From the Field
December 3: Paul Holt's text message after the first day of his South China in Winter tour
Near Fujian: Four Spoon-billed Sandpipers, 17 Black-faced Spoonbills, 13 Saunder’s Gulls and two Brown-headed Thrushes. Spoonbill image: Pinit Saengkaew
December 2: Steve Howell on his on-going tour to The Yucatan and Cozumel, Mexico
Truly remarkable today was actually seeing both Barred Forest-Falcon and Collared Forest-Falcon, as well as a Thicket Tinamou, which wandered across the road! We’ve also seen all of the regional specialties in the areas so far visited – plenty of Yucatan Vireos (below), Black Catbirds, good views of Yucatan Poorwill, Yucatan Flycatcher, Gray-throated Chat, Rose-throated Tanager (female below), and Orange Oriole among them. Add to that lots of Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls (below), a stunning little Variable Coral Snake (below), the flashy Turquoise-browed Motmot, a nice antswarm today with endearing Ruddy Woodcreepers (below) and scads of wintering migrant warblers, and it’s been non-stop fun birding since we started. Off to the coast tomorrow...
November 29: Gavin Bieber on his just-completed tour to Panama's Canopy Tower and Lodge
I just wrapped up a fantastic trip to Panama's justifiably famous Canopy Tower and Lodge which combined an impressive diversity of birds (380 species) and nearly 20 species of mammals all in a lush tropical setting, with great company and excellent local cuisine. Our highlight species were many, with some of the standouts including a foraging Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo attending a large swarm of army ants near the scenic Macho Falls, close views of a stunning male Blue Cotinga, an almost tame Great Curassow along Pipeline Road, a very cooperative Collared Forest-Falcon, and about twenty minutes shared with a pair of the rare and simply stunning Yellow-eared Toucanets! It really was a wonderful trip, and to be able to see such a wealth of diversity from such comfortable surroundings makes this tour one of my perennial favorites. Images below by Gavin: Blue Cotinga, Great Curassow, Collared Forest-Falcon and Yellow-eared Toucanet.
November 23: Paul Holt on his just completed tour of Goa, India
We've done this tour a massive 14 times now and I've lost count of the number of these where Indian Pitta has topped the end of tour poll. This year's encounter with this mid-sized gem was pretty special however - with the bird sitting right out for us all to 'scope. Pittas just don't do that - ever! Other highlights included stunning close range views of both sand plovers, several sizeable flock of ever entertaining Little Pratincoles, both Lesser and Greater Crested Terns, Lesser Adjutants, Watercocks, Greater Painted Snipe, umpteen Pallid Harriers, an impressive range of night birds including three day-time roosting Ceylon Frogmouths, Malabar Pied Hornbills, Malabar Trogon, a pair of Blue-eared Kingfishers at a semi-regular stake out near the ancient Hindu temple at Tambdi Surla and cracking looks at Grey Junglefowl. Among the most popular entertainers was a Greater Flameback that had taken a liking to rubber car tyres, rubber car window seals and vehicle wing mirrors!
Flexibility was the key, some people joined all the trips, some didn’t. On a good number of day’s we’d start quite early, have a midday break back at the hotel before venturing back out; on other days we’d return to the hotel mid-afternoon and have the rest of the time off. On still other days we’d venture further a field, staying out all day – and the latter’s just what we did when we combined birding around Carambolim with an Old Goa sightseeing excursion and an afternoon Crocodile or Back Waters trip. It all went smoothly – as smooth as the apple pie and chocolate ice cream that we enjoyed!
By the end of the tour we’d explored most of the state’s premier birding sites, several of them, such as the bird thronged and massively photogenic river mouth at Morjim, on a couple of occasions. We all had our favourites – favourite sites and favourite birds…Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, a small forest reserve at the base of the Western Ghats, was again my favourite site and the Franklin's Gull we found at Morjim (the first for India and South Asia) was, needless to say, my favourite bird.
