interactive - tropical birding
TRANSCRIPT
BIRDING, NATURE, AND
PHOTOGRAPHY TOURS
This is an
INTERACTIVE PDF FILE
just CLICK on a tour titleto see the dates, price, and
itinerary on our website
2Much more on our website: www.tropicalbirding.com Interact with us on Facebook or Twitter at Tropical Birding Tours
• We keep our groups small, which is always important, and absolutely essential inforest environments.
• Our guides are truly guides, and not just tour escorts. They are full-time profes-sionals who spend many months each year in the field.
• We have fun while we travel! While doing everything we can to see as much aspossible, we make sure that everybody is enjoying themselves.
• No other company matches our combination of quality guides, great accommoda-tion, and reasonable prices. Put simply, our tours are the best value on the market.
• We have the keenest and most enthusiastic guides in the industry, which keepsour tours fresh and very productive for our clients.
• We are based where the birds are, with offices in South America, Africa, Mada-gascar, and Asia. This means that we are up-to-date on what’s happening withthe birds in the places where our tours go, and also helps us keep our tours af-fordable.
• We are the company that truly understands the distinction between bird tours,nature tours, photography tours, and workshops. We have divided our tours up sothat people get the experience that they want.
• No other company is more active on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media.We like to stay connected with the people who travel with us in whatever waypossible.
• We actively introduce more people to birding. We created an information centerat High Island with free guiding for Houston Audubon Society, and started manybirding projects for government agencies, such as Birding on Ice and The BiggestWeek in American Birding.
• Our guides are as varied as the animals we watch. We come from a variety ofdifferent countries and backgrounds, but all share a passion for nature and formaking sure that you have an excellent travel experience.
WE DO CUSTOM TOURS BETTER THAN ANYONE• We actually do more custom tours than we do set-departures.• We can design itineraries for a huge variety of different interests, whether general
nature, hardcore endemic chasing, culture, or photography.• We can run custom tours almost anywhere, including destinations not listed in this
catalog.• Our custom tours are affordable, and even for groups as small as four, our prices
are often comparable to a set-departure trip.• Whether you’re a keen birder after one last monotypic family, or a group of pho-
tographers with varied interests, we can make your dream trip a reality. Give us acall and we can discuss the options.
Our tours are filled with unforgettable moments like this! (Scott Watson)
The unique Snowcap is one of the hundreds of amazing hummingbirds we see on our tours in the Americas (Nick Athanas)
WHAT MAKES TROPICAL BIRDING DIFFERENT?
3Give us a call on 1-800-348-5941 or 1-409-515-0514 E-mail us at [email protected]
North AmericaUpper Texas Coast: Whirlwind Migration (9 days; 11 days with extension)If you want to get a large batch of North American birds in one quick hit, this area provides it each and every spring. Houston Audubon’s High Island sanctuaries are rightly world-famous for their vast concentrations of spring migrants; birds can literally drop out of the sky at any time. Simply put, this is the only tour where we have no idea where we will be from one day to the next, chasing birds as they move through. Prizes among them are viv-idly colored warblers, and on some spectacular days nearly thirty species occur in bewil-dering numbers. We also go after orioles, cuckoos, thrushes, tanagers, vireos, buntings, and grosbeaks. Tropical Birding’s well-situated information center will ensure we are up to date with the latest sightings. Sites like the famous Bolivar Flats teem with shorebirds, freshwater marshes host Yellow Rails and Purple Gallinules, and the rookery in Smith Oaks sanctuary is packed with egrets and spoonbills. We also visit the Pineywoods for Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman’s Sparrow, and southern breeding warblers like Swainson’s, Worm-eating, and Kentucky.
Colorado: Chasing Chickens from Prairie to Mountaintop (9 days)While Papua New Guinea has birds-of-paradise and the neotropics have manakins, North America has the grouse and prairie-chickens, which perform incredible spring displays in the prairies and mountains of Colorado. Some very early mornings are required to put us in great positions to not only see, but also photograph frolicking Greater and Lesser Prai-rie-Chickens, ballooning Greater Sage-Grouse, and pirouetting Sharp-tailed Grouse. On top of that, the prairies host sharply-dressed Chestnut-collared Longspurs and Mountain Plovers, and the snow-draped mountains may produce up to three species of rosy-finch, Pine and Evening Grosbeaks, and with luck, even the exceedingly well-camouflaged White-tailed Ptarmigan.
Ohio & Michigan: The Great Lakes (12 days)This is the best Tropical Birding tour for spring warblers – expect over thirty species as we visit this region at the dizzy height of spring migration. The lakeside woodlots provide habitat for a bewildering variety of warblers, and stunning point-blank views are not only possible, but expected. Those of you who have strained for a look at a smashing male Blackburnian Warbler in the boreal woods, can instead enjoy eye-level views, as they dan-gle enticingly in front of you along the world famous Magee Marsh boardwalk, along with a host of others such as Cape May, Black-throated Blue, and Blackpoll Warblers. Later in the trip, we head north into Michigan to ensure that we also pick up the rare Kirtland’s Warbler and scarce Connecticut Warbler to complete our set of almost all of the eastern warblers. Other targets for the tour include American Woodcock, Red-headed and Black-backed Woodpeckers, Le Conte’s and Henslow’s Sparrows, Bobolink, and Yellow-headed Blackbird.
Arizona, California, & TexasTropical Birding can also run tours to the “sky islands” of Arizona for mainly Mexican species that just barely reach the US; California, for its spectacular pelagics, local Chaparral spe-cies, and excellent mountain, desert, and coastal birding; and southern and western Texas.
Many of our North American tours focus on warblers, some of the most beloved birds on the continent (Iain Campbell)
4Much more on our website: www.tropicalbirding.com Interact with us on Facebook or Twitter at Tropical Birding Tours
Central America and MexicoCosta Rica Introtour (11 days)A perfect first venture into the tropics, this tiny Central American country boasts outstanding diversity including most of the classic Neotropical bird families. The tour covers the central high-lands as well as various elevations on both slopes of the mountains to maximize diversity. The glorious Resplendent Quetzal should be a highlight along with other favorites like the deep-purple Snowcap, a host of other hummingbirds, Technicolor tanagers, handsome trogons, and otherworldly motmots. This country is a perennial favorite among birders and nature lovers alike. We also offer a longer and more intense Costa Rica tour visiting more remote areas of the coun-try. Please visit our website for more information on this “Off the Beaten Track” tour.
Panama: Crossroads of the AmericasAn exciting mix of North American and Central American species await those that travel to this small Latin American country, which is packed with nearly 1000 bird species. A visit to the fa-mous canopy tower will put us eye-to-eye with species such as Blue Cotinga and Green Shrike-Vireo, while other sites around the Canal Zone may get us Ocellated Antbird, Spot-crowned Barbet, or Rosy Thrush-Tanager. The mountains around the city of David are packed with colorful species including Fiery-throated Hummingbird and Flame-throated Warbler, and we’ll even visit the remote Darién for highly local species such as Beautiful Treerunner, Pirre Bush-Tanager, and Black Oropendola. Numerous birds more typical of South America reach the very northern edge of their range here, boosting the bird list substantially.
