|
|
July 2014 e-mailing
|
| Hello, birders! During the dog days of summer, we'd rather be distracted by some great bird days ahead, and with those in mind we've got an added departure (Oaxaca II), a reduced Safari Brazil limit of 6 (see October tour with Marcelo below, with Jesse moved to co-lead Australia Part One), our last spaces from late August through December, a couple of fun Peru-related links, and some big news from our great staff who make it all happen. Also here: lots of fresh images from recent tours in our July Recent Photos gallery (samples at left), and recently posted triplists and fresh itineraries below. Good birding!
|
| |
|
|
 A couple of schedule items of which you may not be aware:
1) We reduced the limit of our Ecuador's Rainforest & Andes tour with Rose Ann Rowlett, Sep 7-21, to 8; there are just 2 spaces open (those are the rarities!) on this trip with our very own "Grebe."
2) Pepe Rojas's first Oaxaca departure (with Dan Lane) is fully booked, so Pepe has added Mexico: Oaxaca II; those dates are Jan 24-31.
|
|
|
|
First up, Maggie got married! Big congrats to Maggie and Eric, and this big event prompts (according to our in-house taxonomy committee, ha!) a nomenclatural change, so be sure to update your checklists from Tour Manager Maggie Burnett to Maggie Carpenter to be au courant!
Second up, Peg Wallace has joined our office team! Peg steps in as our new administrative assistant, taking over Tiara Westcott's previous role as Tiara moves to her new Tour Manager position. Peg will keep the wheels turning smoothly behind the scenes, facilitating the work of Peggy and the tour managers and overseeing the flow of materials into and out of our office. It's great to have her on board!
 Third up, welcome guide Tom Johnson, whom we're delighted to have joining our staff. Well known in the North American birding community, Tom writes regularly in Birding and North American Birds, and we think you're going to have a fantastic time with him on tour. He's already got tours from Aug-Dec to Arizona, California, Cape May, and again Arizona, plus a full schedule for 2015, ranging from Costa Rica and Trinidad to Alaska, Australia, and much more! Be sure to check out Tom's guide page!
|
|
|
|
 Bret Whitney's been at it again, pondering our 2015 tour schedule to one of our favorite countries. He's come up with two exciting, new, boat-based adventures to the remote heart of Amazonia -- one along the Rio Aripuana, Aug 1-15 (cool LANDSAT image at right), the other between the banks of the Rios Madeira and Tapajos, Oct 24-Nov 7. These are sure to fill quickly, so if you love this kind of wilderness tour based on our comfortable boat, check with us to hold a space! In tandem with these schedule additions, we'll be operating only Part II of our Spectacular Southeast Brazil tour in 2015. So if you're considering taking both parts of Southeast Brazil together, there is still space this fall, otherwise your next opportunity to do so will be in 2016.
|
|
|
|
Guide Pepe Rojas, who'll be leading our December tour to the fantastically bird-rich Iquitos area in Peru, takes us along on his discovery of the region in his post "My quest for northern Amazonian birds in Peru"! Dates are Dec 20-31, a great way to close out 2014...
-- After reading Pepe's post, prime yourself a little more for your upcoming Peru adventure by reading Birding in the Unknown: Tips and Tales from Birds of Peru Author Tom Schulenberg in this post on the Princeton University Press blog. (We got a good chuckle out of Tom's practical tips at the end...check them out!)
|
| |
Above: Golden Whistler, Regent Bowerbird, Rainbow Lorikeet, and Western Spinebill, by guide Chris Benesh & participant Jan Shaw.
Kenya Safari Spectacular: Aug 29-Sep 25 with Terry Stevenson ( 2 spaces)
Bolivia's Avian Riches: Sep 6-21 with Dan Lane & Pepe Rojas
Ecuador's Rainforest & Andes: Sep 7-21 with Rose Ann Rowlett ( 2 spaces)
Morocco: Sep 8-25 with Jesse Fagan ( 1 space)
Ecuador's Shiripuno Lodge: Sep 26-Oct 5 with Mitch Lysinger & Willy Perez
Jaguar Spotting II: Sep 26-Oct 7 with Marcelo Padua ( 1 space)
New Guinea & Australia: Oct 1-19 with Jay VanderGaast ( 1 space)
Australia (Part One): Oct 2-23 with Chris Benesh & Jesse Fagan
Peruvian Rainforests of the Tambopata: Oct 4-17 with Pepe Rojas ( 4 spaces)
Cape May Megan's Way II: Oct 6-12 with Megan Edwards Crewe & Tom Johnson ( 3 spaces)
Safari Brazil: The Pantanal & More: Oct 11-26 with Marcelo Padua ( 3 spaces; limited to 6 now!)
