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@Chakra,    I am loving following this report.     I wish the little heart-like button had a "double-like",  or an exclamation mark.       (and I feel the same about their coffee).   They really are trying.......but lack that good,  volcanic soil.        But beer??    They've nailed that beverage.   Re the diving........   As someone who avidly snorkels,   and also dives........    there are locations in the world,   where the snorkelling is better than the diving.    And its my opinion,  that Belize falls in the snorkel category.      So don't feel like you missed something here.     Not saying that some of the wall dives on the reef aren't spectacular (because some really are),    but the amount that can be seen in the shallow reef area is just SO incredible.       (and with a snorkel,   you are silent,   you  get to just blend and the fish seem to not "see" you).           I will send you a pm asking about your time in Hopkins.    We have a trip with the outline penciled.....but we need to fill in the parts,   and Hopkins is one place I have never visited.      (see........I said you had me looking at Google Flights lol)   And,   thank you.      I have been to some of the sites you have highlighted......and with a guide too.     But,   you have provided more fascinating background information here,  than any of my guides have imparted.         

This was a trip to the local macaw roost (Sunset at Macaws Nest as it is described on their website). On the way to the best place to view we came across  White-headed marsh tyrant,  White-browed Meadowlarks and a Red-winged Tinamou.    P9242248 White-headed marsh tyrant by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242277 White-browed Meadowlark by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242292 Red-winged Tinamou by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242329 White-browed Meadowlark by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242332 White-browed Meadowlark by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242335 Southern Lapwing by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242357 Black Caracara by Jo Dale, on Flickr   Here we enjoyed some nice sundowners whilst watching several species of macaws flying to roost in some dead palm trees located in the safety of a lake. This included Blue and Yellow Macaws and Red-bellied Macaws.    P9242369_02 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242397_02  Red-bellied Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242403_01  Red-bellied Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242405_01  Red-bellied Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242444_02 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242620_01 by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242617_01 Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242690_01  Blue and Yellow Macaw by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242826 Nacunda Nighthawk by Jo Dale, on Flickr   If photography is your intention here it might be better to visit before dawn and catch the birds leaving their roost because the setting sun wasn’t in the best position for photography, the haze from the bushfires didn’t help either. But it was still an enjoyable evening, despite a very indignant Southern lapwing screaming its head off every time anyone got too close, which was pretty much anywhere we seemed to be standing to watch the macaws!   Finally as the sun went down and the macaws settled in, the night shift got going with numerous Nacunda Nighthawks hawking over the lake for insects. They were soon joined by bats which we didn’t attempt to identify.    There was a final surprise waiting for us that night, our hosts pointed us to a young Green Anaconda resting in their water feature!   IMG_20240924_203257 Green Anaconda baby by Jo Dale, on Flickr    

I didn’t connect with the monkeys before lunch and was actually just having a brief rest in my room after lunch when one of the staff knocked on my door to alert me that the monkeys had arrived in the forest by the pool. Well I obviously raced out there in nothing but my t shirt and shorts - a perfect buffet for those nasty bugs, but it was worth the resulting irritation as we were able to observe at close quarters what is definitely the weirdest looking primate I have seen to date. These things look like the love child of a Pangolin and Sloth! The shape of their tail especially to me recalls that of a pangolin, but with thick hair replacing the scales. IN fact, I'm not even convinced they are monkeys at all!!   P9241508 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241512 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241660 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   They are in fact a kind of Saki Monkey, currently named Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) although there is some disagreement over this classification. This species is named after famed American primatologist Russell Mittermeier.   P9241697 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241727 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241758 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   They were formerly classified within the Rio Tapajós saki (P. irrorata), but a 2014 study described these populations as a distinct species, P. mittermeieri, based on their distinctive pelage. However, in 2019 a different study concluded that the pelage colour was consistent with the variation expected in the Rio Tapajós saki, and instead concluded that there should only be two species,  P. irrorata and Vanzolini's bald-faced saki (P. vanzolini).  In addition, the study found that due to an unclear type locality, the holotype of P. irrorata (I.e. the specimen used to classify the species, Rio Tapajós saki) may have been collected within the range of P. mittermeieri, which would render mittermeieri instantly synonymous with P. irrorata. Based on this study, the American Society of Mammalogists (tentatively, pending further phylogenetic studies) synonymized mittermeieri with irrorata, but the IUCN Red List and ITIS retain mittermeieri as a distinct species.    P9241865  Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241861 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241881 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   This mother has a super cute baby with her! P9241938 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241946 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241948 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241957 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241976 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241989 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242030 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242044 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242050 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242093 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242126 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242148 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9242181 Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (Pithecia mittermeieri) by Jo Dale, on Flickr   This species is endemic to Brazil, where it is found south of the Amazon River between the Madeira and Tapajós rivers. Their range has significantly shrunk from its former extent due to human impacts, and presently, most populations are found south of the Aripuanã River in Mato Grosso state. In 2015, populations of this species were discovered in the northern Pantanal. As I say I had never heard of this species of Saki before so it was a lovely surprise and really made the detour (and lack of Harpy Eagles) a lot sweeter to swallow!     After the monkeys moved off I took the opportunity to change into some proper clothes before we headed off for our last activity of the afternoon. 