Mexico: Oaxaca; Legendary Birds & Temples (14 days; 19 days with extension)The peaceful state of Oaxaca brags a bird list of over 700 species, including regional endemics like Rose-bellied Bunting, Dwarf Jay, Golden and Dwarf Vireos, Citreoline Trogon, and Ocellated Thrasher. This culturally fascinating tour passes through ancient ruins and rug markets where weaving demonstrations can be seen. The cuisine is internationally famous with an exciting mix of moles, Oaxaca cheese, and spicy traditional local dishes. We cover a range of habitats includ-ing dry thorn forest, lowland rainforest, cloud forest, sandy beaches, and even a mini-pelagic for Townsend’s Shearwater.
Mexico: The Yucatán & Palenque (15 days)There’s nothing quite like watching toucans, tanagers, and monkeys from the top of ancient Ma-yan ruins like Chichen Itza, Calakmul, and Palenque. This tour features a host of Yucatán endem-ics like Ocellated Turkey, Yucatan Jay, and Yucatan Parrot, as well as more widespread tropical heartstoppers like Scarlet Macaws, majestic King Vultures, and Turquoise-browed Motmots. It also features visits to a lake glowing with a haze of flamingos, and to the island of Cozumel, where the beach resorts vie with endemics for our attention. This is a great trip to bring along a non-birding partner.
Most Mexico tours are guided by authors of the forthcoming photographic Princeton Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico.
Tropical Birding can also arrange custom tours to Guatemala (with an option to try for Horned Guan) and Honduras. Rose-bellied Bunting is one of many spectacular Mexican endemics in Oaxaca (Luke Seitz)
5Give us a call on 1-800-348-5941 or 1-409-515-0514 E-mail us at [email protected]
South America IEcuador: The Andes Introtour (8 days; 10 days with extension)Ecuador is mega-diverse, boasting 1600 bird species in a country the size of Michigan. The trip is perfect for first-timers to this country or to the South American tropics. Most of the region’s families are represented, and can be accessed based in Tandayapa Bird Lodge with its world famous hummingbird feeders. Although a short forest-based tour, more than 300 species can be expected, including many Chocó endemics like Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan, Toucan Barbet, and Velvet-purple Coronet. For those who can-not leave Ecuador without Andean Condor, we offer a short High Andes extension.
Northwest Ecuador: In Search of Chocó Endemics (14 days)A longer, more intense tour of the Chocó region. We visit Tandayapa Bird Lodge for its vast numbers of hummingbirds, along with sites farther north where rare endemic species such as Scarlet-and-white and Golden-chested Tanagers can be found, along with the odd Sapayoa – a big draw for family listers. This tour bursts with some of the most-wanted birds in the continent including Tanager Finch, Ocellated Tapaculo, Giant Antpitta, and Black Solitaire. A range of elevations will be covered to ensure a compre-hensive exploration of the region.
Eastern Ecuador: High Andes to Vast Amazon (15 days)This tour focuses on the eastern side of the Andes, beginning in páramo above treeline, then winding its way all the way down to the Amazon, staying at comfortable lodges en route. We will score an exciting mix of both highland species like Andean Condor and Ecuadorian Hillstar, rare foothill specialties such as Napo Sabrewing and Coppery-chested Jacamar, and Amazonian birds like Spangled Cotinga, White-throated Toucan, and a host of antbirds. In the Amazon, we’ll visit a clay lick packed with parrots, ride in canoes down forested creeks, and observe birds and monkeys from one of the most impressive canopy walkways on earth while based at the two best lodges in the Ecua-dorian Amazon.
Southern Ecuador (17 days; 20 days with extension)While the great Chocó region of north Ecuador has the highest number of endemic birds of any of the country’s regions, the Tumbesian zone of the southwest does not lie far behind, boasting over 60 of its own. Many of these are relatively easy to find like the stunning White-tailed Jay, Black-capped Sparrow and White-edged Oriole. This tour weaves through a wider range of habitats than any other Ecuador tour, from tropical cloud forest, to the Amazonian foothills, to savanna-like deciduous woodland, and even mangroves. We chase a host of specialties such as Long-wattled Umbrellabird, Black-crested Tit-Tyrant, Violet-throated Metaltail, Rainbow Starfrontlet, and the impressive Jocotoco Antpitta. All of the lodges are extremely comfortable, and many are located within reserves, directly benefiting conservation. An optional extension takes in coastal lagoons, deserts, and woodland, and even offers a good chance to see the rare Esmer-aldas Woodstar.
Despite its small size, Ecuador deserves several trips. Taking the Northwest, Eastern, and Southern Ecuador tours could easily yield 1000 or more species! The Orange-breasted Fruiteater is often a highlight of our Ecuador Introtour (Andrés Vásquez)
6Much more on our website: www.tropicalbirding.com Interact with us on Facebook or Twitter at Tropical Birding Tours
South America IINorthern Colombia: The Santa Martas & The Caribbean (9 days)With over 1800 species, it can be hard to know where to start birding in Colombia. This tour makes a great intro to this vast and megadiverse country for both beginners and hardcore bird-ers alike. We start in the mangroves, desert, and rainforest near the coast targeting the likes of Sapphire-bellied Hummingbird, Vermilion Cardinal, and Lance-tailed Manakin before heading up into the endemic rich Santa Marta Mountains, home to the highest peaks on the continent away from the Andes. We’ll spend three nights at a mountain lodge with great feeders and a spectacular view. We should find the vast majority of the twenty endemic birds, including the White-tailed Starfrontlet, Santa Marta Antpitta, and Santa Marta Mountain-Tanager.
Central Colombia: Andean Endemics Paradise (21 days)Colombia is one of South America’s endemic treasure houses. Here, the great Andean moun-tain chain splits into three, creating a fascinating topography that has produced dozens of endemic birds. This fairly comprehensive circuit hits most of the top spots in all three prongs of the Andes. Birds run the gamut from spectacular tanagers like Gold-ringed and Multicolored, to newly described species like Chestnut-capped Piha, to more widespread yet highly desired birds such as Northern Screamer and Oilbird. This tour complements the Northern Colombia trip perfectly, and the two can even be taken together for a month-long endemic hoedown.
Peru: Manu & Machu Picchu (18 days)Imagine an endless blanket of forest stretching from high mountains all the way to the vast riv-ers of the Amazon… Manu is a tropical wilderness unrivaled anywhere else in South America. If you’re only going to visit Peru once, this tour is an obvious choice, as it sports the highest diversity of birds. We start in the high Andes around the historic city of Cusco, then visit a se-ries of top-notch jungle lodges as we descend through the forests of Manu. The tour also visits the fabled ruins of Machu Picchu, for one of the world’s great cultural experiences.
Northern Peru: Across the Marañon Canyon (16 days)Marvelous Spatuletail tops a long list of unique and memorable endemics on this fascinating tour. We visit dry forests of the Northwest, the spectacular Marañon Canyon, and the lush cloudforests of the east slope of the Andes. The infrastructure here has improved greatly in recent years, and we’ll stay in a series of small, friendly lodges and hotels, many of them right in the forest. Chaparri Lodge has White-winged Guans and White-tailed Jays on its doorstep, while the famous Owlet Lodge in Abra Patricia has great hummer feeders, an antpitta feeder, and even offers a real chance to see the legendary Long-whiskered Owlet.
