Tropical Bird Pics – Collared Aracari at Lower Dover Belize Jungle Lodge

Aracari at Lower Dover Belize Jungle Lodge

Sometimes it is easy to get great bird photos at Lower Dover Field Station in Western Belize.  Today was one of those days…

Bird Pictures from Lower Dover Belize Jungle Lodge

It seems a family of 5 Social Toucanette’s has been flying around the hotel grounds at Lower Dover. Recently it has been common to see multiple Aracari’s perched on the nearby papaya trees, eating when the fruit is ripe.

Social Toucanette family at Lower Dover Belize Jungle Lodge

Tropical birds eating at Lower Dover Belize Jungle Lodge

Jungle papaya fest for some lucky birds

Free lunch, serve yourself at Lower Dover Belize Jungle Lodge

Today we noticed the same group of birds feasting on a bee’s nest and got these amazing bird photographs with a point and shoot camera! No tripod even… The Cannon PowerShot SX 260 HS camera is something special!

Two collared aracari on cedar tree in Belize

It also helps that these birds seem to care less about the photographer and more about the sweet treats that nature provides. I was about 20 feet away, sitting on the ground, when most of these shots were taken.

Each of the five toucan cousins took turns feasting on what seemed to be honey inside the woodpecker’s hole in a cedar tree. The birds would eat as much as it could for about 30 seconds before flying away due to constant stinging. One gulp of honey, two beak swipes at the attacking bees, rinse, repeat.

Aracari eating bees from a nest

Occasionally the bird would even catch a bee, and seemingly eat it in one bite! Other times I could see the bees trying to sting the bird through the camera’s zoom finder, only to have the Aracari feast on its brother or sister one second later.

Aracari with bee in beak at Lower Dover Belize Jungle Lodge

The colors and lighting were perfect for these bird photos but the camera sure did help. I would suggest anyone looking for an upgrade to look into this model. Only 25% of these photos were minimally altered with photoshop for color and tone.

Staring contest with a bird

Anyone that is looking to do some serious birdwatching in Belize would be silly to not stop at Lower Dover in Unitedville.  Occasionally the Aracari are so docile they decide to pose for camera shots in the palm of your hand!

These jungle birds seem as if they are here to stay, and there is plenty of food on Lower Dover’s 100 acre property to make sure it remains that way.  Our eco-lodge is located between Little Barton Creek and Big Barton Creek, along the Belize River, an ideal location for birders. The numerous fruit trees,  85 acres of jungle, and multiple water sources attract more birds than just the Aracari as you can in Lower Dover’s top bird pictures from last year.

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