@John M.Will reach out to them, thanks!

Just awesome Joe and Kit! What a splendid adventure you all had, fantastic! Great photos and videos, especially of the Bai. A really magical place.

Day 10 24th September 2024   In the morning Fito took us on a bird walk along the trails. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful birds to be found at Jardim Amazonia are the Orange-cheeked Parrots and we were delighted to find a small flock of them feeding in the trees behind the chalets. Blue-headed Parrots were also a delight to see. We added Swallow Tanagers, a Pied Puffbird, Black-tailed Tityra and Rufous-tailed Jacamar to our morning list. Smaller birds were harder to photograph but I got some semi-decent shots of the little Spix's Warbling-Antbird, Amazonian Antshrike, Green-backed Trogon, Black-throated Antbird and Green Honeycreeper. One of the best birds (in my eyes) that we found that morning was Gould's Toucanet. I love toucans and really hoped to see a few new species and I was not disappointed as we managed to add quite a few new species to our life lists, including this diminutive species, sadly a little distant but still a delight to see.  As we carried on we added Black-girdeld Barbet, and had better views of Red-necked Aracaris. Focusing again on the smaller species Fito pointed out Yellow-backed Tanager, armies of Bullet Ants and Leafcutter Ants. A Swallow-tailed Kite soared over one of the fish ponds, whilst a Masked Tityra peered at us from one of the bordering trees. A Drab Water-tyrant was searching for insects along the edge of a stream.      P9240720 Orange-cheeked Parrot by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240725 Orange-cheeked Parrot by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240747 Orange-cheeked Parrot by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240762  Orange-cheeked Parrot by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240785  Black-fronted Nunbird by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240787 Swallow tanager by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240807 Blue-headed Parrot by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240813 Pied Puffbird by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240823 black-tailed tityra by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240844 Rufous-tailed Jacamar by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240854  Spix's Warbling-Antbird by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240858 Spix's Warbling-Antbird by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240918 Green-backed Trogon by Jo Dale, on Flick   P9240951 Black-throated Antbird by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240960 Green Honeycreeper by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9240983 Gould's Toucanet by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241010 Black-girdled Barbet by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241035 Red-necked Araçari by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241071 Yellow-backed Tanager by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241078 Amazonian Antshrike by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241079  Flower by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241099 Bullet ants by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241102 bullet ant by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241118 Leafcutter ants by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241124 Blue-gray tanager by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241126 Amazonian antshrike by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241152 Cracker Butterfly by Jo Dale, on Flickr   During the middle of the day I spent some time around the natural pool. This was apparently a favoured place of these extra special monkeys that I hoped to see. A myriad of butterflies were fluttering around, unfortunately they weren’t the only insects and I got quite badly bitten by something that I never actually saw near the pool. I can only think these were the dreaded chiggers we’d been warned about!    P9241178 Red-necked Araçari by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241190  Red-necked Araçari by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241249  Swallow-tailed Kite by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241269 Masked Tityra by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241282 Masked Tityra by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241307 Red-necked Araçari by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241336  Red-necked Araçari by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241358 Drab Water tyrant by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241380 Butterflies by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241436 Butterflies by Jo Dale, on Flickr   P9241456  Black-fronted Nunbird by Jo Dale, on Flickr  

Fascinating!

