From the Field
November 27: Rich Hoyer on his just-completed cruise through the Galapagos
Our Galapagos Islands delivered everything this magical place promised – amazingly close encounters with myriad fantastic creatures at every turn in a stunning landscape, rich in human and natural history. Starting with a greeting from the Medium Ground-Finches (one of thirteen species of finches we saw) at the Baltra Airport, we progressed through encounters with the fabled giant tortoises, shockingly curious Galapagos Flycatchers (see the photo of one that inspected a hand-held perch), and the endemic inhabitants of all the major islands. Watching the pair-bonding display of Waved Albatrosses on Española was a trip highlight for many (photo below), while seeing the Flightless Cormorant (see photo) and Galapagos Penguins in the western islands was like a dream. Most participants also enjoyed some snorkeling opportunities every day, with about sixty species of fish being identified and close encounters with cormorants and Green Sea Turtles especially memorable (see photo from participant Bill Kunze).
November 23: Brent Stephenson on his just concluded New Zealand tour
21-days, 3 Islands, and mostly brilliant weather throughout! Apart from a little rain in the Central North Island and the odd shower during our Stewart Island pelagic, conditions were exceptional, and this meant we saw all four of the targeted kiwi species, with great views of three of them. Achieving excellent views of the key endemics and native species is always a priority, and we did this with relative ease.
To mention just a few: yellowhead in two different locations with prolonged and stunning views, close prolonged views of a pair of South Island (rock) wren (below), 28 Fiordland crested penguins in Milford Sound plus others seen at other places, five New Zealand falcons seen during the tour in both the North and Islands, both species of saddleback and stunning close views of kokako. And a few more … scope views of both shining-bronze and long-tailed cuckoos, kea in several locations, wonderful close views of wrybill, stitchbird (below) and 33 species of tube-nosed seabird (inc 8 albatross species, Buller's below). All in all a fantastic tour, with a record-tying 168 species seen, some really fun times, and spectacular scenery!
Participants enjoying splendid weather...
Southern brown kiwi on Stewart Island, and Spider orchids on Ulva Island.
November 23: Dan Brown from his tour in Goa
A stunning male Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher in full scope view for 15 minutes at Bondla, a trio of Amur Falcons (below ) just above our heads on Divar Island, 1500 Small Pratincoles in soft evening light, and a plethora of wetland birds. What a place!
An adult Amur Falcon - James Lidster
November 18: Steve H0well and Jake Mohlmann on the last leg of their recently completed Chile tour
A dinner toast of "2 tinamous and 3 flamingoes" (in one day, and species, not individuals!) sums up well the quality birding offered by the desert and high Andes of northern Chile. Our 2011 tour throughout this great country maintained its fine birds and amazing weather right through to the end, with numerous highlights on the last section including tiny male Chilean Woodstars (below), the little-known Canyon Canastero (below), raucous flocks of Gray Gulls and Franklin's Gulls "wading" amid pulsating carpets of Sanderling on a sunny beach, the bizarre Peruvian Thick-knee (below), and simply the rarified experience of birding amid the mind-blowing scenery at Lake Chungara, the highest lake in the world (at 15,000 feet, below), its surface dotted liberally with Giant Coots and Andean Silvery Grebes, the surrounding slopes and bogs home to elegant wild Vicuñas (below) and herds of domesticated Alpacas (and spot the Andean Gull..., below). A fine dinner with pisco sours and Chilean wine and a relaxed last morning’s beach walk (producing a surprise Elliot’s Storm-Petrel close to shore) rounded out the tour before we headed homeward.
November 16: James Lidster on his just concluded Ghana tour
Just home from a brilliant trip to Ghana. We saw Yellow-headed Picathartes as close as we always do (below), and were also the first birding group (ever?) to set eyes on Nkulengu Rail. Further, we saw a Hartlaub's Duck with ducklings, confirming the breeding of one of the world’s rarest ducks. If that wasn't enough, we saw other sought after species from African Piculet, Red-billed and Black Dwarf Hornbills, Cassin's Hawk-eagle, Red-thighed and Black Sparrowhawks, to Fraser's Eagle Owl, Black-shouldered, Plain and Long-tailed Nightjars. We enjoyed amazing views of Rosy, Black and Blue-headed Bee-eaters, (Rosy, below), Yellow-bearded Greenbul (below), Chocolate-backed (below) and African Pygmy Kingfishers, Rufous-sided Broadbill, and umpteen sunbirds, weavers, etc. The forest remains as beautiful as ever, our ground agents as attentive as any I work with so every tour seems so exciting. This was my 5th and I still managed 15 birds, testimony to the ever growing knowledge of this country and the hard work the local guys make to keep checking new sites. Now, time to get some washing done before Gambia on Friday...
