Photos, Video, and Audio of Wild Toucans in Belize

Wild Toucan and Iguana in same tree!

This morning the Keel Billed Toucans that live at Lower Dover Jungle Lodge in Belize decided to stop by a large Fig Tree located near the entrance to the hotel grounds. Maybe they had a message for the large male iguana also sharing the space. More likely both animals were all there to eat the ripening fruits.

Hey Iguana what happened?

Normally it is the distinct call of the toucan that alerts guests and birdwatchers that these beautiful animals are nearby. The song of the toucan sounds almost like a croaking frog if tropical birders do not know what they were listening for. When multiple birds get together in the same tree, the noise is unmistakable.

Multiple toucans in one tree

Each bird was calling and croaking like a frog. They were bobbing their heads and doing the Toucan shuffle, trying to get lucky no doubt…

Because there were so many Toucans we though it might be a great opportunity to hear the audio of the birds with some video, so we rushed for the point and shoot camera and took this quick 1 minute video of the bird calls. This is a nice reference to understand what a toucan sounds like. A top birdwatcher is an even better bird listener.

Easy toucan bird watching in Belize

It was another great moment in birding that our guests can expect to enjoy every time they arrive at our 100 acre property. It is not guaranteed that you will see 5 toucans in a tree but if you hang around long enough, we are sure you will be happy with what you find and photograph. Here is a run down of some other birdpics we have been lucky enough to get.

Three’s company and four’s a crowd

Hopefully the lady toucans liked what they saw from the fancy red bird butt feathers this guy was showing off this morning.

Peace out cuz!

Or maybe he was just telling his sisters to kiss mine before he flew off to the next tree!?!

Keel Billed Toucan bird call sounds kinda like frogs croaking

It seems as if this toucan was gesturing with his wing feathers in front. Throwing up his westside gang sign?

Toucan mating ritual or unknown gang affiliation?

In all seriousness it was likely some form of mating exercise which we were lucky enough to witness. One every guest can hopefully see for themselves by visiting the lovely grounds at Lower Dover located between Belmopan and San Ignacio, only 1/2 mile from the Western Highway. 

Remember what happened this time last year? We think these toucans might be considering having babies in the Bullet Tree on the Medicinal Plant trail. These baby bird photos below were taken in late May 2012 so only time will tell!

Baby bird photo of Keel-Billed Toucan

Baby toucan at Lower Dover Belize Jungle Hostel

Belize Bird Video: Collared Aracari family at Lower Dover Jungle Lodge

Since we posted the bird pics of the Social Toucanettes eating last week, we decided to try our hand at some video. I was watering the garden in the afternoon and the birds flew so close to my head I could hear their wings. They were hungry! You can hear me sneaking off to turn the water off 30 seconds into the vid…I’m not sure they even cared.

Leaf Cutter Ants Harvesting Cashew Leaves at Lower Dover

These Leaf cutter Ants were caught red legged with our cashew leaves the other day! We had to get a camera before spraying our organic poison on them. In a spray bottle mix dish soap, dirt from the ant nest, and water around the base of the tree and on the leaves. This does the trick 90% of the time. Supposedly there is a Maya prayer for the other 10 percent? We have to learn that one!

Video: Wildlife on Recently Identified Maya site “Lower Dover” in Belize

Last summer during the BVAR archaeological dig at Lower Dover Field Station and Jungle Lodge, Chaya, one of our dogs, started barking like crazy on an adjacent Maya plaza .  I hustled about 50 yards to see what the commotion was all about.

Excavated Maya wall on structure at Lower Dover in Belize

As I arrived, I was amazed to see a mother Quash and her 3 young babies stuck in the tree with a hungry dog wanting at them.  Unfortunately I was unable to get my camera out fast enough to see the babies. The mother outsmarted our dog and let the three baby quash escape while distracting our special friend by standing on this Cahoon Palm leaf over her head.

Mother Quash at Lower Dover Jungle Lodge Belize

This Maya temple at the Lower Dover archaeology site is my particular favorite. The view of the entire Belize River valley is truly commanding. The farm fields seen are part of the present day Spanish Lookout Mennonite community.  However, that exact spot is also the ancient Maya housing settlement of Barton Ramie. Lower Dover exists immediately adjacent to the site, covered by 100 jungle acres, in between Big Barton Creek and Little Barton Creek, along the bank of the Belize River.  50+ years of academic work, first started by Harvard Archaeologist Gordon Willey, considered Barton Ramie to be under Xunantunich’s political influence.  Future archaeology digs will undoubtedly prove this to be at least somewhat wrong.

Lower Dover Jungle Lodge next to Barton Ramie Maya Site

My apologies about the dog barking. Mute it if you wish, or just blast Death From Above 1979 like I did.