Ambergris Cay is the largest of some 200 cayes or islands off of the coast of Belize and is a tourist attraction. It seems to have been so for a long time, perhaps going back to the Mayans.
In the town of San Pedro, you can rent bicycles allowing you to explore some of the rest of the
island.
During our week there, we found a small but interesting number of birds. As expected herons were well
represented and included Great Blue, Tricolored, and Green Heron as well as Great and Snowy Egret.
Roseate Spoonbill are always a treat to see and White Ibis were numerous.
Among the mangroves, the unique subspecies of Yellow Warbler, sometimes known as the “Mangrove
Warbler” was seen. Other warblers species included Magnolia, Palm, American Redstart, Northern
Waterthrush and Common Yellowthroat. The Bananaquit which has various interesting subspecies was
common. Doves were common, with the introduced Rock Pigeon joined by White-winged and White-tipped
Dove and Common and Ruddy Ground Doves.
One of the main targets of the trip, the Black Catbird turned out to be common away from the town
and we also saw its cousins, the Gray Catbird and Tropical Mockingbird.
Offshore the Brown Pelican could be seen with Laughing Gull, Roseate, Sandwich and Royal Tern, and
Magnificent Frigatebird.
The blackbird family included the abundant Great-tailed Grackle, Melodious Blackbird, Yellow-backed,
Altamira, Hooded and Orchard Oriole.
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