Belize Turtle Ecology Lab (BTEL)

Dedicated to conservation of the freshwater and terrestrial turtles of Belize.

[Belize Turtle Ecology Lab (BTEL) @Belize_Turtle]

I’m familiar with certain #spiders that make conspicuous zig-zags in their webs, but what’s the advantage of making the entire thing conspicuous?

[Belize Turtle Ecology Lab (BTEL) @Belize_Turtle]

Check out this beautiful hatchling furrowed wood turtle (Rhinoclemmys areolata) we found out and about during a recent heavy rain. If you look closely you will see it still has the caruncle (egg tooth) at the tip of the beak.

[Donald McKnight @donaldmcknight2]

I really love #woodpeckers, especially the large species like this beautiful Lineated Woodpecker who sometimes visits the @Belize_Turtle research station. #Birds #Birding #WildlifePhotography #Belize

[Belize Turtle Ecology Lab (BTEL) @Belize_Turtle]

Look who showed up in the house this evening! Yucatán Banded #Gecko—maybe seeking shelter from #TropicalStormNana. Things are always interesting in #Belize.

[Turtle Survival Alliance @TurtleSurvival]

Thursday! - Annual Symposium Week 5!

Week 5 of the 18th Annual, and 1st ever Virtual, Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles begins Thursday at 11:00 AM EDT! #TSA2020 https://t.co/y1p4d2jerC

At 11:45AM EDT watch Pramananda Rajbanshi,

[Donald McKnight @donaldmcknight2]

#Hicatee do very poorly out of the water (they truly seem miserable), so when processing large numbers of them, we temporarily keep them in a portable aquatic enclosure we built (our "#turtle crib") to keep them happy while we science. #Turtles #SaveTheHicatee @Belize_Turtle

[Donald McKnight @donaldmcknight2]

As @donttrythis said, "Scientists are makers" & and the @Belize_Turtle crew are no exception. Behold our light, PVC bimini for processing #turtles in the rain or sun & and our floating "turtle crib" for temporary turtle storage. #Fieldwork #Conservation #TrustMeImAScientist 1/2

[Belize Turtle Ecology Lab (BTEL) @Belize_Turtle]

Happy #WorldLizardDay from @Belize_Turtle. And this Wish Willy that frequents our field house. These guys are fantastic, although many of the birds in the yard that are trying to protect nestlings right now might disagree.

[Donald McKnight @donaldmcknight2]

For #WorldLizardDay here's a creature that inspired my imagination and love of #reptiles at a very young age & continues to excite me no matter how many I see (& I see a lot of them, both at the @Belize_Turtle station & our field sites): the green iguana (Iguana iguana) #lizards

[Donald McKnight @donaldmcknight2]

Yeah, I guess you could say that I like Staurotypus. These Giant Mexican Musk Turtles and the largest of any Kinosternid, & they are incredible, easily one of my favorite #turtles. We (@Belize_Turtle) are studying them in addition to our work on #hicatee. #Belize #FieldWork

[Belize Turtle Ecology Lab (BTEL) @Belize_Turtle]

The Belize Turtle Ecology Lab is heading out to the field conduct hicatee surveys! ⁦@BFREEBZ_org⁩ ⁦@TurtleSurvival⁩

[Donald McKnight @donaldmcknight2]

Unusual morning at @Belize_Turtle. We woke to find a boa constrictor hanging from a tree ~20m in front of the guest house consuming our resident Black-headed Trogon. I loved seeing the #snake, but morn the loss of our trogon. #Nature is brutal. #Snakes #Birds #WildlifePhotography

[Donald McKnight @donaldmcknight2]

One of our beautiful Blue-gray Tanagers collecting material for its nest next to the @Belize_Turtle guest house. #Birds #Birding #Belize #WildlifePhotography

[Donald McKnight @donaldmcknight2]

#FieldWork requires resourcefulness and a lot of #DuctTape. Fortunately, the @Belize_Turtle crew has plenty of both. We forgot our oars, but remembered the duct tape, so a solution quickly presented itself. #MacGyver

[Donald McKnight @donaldmcknight2]

This Yucatán banded #gecko (Coleonyx elegans) is the prettiest #lizard on the forest floor at the @Belize_Turtle #research station, and she isn't afraid to show it. #reptiles #lizards #geckos #Belize #WildlifePhotography

[Belize Turtle Ecology Lab (BTEL) @Belize_Turtle]

It’s #tarantula time at the Savannah Field Station, home of #Belize_Turtle! Cleaning up old buildings around the place is turning up lots of Mexican Red-rumped Tarantulas. I think the first one ate a baby.

[Donald McKnight @donaldmcknight2]

The Mexican Burrowing Toad tadpoles are coming along nicely here at the @Belize_Turtle #research station. Even at this stage they are unusually shaped. Apparently this species is destined to live its whole life as a morphological anomaly. #Belize #Wildlife #Frogs

[Belize Turtle Ecology Lab (BTEL) @Belize_Turtle]

Mesoamerican slider (Trachemys venusta) hatchling! #TinyTurtles

[Belize Turtle Ecology Lab (BTEL) @Belize_Turtle]

Sometimes at #BTEL we look up from whatever #turtle has been holding our attention and notice some other cool wildlife (there's a lot here!). Today, it was this beautiful #moth that grabbed our attention.

[Belize Turtle Ecology Lab (BTEL) @Belize_Turtle]

It’s hatching season for turtles in #Belize! Check out this adorable hatchling mud turtle.