Persistence does not always pay off. But, it is often a great trait for its own sake. We all admire people who set out to do something, and stick with it long after there is reason to continue hoping for that something. And, if you are like me, you cheer the underdog, hoping they will at the very last minute get that something. Continue reading
Over the last couple weeks we have had a pretty full range of the animals guests most hope to see. Although the jaguars have been elusive, puma and ocelot have been wandering the nearby forests allowing occasional sightings. But we can guess the jaguar are there because of this:
Kyle DeNuccio, right, on Lake Batur in Bali, a gap year stop. CreditKyle DeNuccio
I am currently interviewing candidates to join us for summer internships, and possible university gap year projects at Chan Chich Lodge. Most importantly the projects will focus on various food-related initiatives, some longstanding goals and others more in the spirit of random variation. We have had plenty of awesome interns, as well as wondrous wanderers and sometimes sabbaticalists join us here and there for more than two decades, and we feel qualified to claim that this fellow (who reminds me a bit of this fellow) speaks truth:
Independence Days: My Perfect Imperfect Gap Year
By
Midway through a lackluster freshman year at the University of San Diego, I called my parents and told them I planned to leave school after the spring semester. Continue reading
Each morning at dawn, and then again at dusk, I walk the trails at Chan Chich Lodge. The walks serve multiple purposes, but they also serve no particular purpose; and when I get that just right, ideas present themselves.
This tree, not a standout in any way I can see, is a marker for me now. It is on a trail where I have had some wonderful wildlife sightings, the best of which, camera-less, was with a tapir. More recently, a troupe of peccaries was snouting around the base of this tree.
And most days there are two species of primate in the vicinity, each challenging the other for territory in their own way–one with grunting howls and the other by shaking clusters of branches vigorously to appear more intimidating than their common name, spider monkey, would imply. Yesterday, a Newtonian inspiration, tailored to my own interests, came to me right here. I saw these bursts of light on the tree trunk at the same moment that I heard a plop in the leaves on the ground right in front of the tree.
Instead of an apple, and instead of my head, it was some sort of a fungus, a cluster of mushrooms by the look of it, that fell from the canopy into the ground cover. Gravity already having had its heyday of consideration, I instead turned my thoughts to the possibility of a new dimension to the Chan Chich Lodge food program.
I had never heard of mushrooms growing in the forest canopy, but why should I not expect such a thing? I know from our friend Meg, among others, that the vast majority of biodiversity in a rainforest is concentrated in the canopy. So, hmmmm. Is it an edible one?
I snapped these photographs and sent them to one of the two fellows who I always consult on these matters. Answer: too dry to make a positive id. Don’t eat. Of course I will not! But, and here’s the closest I will get to a Newtonian moment of inspiration… Continue reading
Two Scarlet Macaws chicks sit in their nest in the cavity of a quamwood tree in Belize’s Chiquibul Forest. Photo: Camilla Cerea/Audubon
Thanks to the neighbors of Chan Chich for bringing to my attention this article by Martha Harbison in the current issue of Audubon Magazine, which touches on the topic I referenced back here, not far from Chan Chich Lodge as the bird flies (so to speak):
…To keep macaw chicks safe, a team of rangers spends night and day watching over the birds’ nests and homes.
The Scarlet Macaw’s last, best defense against wildlife poachers doesn’t look like much: just a ramshackle collection of tarps, makeshift tables, plastic five-gallon buckets, jungle hammocks, and a cook fire, hidden in the dense understory of a tropical hardwood forest near the fraught and uncomfortably porous border between Belize and Guatemala. Continue reading
A great gray looks up after plunging into the snow, while hunting north of Two Harbors, Minn. The great gray is one of the world’s largest species of owl. Derek Montgomery for MPR News
We have never had, nor can I picture us having this debate at Chan Chich Lodge or any other wildlife setting we are responsible for managing; nonetheless, since we all live in glass houses of one sort or another, it is worth a moment to read this and ponder (thanks to Dan Kraker and Minnesota Public Radio, USA):
Earlier this winter, photographer Michael Furtman was driving along the North Shore of Lake Superior in search of great gray owls. Several of the giant, elusive birds had flown down from Canada looking for food.
He pulled off on a dirt road where he had seen an owl the night before. One was there, perched in a spruce tree, but so was a pair of videographers filming them.
