From the Field
June 19: Gavin Bieber and Steve Howell from their ongoing Alaska Majesty tour
In Anchorage we spent a productive morning along the Cook Inlet, where a flock of Hudsonian Godwits stole the show. As usual on the Majesty of the North tour, mammals prevailed in the Denali National Park itself, with a Lynx being the crowning sighting, but we also enjoyed 5 Grizzly Bears, Moose, Ground Squirrels, Caribou, Dall Sheep and a Collared Pika. The forests near the park revealed many White-winged Crossbills foraging on the abundant cone crop, as well as a true prize in the form of an inquisitive and cooperative Northern Hawk Owl. It's off to Nome next for a four day visit.
Hudsonian Godwits
Arctic Ground Squirrel
White-winged Crossbill
Northern Hawk Owl
June 15: Jon Dunn from his recently completed Migration in the Midwest tour
Day after day at both MaGee Marsh in Ohio and at Tawas Point in Michigan, there was an abundance of birds. Our Migration in the Midwest tour tallied some 37 wood warbler species, missing only Connecticut (of the eastern warblers) and saw most in abundance. Of particular note were excellent eye level views of Golden-winged, Swainson’s, Kirtland’s and Mourning. Other species of note included two groups of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks in northern Ohio, Eared Grebe, both Glossy and White-faced Ibis, territorial Piping Plovers at Tawas Point, three breeding plumaged adult Little Gulls, five Henslow’s Sparrows and several Evening Grosbeaks. Non avian highlights included a Broadhead Skink, two Kirtland’s Snake and a threatened Eastern Massasauga, a little known rattlesnake.
Golden-winged Warbler - Chris Wood
Blackburnian Warbler - Chris Wood
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
Henslow's Sparrow
Evening Grosbeak
Massasauga Rattlesnake
June 10: Susan Myers from her ongoing tour of the Philippines
As we near the end of our Philippines tour we find ourselves on the island of Palawan, looking for a lovely bunch of birds peculiar to the island. High on everyone’s want list is the Palawan Peacock-Pheasant. This small exotic jewel of a bird is normally an exceptionally shy denizen of the deep forest but over the last decade or so we birders have been blessed with a particular individual bird who has become quite habituated and allowed so many of us to marvel at his undoubted beauty! if you think I might be prone to hyperbole just look at this photo, below.
Throughout our tour we’ve enjoyed fabulous rain-free weather - albeit a little on the hot side - and had some exceptionally fine birding. Highlights have been many but the real standouts have been the always-gorgeous Steere’s or Azure-breasted Pitta, which despite putting up a little bit of a fight showed beautifully in the end; and a last minute reprieve with the magnificent Great Philippine Eagle, surely one of the most magnificent birds in the world! And what superb views! For me personally, I always find this bird incredibly thrilling. On top of these we’ve seen a fine collection of kingfishers, including the gorgeous Silvery Kingfisher; parrots such as the Blue-headed Racquet-tail; and many other of the wonderful Philippine endemics - Philippine Trogon, White-eared Brown-Dove, Red-crested Malkoha, Rufous Hornbill, Philippine Falconet, Apo Myna and many, many more.
June 3: Jon Dunn and Gavin Bieber from their ongoing tour of Gambell
We're in our first full day on Gambell and it's full of birds - well with alcids passing at the rate of tens of thousands an hour Gambell is always full of birds - but today there were Asian birds as well sprinkled here and there. We began with a Eurasian Whimbrel (variegatus) and a Eurasian Common Tern (longipennis) and a Eurasian Green-winged Teal (crecca) - these three distinctive races (at least at present) of North American species - followed by a Terek Sandpiper and a cuckoo, most likely Common but certain separation by plumage from Oriental is problematic. Since things appear to be happening, we're heading out again....
Terek Sandpiper - Dave Mackay, High Lonesome
Common <?> Cuckoo - David Mackay, High Lonsome
May 26: Paul Holt on his just-concluded tour to the Beidaihe and Happy Island, China
We've been doing tours to Beidaihe and Happy Island, probababy East Asia's most easily accessed premier migration site, for 20 years and it still produces surprises. This year's highlights included eight Reed Parrotbills (arguably the world's most attractive parrotbill) and great looks at a phenomenal array of shorebirds including three Nordmann's Greenshank, over 140 Asian Dowitchers, 4000 Great Knot, 1525 Broad-billed Sandpipers and a Long-billed Plover. In addition we saw an impressive variety of northbound Siberian migrants such as Siberian Thrush, Siberian Rubythroat and Pechora Pipit; an array of Chinese specialities that included eight different Green-backed Flycatchers and several encounters with both Grey-sided and Chinese Thrushes; and globally threatened species such as Chinese Egret, Japanese Waxwing and Yellow-breasted Bunting. We also found a Kamchatka Warbler, a new bird for east China's Hebei province, and even found time to take in the Great Wall.