And then there were the comfortable, well-appointed rooms, the hotel's immaculately clean swimming pool, the great food and superbly friendly, attentive service making it all the more remarkable that we did as much birding as we did! '
Paul Holt images below: Lesser Sand Plover, Little Pratincole, Black-capped Kingfisher, Ceylon Frogmouth, our crocodile crusie boat, one of many charming Indian scenes, and themarvelously names Blue-bearded Bee-eater
November 22: James Lidster on his just completed tour of Ghana
I can't remember the last time one species received a full house on 'Bird of the trip' but Yellow-headed Picathartes has done it this time! Not only are the birds absolutely magical, with their amazingly clean plumage, but their behaviour of bouncing from rock to rock, preening on a vine and then slipping away unnoticed makes them seem almost aware of their mythical status! We watched their antics for over an hour, set in beautiful forest, and having passed friendly villagers totally bemused at how one species of bird could cause so many people so much pleasure.
There were many other highlights too from Shining Blue and White-bellied Kingfishers to Congo Serpent Eagle and Long-tailed Hawk. White-spotted Flufftail was seen by everyone (no mean feat) as were African Finfoot and Hartlaub's Ducks.....we saw Great Blue and Yellow-billed Turacos, Upper Guinea endemics such as Sharp's Apalis, Copper-tailed Glossy Starling and Brown-cheeked Hornbills. We saw other hornbills including Red-billed Dwarf and Abyssinian Ground, managed to see both Fraser's and Akun Eagle Owls, Brown and Long-tailed Nightjars, Rufous-sided Broadbill, both Black and Rosy Bee-eaters, plus countless greenbuls, raptors, a Long-tailed Pangolin and 2 Pottos!
It's never an easy tour, the days are long, the temperature is difficult to describe, the roads not always great, but as far as West Africa goes, Ghana really is a shining light with it's friendly inhabitants and superb forests.
James Lidster images below: Yellow-headed Picathartes, Long-tailed Hawk, Black and Rosy Bee-eaters, and a view from a canopy tower
November 17: Gavin Bieber on his just-completed tour of Chile
Once again Chile impressed everyone with its remarkable variety, especially the amazing parade of landscapes. As usual, the trip list was modest by most Neotropical standards but very respectable for Chile (269 species plus six likely splits), and featured many of South Americas truly marquee species. An added plus for some was the fact that we saw many of the birds repeatedly and even got to know them after a while. On the coasts of central Chile we enjoyed fantastic views of the often not overly confiding White-throated Tapaculo, hordes of waterbirds at coastal lagoons, a surprise Ticking Doradito on territory at the Maipo River Mouth, and a calm pelagic trip with three species of albatrosses including this bossy Black-browed. To the north the views of a mixed Flamingo flock at 14000 feet which was close enough to clearly see the finer details of their amazing coloration should remain etched in our minds for a long time, while Andean Condors drifted majestically along postcard perfect Andean ridges, and the beautiful Lake Chungara held hundreds of breeding Giant Coots as well as fantastic views of Volcan Paranicota. Chile is truely memorable!
Images below: White-throated Tapaculo, Ticking Doradito, Black-browed Albatross, Andean Condor, Giant Coot, and Volcan Paranicota.
November 4: Gavin Bieber from his on-going tour in Chile
We've wrapped up several days around the Straights of Magellan in the far south of the country, and a few days in the scenic Lake district and are now gearing up for a week in the central Chilean Andes and the coast. Some of the highlights so far from the south included a moulting colony of King Penguins, charismatic Magellanic Penguins, incomparably beautiful Tawny-throated Dotterels, many Darwin's Rheas (one of few birds in the world that can be mistaken at a distance for a sheep ) and a host of colorful waterfowl including smart looking Ashy-headed Geese. The fairie tale forests of the lake district proved productive with great views of Magellanic Woodpeckers, and several tapaculos including the bright and often curious Chacao. Tomorrow we head to the coast and out to the Humbolt Current for a pelagic trip. It always seems as if this tour includes 5 or 6 countries, as the scenery and birding change so much as one travels north.
Images below: King Penguins, Megellanic Penguin, Tawny-throated Dotterel, Darwin's Rhea, Ashy-headed Geese and Chacao Tapaculo.
October 30: James Lidster on his just concluded tour to the Gambia
This year's Gambia trip ran a few weeks earlier than normal, the result....17 Egyptian Plovers in one day and stacks of weavers and bishops in dazzling plumages!
The downside was an increased humidity and a couple of wet evenings but that couldn't dampen our spirits. From colorful turacos on the coast to staggering numbers of raptors wherever we went, the 'birdiness' of the Gambia has to be seen to be believed! Our earlier departure also meant for a few new species for our cumulative list (no mean feat after 10 trips). The best of these was probably a 'flapping' Flappet Lark on the coast, a species never proven to breed on the coast.