“I backed off, I was going to just let them have their time with the bird,” Furtman says. “And then I saw them run out and put a mouse on the snow.” Continue reading
You probably cannot do much better, if you are just getting interested in birdwatching, than to have a primer like this one. The author, in the pantheon of ornithology according to the birdwatchers I know, spends half an hour sharing some of the basics in this podcast:
This week’s Please Explain is all about birdwatching. We chat with ornithologist David Allen Sibley, a leading expert in the field. Sibley is the author of The Sibley Guide to Birds, a reference work and field guide for the birds found in the North American region. He offers details and illustrations of 810 species of birds, with information about identification, life history, vocalizations, and geographic distribution. According to the Audubon Society, “There are 47 million birdwatchers. But there is only one David Sibley.”
In the final minutes Mr. Sibley answers a question that has been of interest to the staff of Chan Chich Lodge in recent months. Do bird feeders have any adverse effect on the birds they attract? In short, no. So today we returned the hummingbird feeders to their longstanding perches on the dining room deck. Birds, staff, and guests are all happy with this decision.
This podcast serves as a good reminder of an opportunity we are inviting birdwatchers of all skill levels to join us for. We have already posted about it here, and earlier here as well. Come join the fun!
This photo above was taken about a thousand miles south of where I am posting from, at Chan Chich Lodge in Belize. It won a prize in Sony’s annual photo contest, which we always enjoy reading and gawking at. Even though the photographer was in Panama, he might as well have been here, where I believe we have this same species in the forests surrounding the Lodge:
Cautelosa / Cautious. Taken on June 12, 2016, while working in the field, this iguana was near a small creek had done several reptile shots until I got this one.
© Jonatan Banista, Panama, 1st Place, National Awards, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards
This article published by Audubon (click their banner below to go there) continues to provide fresh illumination on the basics of eBird; also on why we have made eBird central to our birding activities for guests in recent years, and why Chan Chich Lodge is collaborating with the Lab of Ornithology this Global Big Day event .
Since its launch in 2002, eBird has revolutionized the way birders worldwide report and share their observations. A joint project by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon, eBird is a free online program that allows birders to track their sightings, while other birders watch and search in real-time. Articles have been written about eBird with mind-bending titles like, “eBird Changed My Life” and “The Agony and Ecstasy of Surrendering to eBird.” In a front-page science headline in 2013, The New York Times called it “Crowdsourcing, for the Birds,” and concluded that eBird is “a revelation for scientists” and gives birders “a new sense of purpose.” Continue reading
Thanks to our guests, Yvonne & Martin Ryves of Cork, Ireland for these snapshots taken on the night safari Wednesday after dinner. The one above looks like an ocelot in a dreamscape. Below, as crisp a couple of shots as you are likely to get on the go in the dark in this part of the world. Continue reading
We had the good fortune some weeks ago to host one of Europe’s finest birder-guide-photographers at Chan Chich Lodge. His bird photos are wow quality (see below for an example) but my favorite of all his photos is the one above of an ocelot. We are gearing up for Global Big Day at Chan Chich Lodge. Our primary goal is simple. Follow the leader, and lead by example. Our secondary goal is kind of competitive, related to the program’s own details:
Details
For the past two years, the second Saturday in May has been the biggest day of the year for birds: Global Big Day. More than 6,000 species of bird. Tens of thousands of people. 153 countries. Immeasurable fun. Continue reading
Global Big Day map painted by Luke Seitz, a Bartels Science Illustration intern and member of the Redheads student birding team.
We have about two months to prepare, and this third year of Global Big Day could be epic. When we started participating in this annual event in 2015 our work still mostly focused on the Western Ghats region of southwest India, but we were migrating back to the Mesoamerica region so our attention has been shifting. Now we are all in at Chan Chich Lodge and we want to help ensure that this year Belize is as strong a contributor as possible to the goals of this program:
In our ongoing effort to push the boundaries of a Big Day, we’re inviting everybody around the world to join together and participate in our Global Big Day to support global conservation.
