From the Field
March 23:
Rich Hoyer from his ongoing tour of Costa Rica
We arrived at Monteverde this evening for a two-night stay, meaning our 13 days of birding in Costa Rica were half over at noon today. We’ve already had almost too many amazing bird and wildlife encounters to remember, but we’re snapping lots of photos to keep track. At Cerro de la Muerte we briefly disturbed three Spotted Wood-Quail next to the trail, but then they settled down almost right away for a preening session right next to the trail. Rarely are these birds so confiding.
Another highlight here was a pair of the rarely seen Rough-legged Tyrannulets, a first for me in Costa Rica in 20 trips. We’ve watched an amazing number of birds busy with nesting, such as this male Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher, here sitting guard just below the incubating female.
Then we discovered some great things in the far southwest at Bosque del Rio Tigre. While we were watching a Squirrel Cuckoo gathering caterpillars over the road, one of the group noticed something large moving in the grass on the roadside. Out from there emerged this Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth, slowly crossing the road right in front of us.
Most of the group took a short hike up a forested stream bed to see this most gorgeous little Gulfo Dulce Poison Dart Frog.
Near the town we found this Gray-lined Hawk, only recently split from the northern Gray Hawk, and this was also a first for me in Costa Rica.
Today we birded Carara National Park for a bit, where one of the most memorable sightings was a pair of Red-legged Honeycreepers feeding on the bright red arils of the open fruits of huevos de caballo, a member of the dogbane genus Tabernaemontana.
And after lunch at Ensenada Lodge we spotted some good mangrove specialties (Northern Scrub-Flycatcher, Mangrove Vireo, and Mangrove Warbler), but a highlight for everyone was this roosting Pacific Screech-Owl with two fledged young perched right above it.
March 18:
Steve Howell on the conclusion of his tour to Mexico's Oaxaca and Western Chiapas
From Nava’s Wren one morning to Giant Wren the next, we found 19 species of wrens along our route, along with 10 species of orioles and 33 warblers – testament to the region’s rich biodiversity. Highlights from the second part of the tour included the very local Dwarf Jay (below) in refreshing, highland pine-oak forest – a perfect picnic venue (below); a confiding, soft-faced Red-breasted Chat (below); the very handsome Bridled Sparrow (below); a pair of duetting Fulvous Owls; a beautiful White-tailed Hawk (below); and great views of the enigmatic Sclater’s Woodcreeper (below), a cryptic species-level taxon of Strong-billed Woodcreeper whose striking song was discovered only a few years ago.
Dwarf Jay
A roadside lunch in Oaxaca
Red-breasted Chat
Bridled Sparrow
White-tailed Hawk
Sclater's Woodcreeper
March 16:
Jon Feenstra on his just-completed tour, Ecuador: A Week in the Clouds
We just wrapped up six full days of birding across 10,000 feet of elevation change along the Amazon slope of the Ecuadorian Andes. There were many great birds from the Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe that literally took the breath away (at 15,000 feet) to Chestnut-fronted Macaws and Black-mandibled Toucans in the foothill rainforest. And that was only the first day. Other days we didn’t travel quite as widely, but worked our way back uphill. We had fun birding from the comfort of east Ecuador’s best birding lodges, each situated in its own private forest reserves.
Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe
Black-mandibled Toucan
Hummingbird feeding has long been a common practice in Ecuador and we totaled thirty species including such specialties as Black-throated Brilliant, Napo Sabrewing, and Gorgeted Woodstar.
Hummmingbird watching in the eastern Andes
Antpitta feeding, the recent craze at Ecuadorian eco-lodges, is now practiced at all of the lodges we stayed at. We saw the tiny Ochre-breasted as well as the medium sized White-bellied and Plain-backed Antpittas. Other tough birds are also starting to come in to these feeding stations, so numbered are the days of thrashing around in the jungle for the likes of Slaty-backed and Spotted Nightingale-Thrushes, and White-crowned Tapaculo – all of which also came in to the lure of fresh worms.
White-bellied Antpitta
We did do a little thrashing about in the jungle for the charismatic White-crowned Manakin and not-so-charismatic but difficult Euler’s Flycatcher. Much of our birding was from the roadsides along excellent stretches of forest, where we enjoyed Collared, Masked and Green-backed Trogons, Crimson-crested Woodpeckers, and more Cerulean Warblers than anyone had seen before.
Green-backed Trogon
All photos attached here are by Jon Feenstra.