Central Peru: Birds of the Incas (15 days; 16 days with extension)If you want something more hardcore that targets some of Peru’s rarest and least known birds, check out this exciting tour. We’ll search for the likes of White-bellied Cinclodes, Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, Junin Grebe, Black-breasted Hillstar, Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager, and Rufous-browed Hemispingus. In the Cordillera Blanca, we also soak in spectacular views of some of South America’s highest peaks. Accommodation is basic in a few places, and there are some long drives on rough roads to pursue some of the most inaccessible birds in Peru.
Looking down on a Cream-colored Woodpecker from a 140-foot canopy tower in the Amazon (Iain Campbell)
7Give us a call on 1-800-348-5941 or 1-409-515-0514 E-mail us at [email protected]
Brazil: The Pantanal & Amazon (15 days)“Spectacular” does not even begin to describe the iconic Hyacinth Macaw that tops many visitors’ list of favorites, yet the Pantanal is perhaps even more famous for its im-pressive congregations of wildlife. Ponds and rivers are lined with herons, kingfishers, ibises, Jabirus, Sunbitterns, caimans, and plenty more, while the savanna and woodland have Greater Rhea, Red-legged Seriema, Toco Toucan, and legions of smaller birds. The tour is timed for the end of the dry season, when birds are often concentrated in the few remaining wet areas. The low river levels also make it easier to spot Jaguars on the sandy banks, and we’ll devote a day and a half to searching for this alluring beast. The second half of the trip is spent in the southern Amazon, where the birding is a little more challenging, although the rewards are perhaps even greater. Here, we’ll base ourselves in the premier Cristalino Jungle Lodge, which has its own private reserve, two canopy towers, and a mind-boggling bird list of nearly 600 species. This tour can be combined with the Atlantic Forest Introtour for a superb three week Brazil experience.
Brazil: The Atlantic Forest Introtour (8 days)Brazil is the South American endemics champion, and the majority of these endemics are found in the Atlantic forests of the Southeast. During this short tour, we are based in just two excellent lodges. We’ll spend four nights at Guapi Assu Bird Lodge, located at the base of the scenic Serra dos Órgãos mountains in a large nature reserve. Here we bird the forest trails for gems like Spot-billed Toucanet, Crescent-chested Puffbird, and Ferruginous Antbird, and the restored wetlands near the lodge for a bounty of water-birds. We’ll make trips to the coast and drier woodland before heading up to Vale das Taquaras Lodge in a beautiful forested valley. These mountains have a whole new suite of great birds including hummers, tanagers, even more antbirds, and Bare-throated Bellbird.
Southeast Brazil: Atlantic Rainforest and Savanna (20 days; 25 with extension)The wet rainforests along the southern coast of Brazil are a birder’s delight. Separated from the Amazonian rainforests by the dry interior habitats that dominate much of the country, the birds here evolved in relative isolation, resulting in loads of endemics. Nu-merous spectacular antbirds, cotingas, flycatchers, and tanagers are found nowhere else. Just a hundred miles inland, the rainforest is replaced by savanna and gallery for-est with a very different set of birds and its own set of endemics. This tour combines the best sites in both regions for an unforgettable experience. This is a fast-paced tour that targets as many endemics as possible; it is a longer and more comprehensive version of the Brazil Introtour.
Northeast BrazilWhile we currently only offer Northeast Brazil as a custom trip, it may soon join our regular tour lineup. Many of Brazil’s rarest and most endangered species inhabit this region, including glowing Lear’s Macaws, outrageous Araripe Manakins, and unique hummingbirds like the Hooded Visorbearer. The area is vast, so the tour does require numerous long drives, but the rewards are well worth it.
South America III
Southeast Brazil is loaded with colorful endemics like this Red-necked Tanager (Nick Athanas)
Jaguar, the top “kitty” of the western hemisphere, is often seen in Brazil’s Pantanal (Iain Campbell)
8Much more on our website: www.tropicalbirding.com Interact with us on Facebook or Twitter at Tropical Birding Tours
South America IVChile: Atacama to Tierra del Fuego (15 days; 19 days with extension)If scouring high Andean bogs for Diademed Sandpiper-Plovers, stalk-ing huet-huets in lichen draped forest, or sifting through vast flocks of seabirds in the Humboldt Current sounds like fun, check out this fascinating tour. While its birdlist may be smaller than that of its tropi-cal neighbors, Chile’s habitat diversity, spectacular birds, and breath-taking scenery more than make up for that. Starting in Santiago, we head to the coast and take a pelagic, then strike out south, visiting a delightful series of parks and reserves featuring beautiful temper-ate forest and great birds like Magellanic Woodpecker, Ochre-flanked Tapaculo, and Chestnut-throated Huet-huet. Finally, we fly south to Punta Arenas and visit Tierra del Fuego and the spectacular fjords of Torres del Paine, searching the plains for dotterels and seedsnipes and checking out lakes packed with ducks and geese. An optional extension visits the deserts and high Andes of the north.
Northwest Argentina (15 days; 19 days with extension)In northwestern Argentina, the spectacular Andes dominate, with peaks up to 21,000 feet towering over a countryside dotted with small, charming villages where the friendly inhabitants are still proud of their indigenous roots. Down in the valleys, vast savannas are car-peted with tall cacti, and some of the canyons make you feel like you are in the American Southwest. Some of Argentina’s best wines are produced in this region, and many people enjoy sampling the great, inexpensive vintages. Our route covers all the habitats in the region including the wet Yungas forest, montane scrub and Puna, dry Chaco woodland, and Monte desert. We’ll enjoy a wide variety of sharp birds including Red-tailed Comet, Rufous-throated Dipper, Ornate Tinamou, Burrowing Parakeet, and a mind-boggling array of “ovenbirds” such as earthcreepers, canasteros, cacholotes, and tit-spinetails.
Guyana: The Cotinga Capital of the WorldThanks to its vast pristine forests and steadily improving tourism in-frastructure, Guyana is starting to gain a reputation as a great place to see rare rainforest birds that are hard to find elsewhere. This small country is somewhat of an oddity in South America. A former British colony, it is the only nation on the continent that is English-speaking. However, the influences of the Caribbean to the north, Brazil to the south, and its Amerindian population give it a unique feel. Cotingas are especially well represented, from the Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock to the magnificent and sizable Crimson Fruitcrow. We currently offer this destination only as a custom tour, though it may return as a set-departure tour in the future.
The one-of-a-kind Torrent Duck is only found along raging Andean rivers (Nick Athanas)
9Give us a call on 1-800-348-5941 or 1-409-515-0514 E-mail us at [email protected]
Northern India: Himalayas, Tigers & the Taj Mahal (15 days; 20 days with extension)India will blow your mind. It is an overwhelming sensory experience, a land of striking contrasts with a fabulously rich, unique heritage, welcoming people, and delicious food. This huge country also offers an intoxicating mix-ture of awesome birds, sweeping mountain vistas, mist-cloaked herds of deer, and the entrancing Tiger. Our exploration begins in the Himalayas, where we seek barbets, laughingthrushes, whistling-thrushes, sibias, and pheasants in idyllic montane forests, with the striking backdrop of some of the highest Himalayan peaks. Next is Bharatpur, a globally famous wetland, filled with countless invididuals of hundreds of bird species, before soak-ing in the magnificent, symmetrical, near-perfect Taj Mahal. For those who can’t leave India without seeing the world’s most charismatic large cat, we have a Tiger extension. This tour should get you around 400 bird species, making it an un-missable Asian experience, and a great introduction to the birds of the Orient.