Australia (Part Two): Oct 21-Nov 5 with John Coons & Eric Hynes
Chile: Oct 26-Nov 15 with Peter Burke & Ricardo Matus ( 3 spaces)
Spectacular Southeast Brazil (Part One): Oct 31-Nov 16 with Bret Whitney & Jay VanderGaast
Sri Lanka: Oct 31-Nov 17 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide
Northern Peru: Endemics Galore: Nov 2-22 with Richard Webster
Ireland in Fall: Nov 6-16 with Terry & Karen McEneaney
Madagascar, Mauritius & Reunion: Nov 8-Dec 4 with Phil Gregory ( 1 space)
New Zealand: Nov 9-27 with Dan Lane & local guide ( 3 spaces)
Spectacular Southeastern Brazil (Part Two): Nov 14-30 with Bret Whitney & Marcelo Padua
Holiday at San Isidro, Ecuador: Nov 22-Dec 1 with Mitch Lysinger ( 2 spaces)
Holiday Costa Rica: Rancho Naturalista I: Dec 20-28 with Megan Edwards Crewe ( 1 space)
Holiday in Peru: Iquitos Canopy Walkways & Ancient Forests: Dec 20-31 with Pepe Rojas & Dan Lane
Arizona Winter Specialties: Dec 27-Jan 2 with Dave Stejskal & Tom Johnson
Holiday in Honduras: The Lodge at Pico Bonito: Dec 29-Jan 3 with Jesse Fagan
|
| |
Recently posted itineraries for upcoming tours
Recently posted itineraries include
Costa Rica: Birding the Edges (in two parts -- Part I: Jan 5-14; Part II: Jan 13-22; with Jay VanderGaast & Tom Johnson),
South Texas Rarities I & II (two departures: Jan 17-23 or Jan 24-30 with Chris Benesh),
Mexico: Oaxaca I & II (two departures: Jan 17-24 or Jan 24-31 with Pepe Rojas),
East Africa Highlights: Kenya & Tanzania (Jan 17-Feb 6 with Terry Stevenson),
Thailand (Jan 17-Feb 7 with Dave Stejskal & Uthai Treesucon),
Cambodia (Feb 7-20 with Phil Gregory),
Colombia: The Cauca Valley, Western & Central Andes (Feb 7-22 with Richard Webster),
Birds & Wines of Chile and Argentina (Feb 14-28 with Marcelo Padua & John Coons),
Ecuador: Rainforest & Andes (Mar 1-15 & Sep 6-20 with Willy Perez),
Brazil Nutshell: Intervales, Iguazu Falls & The Pantanal (Mar 7-21 with Marcelo Padua & Pepe Rojas),
Southwestern Ecuador Specialties (Mar 7-21 with Mitch Lysinger),
Costa Rica (Mar 7-22 with Jay VanderGaast),
Dominican Republic (Mar 14-21 with Jesse Fagan & Tom Johnson),
Spring in South Texas (Mar 14-22 with Chris Benesh),
Ghana (Mar 20-Apr 7 with Phil Gregory),
Hawaii (Apr 2-11 with Dan Lane & Megan Edwards Crewe),
Bhutan (Apr 4-22 with Richard Webster),
Texas Coast Migration Spectacle (two departures: Apr 11-17 or Apr 18-24 with John Coons),
Texas's Big Bend & Hill Country (Apr 18-27 with Chris Benesh & Tom Johnson),
Birding Plus Scotland (Apr 18-May 1 with John Rowlett & Hugh Buck),
Arizona Nightbirds & More (two departures: Apr 30-May 4 or May 7-11 with Dave Stejskal),
Birding Plus Ireland in Spring (May 7-17 with Terry McEneaney & Karen McEneaney),
Point Pelee Migration Spectacle (May 9-16 with Peter Burke),
Virginias' Warblers (May 27-31 with John Rowlett).
Recently
posted triplists
Recently posted triplists
are out for
Classical Greece with Megan Edwards Crewe,
Arctic Norway: Spitsbergen & the Svalbard Archipelago with John Coons,
Uganda: Shoebill, Rift Endemics & Gorillas with Phil Gregory & Jesse Fagan,
Arizona Nightbirds & More II with Chris Benesh,
Virginias' Warblers with John Rowlett & Bret Whitney,
Montana: Yellowstone to Glacier with Terry & Karen McEneaney,
Northern Ecuador: Andes & Otavalo Market with Willy Perez,
Northern Arizona's Canyons & Condors I with John Coons,
Northern Arizona's Canyons & Condors II with John Coons,
Spring in Cape May with Megan Edwards Crewe & Tom Johnson,
Point Pelee Migration Spectacle with Peter Burke,
Thailand II with Dave Stejskal (and the extension),
BIRDING PLUS: Do the Charleston! Spring in S. Carolina with Jesse Fagan,
Arizona: Birding the Border I with John Coons,
Brazil Nutshell: Intervales, Iguazu Falls & the Pantanal with Marcelo Padua & Pepe Rojas,
Dominican Republic with Jesse Fagan,
Bahamas with Jesse Fagan,
Sacha Lodge, Ecuador with Mitch Lysinger,
Southwestern Ecuador Specialties: Jocotoco Foundation Reserves with Mitch Lysinger.
Cheat sheet
All photos at left
are from our July recent photos. Enjoy!
- Northern Gannets, Newfoundland, by Jim Jackson
- White-browed Tit-Warbler, China, by Dave Stejskal
- Gray Crowned-Cranes, Uganda, by Jesse Fagan
- Pallas's Sandgrouse, China, by Dave Stejskal
- Red Knot, Spring in Cape May, by Tom Johnson
- Group on Spitsbergen, by Alan Abel
- Montezuma Quail, Arizona, by David Baker
- Shoebill, Uganda, by Rachel Hopper
- Common Loon, Maine, by Eric Hynes
- Pale-browed Tinamou, Southwestern Ecuador, by Mitch Lysinger
- Papyrus Gonolek, Uganda, by Rachel Hopper
- Blackburnian Warbler, Spring in Cape May, by Tom Johnson
- Polar Bear, Spitsbergen, by Alan Abel
- Red-throated Bee-eater, Uganda, by Barbara Williams
- Lamar Valley, Montana, by Paul Demkovich
- Burchell's Zebra, Uganda, by Rachel Hopper
- Ala Shan Redstart, China, by Dave Stejskal
- Pale-mandibled Aracari, Northern Ecuador, by Michael Turisk
- Razorbill, Newfoundland, by Chris Benesh
- Collared Pratincole, Uganda, by Rachel Hopper
|
|
|