@Peter ConnanThe majority of our lion sightings were  at Lagoon Camp.     Here,  in the middle camp PomPom.....we only had 2 or 3 sightings,   and they were in small,  small numbers.    (groups of 2 to 3).         The stealing of the wildebeest carcass by that clan,   was from 2 lionesses (who were just behind the island - but they were no match for that number of hyenas).     The guide did explain,   that if the males returned though,   that they would fight for it.    And the hyena were constantly "on-edge" ,   and almost expecting that to happen.    (thus,  the runt making male lion noises,  everyone would scatter,  he would steal his portion,   and then they would all cautiously come back).    I was really keen on seeing this behaviour.....he used the clan's innate fear of the lions to his advantage.   He did this 3 or 4 times.     The pride had apparently just splintered.....and they were "waiting to see what might happen with that".    The timing given,   though,  was oddly vague.    (In fact,  a lot of my detailed questions,   were side-stepped).      But in order to 'build'  that number of hyenas in an area.......the lion population must have been down in numbers for at least a generation or 2.     And.......I thought that too.       My tent......(I think it was #3 - was directly to the left of the common area)....... was where the leopard was in the tree.    And the snake was in that tree too.     ( so, seems to me,   my deck wasn't so safe either lol).     In fairness,   they are likely also worried about male elephants,   and having nowhere to go,  except further out.      But I only wanted to get close enough to get some photos of the Darter.     "The Stick" that I was referring to,  is just past  where the fire area is.    And he did not want us to even be at the fire area mid-day.      

Thanks both, well it was a disappointment not getting to the Amazon initially but we did get to see a really cool monkey that I didn't even know about before we got to Jardim Amazonia as you'll soon see. definitely worth the detour for..    In the interim I got distracted and sorted out the vidoes from the first part of the trip so, a bit out of order but here they are:            

Video credit : Sujata, who is not  a bad photographer    Nothing, absolutely nothing can capture the beauty of stunning Big Blue Hole from the sky    https://youtube.com/shorts/5-RIHMnXick  

