Crooked Tree

66 square kilometres of lagoons, creeks, log wood swamps, and pine savanna were set aside in 1998, providing sanctuary to some 300 bird species which call the area home. Crooked Tree Village was settled in 1750, one of the earliest inland European settlements in the country, in the search of numerous different natural dyes produced by plants in the log wood forest. Today a small Creole population of 600 still call the area home, supplementing tourist income with fishing and cattle ranching.

The only sensible way to see diverse wildlife in a wetland is by boat. Fortunately the hotel we stayed at was very active with bird watching by boat and we booked a morning excursion. Despite a brief setback with some persistent early rain we had a great time peering for raptors and herons amidst the greenery.

Snail kites, their incredibly curved bills specialized specifically for eating apple snails, were a constant presence overhead, though their dark colour and the muted skies made for challenges getting a nice exposure.

Crooked Tree is also famous for its wading birds, such as this Green Heron (...shown below not wading...) and there were numerous egrets and other species of heron in the area. Crooked Tree is famous for its Jabiru storks, the largest waders in the Americas, but we were unlucky in spotting any.

The only downside was that, once we were off the boat, there was little to do in the area making our stay a brief one overall as the regional trails were too wet to enjoy a hike, and the Morelet's Crocodiles we had seen on the outing were small but still took the wind out of a more spontaneous trek around.