How to Participate
Submit Your Data to eBird on May 13
It’s that simple. If you submit your birds to eBird they count. Learn how to take part. Don’t worry — you don’t need to be a bird expert, or to go out all day long. Even a half hour checklist from your backyard will help. Of course, you are welcome to spend the entire day in the field, but know that it is not required! Please enter your data as soon as you can, preferably by Tuesday, May 16. Continue reading
When I see a face like this I can only smile. I am not sure why, and I do not like to anthropomorphize animals, but this creature looks friendly, even a bit happy. Maybe because I am partial to the color green? Continue reading
Norms have developed on the sightings board at Chan Chich Lodge over the years; unusual birds and apex predators get most of the attention most of the time.
howler monkey
And for good reason. But on a day to day basis, monkeys are almost always in the trees in close proximity to the lodgings. The variety to the left is a noisy one, territorial and vocal in a manner that you will recognize from the soundscape of whatever King Kong movie you might have seen. Urbanite guests seem to favor that noise, we have noticed. Continue reading
“Sanditon” is robust, unsparing, and alert to all the latest fashions in human foolishness. Illustration by Rutu Modan
It has been nearly two decades since we adopted and adapted the two words, made meaningful as a study in contrasts and complementary values by a favored novelist, to remind us of what we are out to accomplish.
In recent weeks at Chan Chich Lodge the senses have been stimulated by wildlife sightings. Meditation on and in nature seems to fix, if momentarily, everything.
Apart from those meditations our guests find time to relax in a hammock, reading. Whether on paper (we prefer its off grid feel), or even on modern devices (on which there are some clear advantages) reading is a perfect complement to the day’s action. The quiet contemplation is a perfect counterpart to the nature excursions, so we are pleased to see Jane Austen has more to say than any of us knew:
On March 18, 1817, Jane Austen stopped writing a book. We know the date because she wrote it at the end of the manuscript, in her slanting hand. She had done the same at the beginning of the manuscript, on January 27th of that year. In the seven weeks in between, she had completed eleven chapters and slightly more than nine pages of a twelfth—some twenty-three thousand five hundred words. The final sentence in the manuscript runs as follows: Continue reading
A bright cabbage slaw and a flour tortilla complement corned beef’s fatty saltiness. Credit Melina Hammer for The New York Times
Vegetarians, look away. Guests who have enjoyed the food program at Chan Chich Lodge, and have visited Gallon Jug Farm, normally come to know our commitment to fresh, all natural menu items. Including some of the finest beef in the world. And fresh tortillas. And bright cabbage slaw. Habaneros nearby. And a cold Belikin beer to accompany the meal. As Chef Ram explores all the options that the farm allows for his kitchen, we can imagine him making good use of the book below, brought to our attention by the Food Editor at the New York Times:
What if You Could Make Great Corned Beef?
…You can do it easily, said Michael Ruhlman, a passionate advocate of the process and the author, with Brian Polcyn, of “Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing.” You need only start by corning your own beef. “You can achieve tastes that aren’t available in the mass-produced versions,” he said. “Also, it’s a genuine thrill to transform plain old beef into something so tangy and piquant and red and delicious.”
Corned beef takes its name from the salt that was originally used to brine it, the crystals so large they resembled kernels of corn. Curing and packing plants in Ireland used that salt in the 19th century to cure slabs of beef that went into barrels, later cans, and onto ships to feed, among others, British colonists, troops, slaves and laborers across the globe. Eventually someone in Boston or the Bahamas fished out a cut of beef neck or a brisket and boiled it into submission with a head of cabbage, and that was dinner. Continue reading
A couple weeks back, there were a string of remarkable sightings, recorded by guests in a series of photos and then listed on the board by the Chan Chich Lodge reception area. That was a good preview for what happened yesterday, when guests arriving to the Lodge encountered a mature jaguar crossing the road. Continue reading
At Chan Chich Lodge, in the northwest of Belize, something brings loyal guest back year after year, sometimes multiple times a year. There are many guests who have been coming to Chan Chich year after year for decades; there are more than a handful of guests who have had more than 200 total night stays at the Lodge, one couple approaching 300 nights and at least one couple approaching 400 nights. Having grown up in this business and knowing no other business, I do not have metrics to compare this level of loyalty to any other kind of business. Continue reading
The guests of Chan Chich Lodge who had the good fortune to see her majesty last week were kind enough to share their photos. Thanks again to Al Erickson for his follow up visit the day after the mother jaguar was spotted, back to the same general location; this time he spotted these two adolescents wandering on the road. They must have been out of sight the day prior, mother guarding her secret while she posed for a portrait. This day, no secrets. Only pride.
Yesterday I posted a couple images from a guest’s phone camera, including one of the cat above seen through the lens of a scope. What I did not know when I posted that was that another guide, Marvin who was with two other guests, had come upon the cat first and had signaled to Luis to bring his two guests to see the cat, which seemed quite relaxed in this location. Al Erickson, who is at Chan Chich primarily for photographing birds, took the photo above. Incidentally, he and his wife were the ones who pointed us to Bird Tales.
Organikos 