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ANTARCTICA
February 2008
Birdseekers first cruise to the Great White Continent produced all we had hoped for and more. Our ship which carried a maximum of 80 passengers was ideal for allowing everyone to go ashore two or three times a day fast and efficiently. Larger ships can take hours to get everyone ashore and cannot go to many areas because they are simply too big. When going on a cruise to Antarctica you need to get these things right, and we did! The results our cruise produced no less than 11 Snow Petrels, and 6 species of Albatross, including, Light-mantled Sooty, Atlantic Yellow-nosed, Southern Royal, Wandering, Grey-headed, and Black-browed. We had a very good selection of other seabirds with Atlantic, Soft-plumaged, Blue, Wilson’s Storm, Black-bellied and Grey-backed Storm Petrels, there was Antarctic Prions, both Giant Petrels and much more. On shore we walked amongst the tame Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adelie Penguin colonies and enjoyed watching them with chicks of all shapes and sizes. It wasn’t just the birds that were so great, we enjoyed spectacular scenery, amazing icebergs and glaciers, and mammals that included close encounters with Hump-backed Whales, a breaching Dwarf Minke Whale, Fin, Sei, Antarctic Minke and Southern Bottle-nosed Whales, Leopard and Weddell Seals. To compliment this cruise we spent time in Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego and in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Highlights here included close up Magellanic Woodpeckers, Andean Condor, Austral Pygmy-Owl, Magellanic Tapaculo, the rare sighting of a Striated Caracara, Giant Woodrail, Freckle-breasted Thornbird and so much more that you will have to read the full report the report section of our web-site. Keep watching for our new Falklands & South Georgia tour – coming soon!
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COSTA RICA - EASY!
January 2008
Our newly designed “Easy” tour to Costa Rica proved so popular that we had to run 2 full tours back-to-back. These tours are quite different from our classic March tour where we still rank as number one in the world for sheer number of species seen. Some people prefer a slightly less intense trip and to this end our “Easy” tour provided just that by staying longer in each lodge and spending longer looking at all the species we found at a pace quite civil and relaxed. Still in keeping with Birdseekers tradition we came up with many sought after, rare and seldom seen species. Excellent views of Keel-billed Motmot, were followed by equally good views of White-fronted Nunbirds, Streak-chested and Thicket Antpittas, Central American and Costa Rican Pygmy-Owls, three sightings of Spotted Woodquail, a Zeledonia walking around our feet, Great Curassow, Bare-necked Umbrellabird, Yellow-billed and Snowy Cotinga, Sunbittern, Sungrebe, Great Green and Scarlet Macaws, 38 species of hummingbird including the superb Snowcap, Black-crested Coquette, Black-bellied and endemic Mangrove, plus Green Shrike-Vireo, Prevost’s Ground-Sparrow, King Vultures, and over 10 sightings of one of the most wanted birds the incredible Resplendent Quetzal. What a fantastic list of birds and at a relaxed pace proving that whichever Costa Rica trip you choose we are simply unbeatable. Why look at any other company, most get their itineraries completely wrong and most cannot produce anything other than the most regular species. We stay in the very best lodges right in the heart of the best birding spots. If you want to join us in Jan/Feb 2009 you will need to act quickly as the first trip is completely full and our second departure is filling fast. At £2395 there is no better value trip to this birders paradise.
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ECUADOR (Hummingbirds & Tanagers)
415 species seen - Nov 2007!
This popular tour always produces a few surprises but this year we found ourselves the first foreign visitors to set eyes on a newly discovered Oilbird colony just a short distance from Quito. This will now feature as part of our Hummingbird & Tanager tour and is also included when we visit The Galapagos Islands. Over thirty Oilbirds with chicks were seen just a few feet away in a rocky gorge where views were exceptional and far better than the pitch black caves that other countries offer. If this was not enough we should re-name our tour to include Antpittas as we had good views of no less than 7 species of this typically difficult family. As normal Hummingbirds and Tanagers played a big roll and we recorded 56 species of hummer including such delights as Sword-billed Hummingbird, Napo Sabrewing, Ecuadorian Piedtail, Many-spotted Hummingbird, Wire-crested Thorntail, Grey-chinned Hermit, Golden-tailed Sapphire, Black-throated Brilliant and Gorgeted Woodstar to name a few. Amongst our collection of 77 tanagers were Moss-backed and Blue-whiskered, Paradise, Yellow-throated, Golden-crowned and Masked Mountain Tanager, plus 3 species of Chlorophonia. There were of course far too many other highlights to mention here but notable were Blackish, Lyre-tailed and Square-tailed Nightjars, Scarlet-breasted Fruiteater, Andean Cock-of-the Rock, Andean Condor, Noble Snipe, Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe with chicks, Brown-billed Scythebill, Coppery-chested Jacamar, Plate-billed Mountain Toucan, Ocellated Tapaculo and Toucan Barbet.
