Whether you are an amateur or professional birder or have not even considered this as an activity while on vacation, joining our on-site ornithologist Melvin on a guided bird watching experience at Turtle Inn will delight you.  Enjoy the morning sun rising over the Caribbean Sea while strolling through the grounds of the resort with Melvin who will ensure you don’t miss seeing a large variety of beautiful birds.  More experienced birding enthusiasts may want to schedule an adventure further with our guide.

Of the country’s 590 recorded species, some of the most spectacular, and some of the rarest of species can be seen here versus elsewhere: the Lovely Cotinga, Ornate Hawk-Eagle and Rose-throated Tanager, as well as a host of colorful toucans, parrots and hummingbirds.

A bit more about Melvin, in his own words:

Hi my name is Melvin Arevalo, I am 30 years old and my passion is birds.

Since I was a young kid I remember that I used to go to my dad’s farm where I loved to sing different songs about birds, making my own songs, whistling as I heard the happy birds around me. I used to say in my mind : “I wish I was a bird and could fly.” I used to talk to them when they got closer to me and feel that I was so fortunate to grow up in the mountains of western Belize where I was surrounded by colorful, tropical birds.

I started primary school when I was 7 years old and remember the first time the professor asked me: “Melvin what would you like to be in the future?” My response was quick : “ I want to be a bird and fly ”. Everybody laughed and I felt so shy but I didn’t let if bother me,  I just sat and smiled as if nothing happened. The teacher told me “that’s not possible’” but maybe you could be a teacher and teach everybody about birds; I was so happy to hear his advice.

As the years passed I kept studying until I graduated.

In October 2006 I met Ronni Martinez, who is an excellent ornithologist and passionate about and adores birds. I was so impressed and excited to be a friend of his and I told him my story about how much I loved birds so he started to give me advice and  dates of where and when I could attend bird banding courses, bird workshop and yearly bird counts.

I was so excited and it was at that time I took birds seriously. The first thing I did was purchase binoculars, a Belize bird book and a note book to record all species I saw.

From that date it has been a remarkable journey. It has been 11 years and I feel that I just started yesterday.

Every day for me is an amazing day especially waking up with the sounds of our beautiful birds, it just makes my day. Birdwatching is very happy and healthy job. I hope you will join me when visiting Turtle Inn.