THE BIG BLUE HOLE      “Last night I dreamt of San Pedro” : I heard this song more than thirty years ago drifting out of a cassette player from one of the rooms in our hostel, while my head was buried in the "Infectious diseases" Chapter  of Harrison’s Textbook of Internal Medicine. Guess who was the chief Editor of the chapter on Infectious Diseases of this book which is a Bible to anyone planning to practice Internal Medicine ?  One certain Dr Anthony Fauci.  I instantly ell in love with that song and loved it even more later when I had the opportunity to see the video on MTV which had just entered India. This was way before the time of Google. I had no idea where San Pedro was but the place looked cool where “girls had eyes like the desert”. Madonna had never confirmed where “San Pedro” is, but it is generally believed that she meant the little Island off the coast of Belize next to the magnificent Big Blue Hole. That is how I came to know of Belize or British Honduras as it was known before. The more I read about it the more I felt it was a country which was well worth visiting. It had a little bit of everything. Rain-forests, pine savannas, huge caves, waterfalls, untouched ancient Maya ruins, abundant bird life and the Seven Hundred mile long Meso-American reef with the Big Blue Hole. In 1836, on his around the world voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin visited the Belize Barrier Reef and declared it the “most remarkable coral reefs” in the entire Caribbean. Even the first thing Sujata asked me when I broached the subject of visiting Belize, “Are we going to see the Blue Hole?” So the Blue Hole was a must. But what is the big deal ? There are many such Blue Holes in the world. Well, size does matter. The Great Blue Hole is 300 meters (984 feet) in diameter, the largest Blue Hole in the world. It measures 124 meters (407 feet) in depth and is a nearly perfectly circular body of water, clearly visible from space. But how was it formed? Fascinating. What we are currently looking at is a huge collapsed cave. As we know the whole Yucatan peninsula is made of porous Karst material and the area is full of “sinkholes” aka “cenotes” with underground rivers and water reservoirs. The formation of this hole began in the last Glacial age, about 15000 years ago when the sea level was much lower than it is today. The actual cave system started long before that, estimated to be 153000 years ago. At that time, the area was a large, limestone cave system that was gradually flooded as the sea level rose. Over time, the roof of the cave system collapsed, creating the circular sinkhole with near vertical walls that we see today. One of the most notable features of the Blue Hole is its deep blue color, which is caused by the depth of the sinkhole and the lack of sunlight penetrating its depths. The walls of the sinkhole are sheer and almost vertical, with an array of fascinating geological formations, including stalactites, stalagmites, and other limestone formations. The wonder became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The Discovery Channel placed the Great Blue Hole in Belize at number one on its list of ‘The 10 Most Amazing Places on Earth’. In April 2012 Bill Gates visited Big Blue Hole ! If a poor man like Bill Gates can afford to see it then I should as well. Long a secret known only to fisherman, the Blue Hole became famous in 1971 when legendary marine biologist and undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau visited the site. He brought his renowned research ship, the Calypso, to investigate the depths of the sinkhole in 1972. Eventually in 2018 a team sponsored by billionaire Richard Branson of “Virgin” fame managed to reach the bottom of the Blue Hole. The findings were really fascinating and a testament to the way humans are destroying nature too. As the crew, including Branson, descended, they marveled at the usual suspects: sea turtles, reef sharks, and giant corals. But as they reached the 90-meter (295-foot) mark, life started to vanish. A thick layer of toxic hydrogen sulfide stretched across the sinkhole, preventing oxygen from getting deeper. They found conchs and conch shells and hermit crabs that had fallen into the hole and suffocated. Branson’s team found a two-liter Coke bottle that had made its way 407 feet deep, as well as a lost Go Pro camera full of someone’s holiday photos. Poor tourist ! I don't know if Branson returned the camera to the owner ! So even a place that humans had never visited was not safe from human trash. Alongside the trash were two human bodies, believed to belong to two of the three divers who were lost in the Great Blue Hole during a previous expedition. The bodies were allowed to lie there respectfully and not retrieved. They also found that a huge amount of sand was falling into the hole everyday, that means the hole won’t last forever and probably would be gone in a thousand years ! So you guys better hurry up to see it. I’m not a diver and even for divers you need to be an expert before you are allowed to dive in there. I could have done snorkeling but the best way to see the Big Blue Hole is from the air. It was causing huge logistic challenges in my packed schedule as the scenic flights operate only on certain days and are very expensive. For several weeks I tried without luck but then came Trevor, my knight in shining armour, from Cari Bee air services who was happy to pilot me in a small plane from south to north of Belize to my destinations and also include a detour to take me over the Blue Hole and the Maya ruins of Lamanai. I had originally booked the transport from Hopkins to Rio Bravo by a car. The plane of course was going to be almost four times the cost. You only live once , but if you live well then once is enough !    The plane looked very familiar ! Straight from Narcos series. Pablo Escobar and Amado Fuentes used these type of small planes to build their Narcos empire dropping cocaine in dense jungle. Some kids at Hopkins were already teasing me as "Pablo Pablo" after seeing my dark mustache and pot belly. Now even DEA may take an interest ! I watched the weather forecast with great trepidation and was disappointed to see clouds predicted on the day of the trip. But thankfully the cloud cover stayed near the coast and as we flew more and more towards the sea the clouds thinned out and the deep blue water with turquoise green atolls were laid out in front of me. And a shipwreck as well. What a feast for the eyes. I have taken many scenic flights for aerial photography and this one battles very hard with the aerial view of the Skeleton Coast of Namibia for the top spot. Let the journey begin ! La Isla Bonita !!   We are leaving the land behind       Bird's eye view          Contrasting colours of the land, coral reef and the sea       Numerous atolls raise their heads       The 700 mile long Meso American barrier reef in full glory         The colours vary depending on the depth         Wreck of a cargo ship on the reef       The ship wreck       And here comes my dream !!           Endless horizon of my Green Blue Eden         La isla Bonita : San pedro     Water meets the land        The Jaguar temple of Lamani     Dense jungle     

One of the reasons I wanted to go to Ruaha is that, on our first safari (in which we were visiting Tarangire, Ngorongoro, and Serengeti), I asked our guide what his favourite park was, and he said Ruaha. And I thought, "Hang on, Ruaha is better than *this*?"

What an amazing and adventurous trip. A fascinating start with excellent writing and photos 

Really enjoying your Ruaha memories, one of my favourite parks.

Let's get this thread started for 2025. The White-tailed Eagle has returned to our country as a breeding bird since 2006. Though still rare, numbers have risen to some 30 pairs now. I sometimes see one in my favourite nearby birding area as it uses this as a hunting ground, mainly in winter. Sightings are always very distant, though, so I was really happy when one flew by a lot closer than usual. I was just leaving the area by car when I saw it flying our way. I stopped the car, jumped out , grabbed my camera from the back seat and took a number of shots. It is such a magnificent raptor! Taken with the OM-1 and 300 f/4 with 1.4 extender attached. 1/2500 (not needed, but it was set at that speed for previous smaller birds and I did not have the time to change it. ISO 1000 at F5.6