See all these and more in Nov 2008 as we constantly improve on an already superb itinerary and action-packed tour. Be amongst the first to see Oilbirds in Ecuador!
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BHARATPUR AND KAHHA
275 species recorded in 13 days, plus 10 tigers!
With a combination of great birding, awesome mammals, superb lodges and the incomparable Taj Mahal this tour was so packed with highlights it's difficult to know where to begin! Of course, our 10 sightings of Tiger at Kanha National Park takes some beating. We saw them from Elephant-back several times, including 2 males feeding on a Spotted Deer, as well as several incredibly close encounters from the jeeps. The thrill of searching for this king of the beasts is something everyone should try and experience and when the alarm calls of wary deer ring out across the forests and grasslands, the hair on the back of your neck rises and your heart pounds at the anticipation of catching a glimpse of this beautiful animal. We were also fortunate, lucky or maybe skillful to also see a Leopard for a full 10 minutes, Sloth Bear, at least 7 different Jungle Cats and a pair of Common Palm Civets as well. But the birds were also great, with Small-billed Scaly, Tickell's and Orange-headed Ground Thrushes, 11 Indian Coursers and Dusky Eagle-owl at Bharatpur, along with Spanish Sparrow and Striolated Bunting on the way to Bund Baretha.
Our day spent on the Chambal River produced Great Thick-knee, Small Pratincole, 30+ Pallas's Gulls, Indian Skimmer, flocks of Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse coming down to drink, Desert, Isabelline and Variable Wheatears, Rufous-fronted Prinia and Crested Bunting.
At Kanha we had Red Spurfowl, Painted Francolin, Rufous-bellied Eagle, Eastern Baillon's Crake, Sirkeer Malkoha, Black-winged Cuckoo-shrike, 2 male Himalayan Rubythroats, Ultramarine and Asian Brown Flycatchers and the endemic Indian Scimitar-babbler amongst others.
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NAMIBIA
275 species recorded in 10 days
Another great trip with a fantastic local; leader and too many highlights to mention! Namibia is a country of vast open spaces and plenty of amazing birds and mammals. Highlights from this recent trip include desert plains species such as Burchell’s and Double-banded Courser, Ruppell’s Korhaan, Gray’s Lark and Tractrac Chat in contrast to the coast where we witnessed the spectacle of literally thousands of wintering Curlew Sandpipers mixed with White-fronted and Chestnut-banded Plovers and the delicate Damara Tern. Then of course there were species like Rockrunner, Monteiro’s Hornbill, White-tailed Shrike and the superb Rufous-eared Warbler. Let’s not forget the wonderful pelagic where we were privileged to see a number of the truly magnificent Shy Albatross along with Pintado Petrel and Wilson’s Storm Petrel. Finally, no trip to Namibia is complete without visiting the world famous Etosha National Park where we saw no less than 5 Black Rhino and 25 Lions, along with many Blue Cranes, Kori Bustards and numerous larks taking the Lark total to an incredible 12 different species.
If you enjoy birding in a warmer climate, surrounded by vast open areas with stunning scenery, fantastic birds and mammals, all with very good accommodation and in a very safe country then Namibia is for you! Join us in 2009 for our exclusive tented camping safari by the Okavango River.
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EASTERN HIMALAYAS
384 species recorded in 18 days
So once again BIRDSEEKERS introduce a ground-breaking tour to NE India.
This time we were one of very few western birders (maybe less than 25) to have seen the Mishmi Wren-babbler, a bird rediscovered in 2004 after an absence of some 60 years! We recorded several new birds for this exciting area as well as some classic Eastern Himalayan specialities such as Beautiful Nuthatch, Black-headed Shrike-babbler, Himalayan Cutia, Manipur Fulvetta, Fulvous Parrotbill, Lesser Rufous-headed Parrotbill, Coral-billed and Slender-billed Scimitar-babblers, Rufous-faced Warbler, White-naped Yuhina, Maroon-backed Accentor, Grey-headed Bullfinches, Spot-winged and Dark-rumped Rosefinches, Crimson-browed and Gold-naped Finches, Long-tailed Sibia, Yellow-billed Blue Magpies and Collared Treepie amongst other goodies. With a couple of new lodges under construction and fabulous birding we believe this could well be a perfect alternative to other more famous sites further west and in a more comfortable environment! Other highlights include a flock of Finn's Weavers and a Spot-bellied Eagle-owl at Kaziranga and many Black-breasted Thrushes and 5 Ibisbills at Nameri. Several endemics were seen such as Black-breasted Parrotbill and Swamp Prinia at Dibru-Saikhowa, and Dark-rumped Swift, Assam Laughingthrush and Tawny-breasted Wren-babbler in Meghalaya to round off a fantastic and exciting tour. Join us for this exciting tour in 2009!