Reed Parrotbill
Asian Dowitcher
Green-backed Flycatcher
Amur Falcon female
May 13: Gavin Bieber on his just-concluded tour of South Florida
South Florida may conjure up images of sandy crowded beaches, traffic, and Cuban food, but for the visiting naturalist it offers so much more. Our 2014 tour just wrapped up combining the best of the Keys, Dry Tortugas, Greater Miami, the Everglades and the Southwest coast of this dynamic state. From the approachable endemic Florida Scrub-Jays and portly Gopher Tortoises of the arid interior pine forests, to hordes of wading birds in the cypress swamps and backwaters of South Florida, there were birds at every turn. This year we were treated to unparalleled views of Purple Gallinule and Shiny Cowbird in the Everglades, an excellent visit to the Keys and Tortugas that produced nearly all of our target birds (including Mangrove Cuckoo), and even a Caribbean stray in the form of a LaSagra's Flycatcher! I look forward to the tour every year, with its great combination of migration, an interesting suite of local specialities, and the chance for a rarity or two; and this year certainly did not disappoint!
Florida Scrub-Jay
Gopher Tortoise
Egrets in a drainage canal - a Florida scene
Purple Gallinule
Shiny Cowbirds
La Sagra's Flycatcher
May 13: Steve Rooke from his on-going tour of Central Asia
We had a brilliant day today, birding in the hills south of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. There were stunning Red-headed Buntings everywhere (below), as well as the special local birds. In fact, White-throated Robin, Upcher's Warbler, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Eastern Rock Nuthatch, Hume's Short-toed Lark (below), Finsch's Wheatear - all lined up nicely for us. And with them there were Rollers (European, below) and Turkestan Shrikes to drool over, plus a constant stream of European Bee-eaters and Rose-coloured Starling passing overhead.
Red-headed Bunting
Hume's Short-toed Lark
European Roller
May 12: Paul Lehman on his just-completed cruise from San Diego to Vancouver
Our repositioning cruise aboard Holland America's "Zuiderdam" from 6-9 May produced a great Pterodroma petrel show, with 300+ Cook's, 5 Hawaiians, and 26 Murphy's. On one day, groups of Cook's were in view for four hours straight! Also 2 Laysan Albatrosses, lots of Black-footed Albatrosses and Leach's Storm-Petrels, and smaller numbers of Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels and Long-tailed Jaegers. And all while in great comfort. Thanks to Curtis Marantz for the images.
Murphy's Petrel
Laysan Albatross
Cook's Petrel
May 5: Fabrice Schmitt on his just-concluded scouting trip to the Santa Marta region of Colombia
I just spent the last few weeks scouting the stunning Sierra Nevada and the Guajira Peninsula for the forthcoming March 2015 WINGS tour to Santa Marta. The endemism in the Sierra Nevada is impressive, and most of the bird names begin with “Santa Marta” or “Sierra Nevada”: Brush-Finch, Warbler, Screech-owl, Antpitta, Foliage-gleaner, Woodstar, Tapaculo, etc. The semi-arid Guajira Peninsula offers a good contrast to the tropical forest found in the Sierra Nevada; my personal favorites include the Chestnut Piculet and the “punk like” Cotton-top Tamarin!! I am now back home, finalizing the details for that Santa Marta tour details of which will appear soon on the WINGS website.
The Sierra Nevada
Santa Marta Brush-Finch
Santa Marta Screech-Owl
Santa Marta Antpitta
Chstnut Piculet
Cotton-top Tamarin
May 2: Steve Howell from the recently completed Melanesian Odyssey Cruise
This one-off voyage exceeded all expectations and was a true expedition into the unknown. Starting with Fiji Petrel, one of very few at-sea photos ever taken of this recently rediscovered species (below), and ending with Vanikoro Monarch (never before seen by a birding group), we focused on remote island outposts rarely or never before visited by tourists. Landbird highlights included such little-known species as Vanuatu Megapode (below), Royal Parrotfinch, the endearing Ogea Monarch (below), and the poorly known Vanikoro White-eye (described to science in 2008). Other at-sea highlights included the little-known Vanuatu Petrel (below; described in 2001) and Magnificent Petrel (described in 2010), a great diversity of flyingfish (a few below), gaudy flying squid (below), an apparently undescribed (but distinctive) species of beaked whale, and snorkeling with a Dugong!
Fiji Petrel
Vanuatu Megapode
Ogea Monarch
Vanuatu Petrel
Blue Bandwing
Large Pinkwing
Leopardwing
flying squid