For many though the images of Egyptian Plovers, the 2 Abyssinian Ground Hornbills at dusk, the day roosting African Scops Owls, the amazing gonoleks and sunbirds, the creek boat trip full of herons and kingfishers (including a White-backed Night Heron nest with 2 chicks) and the numerous rollers will live long in the memory. Now off to Ghana.....West Africas other birding hotspot!
Images below Red Bishop, Egyptian Plover, White-backed Night Heron, White-crested Helmet-Shrike and a Gambian sunset.
October 16: Rich Hoyer on his scouting trip to the "Manu Route" in Peru
I've just finished a quick run through the so-called "Manu Route," perhaps the best transect down the wet, Amazon-draining slope of the Andes in Peru (and maybe in the entire Andean chain). The diversity of life from top to bottom in plants, butterflies, frogs, and birds never ceases to amaze me. While this trip certainly helped prepare and excite me for leading my WINGS tour here next year, the purpose of this trip was to inspect and consult on the viability and potential of two properties that wish to open up to the birding and ecotourism market. The lodges we stay at are already great, access to habitats very good, and our current itinerary thoughtfully crafted, but I'm excited about the potential these properties will offer in a couple years' time. We might actually visit one next year on a day trip while based at Amazonía Lodge. In any event, you just can't go wrong on the Manu Route. The mountain pass from the dry to the wet slope isn't so high that you have to worry about altitude sickness, most of the habitat along the altitude gradient is protected and in excellent condition, and the road has relatively little traffic, not being a major paved highway to any city of importance. We saw about 530 species of birds in a quick 11 days. It was a bit frustating that on one day we had to drive through the really productive middle elevations (our regular tour stops for a couple nights at the Cock-of-the Rock Lodge), but our driver was good to make some short stops for a couple nice birds perched right over the road – the Blue-banded Toucanet and the Golden-headed Quetzal pictured below.
We saw most all of the bamboo specialties at Villa Carmen, but the highlight was our last bird on our second day – a super-rare Gray-bellied Hawk with just barely enough light to photograph it. Then we had four days at the Los Amigos research station on the Madre de Dios, including an overnight at their camp some 30 miles up the Los Amigos River. It was on our way back down that Daniel spotted a Harpy Eagle perched by the river. It stayed long enough for us to get out of the boat and admire its massiveness, and then it flew right over us. Few people have seen a wild Harpy Eagle fly over so close. Plants, butterflies, moths, and other critters added to the interest, and I include a cool looking syrphid fly below as an example of the amazing diversity.
October 7: Jon Feenstra from his and Rich Hoyer's scout of southern Ecuador
Since the last update we have visited the three Jocotoco Foundation lodges south and west of Loja. The Tapichalaca Reserve in the highlands is the home of the flagship species of the reserves, the Jocotoco Antpitta which the lodge staff now has lured out of the forest for worms. The reserve itself has great birding, but is also partly within the Rio Maranon watershed and has easy access to birds that have a very limited range in Ecuador like Rufous-fronted Thornbird and Maranon Thrush. From the cool wet forests of Tapichalaca we then spent the next two days in arid thorn-scrub with entirely different bird life. Long-tailed Mockingbirds were now the common species and we also saw Elegant Crescentchest and Rufous-necked Foliage-Gleaner and Tumbesian endemics like Tumbes Hummingbird, Tumbesian Tyrranulet, and Tumbes Sparrow. At the Jorupe Reserve we also saw a pair of Gray-backed Hawks and a surprisingly confiding Pale-browed Tinamou eating corn from the lodge porch! Next it was back into the wet country of the rainforest lowlands at the Buenaventura Reserve. We started today with a visit to the Long-wattled Umbrellabird lek where we watched one male emit his foghorn-like calls. After that we spent the rest of the day on the main trail through the reserve where we found about 130 species including: Barred Puffbird, White-tipped Sicklebill, and Club-winged Manakins. All good so far, tomorrow we head back toward civlilization spending some time to bird the coast - and see another entirely new set of birds! Images below: Jocotoco Antpitta, Tumbes Sparrow, Gartered (Violaceous) Trogon, Collared Antshrike
