Belize

For the wildlife enthusiast The Parrot Cove Lodge could hardly be better positioned. Inland lie the jagged green-mantled Maya Mountains, rivers and marshes are to either side, the restaurant opens on to a fine sandy beach and Coco Plum Cay glistens in turquoise waters out to sea. Six days hardly seems enough in such a paradise!

The famous Cockscomb Reserve lies just half an hour away with a fabulous range of birds, butterflies and mammals. Manatees surface around our boats in local lagoons and by the nearby Sittee River we can see all manner of colourful birds including Toucans, Tanagers, Trogons, Manakins and Kingfishers. Hummingbird Highway lives up to its name as iridescent avian jewels hover by trails around scenic Blue Hole National Park. Offshore are islets where Magnificent Frigatebirds’ pterodactyl shapes fill the air, males with great scarlet balloons hanging from their throats. Under shimmering seas are some of the exceptional reefs with colourful corals and fish as well as Eagle Rays and Bottle-nosed Dolphins.

It would take something special to drag us away but then Tikal is certainly that. Many square miles of spellbinding ruins are dominated by five magnificent temple-pyramids that rise above the rainforest canopy. Ocellated Turkeys and inquisitive White-nosed Coatis wander by intricately carved stellae and even the normally shy Great Curassow struts confidently around Tikal’s paths. Howler Monkeys produce a crescendo of sound at dawn as squadrons of multi-coloured Parrots fly in to pluck fruit ahead of acrobatic Geoffroy’s Spider Monkeys. The rare Orange-breasted Falcon sits watching from the top of one the temples, whilst over nearby forest soar Ornate Hawk Eagle and the striking King Vulture. Nearer at hand Purple-washed Eyemark and the Dark Kite-Swallowtail might distract us from the ruins and certainly the Flame-tailed Pondhawk will.

Las Guacamayas Lodge, and the associated biological station, are set in the heart of the Laguna del Tigre National Park in some of the most biodiverse habitats in Central America. The name comes from one of the area’s most famous residents, the fabulous Scarlet Macaw. We’ll take a boat trip to look for the rare and lovely Agami Heron though Sungrebe, Green Jay, Russet-naped Wood-Rail, and Bare-throated Tiger-Heron will try and distract us from our quest! Around the lodge itself we can find Wedge-tailed Hummingbird, White-necked Jacobin, Red-capped Manakin, White-collared Manakin, Black-headed Trogon, Golden-hooded Tanager, Tody Motmot, and Royal Flycatcher, and butterflies are abundant with Long-spotted Silverdrop and Transandean Cattleheart among them.

Guatemala’s volcanos are home to all manner of beautiful creatures. There’s the lovely Pink-headed Warbler, denizen of the wonderfully architectural bromeliads that make the oak trees their very own gardens. There’s colourful Blue-throated Motmot, Hooded Grosbeak and Lesson’s Motmot, and we can find beautiful dragonflies such as Ornate Helicopter, Many-striped Skimmer, Great Spreadwing, Carmine Skimmer and Slough Amberwing. Sky-blue Greatstreak, Blue Metalmark, Red Cracker, Tiger Mimic-Queen, Confused Tigerwing, and Yellow-fronted Owl-Butterfly are amongst a host of lovely butterflies that also include Orange-striped Eighty-eight and Guatemalan Copper. We’ll search for the lovely Azure-rumped Tanager, and other beauties are Wine-throated Hummingbird, Garnet-throated Hummingbird, Unicolored Jay, Highland Guan, and with luck the near-mythical Horned Guan.