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S
OUTH AFRICA
Highlights included Cape Rock-Jumper, Blue Crane, African Penguin, Cape Sugarbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Shy and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrosses plus both Southern Right and Humpback Whales!
This 8 holiday to South Africa is a very relaxed trip taking in a number of South African endemics, stunning scenery and of course the all important Cape Town pelagic. Some unseasonal weather on this year’s trip gave us some challenging birding, with a few species eluding us, but we were still rewarded with some great views of many key and endemic species. A stunning and somewhat cheeky Cape Rock-Jumper gave us fantastic views despite the wind! The often tricky Cape Siskin and Cape Grassbirds were a welcome sight early on, as were the beautiful and iconic Cape Sugarbird and Orange-breasted Sunbird. Later in the week obvious flocks of Blue Cranes regally strutted about in wheat fields in contrast to the small and skulking endemic Knysna and Victorin’s Warblers playing hide and seek with us! Add to this, the comical and photogenic African Penguins, the amazing scenery and botany and the magic of the pelagic wildlife and you cannot go wrong! – Join us in 2009 for our next visit.
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GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
77 species plus 269 in Ecuador recorded in 16 days
Once again, we returned from this trip to these magical islands with many fantastic memories of birds, mammals, fish and reptiles! Highlights included, all but one of the endemics due to the recent closure of one of the islands, a seabird spectacular on Espanola with Waved Albatross, Blue-footed and Nazca Booby and the finding of what is believed to be the first live Sora Rail for the Galapagos! Our boat, exclusive to Birdseekers guests only, yet again produced a very relaxing atmosphere allowing for plenty of time to sea-watch and pick up wonderful species like Galapagos Petrel and Red-billed Tropicbird as well as time to reminisce about the day’s highlights each evening in the comfort of the ship’s lounge. The food on-board, yet again, was excellent. Of course, let’s not forget the Ecuador part of the trip, where in just a four day taster, we saw an incredible 269 species including Andean Cock-of-the Rock, Andean Condor, three species of Antpitta and 33 species of Hummingbird!
The pressures on tourism in the Galapagos have increased in recent years and as a result, restrictions are now being brought in to close off islands to the public. This is clearly a good thing to safeguard the wildlife for the future, but if Galapagos is on your wish list, we recommend you seriously consider 2008 as it could be your last chance to see most of the endemics for some time. Join us 25th September – 11th October 2008.
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PANTANAL
304 species recorded in 9 days!
If you're thinking of birding the World's largest wetland, there's no finer leader to show you the sights than Miguel Castelino, one of South America's finest guides. His incredible knowledge of avifauna and their calls enabled us to pick up just about every specialist bird the region has to offer and enjoyed fabulous prolonged views of most of them. The tour focussed on three main habitats - forest, wetlands and dry cerrado scrub - which enabled us to maximise our opportunities for seeing the highest number of birds in the time we shared.
A highlight for many of the group were the stunning Hyacinth Macaws with sightings including a gathering of eight in a single tree at one of our lodges and up to fifteen birds seen in a single day. A host of other "parrots" were also seen including four other macaws including Blue and Yellow, six parakeets including the stunning Peach-fronted and four true parrots including Orange-winged and Blue-headed Amazons. Other colourful delights included Cuvier's and Toco Toucans, aracaris, thirteen woodpeckers, four kingfishers, sixteen tanagers, a cracking male Helmeted Mannakin and nine species of hummingbird including the best views imaginable of a sitting male Horned Sungem, that's endemic to the region's cerrado habitat. Less colourful, but by no means less enjoyable, birds included Greater Rhea, four species of tinamou, twenty-two species of raptor, six spinetails, a multitude of flycatchers, Collared Crescentchest, a showy Red-billed Scythebill, and great views of the endemic Planalto Slaty Antshrike.
The experience of taking a slow boat along the Pixiam River was another highlight where encountered a plethora of waterbirds at close range including many herons, Roseate Spoonbill, Sungrebe, Sunbittern and Black Skimmer although the undoubted highlight was a group of three Giant Otters that played by our boat for twenty minutes. Other good mammals seen on tour included Black and Gold Howler, Brown Capuchin, a friendly Crab-eating Fox and the omnipresent Capybara, although the closest we came to Jaguar on this occasion were some fresh pugmarks close to one of our lodges! They're definitely out there!