Northeast India: Assam & Eaglenest (16 days; 20 days with extension)This tour visits the eastern Himalayas, the most bird-rich portion of this incredible mountain range. The area sup-ports many rare and local birds of the region; it is the only home to Mishmi Wren-babbler, and also hosts Blyth’s Tragopan, Beautiful Nuthatch, Ward’s Trogon, and the immaculate Fire-tailed Myzornis. The scenery that forms the backdrop for these delectable birds is rugged, beautiful, and wild. Other notable and exciting families include laughingthrushes, tits, nuthatches, and sunbirds. This trip backs onto the Kaziranga NP extension for yet more birds, as well as One-horned Asian Rhinoceros. The extension also links with our Bhutan tour to make a mega-transect of the eastern Himalayas.
Sri Lanka: Ceylon Sojourn (14 days)The island of Sri Lanka presents those who have never visited the Indian subcontinent with a wonderful introduc-tion to the region (since the bird list is less daunting than that of India proper), while also offering “India-philes” a host of new southern specialties and nearly 30 endemics. Many local races are likely to be split in the future, further swelling this number of endemics. We’ll visit a range of parks and reserves, from lowland tropical forests to highland cloudforests, and have a chance to find all of the possible Ceylon endemics, including the recently discovered Serendib Scops-Owl. On top of that we have the opportunity to encounter Leopard and wild Asian Elephant in Yala National Park.
Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon (21 days; 25 days with extension)Bhutan’s traditional practices and beliefs remain virtually uninfluenced by the West, making it not only a great birding destination, but also culturally fascinating. This timeless kingdom is wedged amidst the jagged contours of the Himalayas between India and Tibet, with endless tracts of virgin forest seething with massive flocks of beautiful Himalayan birds. We target many of the most sought-after species in the Himalayas, such as the enig-matic Ibisbill, Himalayan Monal, and outrageous Satyr Tragopan. Traveling this country has an idyllic feel to it, due to friendly people, a general lack of hassles, and pristine environments. An extension to Kazirhanga NP in India may also yield Bengal Florican or the stellar Blue-naped Pitta. The mammals share prominence, with this being the best place on earth to see the endangered One-horned Asian Rhino, Swamp Deer, and ‘whooping’ families of Hoolock Gibbon.
Tropical Birding also offers a trip into Western India for a great combo of exciting birds like Hypocolius, and rare mammals like Blackbuck, Asiatic Lion, and Indian Wild Ass. We also run trips to the laid-back state of Goa in southern India, where being based at just two lodges we get chances at species like Ceylon Frogmouth, Malabar Trogon, and the glittering Indian Pitta.
Asia I
In India we often see Great Thick-knee standing by Mugger Crocodiles (Keith Barnes)
India’s cultural experiences can be as intereresting as its birds (Keith Barnes)
10Much more on our website: www.tropicalbirding.com Interact with us on Facebook or Twitter at Tropical Birding Tours
Asia IISichuan and the Tibetan Plateau of Qinghai (16 days; 22 days with extension)If you only ever do one tour to China, this is the one to choose. This area holds a healthy batch of Chinese endemics, the most beautiful landscapes in the Himalayas, a glimpse at the Tibetan lifestyle, and some of the best food in the world. We search for up to ten species of pheasant and a rickshaw-load of laughingthrushes and parrotbills amidst the towering snow-topped peaks of Balangshan and the scenic wooded valley of Jiuzhai-gou, dotted with jade and turquoise-colored lakes and dramatic cascades. Unsurpris-ingly, the Chinese refer to Sichuan as the “heavenly kingdom”. The mountainous birding of Sichuan can be challenging, so the easy birding of Qinghai’s Tibetan plateau makes a pleasant conclusion to the tour; a gamut of Tibetan specialties are available, including six snowfinch species and Przevalski’s Rosefinch, a monotypic family. Here scattered monasteries are home to whirling prayer wheels and chanting monks who still conduct sky-burials.
Taiwan: Formosan Endemics (14 days)Taiwan is rightly known as Formosa – “The Beautiful Island” – and is the home of Tropi-cal Birding’s Asian office. Modern infrastructure blends seamlessly with some of the most stunning mountain landscapes and birds in Asia. Taiwan is about “quality” endemics; one is left breathless when faced with the snowy-backed Swinhoe’s or regal Mikado Pheas-ants. However, the 30 endemics include more than just these two marquee birds. The wild interior holds a host of laughingthrushes, babblers, and the adorable Flamecrest. Our tour is also timed to catch the last of the departing winter migrants like Black-faced Spoonbill and the first summer breeding migrants, taking maximum advantage of the island’s strategic position on the East Asian flyway.
Japan: Birding on Ice (13 days; 15 with extension)Japan holds several of the world’s must-see birds, which occur amidst stunning snows-capes. Massive-billed Steller’s Sea-Eagles congregate on impressive ice floes to cre-ate one of the world’s great birding spectacles. Huge numbers of Red-crowned Cranes gather at their wintering grounds, where they dance in the snow for a scene of breathtak-ing beauty. In a variety of different locations you can rack up another four species for a remarkable total of five cranes, making this the best crane tour anywhere. There’s noth-ing like sipping hot sake while staking out Blakiston’s Fish-Owl at a floodlit waterhole. Add some great mixed-flock birding in the coniferous forests in addition to gulls and waterbirds galore, for a great mix of top draw birding experiences. Our extension offers a cruise on a comfortable boat with impressive amounts of albatross, alcids, and other seabirds.
Tropical Birding also offers tours to Southeast China in winter for the irresistible Cabot’s Tragopan, stately Siberian Crane, and critically-endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Ad-ditionally, we offer trips to Beidaihe for eastern China’s answer to High Island. Fast-paced migration sites are visited, where you are never sure from day to day what will be on show, combined with some of the country’s greatest attractions: The Great Wall, Forbidden City, and Summer Palace.
The Himalayas hold a dazzling selection of gems like this Red-billed Leiothrix (Ken Behrens)
Japan offers magical snowscapes and cranes (Iain Campbell)
11Give us a call on 1-800-348-5941 or 1-409-515-0514 E-mail us at [email protected]
Asia IIIThailand: Mystical Asia (17 days; 23 days with extension)Located at the crossroads of Southeast Asia, Thailand’s exceptionally high bird diversity make it one of Asia’s most exciting birding destinations. Resident species mix with Palearctic and Himalayan migrants for an intoxicating melange of avifaunas. Combined with legendary Thai hospitality, some of the finest cuisine in the Orient, and high-quality ac-commodation, it is no surprise that this is one of the most popular Asian destinations for birders. Our tour explores the national parks of south, center, and north, looking for handsome hornbills, spectacular broadbills, stunning pittas, and a host of others. For those with extra time, an extension to search for the incomparably beautiful Gurney’s Pitta at Khao Nor Chuchi should ensure a grand finale, and bring a taste of the remarkable birds of the Malay Peninsula.
