Our Last Day at Chan Chich Lodge

I led a very short night walk on a trail on our last night at Chan Chich Lodge, this past Friday night. Not surprisingly we didn't find anything until I got back to my room. A horrible, hissing noise led me to a pair of Virginia Opossums under a couch on the porch of the adjacent cabin. Who knows what sort of hanky panky they were up to.

When I went to notify the participants in case they wanted to see the animals, I discovered this Anolis laeviventris hunting by the pathway lights. All anoles are typically diurnal, but this one was taking advantage of the abundance of insect food attracted to the lights.

On our last morning, this past Saturday, we greeted a warm, foggy dawn at the suspension bridge a half mile down from the lodge.

This is where one of our group members forgot where not to stand on our first morning. He stood in a nest of the Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta), and this is what one looks like. They swarm up your legs very furtively and then being stinging all at once; you might find yourself taking your pants off in the middle of the road if you forget to watch where you stand.

This last morning we were all wiser but no less attentive to the birds above. We still managed some species that were new for the trip, including a pair of Cinnamon Becards, a Tropical Gnatcatcher way overhead, a Rufous Piha calling from somewhere in the canopy, and a Ringed Kingfisher on the bridge. A Yellow-olive Flycatcher that lives at the lodge compound finally showed itself for the 198th and final species that we recorded this week.

A real treat before we went to our rooms for final packing was this gorgeous Purple-crowned Fairy, rarely seen perched in the open for any length of time.

Here's our ride for the 20-minute flight from Gallon Jug to Belize City.

A view of Belize City on the flight back to Houston.