team began birding at 4:30am in the Mountain Pine Ridge (MPR). Due to logistical constraints Glenn birded the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary with highlights being Yellow-headed Parrot, Snail Kite, Yucutan Jay, Streak-headed Woodcreeper, and Rose-throated Becard, and Jim and Dorothy birded on Caye Caulker tallying some very good birds including Rufous-necked Wood-Rail, Gray Kingbird, Clapper Rail, Reddish Egret, Whimbrel, Sandwich Tern, Yucutan Vireo, and Bananaquit. Highlights in MPR included Plain Wren, Orange-brested Falcon, Ocellated Turkey, Violet saberwing, stunning looks at a close Slaty-breasted Tinamou, Double-toothed Kite, Orange-billed Sparrow, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Black-headed Siskin, and House Wren. Adrian joined us at 8:30am making our team complete. After birding the highlands we made our way through the foothills stopping at Jan Meerman’s Greenhills Butterfly Ranch, where we had an amazing display of eight different hummingbird species on the feeders. They included Long-billed Hermit, Scaly-breasted Hummingbird, Wedge-tailed Saberwing, Violet Saberwing, White-necked Jacobin, Green-breasted Mango, White-bellied Emerald, and Rufous-tailed Hummingbird. When we hit the lowlands our first stop was Central Farm for the Crested Caracara. The high temperatures made the bird activity slow and no show from the caracara, but to our surprise we observed OUR BEST BIRD a Zone-tailed Hawk, which is an occasional transient or wintering species in Belize. We then headed to Blue Hole National Park hoping to add another 30 species to our list. With the high heat we managed to add Purple-crowned Fairy, White-collared Manakin, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Sulphur-rumped Flycatcher, White-breasted Wood-Wren, and Barred Antshrike. Running out of daylight we zoomed (of course we stayed under the speed limit!) to the Tropical Education Center where we picked up a couple species we were missing. We then headed to Belize City in search of coastal specialists. On our way into town we spotted a Peregrine Falcon on one of the large towers, as well as a Common Black-Hawk along the highway. Through Belize City we are able to pick-up Eurasian Collared-Dove and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher before ending our day at the Municipal Airport at 6:45pm sharing a laugh amongst ourselves and some of the staff at the airport while observing our last bird of the day, a Green Heron. Our team ended the day withanastounding 238 species with over 90 miles covered in the Cayo and Belize Districts.
The other team, The Corozal Eagles led by Graham Sampson, that participated in the 1st Annual BRRI Bird-a-thon tallied an amazing 130 species in the CorozalDistrict with their best bird being an immature Ornate Hawk-Eagle.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SPONSORS, WHO HELPED US RAISE NEARLY $3,000US!
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STYGIAN OWL PREYS ON LEAST BITTERN 24 March 2011
On March 24th we discovered our tagged male 034 was feeding on a freshly killed Least Bittern. From pellets we have only observed songbirds (Passeriformes) in their diet, so this was quite an impressive prey item. The largest prey item that Stygian Owls have been known to prey upon is a Purple Gallinule, which is larger than a Lest Bittern. According to Lee Jones, Author of ”Birds of Belize,” Least Bitterns are rare and local throughout the wetlands of Belize withboth wintering and resident individuals occurring. Lee commented that Least Bitterns migrate at night and are clumsy fliers, which may explain why a nocturnal primarily aerial hunter was able to capture a Least Bittern in unsuitable habitat (Pine-Oak Forest). Just another look into these virtually unknown creatures.
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THE ONLY KNOWN NEST OF THE CRESTED CARACARA, CARACARA CHERIWAY, IN BELIZE IS SUCCESSFUL ANOTHER YEAR 23 March 2011
Ryan Phillips and Roni Martinez were driving back to Mountain Pine Ridge after checking the Ornate Hawk-Eagles nests in Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area on March 23rd and observed a calling juvenile Crested Caracara near the known nest. They stopped to observe the juvenile and take some photos then an adult flew in and the juvenile gave chase. The juvenile looked to have recently fledged due to its fresh plumage and food soliciting behavior. This nest was first discovered in 2008 and the adults were first observed by Jeronie Tut in the same area in February of 2007. This is the third known successful nesting year for this pair.
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SEVENTH RECORD OF SWAINSON’S HAWK, BUTEO SWAINSONI, FOR BELIZE 23 March 2011
Swainson’s Hawks in Belize are a rare sight, as they migrate primarily through Guatemala and the Pacific side eluding Belize. Occasionally, individuals veer off course and pass through or even winter in Belize. On March 23rd, Ryan Phillips and Roni Martinez were quite excited to have observed two juvenile light morphs soaring over the agricultural fields in the northwestern portion of Blue Creek in the Orange Walk District. This represents only the 7th record for Belize. Three of the six records are from this same area, whereas the other three being from the Toldeo District in southern Belize.
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TWO ORNATE HAWK-EAGLE, SPIZAETUS ORNATUS, NESTS WITH EGGS IN RIO BRAVO CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT AREA (RBCMA) 22 March 2011
We are excited to announce that two Ornate Hawk-Eagle nests are active and have incubating females on them. One of these nests has been active for over 20 years, when Rio Bravo was first established as a private reserve.
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STYGIAN OWL TRAPPED AND TAGGED: A FIRST FOR THE SPECIES
We successfully captured and radio-tagged withaVHFtransmitter two male Stygian Owls in Mountain Pine Ridge with the help of Roni Martinez, Blancaneaux Lodge Conservation Officer, and Eddie Tzib, BlancaneauxLodge Field Guide. This is big event as this is the first Stygian Owl to be radio-tagged throughout the world. We originally thought that we captured a male and female from two different pairs due to the weights, but after DNA testing bothweremales. Over the past couple of months after being tagged, both males have been observed at their usual roost sites and do not move far to hunt at night for bats, birds, and insects. Our goal is to locate the nests in March, so we can monitor the breeding biology of this species via a video recording system to limit the disturbance. To date this will be the largest full-scale study on the nesting behaviors of the Stygian Owl. We will keep you posted when we locate the nest or nests. Stay tuned!
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EDUCATIONAL RAPTOR POSTER PRODUCED
In collaboration with The Belize Zoo, The Center for the Study of Tropical Birds, Inc., Blancaneaux Lodge, The Belize Forest Department, and Programme for Belize we produced our first educational poster, “Birds of Prey: They Balance Nature.” This will be distributed throughout villages across Belize and the region in an effort to raise awareness about the benefits of maintaining biodiversity and raptor populations.
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FIRST HARPY EAGLE NEST DISCOVERED IN BELIZE
Deep within the Maya Mountain Massif of Belize rangers and researchers from local NGO BFREE have located an active Harpy Eagle nest in the Bladen Nature Reserve. Harpy Eagles were first sighted in the reserve back in 2005 but this is the first time an active Harpy Eagle nest has been found in Belize and north of Panama. Known to be nearly extinct in Mexico and Central America, north of Panama, this find is a big reward for the high level of protection given to the Bladen by the Government of Belize and represents a step forward in Harpy Eagle conservation . The nest represents the most northerly known pair of breeding Harpy Eagles in the Americas.
A full press release by BFREE can be read on the Environmental News Network
http://www.enn.com/press_releases/3604