Vietnam: Indochina with French FlairA cursory glance at a map of Asia will show that Vietnam is an unusually shaped country; roughly like an hour-glass, it is remarkably long and thin, with a varied topography and therefore high bird diversity. Vietnam is in Earth’s top 25 countries for species richness. It is home to two-thirds of mainland Asia’s babblers (five of which are endemic) and 14 species of range-restricted primates (of which, seven are endemic). Heartstoppers like Bar-bellied Pitta and Germain’s Peacock-Pheasant are sure to excite visiting birders, along with a solid number of endemics on the Dalat Plateau such as Vietnamese Cutia and Gray-crowned Crocias. On top of the birds, there is a world famous cuisine, and great ac-commodation, making for a very comfortable tour of this fast developing southeast Asian country.
Borneo: Broadbills and Bristleheads (13 days; 16 days with extension)This island is all about hornbills, pittas, and the best primate viewing in Asia. Borneo supports some of the richest ecosystems on earth. The birdlife is abundant and sensationally gaudy, with many endemic species ranging from tro-gons and broadbills to black-eyes and bristleheads. We explore the endemic hotspot of Mt. Kinabalu, the tallest peak between the Himalayas and New Guinea, plus Danum Valley with its 6 pitta species and the Great Argus pheasant. An extension visits the hornbill-rich Kinabatangan River, where all 8 Bornean species occur, along with an extraordinary abundance and diversity of primates. While birding we also have a great chance of locating some outlandish wildlife such as the magnificent Bornean Gibbon, Proboscis Monkey, Red Leaf-Monkey, Bornean Pygmy-Elephant, and the king of the Bornean jungle, Orang-utan. This tour can easily be combined with Malaysia: The Peninsula, where the mainland offers yet more pittas, broadbills, and trogons at two of the Orient’s most popular and well-established birding destinations: Fraser’s Hill and Taman Negara.
Sulawesi & Halmahera: Birding the Edge of Wallace’s Line To the east of Borneo lies the orchid-shaped island of Sulawesi, which supports the greatest number of endemic birds of any island in the Indonesian archipelago. This island, which straddles the transition zone between the great faunas of Asia and Australasia, boasts more than 70 birds that are found nowhere else, and many are gob-smackingly spec-tacular: think improbable Wallace’s Standardwing, Ivory-breasted Pitta, Knobbed Hornbill, Maleo, Satanic Nightjar, and the mind-blowing Purple-bearded Bee-eater. Added to the mix is a whole suite of endemic mammals and plants. Sulawesi is famous for its amazing endemic primates, notably the Black Crested-Macaque and the amazing Spectral Tarsier, both of which are readily seen on this tour.
Tropical Birding also offers a tour to Cambodia where birds virtually impossible anywhere else like Giant Ibis and Mekong Wagtail can be seen along with one of the greatest ruins sites in the world: Angkor Wat, a dramatic complex of temples from the Khmer Empire. Also offered is the Philippines which is irresistible for endemic-hunters, as the islands come packed with nearly 200 of them, which usually make up for a third of the trip list, and include such Ori-ental thrillers as Azure-breasted Pitta, the hulking Great Philippine Eagle, and dazzling Palawan Peacock-Pheasant.
Hordes of endemics like Azure-breasted Pitta await in the Philippines (Sam Woods)
12Much more on our website: www.tropicalbirding.com Interact with us on Facebook or Twitter at Tropical Birding Tours
AustralasiaEastern Australia: From Top to Bottom (20 days)This tour will immerse you in a totally new continent. We encounter over 400 species, nearly half of the country’s birds. On top of that, the first-time visitor will encounter over twenty new families that are in equal parts delightful and unfamiliar. Not to mention, there are bizarre mammals hopping about the countryside: cuddly wallabies, tree-climbing kangaroos, and even mammals that lay eggs… everything is strange in Australia! We bird tropical reefs, rainforests, savannas, temperate mountain ranges, and the Outback; in essence cleaning up on Eastern Australia’s unique ecosystems. Expect to be overwhelmed, but our guides will make Australia accessible, as they are all authors of wildlife and bird books for Australia. This trip is not physically demanding, but is a very fast-paced road trip, with meals often on the fly.
Australia’s Top End: Victoria River to Kakadu (9 days)The “Top End” of Australia is the land of Crocodile Dundee. We scour water-holes in the Outback for a myriad of eruptive wandering savanna species, includ-ing beautiful finches, gangly storks, huge flocks of Magpie Geese, and dancing cranes. Although not as diverse as Eastern Australia, it offers some excellent spe-cialties like Gouldian Finch, Rainbow Pitta, and Hooded Parrot. The landscape is incredibly stark but beautiful, and much of the indigenous aboriginal population and art still remains here. We take an outstanding boat trip, probably the best birding boat trip in the world. There are crocs everywhere, and thousands of birds, with over 60 species regularly recorded including Little Kingfisher and Black Bit-tern that are shy and difficult elsewhere. This links well with Eastern Australia for those able to take a longer trip. Although a fast-paced tour, we usually rest during the middle of the hot Outback days. There are many interesting non-bird aspects of this tour, which make it attractive to a non-birding partner.
Papua New Guinea: Paradise Untamed (18 days; 22 days with extension)Every birder in the world wants to see birds-of-paradise, and this is THE place to get them. We typically see 20-some species on this tour including Raggiana, King-of-Saxony, and King Birds-of-paradise. Several are seen at point-blank range on feeding tables; you will get ridiculous views (and photos) of Ribbon-tailed Astrapia and Brown Sicklebill. In addition to the “BOP”s, there are many other strange and bizarre avian gems, from Flame Bowerbirds and Goldenface, to Blue Jewel-Bab-blers and Golden Cuckoo-Shrikes. New Guinea is a truly wild island, blanketed in dense rain forest, and harboring a dazzling array of endemic cultures where over 700 unique languages are spoken. Almost all of the hotels are of good standard and this country can be visited in relative comfort.
Tropical Birding also offers New Zealand, for some of the easiest pelagic bird-ing anywhere and some interestingly unique families: kiwis, New Zealand wrens, and New Zealand wattlebirds. Australia’s Great Channel Country and Western Australia are also available as custom trips.The Regent Bowerbird of Eastern Australia often feeds out
of your hand (Iain Campbell)
13Give us a call on 1-800-348-5941 or 1-409-515-0514 E-mail us at [email protected]
Africa IMadagascar: The Eighth Continent (17 days; up to 26 with extensions)This huge island is unlike any other place on earth, often called the “eighth continent”. The culture, landscapes, and birds here are all totally unique. There are six endemic bird families including primitive mesites, stunning ground-rollers, and the fascinatingly varied vangas. The mammals, from small ten-recs to child-sized lemurs, are surprisingly approachable, and people are always shocked at how many we see. The tour also offers an unimaginable bounty of bizarre chameleons, amphibians, and fantastic bugs. This is not a physically demanding trip, and features good lodging and delicious food. Although this tour regularly gets more than 95% of the endemic birds on the island (with the extensions), it also offers an all-around natural history experience that can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in wildlife. Our guides for this tour are authors of a forthcoming field guide to the country’s birds. We now have an office in Madagascar, and are well situated to offer custom tours to a variety of destinations within this vast and varied island. If you want to see some of Madagascar’s rarest and most elusive species like Madagascar Serpent-Eagle, Red Owl, Madagascar Pochard, Sakalava Rail, and Golden-crowned Sifaka, we can help. We can also add the nearby Comoros or Mascarenes for those with insatiable endemic fever.
