Have a look at our April e-mailing, which includes an added Cape May II tour for October, tour updates, last spaces on our tours from May through October, a fresh batch of fun tour images in our Recent Photos gallery, plus recently posted triplists and itineraries. Click below to see it all — and enjoy!

April 2013 E-mailing

Our March e-mailing is online! Included are: a sneak peek at our new 2014 tours, cool bird news about birds-of-paradise, last spaces on our tours from April to August, a fresh batch of fun tour images in our Recent Photos gallery, plus recently posted triplists and itineraries. Click below to see it all — and enjoy!

March 2013 E-mailing

We’ve posted our February e-mailing! Included are: a new “Owls & Other Nightbirds” slideshow, tour news and updates, last spaces on our tours from March to July, and of course a batch of fresh and fun tour images in our Recent Photos gallery, plus recently posted triplists and itineraries. Click below to see it all — and enjoy!

February 2013 E-mailing

Need a break from the routine? Check tour reports from some of our recent tours featuring not only some great images but also some cool video and audio clips. They’re up at these links:

Australia (Part I)

Slice of California: Seabirds to Sierra

New Zealand

Birding Plus Ireland: Birds, Traditional Music & Pubs

We’ve posted our November e-mailing! Included are: a special added January tour to Southeast Ontario for winter owls and other great birds, an extra 2013 departure of our popular Jaguar Spotting itinerary, a cool avian family tree graphic, last spaces on our tours from late December into May, and of course a batch of fresh and fun tour images in our Recent Photos gallery, plus recently posted triplists and itineraries. Click below to see it all — and enjoy!

November 2012 E-mailing

Winter is fast approaching…and with it thoughts of many northern owls and other specialties we’d all like to see — like the delights below photographed by participants Spike Baker and Jody Lawrence on our last special departures for winter birds.

In southern Ontario, guides Peter Burke and Jay VanderGaast have been watching the situation and report:

“This coming winter is shaping up to be one of the best for winter specialties in the last five years. With poor food supplies to the north, many species have begun to appear as far south as the Great Lakes and beyond — birds like Pine Grosbeak, Bohemian Waxwing, Common and Hoary redpolls, White-winged and Red crossbills, Evening Grosbeak, and even Boreal Chickadee.

“Of course the stars of the show tend to be the northern owls! At this point (late November), a smattering of Northern Hawk Owls, a couple of Boreal Owls, and a few Great Gray Owls have made an appearance. Gyrfalcon, a holy grail of the north, has also been seen at several locations, and Snowy Owls have set up winter territories at traditional sites. Northern Shrike should not be hard.”

With great prospects for a good variety of owls and other headline birds, we’ve added a tour January 12-16 with Peter and Jay guiding. We only offer this tour every few years when conditions look good. To hold a spot, e-mail our office or call us at 800-728-4953 as soon as possible.

Did you see our Recent Photos Gallery posted with our latest emailing? Check out the links below. There are some fun images from our recent visits to Australia, New Caledonia/Fiji/Vanuata, Cape May, Bolivia, Galapagos, Sacha Lodge in Ecuador, and Morocco. Enjoy!

Recent Photos Gallery

October emailing

We began our Newfoundland & Nova Scotia adventure in St. John’s, a picturesque port city in Newfoundland. Here, most views are spectacular, and we were able to enjoy them from such sites as Signal Hill and Cape Spear, the easternmost point of land in North America.

Thousands of Atlantic Puffins, Common Murres, Black-legged Kittiwakes, and hundreds of regal Razorbills on the rocks above Witless Bay. Photo by guide Chris Benesh.

On Newfoundland, our boat trip to Witless Bay brought us the spectacle of many thousands of birds swirling in and out of the fog and mist.  Dominating the scene were thousands of Atlantic Puffins, Common Murres, Black-legged Kittiwakes, and hundreds of regal Razorbills.  At historic Cape Race, we encountered Willow Ptarmigan and a couple of Short-eared Owls that really performed well for us.  And at Cape St. Mary’s, we had a fantastic afternoon visit with a Northern Gannet colony.  No one will soon forget the sight of these birds zooming in and out of the fog.

Piping Plovers are an endangered species in Canada. Photo by guide Chris Benesh.

After crossing to Nova Scotia, we headed to Morien Bar to do a bit of shorebirding (nice view of Hudsonian Godwit) as well as a visit to scenic Louisbourg Harbour.  The following day we visited the Cape Breton Highlands, where—as good as the birds were—they took a back seat to the wonderful marine mammals we saw on our boat trip out of Pleasant Bay.  We encountered pods of Long-finned Pilot Whales, some with Atlantic White-sided Dolphins, had a close encounter with a couple of Humpback Whales, and saw lots of curious Gray Seals.

Our last birding destination was Liscombe Lodge, and we had some nice encounters there. Topping the nice birding was the young Black-backed Woodpecker that came in to investigate us, and the American Mink that trotted across the lodge grounds in front of us. The stretch of the Glen Elg-Waternish road we covered was also quite enjoyable, complete with some stunning Evening Grosbeaks. Finally, on our way to Halifax, we made a final stop to pick up the Acadian subspecies of Nelson’s Sparrow. A great way to wrap up our visit to northeastern Canada.

We had many wonderful sightings on our boat trips; here, two of thousands of Atlantic Puffins and a Gray Seal coming up for a look. Photos by guide Chris Benesh.

Next year, our Newfoundland & Nova Scotia tour is scheduled for June 28-July 8 with Chris.  You may check out his bio and upcoming schedule at this link.  

We’ve posted our September e-mailing! Included are: an added China 2013 tour, a Honduras/Guatemala combo, a Galapagos slideshow, January in Oaxaca, interesting links (biodiversity and US wind map), holiday tours…oh, yeah, and a bunch of fresh and fun tour images in our Recent Photos gallery, October to February tour spaces, plus recently posted triplists and itineraries. Enjoy!

September 2012 E-mailing

How would you like to see one of the world’s smallest jays and one of the world’s largest wrens side by side in the same flock? Or a warbler that’s a brilliant scarlet all over–except for a tiny white cheek patch, that is? (See below!) Or a vireo that’s slate gray with chartreuse wings and a chartreuse cap? How would you like to walk among the ruins of an ancient city that once straddled a mountain, learning about its history while keeping a watchful eye out for its current feathered inhabitants? Or tempt your palate with a spicy mole or a smoky mescal or two?  If this sounds intriguing, why not join us for a week in sunny Oaxaca, Mexico – the perfect place to spend a week in the middle of a cold, northern January. We have four remaining spaces open on this perennially popular tour, and dates are January 19-26…hope to see you there!

The warbler and the ruins await! (Photos by guide Chris Benesh)