Guided by experts contracting with VENT
Well healed travelers, undercover we went.
Tourist twitchers, we track avian tongue-twisters
slathered in DEET to offend itsy chiggers.
Brimmed with hats, umbrellas, socks to our knees,
Binoculared birders among lofty cercopia trees.
Monkey and Maya monitor Chan Chich
While wayward luggage lounge at the beach.
5:30 daily we struggle out of bed
as turkeys strut with blue spangled heads.
We see toucan, parrot, even a squirrel cuckoo.
Hummers: hermit, fairy; and oropendula too.
Refuse piles up at the odiferous dump:
An amazing warbler, jacamar, and flycatcher sump.
Ms. Martha lugs spotlight, recorder, tripod and camera
Through Jacaranda jungle of large seedpod samaras.
Upon herons: tiger and Agami, stealthily we creeped
Into their eyes quietly we peeked.
Bused to Zibal, Laguna Seca, or Gallon Jug farm
Emigrating the bush does more good than harm.
White, grey, and bicolored hawks;
Falcons, bat or laughing, together we gawked.
First blue-black grosbeak, blue-black grassquit,
then a blue-crowned motmot finally a flit.
Daily detours to fly-fish or tour entrenched tombs;
Relax with art or a book in hammocks hand-loomed.
Jeff jogs with jaguars, teases lil' raccoons.
Hoots at owls 'er rather the moon.
Olivaceous fever engages tired troops.
Though violaceous and slaty-tails still made us whoop.
By 6:30 it's Bilikin beer brewed by Bowen.
Then dinner, it's the wine (not included) we're owin'.
Fish tacos, nacho burgers cooked with great savor.
Lisette's chutney, habanero, increase zesty flavor.
"Will you have dessert?" (Duh, it's cost-free.
That surely means there are no calories!)
Listen to stories of Bot fly and army ant attack.
Tall Paul survives his yearly Yucatan combat.
Shared tales of Galapagos, Bhutan and Great Brit;
Tunisia, Kenya and Texas to wit.
Schelling's bellow out Auld Lang Syne -
fueled by gallons of Concha y Toro wine.
Our Christmas Bird Count exceeds the record.
Bruce Miller speculates cool weather accord.
Thanks to the Broadbents, a covey crossed their trail.
We saw hip-hop song-dance of spotted wood-quail.
Bills, named eye-ringed flat and stub-tailed spade,
glean in dark private jungle shade.
Where are plain xenops or lovely cotinga?
Jeff-only birds refuse to linger.
Fond memories of euphonia and tanager at plaza flowers.
Crested guan, little blue heron perched a-tower.
Flanking armies, ant-tanager and wood-creeper hunted the maimed.
Beautiful Belizean biodiversity bears birds with four names!