Ethiopia: Birding with Wolves (19 days)Don’t come to Ethiopia expecting Africa; come here expecting Ethiopia! This place is like nowhere else on the continent, and traveling here is almost like stepping back in time. Birds and people live in a har-mony seen nowhere else on Earth, making Ethiopia a photographer’s dream, with birds jumping around completely unafraid, sometimes literally at your feet. This country features a large bird list, as the many resident species are supplemented by a host of Palearctic migrants. These mountains have many endemic birds, arguably most desirable among them are Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco and Stresemann’s Bush-Crow. Birds are not the only draw though, as Ethiopia is home to some marquee animals too, including photogenic troops of Bleeding-Heart (Gelada) Baboon, and Ethiopian Wolf, which may be the world’s easiest wolf species to see. Most of Ethiopia is a vast green plateau, not the desert pictured on the news. This is not a luxury tour, but with the exception of one hotel, the lodging is quite acceptable. The food is distinctive and loved by many. Our guides here are the authors of a site guide to the country.
Ghana: Picathartes and Egyptian Plover (17 days)Point blank, Ghana is the most welcoming country in the world, and a place where traditional African culture still thrives. It has recently exploded as a birding destination, because you get to bird the normal-ly tough African rainforest while staying in comfortable lodges. One of the most amazing bird families on the planet, the picathartes, is most reliabe and accessible here. We will also bird from the finest canopy walkway in all of Africa, where massive casqued hornbills, Rosy Bee-eaters, malimbes, apalises, er-emomelas, and even canopy-dwelling kingfishers can be found. The second half of the tour visits the extensive savannas of the north, which support herds of exceptionally large elephants. Our main avian target in the north is the Egyptian Plover, a bird so weird that it is in its own family. The culture and food really liven up the trip, with every region having distinctive dress and amazing cuisine.
Tropical Birding also offers tours to Cameroon, Gabon, São Tomé & Príncipe, and the Mascarene Is-lands. Cameroon is rugged, but offers the full set of West African habitats, from montane forest to rain forest to dry Sahel. Gabon holds some of Africa’s finest forest birding. São Tomé & Príncipe and the Mascarenes hold sets of desirable island endemics.
Panther Chameleon actually possesses these colors; this has not been Photoshopped! (Ken Behrens)
Madagascar has six endemic families; Scaly Ground-Roller belongs to one of them (Ken Behrens)
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Africa IIKenya: The Coolest Tour in Africa (17 days; 23 days with extension)If you are only ever going to do one trip to Africa, then go to Kenya. It has rainforests, alpine moorlands, and endless sweeping savannas, the whole range of African habitats. On the plains of the Masai Mara, you en-ter the Africa of your dreams, where massive herds of game are hunted by Lions, Cheetahs, and Leopards. Our tours here score the highest bird lists of any tour that we run. You can see nearly a third of Africa’s birds and all the classic mammals on this one trip, including dozens of horn-bills, turacos, and sunbirds. Add to this the fact that you will be staying in fantastic lodges and that this tour is physically easy, and it is hard to resist taking your non-birding partner along with you. Most of the tour is at elevations of 3,000-10,000 feet, making it surprisingly cool for visitors expecting the blistering heat that much of Africa is known for.
Tanzania: Birding Among the Beasts (13 days; 22 days with extension)Tanzania offers the highest quality “classic” African experience. We do a full safari, seeing hundreds of species of birds along the way, targeting all the northern Tanzanian endemics, including Yellow-collared Lovebird and Ashy Starling. People are often amazed how green, lush, and cov-ered with flowers this region is at this time of year, much more verdant than the dry East African savanna of the stereotype. Simply watching the epic thunderstorms boom across the rainy season sky can be mesmer-izing. The lodges are small and personal, generally placed in the heart of the habitat, with birds and mammals on your doorstep. Physically non-demanding, just about anyone can do this tour. Put simply, you would have to actively hate nature not to love this tour. The extension targets specialty bird species of the Tanzanian coast, mountains, and dry thorn-veld. We can also offer custom itineraries to target a wider set of Eastern Arc Mountain endemics in eastern and southern Tanzania.
Rwanda and Uganda: Shoebills & Albertine Rift Endemics (18 days)Any naturalist with an interest in Africa will want to see Mountain Gorilla and the bizarre, monotypic, bird family that is Shoebill, and we search for both on this trip as we travel though the heart of the continent. Along with these two “epic” species, we fill in the gaps by visiting some of the most varied landscapes of any of our tours. Starting in Rwanda, we search for Mountain Gorillas and Albertine Rift endemics back-dropped by beauti-ful mountain vistas before moving on to Uganda. Uganda is like the Ecuador of Africa, packing a huge amount of diversity into a small area: we’ll have a classic African safari experience at Queen Elizabeth National Park, and enjoy East Africa’s best set of Congo Basin rainforest birds. This is a fast-paced tour on which the hotels are all moderate or better.
A frisky baby elephant frolics across the open plains of the Masai Mara in Kenya (Ken Behrens)
Golden-breasted Starling is easily found in Kenya and Ethiopia (Sam Woods)
15Give us a call on 1-800-348-5941 or 1-409-515-0514 E-mail us at [email protected]
Africa IIISouth Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger (17 days; 23 with extension)The only place on earth where you can see a penguin and a zebra on the same day! This is a mega-diverse country, with loads of endemics to boot. Perennial favorites include Knysna Turaco, Ground Woodpecker, two spe-cies of rockjumpers, and two sugarbirds. Our tour has a road-trip feel, as we venture across this vast, beautiful, and rugged country from Cape Town to Kruger. The landscapes themselves are absorbing, and birds and mammals are everywhere. Kruger National Park has more mammal species than any other park in Africa, and here we might encounter Lions, elephants, buffalo, and even African Wild Dog or Leopard. This is a well developed country and an easy introduction to the continent. The fabulous and varied food has a European flair, and the wines are world renowned. The extension visits the Drakensburg Mountains and the coast to provide a near-complete set of en-demics.
Namibia and Botswana: The Living Desert to the Okavango (16 days) From the dunes of the Namib Desert to the lush wetlands of the Okavango Delta, Namibia is a place that will grip your soul. There is something en-chanting about this place that is difficult to describe, but which any visitor will quickly understand. Namibia would be worth visiting even if it were devoid of birds, but that is far from the case. There is a horde of Namib desert and escarpment endemics, plus another set of Okavanga specialties. The mam-mals are also world-class, particularly in the famed Etosha National Park, with its elephants, Black Rhino, Lion, thousands of Southern Oryx, and other herbivores. The lush woodlands and marshes of the Okavango come as quite a shock after the dry mountains and plains of the rest of the country, and are absolutely loaded with birds like Pel’s Fishing-Owl, African Skimmer, and Southern Carmine Bee-eater. The lodges in this country are not only comfort-able, but have a personal and unique flair that make each one memorable. The excellent food can be accompanied with world-class South African wines.