November 15: Gavin Bieber on the last part of his and Judy Davis's tour to Australia
We just finished the third section of our tour, concentrating on the diverse state of Queensland, with additional time at the incomparable O'Riley's Rainforest Retreat near Lamington National Park, and a few days around Sydney, surely one of the most attractive large cities on the planet. Some of wonders of the itinerary are illustrated below: a flock of Spotted Whistling-Ducks (a recent colonizer from New Guinea) north of Cairns; a Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher that we located near Kingfisher Park in the Atherton Tablelands and there as well lengthy and very close views of the impressive Southern Cassowary; fuzzy Brown Booby chicks among the throngs of Sooty Terns and Brown Noddies (among 8 other species of terns for the day!) on our trip to the Great Barrier Reef; Regent Bowerbirds and Australian King Parrots at the magical O’Rileys; calm seas and pleasant weather on our pelagic trip out of Sydney which enabled us to really study Wandering Albatross, a host of shearwaters and Great-winged and Providence Petrels at close range; and finally the coastline of Royal National Park with Southern Emu-Wren and Rock Warbler against some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. All in all, it’s just an amazing place.
November 15: Steve Howell and Jake Mohlmann with more from their ongoing Chile tour
Our time in central Chile was blessed by continued amazing weather - from perfect high overcast and low seas on the pelagic (below, with Royal Albatross), to stunning sunshine in the Andes. Today we watched a confiding Diademed Sandpiper-Plover (below) feeding on a bog surrounded by huge lilac and green talus slopes, overlooked by a couple of hanging glaciers, and to the backdrop of numerous hooting Gray-breasted Seedsnipes! Our venture into the Humboldt Current produced a bonus young Wandering Albatross (below) as well as the more usual Northern Royal, Salvin's, Southern Buller’s, and Black-browed Albatrosses, plus a vagrant Shy Albatross (below), one of only a handful of documented records from Chile. The Sperm Whale (below) wasn't bad either, and we celebrated the magic pelagic with a glass of wine as we returned to port. Other highlights have included Great Shrike-Tyrant, Crag Chilia, Rufous-tailed Plantcutter (below), White-throated Tapaculo, and Chilean Tinamou (below). Now off to the Atacama for the last leg of the tour...
November 5: Steve Howell with an update on his and Jake Mohlmann's tour of Chile
We're now back in Santiago after a fabulous visit to the temperate rain forests of the Lake District, home to the iconic Magellanic Woodpecker (image taken yesterday morning outside our lodge) and some incredible scenery (Volcan Puntiagudo, below). This morning we enjoyed an unparalleled tapaculo fest, seeing all 4 forest species very well in less than an hour - and in sunshine! (photos of Chucao Tapaculo and the normally elusive Ochre-flanked Tapaculo, below). The added bonus of the active Puyehue Volcano contributed an amazing juxtaposition of clear and ash-laden rivers, the latter still with Torrent Ducks (images below). Now we get to enjoy a week of sunny spring weather in central Chile before heading north to the Atacama Desert.
November 5: Gavin Bieber on his and Judy Davis's just completed tour of South Australia and Northern Territory
Our second leg of our Australia tour to South Australia and Northern Territory combined an amazing array of habitats and landscapes with some of the continent's most special birds. The shrubby mallee forests of the Murray River region was lush thanks to a wealth of rainfall over the last year, and many rare nomadic species were in evidence. Our chief prize from the South Australia portion of the tour must have been this female Scarlet-chested Parrot (below)in the Gluepot Preserve. In Alice Springs we experienced the timeless landscapes of the Macdonnell Ranges (below)while seeking out such outback specialities as the absurdly beautiful Spinifex Pigeon (below) or the charismatic lizard, the Perentie (below). We finished in the humid tropics around Darwin with its astonishingly rich avifauna (we added about 100 species to the triplist!). One definite highlight was our riveting views of the odd Rufous Owl (below), roosting in amongst a large colony of flying foxes, but I suspect the group favorite might have been the gorgeous male Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove (below) found in mangrove forests just outside of Darwin....and now it's on to Queensland and New South Wales.
November 2: Steve Howell and Jake Mohlmann from their Chile tour
It's been fantastic... Yesterday crossing the Straits of Magellan over to Tierra del Fuego we had almost balmy weather followed by a mild and amazingly near-calm afternoon - during which we found a pair of Magellanic Plovers in record time and watched them feeding alongside handsome Two-banded Plovers and migrant Baird's and White-rumped sandpipers. Among many other highlights these first few days we've enjoyed Magellanic Penguins "wading" through bunch grass and flowering Berberis bushes (below), displaying Magellanic Snipe (below), flashy Canary-winged (Black-throated) Finches, stately Guanacos and sleek South American Gray Foxes roaming the Patagonian grasslands, and beautiful Commerson's Dolphins (below). The "common" birds are also easy on the eyes - from Black-faced Ibis to Rufous-collared Sparrows (both below).