March 16:
Paul Holt's mid-tour summary of Northern India
Tiger, Tiger, Tiger! For the eleventh year in succession everyone on our current Northern India tour saw India’s, and arguably the planet’s most majestic animal – having fabulous looks at a male in Ranthambhore National Park. Other highlights so far have included a single Leopard, Greater Painted-snipe, 10 Indian Coursers, 12 Indian Skimmers, up to three Painted Spurfowl on two dates, Dusky Eagle Owl, Painted Sandgrouse, a leisurely guided tour around the Taj Mahal, and a comfortable overnight train ride and birds galore here just outside Corbett Tiger Reserve in the Himalayan foothills.... All that and we’re not even two thirds through this ever popular tour.
Painted Spurfowl
Greater Painted-snipe
The Taj
March 9:
Steve Howell reports from his ongoing Mexico tour to Oaxaca and Western Chiapas
"A motmot a day keeps the birders at play’ has been the story so far: this morning a very obliging Blue-crowned Motmot (below), yesterday morning a pair of Blue-throated Motmots, and the previous day the handsome Russet-crowned Motmot. We’ve also enjoyed great views of numerous regional specialties, including Pink-headed Warbler, the spectacular Slender Sheartail (below), Belted Flycatcher, and the endearing Rufous-browed Wren (below), along with wonderful views this morning of a group of foraging Singing Quail (defining ‘cryptic’ when they freeze – can you spot the bird in the first image?!). Tomorrow, on to the lowlands…
Blue-crowned Motmot
Slender Sheartail
Rufous-browed Wren
Singing Quail?
Singing Quail!
March 3:
Jake Mohlmann from his recently concluded Texas: Rio Grande Valley tour
Our bevy of birders thoroughly enjoyed a sun-soaked six days in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of south Texas. We explored a variety of habitats from the Gulf of Mexico at South Padre Island to the eastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert near Falcon Lake. Just over 200 species were seen and the list was flush with valley specialties like bright orange Altamira Orioles and gaudy Green Jays (below). Some mornings were spent overlooking Mexico on the banks of the Rio Grande (below) in hopes of spotting one of the many rarities we crossed paths with like this White-throated Thrush (below) seen by the group at Estero Llano Grande State Park. The multitude of Parrots and Parakeets encountered reminded us of being in a rainforest, and witnessing a total of seven species in 1 day was a highlight with excellent views of them all, including many Red-lored Parrots, (below). A fine way to end any trip to south Texas is to travel up to the Port Aransas area with sights set on seeing some of the endangered Whooping Cranes (below) that spend the winter here fattening up on delectable blue crabs. It's hard to imagine only 500 of these birds exist in the entire world. Our group was lucky enough to see around 25 of these amazing birds.
Altamira Oriole and Green Jay
Mexico across the Rio Grande
White-throated Thrush
Red-lored Parrots
Whooping Crane
February 25:
Fabrice Schmitt and Will Russell Report from their Ongoing Cruise Between Valparaiso, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina
We are sending this note from the legendary Cape Horn, at the extreme southern tip of South America. We are now heading towards the Falkland Islands after a very successful first part of our cruise in the Southern Pacific Ocean, (below). In just a few days at sea we’ve already reached the amazing number of nine different species of Albatross; Black-browed Albatross being the most numerous (below), and Chatham Albatross being the rarest (only 1 bird seen). We also had fantastic views of Wandering (New Zealand) Albatross (below), both Northern and Southern Royal Albatross, and even a few Grey-headed and Buller’s Albatrosses. In addition, we’ve had great numbers of both Stejneger’s and Juan-Fernandez Petrel, (below); two Pterodroma petrels hard to see anywhere else, and even found the recently described Pincoya Storm-Petrel.
We also had excellent views of several cetaceans including groups of Dusky (below), and Peale’s Dolphin and a Blue and a few Fin Whales.
We’ve also enjoyed several successful excursions on land. Highlights include superb views of the stunning Diademed Sandpiper-Plover (below), in the mountains above Santiago, a very tame Chucao Tapaculo (below), almost on our feet near Puerto-Montt, and nice views of Magellanic Plover and Spectacled Ducks amidst the wonderful scenery of Patagonia.
We are now entering the Atlantic Ocean with the hope of finding some rare seabirds on our way to the Falklands, where we have a forthcoming visit to a large King Penguin colony.