Zambia: Miombo and Mushitu Endemics (17 days)This is a trip for Africa connoisseurs, especially appealing for birders who are keen to rack up an impressive list of species that are endemic to the Miombo biome. This broadleaf woodland habitat is challenging but beautiful, and holds species like Spotted Creeper, Bar-winged Weaver, and Anchieta’s Sunbird. In northern Zambia, we visit Kasanka National Park for Böhm’s Bee-eater, Bocage’s Akalat, and lots of mammals. Heading south, we search for Zambia’s sole endemic, the great-looking Chaplin’s Barbet. To close out the trip, we visit Victoria Falls, one of the world’s great natural wonders, and we’ll also make an effort to see the gorgeous African Pitta. The lodges throughout this trip are good to excellent, and all have excellent birding on the grounds. Consider this trip for an intoxicating glimpse at the heart of Africa that is well off the beaten track.
Gray Crowned-Cranes often share waterholes with big game in savannas throughout much of Africa (Keith Barnes)
16Much more on our website: www.tropicalbirding.com Interact with us on Facebook or Twitter at Tropical Birding Tours
TEXAS Photo Journey (10 days)This tour offers chances to photograph an amazing variety of species in a very short period, as close as the Lower 48 comes to the tropics. We’ll start in South Texas pursuing Mexican species that just enter the US, and visit well-designed feeders and water setups to get good photos of species like Crested Caracara, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and Green Jay. When we head north up the coast, we leave behind the predictability of resident birds in exchange for the spontaneity of migration. We’ll pursue photos of shorebirds, tanagers, and of course warblers, which conveniently visit water drips at well-designed blinds. Tropical Birding runs an information center at the prime migrant trap of High Island, and we have our finger on the pulse of migration, maximizing our chances to photograph the waves of songbirds passing through. We’ll also seek out one of North America’s rarest birds, the photogenic Whooping Crane.
COLORADO Photo Journey (8 days)This tour is about watching some amazing bird displays at very, very close range, perfect for photography. Each spring grouse and prairie-chickens perform bizarre, fascinating, and almost ridiculous displays. Blinds will be used where necessary to give you the very best shots that can be taken anywhere of these photogenic birds on their leks. Colorado is also blessed with incredible mountain scenery, extensive prairies, and a corresponding set of desirable birds. Feeders in the Rockies will be visited to get close-up studies of rosy-finches and gros-beaks among others.
ECUADOR Photo Journey (10 days; 15 days with extension)There is no tour concievable that is better for photograph-ing hummingbirds than this trip; you should end up with good shots of over 30 species. But this is not just a workshop sit-ting on a balcony; our guides know the whole range of tropi-cal birds incredibly well, and we will chase photos of toucans, aracaris, fruiteaters, tanagers, and even seedsnipe. We’ll visit both sides of the Andes, staying at the two best hummingbird lodges in the country, where our subjects are often literally at our doorstep. For those who want to try their hand at the more challenging Amazon photography, where excellent macro and canopy opportunities exist, we offer an extension to a jungle lodge.
BRAZIL Photo Journey (11 days)This is the closest thing to an African safari experience in South America. Perhaps nowhere else on the continent can you get more “keeper” photographs in such a short time. There are charismatic mammals like Jaguar and Giant River Otter, and fantastic numbers of waterbirds. Some of South America’s best birds are here, including the massive Jabiru, and the world’s
largest parrot, the gigantic blue Hyacinth Macaw. Boat rides allow close approach to birds that might otherwise be wary, like Sungrebe and Agami Heron. When searching for Jaguars, we use high-powered speedboats to cover large areas and maximize our chances at photo-graphing this elusive beast. This is one of the least physically demanding tours that we offer, and the lodges are excellent.
We can also operate custom photo tours to many other destinations like Western Australia to shoot dramatic Karri forests, many endemic birds and speciality mammals such as Quokka and Numbat; New Zealand for incredible close-ups of albatrosses, penguins and the land-scapes of the Lord of the Rings; the Great Lakes for an unrivaled warbler spectacle; and Ethiopia where the sheer abundance and tameness of the birds, wolves, and primates, make it an amazing, but sadly neglected, destination for photographers.
Photo Tours I
The Booted Racket-tail is common at the Tandayapa Bird Lodge feeders (Sam Woods)
17Give us a call on 1-800-348-5941 or 1-409-515-0514 E-mail us at [email protected]
Photo Tours IIAUSTRALIA Photo Journey (16 days)We have carefully picked the very best photographic locations from this continent to create an intense tour where hardly an hour passes without another sensational subject appearing. Sometimes we use blinds and other pre-prepared photo setups; other times we shoot op-portunistically, on the fly. We stake out waterholes visited by groups of colorful finches; take what is quite simply the best boat ride in the world for photography in Kakadu; and check out fruit feeders that attract birds-of-paradise near Cairns. Again and again, we will encounter Australia’s bounty of parrots, some of which will even feed from your hand at O’Reilly’s, and we’ll photograph cassowaries right in the eye. This trip is not just about birds though; we also visit the most spectacular scenery on the continent and rake in huge numbers of mammal photos: tree-climbing kangaroos, wombats, Tasmanian Devils, and even Platypus.
JAPAN Photo Journey (11 days)We start in Hokkaido, the “Alaska of Asia”, where pack ice and jagged snow-clad mountains form the backdrop for some of the most amazing wildlife photography op-portunities in Asia. We will watch courting Red-crowned Cranes dancing in the snow at close range, which is just as spectacular as it sounds. We explore the icy sea by boat to find up to 100 White-tailed Eagles and goliath Stel-ler’s Sea-Eagles fighting for fish, where birds swooping at each other with bared talons promise to yield epic images. We will also be within arm’s reach of hundreds of crisp Whooper Swans gliding past on a thermal lake with warm water vapors rising around them. At Nangano, we interact with the unforgettable Japanese Macaques or “snow mon-keys”. Covered in frost, they sit in the hot springs to warm themselves, their bright red faces and icicle-encrusted fur standing out against the snow.
TAIWAN Photo Journey (8 days)Taiwan is, point blank, the best place to photograph forest birds in Asia, and it is absurd that it is not more famous for being so. A booming scene of local photographers under-stands this, so there are good set-ups in many locations for bird photography. The island has many endemics such as Flamecrest, Swinhoe’s Pheasant, Taiwan Blue-Magpie, and Collared Bush-Robin. We also photograph the endan-gered Black-faced Spoonbill. In spite of a healthy econ-omy, this truly beautiful island still possesses 60% forest cover, and has some rugged mountain scenery to combine with the great bird shoots throughout.
INDIA Photo Journey (17 days)India is perhaps the best country in Asia for photography. The human culture is diverse and endlessly photogenic, the wildlife is not persecuted, and is very approachable. We begin at Bharatpur where easy photography will result in memory cards jam-packed with images of storks, herons, ducks, jacanas, plus many passerines and day-roosting night birds. Next comes a cultural diversion to the Taj Mahal, followed by a cruise on the Chambal River, with lots of birds and the menacing-looking Mugger Crocodile and bizarre-yet-elegant Gharial. Heading south into central India, we enjoy a safari-style adventure seeking out Tigers and other animals in game-rich forests. We finish off at Kaziranga NP searching for Asian One-horned Rhinoceros and Sloth Bear, among others.
