King Vulture Falls: We got Super Lucky today!!!

We got really, super lucky today!

First of all, birdwatching for the avid or amateur birdwatcher is a must here. Or rather, you almost can't help it.
Secondly, we got to see two of the most rare species of birds today!... the Orange Breast Falcon and the King Vulture.

King Vultures for sure are extremely rare in Belize.. and the area we happen to be in, the Cayo region, is likely one of the BEST places in the WORLD to see them... AND WE DID!!! A pair happened to do a 'fly over' our trail as we approached King Vulture Falls. Obviously, the Falls are named after them... we happen to be in the perfect place to spot them, if one is so lucky. They roost near these falls.

We also got to see a pair of Orange Breast Falcons. Thank God we had Camille with us to recognize their calls in the sky, otherwise we would have never known how lucky we were to see them in flight. Camille Meyers is one of the 4-person crew here re-introducing the falcons to this area... hoping for them to disburse in this area and into Guatemala... possibly into Mexico! As nature is perfect, I'm sure they'll find the most suitable habitats and we'll just leave it up to them.

The Orange Breast Falcons we saw were rather playful in nature. Camille thought they may have been some of the fledglings from this year, judging by their calls. I saw them bump into each other.. .kind of like playing 'tag'. Camille says they were likely 'practicing' their coordination because the male and female will exchange food in the air from talons to talons. This is how the male will bring food to the female who is incubating eggs.

The OBFs are rather small in nature compared to the vultures flying about. We mainly saw black vultures and turkey vultures flying about and then out of no where, Camille says: "Oh wow! Here comes some King Vultures!"... and they were cruising on a current coming toward us... almost seemed like they were a plan coming in for a landing. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera out.. so while they were really low to us, I didn't snap up any shots.

They dipped into the deep lush gorge of the falls and we thought that was going to be it for us. Then as we made our way home, they took flight high above. I was able to snap a few photos (the one with the white background is mine)... but they are so high in the sky, you can't see their true beauty. I've included another 'stock' image for your convenience. They are incredibly beautiful. Guess I didn't know I had a bit of birdwatching blood in me. Tee hee.