Tag Archives: Crooked Tree

Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary

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Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary is not only one of the best places to go birding in Belize, it’s also one of the easiest to get to.  It’s located about halfway between Belize City and Orange Walk.  If you are staying at one of the lodges inside the sanctuary, you can arrange for them to pick you up at the airport for about $70.  If you are staying in Belize City, any bus that is headed to Orange Walk or further can drop you at the junction from which it’s about 3 miles to the sanctuary.  Theoretically you could make a day trip from town if you get the first bus of the day at 5:30 am, but I strongly advise you spend at least one night at one of the lodges inside the park.  If you’re on a cruise ship, I would suggest contacting one of the lodges below to organize transport and a guide.

The Belize Bus website also has a schedule for buses from Belize City direct to Crooked Tree village.

Bus service to Crooked Tree
Jex and Sons Bus Service provides bus service between Belize City and Crooked Tree.
Buses depart from Belize City Monday to Friday at 10:50 am and 4:45 pm; Saturday at 10:50 am; no bus on Sunday.
Buses depart from Crooked Tree at 6:30 a.m.
Trip time: about 1.25 hours
Fare: BZ$3.50

 

Using airline miles to get to Belize is very easy from the USA, please see my guides to Central America and Belize.

There are 3 eco-lodges inside the sanctuary:

Crooked Tree Lodge – Trip Advisor reviews – My review

Bird’s Eye View Lodge – Trip Advisor reviews

Tillett’s Village Lodge – Trip Advisor reviews

 

More details about visiting the sanctuary come from the Belize Audubon site.

With 16,400 acres of lagoons, creeks, logwood swamps, broadleaf forest and pine savanna, you will be sure to see a wide array of wildlife. The Sanctuary protects globally endangered species including the Central American River Turtle (locally known as Hickatee), Morelet’s Crocodile, Mexican Black Howler Monkey, and Yellow-headed Parrot.  

Avibase has a complete bird list for Belize and many of these can be found at Crooked Tree.  The main draws for me were the parrots.  My research on Surfbirds had turned up several trip reports saying that Yellow-headed Parrots, Red-lored Parrots, White-fronted Parrots and Olive-throated Parakeets could be found here.  This was also the only place I could find that is easily accessible where Yellow-headed Parrots were regularly seen.

Robert

Robert

Mick from the Crooked Tree Lodge had organized Robert to be our guide and he proved to be excellent!  Like all good guides, he tailored our visit to the target species we were interested in (parrots) and pointed out all other birds along the way.  Parrots like to feed in the fruit tree orchards and it didn’t take long for Robert to locate a pair of Yellow-headed Parrots feeding on a mango tree.  Since the tree was on private property, he went in to ask the homeowner if we could enter for a closer look.  While he was inside, the two parrots flew out of the orchard, over our heads and disappeared into the forest.  They were much too fast to get a photo of but at least we saw them!  The only other parrot species we saw on our walk were some Red-lored Parrots.  I did manage to get a photo of one…..not a very good one though!

IMG_9037 IMG_9037aOther highlights of our walk were Vermilion Flycatchers, Blue-Grey Tanagers and quite a few other birds.  If you don’t like bad/blurry photos, stop here.  Otherwise, scroll down for some more bird pics!

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Lodge Review: Crooked Tree Lodge, Belize

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Crooked Tree Lodge is run by a very friendly couple, Mick and Angie and is well-located for the dedicated bird watcher in the heart of the Crooked Tree Sanctuary.  Although not far from the airport in miles, there is no public transport that serves the airport or the lodge although there is a bus service along the main highway.  We opted to have Mick pick us up at the airport for $70 and it was really nice to have him there waiting for us after our epic journey from Brisbane to Belize!

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It was a pleasant 40 minute trip from the airport and it was interesting to see the businesses along the way.

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At last we arrived to the Crooked Tree Lodge.  It’s a beautiful property, well maintained, spotlessly clean and very birdy.

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Mick and Angie escorted us to our bungalow which has a lovely view of the garden from the deck.

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The rooms are simply furnished but clean and comfortable.

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Laundry facilities are available with some very interesting “clothes pins”!

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We could see the Crooked Tree Lagoon from our deck as birds flew around the garden.

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After settling in, we went for a walk in the grounds to spot some more birds.  I will be putting the bird photos on a separate post.

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The deck overlooking the lagoon is a great place to kick back and relax at the end of the day!

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The dining room is in the main house and Angie cooked us a delicious chicken dinner.

IMG_9013 IMG_9014Before coming to Belize, all I had to go on were recommendations from Trip Advisor.  All the Crooked Tree properties have excellent reviews so when it came to choosing one I just had to read them all and then go with my gut feeling.  Crooked Tree Lodge seemed to have the most reviews that also praise their birding guides so that was the deciding factor for me.  It didn’t hurt that the cabins are so cute, the scenery is amazing and Angie’s cooking was also highly praised!  The bird photos on their website were also very enticing!  We were the only guests while we were there which was a shame since this charming lodge has something for everyone, especially eco-tourists.  Although we only stayed one night, we loved this place and wish we could have stayed longer.