The ship is so stable we can use scopes for seabirding
Black-browed Albatross is one of the most numerous seabirds on this tour
One of the Wandering (New Zealand) Albatross following the ship
We've had way more Juan-Fernandez Petrel than expected
The Andes above Santiago is undoubtedly the best place to see the stunning Diademed Sandpiper-Plover
Three of a group of more than a hundred Dusky Dolphins
We had a few Chucao Tapaculo during our landing near Puerto-Montt, but this one almost jumped on our feet!
February 23:
Steve Howell reports from his Colima, Western Mexico tour.
Yesterday began with fabulous views of the improbably patterned Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo, and ended with stunning views of a seductive Balsas Screech-Owl – ‘just another great day birding in Mexico.’
Our first couple of days featured the eye-burningly bright Orange-breasted Bunting, (below), and great looks at the recently split Ridgway’s Rail (below). We moved on to active volcanoes, (below), and enjoyed leisurely views of feeding Aztec Thrushes, (below), and the spectacle of sky-blackening flocks of Yellow-headed Blackbirds --here a small (!) section of one flock (below).
Next, back down to the foothills…
Orange-breasted Bunting
Ridgway’s Rail
Volcan de Fuego
Aztec Thrush
Yellow-headed Blackbirds
February 20:
Rich Hoyer on his recent private tour to Baja California Sur
Extremely pleasant weather, plenty of great birds, and some emotionally intense wildlife encounters outlined the Baja California Sur section of the tour. Topping all was our second boat ride on Bahia Magdalena to witness the wintering Gray Whales. After being thoroughly delighted with our views of a shy female with her very young calf, we proceeded to encounter another mother who seemed to enjoy showing her week-old baby the delights of a boatful of humans. Over an hour spent with them seemed to pass in a moment, during which time some of us even got to stroke the baby when it surfaced right next to the boat. On another occasion we had the fortune of staying at a B & B by a beach and arriving there in time to watch the sunset release of about 130 baby Olive Ridley sea turtles, hatched during the day in an enclosure protected from predators.
The rest of our week was spent visiting a variety of habitats from mudflats to desert to oak woodlands where we saw a total of 173 species, about 70 of which were new for the trip, including the few endemics found in the Cape Region. The adorable California Quail delighted most of all, but it was close in votes to a stunning male Costa’s Hummingbird with his glittering, violet-flared gorget and crown. Other bird highlights were colorful Spotted Towhees in the mountains; a couple of Greater Roadrunners; a Western Screech-Owl sitting low in a bush—doing its best, but failing, to avoid being seen; a stake-out vagrant Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that had been a longshot, not having been seen in over two months; and cheeky Cactus Wrens, always charismatic with their complex colors and patterns and bold personalities.
Gray Whales
Olive Ridley sea turtles
Gray Thrasher
February 18:
James Lidster on his recently concluded tour of Ghana
You might think, if you believe the news, that West Africa is a no-go area. Thankfully birders know better and once again we were treated to a couple of fantastic weeks birding in Ghana. The people are as friendly and welcoming as ever and the birds didn’t disappoint. The obvious highlight of this trip is always the Yellow-headed Picathartes, and now there is no need to sit for 2 uncomfortable hours on a rock to see it. This year, after a nice walk through a shaded forest and one slight uphill climb, we positioned ourselves on benches and waited for the bird to appear – which they did only 7 minutes later!
Interestingly, for the first time ever the Picathartes nearly got knocked off their 'bird of the trip' position by a Nkulengu Rail (below). This is actually the 2nd tour here we have seen it on, which is no mean feat when you consider that less than 100 people have seen the species… ever.
Elsewhere we visited the canopy walkway at Kakum and saw Rosy and Black Bee-eaters (below), Congo Serpent Eagle (below), and Long-tailed and Bat Hawks.
For the second year in a row we camped in Ankasa, where our walk-in tents with beds (below) were a welcome change from the terrible hotel we formerly had to use. The tent camp has working showers and washrooms with water, plus cold beer and cooked meals (all of the latter missing from the old hotel). A great way to end a day when you have seen White-bellied Kingfisher, African Finfoot, Hartlaub's Duck, Great Blue Turaco or White-crested Tiger Heron.
In the north we spent 3 nights at Mole where we saw African Elephants (below). The lodge’s ridgetop swimming pool provided the ideal way to cool off in the heat of the day after having seen Violet Turacos and White-throated Francolin (all below).
For a great selection of photos from the tour, check out tour participant Francesco Veronesis’s Flickr page.
Nkulengu Rail
Black Bee-eater
Congo Serpent Eagle
Ankasa tent camp
African Elephants
Ridgetop swimming pool in Mole... ahhh!
Violet Turacos
White-throated Francolin