Swinhoe’s Pheasant is one of Taiwan’s marquee endemic birds (Iain Campbell)
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Photo Tours IIIMADAGASCAR Photo Journey (16 days; 20 days with extension)This is our only photo tour that you could do with only a macro lens. There are endless fascinating things to shoot, from endemic birds and lemurs, to a bounty of crazy bugs and endless reptiles, and almost everything is approachable. In the mornings, we concentrate on birds, reptiles during the day, afternoons are often spent on primates, and at night everything goes wild! There are fantastic frogs, cryptic chameleons, and big-eyed owls and mouse-lemurs; bring a flash. Most Malagasy birds are territorial, and we know their territories; most of the mammals are habitual, and we know their habits, so we will get you in position for fantastic photos. Our main guide for this tour is the author of an upcoming photographic guide to the country’s wildlife riches.
AFRICAN Photo Megafari: Kenya, Tanzania & Rwanda (15 days; 18 with extension)Despite being short, this trip takes in the most photogenic places and creatures of East Africa. At a private floodlit waterhole in the Aberdares, we shoot elephants and buffalo at ridiculously close range. Dropping into the epic Great Rift Valley, we take one of the world’s best boat trips for waterbird photography. If you’ve seen a mind-blowing photo of African Fish-Eagle, this is probably where it was taken. Moving south into Tanzania, we visit the legendary Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti. This is the Africa of National Geographic, and we visit when countless wildebeest litter the landscape, and when it is easiest to find the big cats doing something interesting. We offer a short extension to Rwanda’s Volcans National Park for the wondrous Mountain Gorilla.
SOUTH AFRICA Photo Journey (15 days; 19 days with extension)Beautiful landscapes, abundant and beautiful birds, and loads of big mammals; this coun-try is a photographer’s dream. This is both the Africa of the Lion King, and an Africa that is completely unexpected, more resembling Spain or Argentina than anything else on the continent. Our tour starts around Cape Town, with spectacular wildflower displays, endem-ic birds, and ruggedly beautiful scenery. Special visits to African Penguin and Cape Gannet colonies ensure stunning images of these marquee birds. Flying to the eastern side of the country, we take in some lovely mountain scenery and wildlife before dropping into Kruger National Park with its abundant big mammals and birds. For those who want to hone in on big cats, an extension virtually ensures close encounters with Leopard, Lion, or Cheetah.
NAMIBIA Photo Journey (15 days)Huge and empty, the sheer and beautiful vastness of Namibia is mindboggling. Under-standably, many people come here only to photograph landscapes. But because we know how the birds and mammals fit into these landscapes, we ensure that you also leave with cards full of charismatic bird and mammal species. We kick off this tour among the red sands of Sossusvlei, whose towering dunes are legendary. We journey up the coast through flamingo-encrusted bays, then into the ancient mountainous heart of Namibia. The tour ends in Etosha, and we have timed the tour for when the mammals are most concentrated, and 5000 individuals can sometimes be seen at a single waterhole, one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth. Some of the best lodges in the continent have everything you need, from electricity for charging equipment to delightful cuisine.
Starry-night Reed Frog, one of the many fabulous amphibians we can photograph in Madagascar. (Andrew Hollander)
19Give us a call on 1-800-348-5941 or 1-409-515-0514 E-mail us at [email protected]
GALAPAGOS: Endemics Cruise & Photography Cruise (10 days)The Galapagos Islands are like nowhere else; much of the wildlife is only found there, and it is famously tame. It is not uncommon to sidestep nesting Blue-footed Boobies, and weave through colonies of displaying frigatebirds. These cruises are for all types: families for an intimate natural history experience, world listers for the local endemics like prehistoric Flight-less Cormorants and the only equatorial penguin, and nature photographers for the unri-valed close-ups provided by these “Enchanted Islands”. Seafarers will also enjoy the rich snorkeling, with the chance to swim with penguins and sea lions, and watch a myriad of Technicolor tropical fish. Anyone, with any type of camera, will get good photos on these comfortable cruises, whether it be Giant Tortoises, carpets of colorful Marine Iguanas, or Red-footed Boobies bringing gifts to their partners. One of these tours focuses on chasing the maximum number of endemics, while the other is designed to visit the few best islands for wildlife photography.
SUBANTARCTIC ISLANDS: The Ultimate Pelagic (19 days)For aficionados of seabirds, there can be few better cruises to join: literally all the albatrosses are possible, with a mass of penguins too (including both Erect-crested and Royal). We may also encounter a handful of species endemic to these islands, such as Macquarie Island Shag, Auckland Island Teal, and Chatham Island Taiko. The combination of stunning scen-ery in these remote New Zealand islands, some very localized seabirds, a batch of endemic landbirds, and a mass of pelagic species make this a popular tour year-in and year-out.
ANTARCTICA: Falkland Islands, South Georgia & the Antarctic Peninsula (20 days; 24 days with extension)This cruise covers the very best birding and photo sites in the region for one of the ulti-mate natural history experiences anywhere. While endemic listers will be happy with birds like Striated Caracara, Black Cinclodes and Falkland Steamerduck on the Falklands, others might be more impressed by the vast colony of Rockhopper Penguins nesting alongside Black-browed Albatrosses. On South Georgia, we savor the scene of quarter of a million
nesting King Penguins blanketing the beach at Salisbury Plain, alongside gigantic “beach-master” male Southern Elephant Seals protecting their harems. On the “White Continent” itself, the scenery will take center stage; it is hard to conceive of the vistas that await; they simply outstrip anything you have in your mind, and are among the most spectacular in the world for sheer awesomeness. Colonies of penguins pack the shores and mountains, while whales, seals, and elegant Snow Petrels roam offshore. Cruising between sites will provide phenomenal pelagic birding, with the giants of the Southern Oceans: Wandering and Royal Albatrosses (along with a host of other southern specialties) often following the ship. Photo opportunities abound on this cruise to the greatest wilderness left on Earth.
We also run cruises for Polar Bears (Top of the World: Polar Bears in the Siberian Arc-tic), through the Bering Straits to an area that boasts the highest density of these bears on the planet; while the Western Pacific Odyssey offers a unique cruise all the way from New Zealand north to Japan, passing many little-visited islands and archipelagos for plenty of highly sought-after seabirds, like Laysan Albatross and Beck’s Petrel, plus landbirds that have been seen by few humans, like Kagu, San Cristobal Melidectes, and Ultramarine King-fisher.
FALKLAND ISLANDS Photo Journey (15 days)This is a land-based tour; unlike the cruises in this region, this trip to the Falklands is slow-paced. While the cruises may only allow short visits to the vast and photogenic penguin and albatross colonies, this tour ensures we have literally days to enjoy the absorbing behavior of the birds and animals and plenty of time for long shooting sessions at the colonies. This is a tour designed specifically for photographers, ensuring that every subject is both seen and photographed well; you should leave with stunning shots of King, Magellanic, Rockhopper, and Gentoo Penguins, as well as Black-browed Albatross, Falklands Steamerduck, Kelp Goose, and Striated Caracara.
Nature and Photo Cruises
Red-billed Tropicbirds fly by at eye-level in the Galapagos, making for awesome photo shoots (Iain Campbell)
Often the most memorable moments on a tour are with the more common species, like these Smooth-billed Anis in Ecuador (Andrés Vásquez)
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