News on the Belize Raptor Research Institute
NEW
The first Raptor Workshop in Belize hosted by Blancaneaux Lodge in the Mountain Pine Ridge with Ryan Phillips, Executive Director/Founder of BRRI, will be held in August and December 2010. This 8 day expedition will focus on raptor research and conservation with a percentage going to BRRI’s research.
For more information visit Blancaneaux Lodge’s website at http://www.coppolaresorts.com/blancaneaux/explore/educational/expedition-raptor-2010
13th- 22nd August 2009
Ryan Phillips, Executive Director, attended and presented at Belize’s first Wildlife Networking Conference held at Galen University in the Cayo District. A presentation was given on the Hawk-Eagle Program and an overview of BRRI. The conference was a success and many partners were made.
15 acres in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve were acquired for the future Belize Raptor Research Institute facility where researchers and visitors can conduct research out of.
13th-21st May 2009
Ryan Phillips and Rick Malupo made a 8 day trip to Mountain Pine Ridge and the New River Lagoon in the Orange Walk District. They hiked to the Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle nest on the Hidden Valley Property, successfully locating the nest and finding one adult at the nest tree. No chicks were observed in the nest. This constituted the third nest ever described for this species. During this visit a Stygian Owl roost site, two Plumbeous Kite nests and 1 Swallow-tailed Kite nest was located with Roni Martinez of the Blancaneaux Lodge. On the New River Lagoon in the Orange Walk District a 40 km transect was conducted to survey for Black-collared Hawks and Snail Kites. The trip was successful locating 4 hawks and 19 kites including 2 inactive Snail Kite nests.
19-26 February 2009
Ryan Phillips and Rick Malupo made a 1 week visit to RBCMA and the Mountain Pine Ridge Area to check all known hawk-eagle nests and to locate new nests. In the one week they observed 26 species of raptor including 3 Crested Caracaras, 1 Zone-tailed Hawk and 1 Orange-breasted Falcon.
In RBCMA they checked 2 Ornate Hawk-Eagle, 1 Black Hawk-Eagle, and 1 unknown nests. 2 out of the 4 were active and a begging juvenile, which at its age should be in close proximity to the nest , was located in a separate location thanks to La Milpa staff telling us about it. The first Ornate nest, which has been active for at least 19 years was inactive again this year for the second consecutive year meaning that the pair is most likely deceased. A large bromeliad has engulfed the nest making it not usable. The second Ornate nest in a large Ceiba tree had a dependent immature begging within 100 meters of the enst tree. The parents flew into the area with food calling loudly as the immature begged. The unknown nest in a Glossywood tree had completely fallen from the main fork and there were no birds in the area. The probable Black Hawk-Eagle nest found in 2005 was checked, but before the nest was reached an adult was flushed from a Cohune Palm. The tree was searched for any sign of nest, but could not see any sticks and the bird did not return to the tree in the 30 minutes observations were made. However, the pair flew over the nest tree calling and being territorial, so the area was left to minimize disturbance. A check later in the breeding season when eggs or a chick are present will be done this year.
After having a successful trip in RBCMA, Ryan and Rick headed to the Mountain Pine Ridge area first visiting Hidden Valley to hike to the remote Black and White Hawk-Eagle nest. From a distance the female could be observed on the nest and the male perched in the nest tree. Ryan and Rick packed their bags and headed into the bush after the nest for 2 nights. The weather turned bad fast as it rained the 2 days they were in the nest area after a 7 hour hike in. The area was scoured for the nest, but without luck. When they returned
new compass bearings were taken and the nest was within 500 meters of where they camped. The broadleaf forest was just too dense to get any views and the weather did not help. We now have a better idea of where the nest is and a expedition to the nest will be attempted again in May. However, 3 species were added to the Hidden Valley bird checklist, including Barred Forest-Falcon and a courting pair of the rare Keel-billed Motmots. When Ryan and Rick returned from the nest Rick Romero, Hidden Valley Inn field guide, told them tha
t there was a chick in the nest. The chick must have hatched in the past 2 days since, since 2 days prior the female was incubating and not brooding. That was exciting news and was even more motivation to return to the nest.
On the last day in MPR, Ryan and Rick met up with Roni Marti
nez from Blancaneaux Lodge who took them out into the field to search for Solitary Eagles and other raptors, which Roni located a week prior. No Solitary Eagle was found, but they did manage to record an Ornate Hawk-Eagle, which is a first record for the MPR area, along with White Hawk, King Vulture, Swallow-tailed Kite, and Black Hawk-Eagle.
On the way out they checked the Crested Caracaras on Running W farm and to their surprise found a recently fledged juvenile on the snag adjacent to the nest along with the adults. Daniel Roth also observed the fledged young the day before and the next day he saw a second fledged juvenile. Last year this pair successfully fledged 2 young and it looks like they did the same this year, which is the only known nesting pair in Belize.
With the Black and White Hawk-Eagle being the main predator for hacked out juvenile Orange-breasted Falcons by The Peregrine Fund in Hidden Valley, BRRI would like to collaborate with TPF to help manage these two rare species for coexistence. If BRRI is able to determine home range and nes
t sites of Black and White Hawk-Eagles in the hack site area they could help determine where good hack site locations could be for higher release success of Orange-breasted Falcons.
2008
Chris Hatten, Rick Malupo, and Ryan Phillips studied migrating raptors through Belize in September-October in various locations. We had count stations set up in Mountain Pine Ridge, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and Dangriga. Weather made counting challenging, but we managed to see quite a few species including a pair of Solitary Eagles.
Chris Hatten and Ryan Phillips received word from members of The Peregrine Fund that Rick Romero, field guide of the Hidden Valley Inn, located a Black and White Hawk-Eagle nest on the Hidden Valley property, which would be a first for Belize. Nothing is known about the ecology and breeding biology of this rare hawk-eagle, so this would be a great opportunity to learn something about this little known raptor. It was known to be active in April, but due to its inaccessibility could not be investigated. Chris and Ryan met with Flavien Diguise, manager of Hidden Valley Inn, and were granted permission to study the nest. As a result this launched the Hawk-eagle Program. The breeding season most likely starts in February, so we will hike to the nest to determine its status and study the rare Black and White Hawk-Eagle.