December 2019 emailing

Our December emailing is out, with a fresh gallery of images from recent tours, short features on guide Marcelo Barreiros and Karen Turner from our Austin office, a cool antpitta slideshow in a new series, plus of course recent triplists, fresh 2020 itineraries, and spaces on upcoming tours. Click here or on the image below to have a look. Enjoy!

Halloween 2019 emailing

We have a special edition of our monthly emailing just in time for Halloween! Lots of news from recent tours as well as goings-on at Field Guides, plus of course recent triplists, fresh 2020 itineraries, some great video clips, and much more. Click here or on the image below to have a look. Enjoy!

World Birding Rally, Peru: May 2014 first reports

The Rally is in full swing, and guides Rose Ann Rowlett, Richard Webster, Terry Stevenson, and Marcelo Padua are hard at work trying to find as many species as possible during their week traversing northern Peru. Marcelo’s reporting from the field when he has a chance (and an internet connection!)…

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Our Field Guides team getting ready to go, with their own official vehicle! From left to right: Richard Webster, Rose Ann Rowlett, Marcelo Padua, and Terry Stevenson. Onward!!

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On the first day of the tour our team found 118 species, but the true highlight of the first day was a group of children cheering for us in one of the villages we visited. –Marcelo

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Terry Stevenson is our Africa specialist and holds the world record for the largest number of birds seen in one day, but up to this point he had only spent 3 days in South America, so studying for the Birding Rally has been quite a challenge! On this photo he studies a plate of Tapaculos, a new family for him. –Marcelo

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Our Team continued to work hard on the World Birding Rally in northern Peru, and by the end of day three we reached a total of 222 species of birds recorded. One of the highlights of day three was this Gray-bellied Comet, an endangered species with a tiny world range. –Marcelo

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Another day three highlight was this spiffy looking pair of Rufous-eared Brush-finches! –Marcelo (with Rose Ann, Richard, and Terry)

The Simple Beauty of Flight

Here’s a post for the pure and simple aesthetic enjoyment of birds. Summer is our Galapagos season with multiple trips, and guide George Armistead returned with a set of lovely pics of everything from Sally Lightfoot crabs to sea lions to tree finches and Galapagos Rail. We thought it would be fun to focus on just a few of George‘s airborne ones from the tour and the incredible lightness of their beings.

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An Elliot's Storm-Petrel floats above the surface...

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...and magically puts winglift and surface tension to work as it 'walks' on water.

Two caramel-headed juvenile Great Frigatebirds practice their aerobatic skills over Tower Island.
Two caramel-headed juvenile Great Frigatebirds practice aerobatics over Tower Island.

Red-billed Tropicbird over Española
A Red-billed Tropicbird cruises by Española.

Swallow-tailed Gull with a morsel over Española
Swallow-tailed Gull with a morsel over Española

Waved Albatross over the breeding grounds at Española
Waved Albatross passes over the colony at Española.

...and participants Lance and Peter marveling at the Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel colony on Tower Island.
And the simple joy of marveling at the Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel colony on Tower, far-northeastern outlier of the Galapagos archipelago.