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[January
31] The road to Honey Camp starts from our RV campground and Tony leads
our car caravan with his small lightweight truck. Most of us are
driving SUVs which soon are tested on the muddy road, especially as we
begin to circle the large lagoon. The heavy rains yesterday and much of
the month have taken a toll on the road, the heavier trucks having
pushed deep ruts into the limestone muck. Each passing vehicle deepens
the rut until the center hump scrapes low-clearance vehicles. After
surviving eight or ten of these bad spots, Tony’s truck hangs up on a
particularly deep one. He jacks up the body high enough to put several
rocks under the wheel and tries moving forward again, to no avail. We
try pushing forward and then backward, but cannot dislodge the truck
since the wheels do not get enough traction. On Tony’s suggestion, I
take him on ahead, using a double-ended driveway to get around the bad
spot. We quickly come to the residence where we intended to bird, and
the manager has a tractor to come to the rescue. The truck is easily
pulled out.
… We begin
our trek back, this time completing the loop around the lake on a much
better road that I had scouted out while others were birding. In route,
I hear on the personal radio that they have spotted a White-necked
Puffbird.
Description: The 55,000-acre Freshwater
Creek Forest Reserve, established in 1926, surrounds Honey Camp lagoon
and had been proposed as a national park. Instead, the reserve was
parceled up as private lots and there is no access to the more remote
areas of the former reserve. Honey Camp lagoon is a lake with three
wooded islands. The Maya used the lagoon area for ceremonies and
residences from 1000 to 1500 A.D. Now it is a favorite relaxation and
swimming area for local people coming from Orange Walk Town. Only the
islands are protected from development.
Birding strategy: For the first part of
Honey Camp Road, follow the directions in the book.
From the intersection with Northern Highway, exit the roundabout at the
sign for San Estevan, heading east. In 0.2 mile you will come to a
Y-intersection. For Honey Camp Road, stay right and at 0.5 pass
Victor's Inn & Foodery on the right. Victor’s offers Belizean food,
rudimentary rooms for rent, and RV parking. A Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl
calls at night and Gray-headed Kite and Collared Forest-Falcon call in
the mornings. If you stay there, ask Victor or Tony for
suggestions on private places with access to Honey Camp Lagoon.
The best birding is along the roadsides from miles
2 to 6 on Honey Camp Road. If the roads are good, you can continue
birding around the lagoon perimeter, although access is somewhat limited
because lake frontage is private property. Beyond the lagoon once was a
fair-weather road that provided access to more remote areas of
Freshwater Creek Forest Reserve, which lies within Corozal District.
The swamp and lagoon reserve boast an impressive bird checklist,
including a number of species that are recorded for Corozal District
only at this location.
At 2.8 miles is a general area where Gray-throated
Chats have been found consistently. In Belize this species can be hard
to find, so knowing a few reliable spots will help in your search. A
T-intersection near here is a side road leading to cane fields. Species
found in the first quarter mile include Squirrel Cuckoo, Lineated
Woodpecker, Yellow-olive Flycatcher, Bright-rumped Attila, and Mangrove
Vireo. Back on the main road, walking or drive-and-stop birding along
the roadsides for the next three miles or so is worthwhile in the early
morning and late afternoon. Starting around 4.1 you can see marshlands
and overflying Wood Storks, Snail Kites, and Common Black-Hawks, as well
as nesting Green-breasted Mangos. At 5.3 is Doubloon Bank Bridge, a
narrow land-bridge with lagoons on both sides. Look for Purple
Gallinule, Limpkin, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Mangrove Swallow, and
other marsh birds.
At 6.9, the road splits (N 18° 03.20' W 88° 27.40')
into alternative directions leading around the lagoon. Curve right and
note the landmark Urbina’s Estate at 7.6, owned by an Orange Walk
grocery merchant. In 2008, the elaborate estate was improved and now
offers a restaurant, guest house, tent camping, RV parking, and beach
and water activities. Bird the roadsides, but also look for access on
the left to the lagoon as well as access roads on the right leading to
the forested parts of the reserve. At 10.6 the road splits again.
Curve right to continue around the lagoon. Alternatively, take the left
fork 1.5 miles to Napoli Restaurant & Bar, with lake access. At 12.3
cross a clear-running creek leading from the lagoon and then pass
through a wooded area with small openings where White-necked Puffbirds,
Black-crowned Tityra, and six oriole species including Yellow-tailed
Orioles occur. At 13.7 you complete the lagoon loop, reaching the same
Y-intersection as 10.6. Turn right to return to Orange Walk Town and at
25 you will be back to the roundabout.
Concerns: Honey Camp Road can be deeply
rutted after heavy rains, sometimes making the road impassable.
Location: N 18° 2.97' W 88° 25.92' at east
end of lagoon. Starting with directions from Northern Highway, turn off
at the Orange Walk Town bypass at the roundabout at 37.4 heading south
or at 45.7 heading north on the highway, N 18° 4.89' W 88° 32.91'.
Inglewood Camping Grounds
Inglewood Camping Grounds is the best equipped RV
park in Belize and hosts a resident Mottled Owl that can be heard at
night and sometimes seen flying at dawn. Plain Chachalacas visit
at dusk.
Directions: Heading west from San
Ignacio, the entrance is at mile 56.1 on the Western Highway log.
N 17° 8.34' W 89° 5.25'. This is only 7 miles from the Guatemala
border.
ITVET campus
An excellent and newly constructed technical
school, the entire area is enclosed by a high fence and 24-hour security
guard. The school welcomes RV’ers as a way to enhance their
programs in tourism education and as a resource for ongoing funding.
Within two blocks of the RV campsite is Stann Creek and between the
creek and the campsite some 84 bird species have been tallied, including
Yellow-headed Parrot.
Directions: The school is at mile 46.2
heading southeast on the Hummingbird Highway log, across from the
intersection with the Coastal Highway. N 16° 59.82' W 88° 18.99'.
This is about 8 miles from Dangriga.
Cuxlin Ha resort
Built along Jacinto Creek, the resort is not really
a campsite, but readily accommodates RV’ers, including large rigs, with
electrical cords and water hoses, but no sewage dump. During a
2007 stay, 61 species were found at the resort, including Bare-throated
Tiger-Heron, Ruddy Crake, Rufous-breasted Spinetail, and
Crimson-collared Tanager. A Striped Cuckoo called incessantly.
Directions: Mile 90.3 on the Southern
Highway log heading south and 4.6 miles from Punta Gorda. The
gravel access road is 2 miles long and can handle large rigs.
Return to "A Birder's Guide
to Belize"
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