Join us on next year's AMAZING tour!
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PERU
688 species recorded in 18 days!
Peru continues to offer what is probably the greatest birding experience in South America and over the course of of our journey we had visited a vast array of habitat zones from arid valleys and mist enshrouded cloud forests, to high Andean mountain passes and sea cliffs. Yet it was the humid Amazonian lowlands that provided some of the most memorable highlights, starting with the wonderful Amazonia Lodge where the sheer number of species present is positively breathtaking. Right outside our verandah there were numerous brightly coloured 'hummers' feeding on the flowers just a few yards away. Pride of place went to a stunning Rufous-crested Coquette, although a Gould's Jewelfront making regular forays onto the feeders was a surprise, but was not as unexpected as the much rarer endemic Rufous-webbed Brilliant. Incidentally, that was just 1 of 26 endemic species seen on this trip! The tower platform here gave us a tree top view across the wide valley, but more importantly close views of the near-mythical Lanceolated Monklet, as well as Military Macaw, Golden-collared Toucanet, and a first record of Lettered Aracari for the lodge. The 10 hour boat ride along the Madre de Dios river into the heart of the Manu Biosphere Reserve was in itself an incredible experience, but the canopy towers were also exceptionally good to us and we saw many great birds. Possibly pride of place went to a small group of Curl-crested Aracaris, although Golden-green, Scaly-bellied and Cream-coloured Woodpeckers, Painted Parakeet, Spangled and Purple-throated Cotingas, and a wide assortment of furnarids and tanagers were also seen.
But for the whole story keep an eye out for the full tour report which also includes sightings of Sungrebe, Wattled Guan, Bronze-tailed Comet, Black-spotted Bare-eye, Rufous-capped Nunlet, huge macaws and flocks of parrots visiting a clay lick, Great Inca-finch, Subtropical Doradito, Thick-billed Miner, Giant Otters and Brazilian Tapir, plus 56 hummers, 44 antbirds, 50 tanagers and over 50 furnarids!
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FINLAND/ARCTIC NORWAY
165 species in 10 days!
This year's combined Finland and Arctic Norway trip proved to be thoroughly enjoyable and very rewarding with excellent views of our target species. The highlights were undoubtedly the OWLS with 2 Great Grey, Ural, Tengmalm's and Pygmy all seen well but the stars of the show had to be the two Hawk Owl families that showed unbelievably well. In Arctic Norway, we enjoyed 15 Steller's Eider, 8 King Eider, 2 White-billed Diver, plus several Black- and Red-throated Divers, Long-tailed Skua, Iceland and Glaucous Gull, plenty of White-tailed Eagle and Rough-legged Buzzard and 100s of sea duck. The seabird colony at Harnoya was a real spectacle and we enjoyed superb views of Brunnich's Guillemot along with 1000s of other seabirds. All this was supported by a B-list of numerous Ruff (lekking in their resplendent summer plumage), Temminck's Stint, 1000s of summer-plumaged Knot, Red-necked Phalarope, Bean Geese, Ring Ouzel, Bluethroat, Snow and Lapland Buntings, singing Red-throated Pipit and several Arctic Redpoll.
The landscape of Finland was simply stunning and the birds didn't disappoint us either, with 2 very confiding Dotterel, 2 showy Golden Eagle, a displaying Broad-billed Sandpiper and Jack Snipe, numerous Crane, plenty of Capercallie, Black and Willow Grouse and 5 Hazelhen, including the most incredible views of 2 males displaying like crazy-things around our minibuses. Other northern specialities included some friendly Siberian Jay, singing Red-flanked Bluetail, 2 pairs of Pine Grosbeak, Siberian Tit, Little Bunting, Waxwing and Scarlet Rosefinch, plus a very confiding Ortolan. A fine Black and two Three-toed Woodpeckers showed very well and we also saw two Wryneck, plus Great Grey and Red-backed Shrike. On and around the lakes, we enjoyed Red-necked Grebe, Whooper Swan, Little Gull, Smew and Velvet Scoter.
Book now for the 2008 trip that's filling up FAST>>
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KENYA
610 bird species and 51 mammal species seen in 15 Days!
Yet another wonderful tour to this exciting destination thanks to Steven Easley, with a mind-blowing list of birds and mammals proving that this is still the best all-round wildlife watching tour available. There were so many typical African-style highlights with superb views of a female Leopard playing with a well grown cub, as well as close encounters with Rhino, Giraffe, Zebra, Lion, Hippo and Hyena. Sometimes it felt like a dream as we gazed across the savannah and saw herds of Wildebeest grazing, or hundreds of thousands of Lesser Flamingos creating a pink aura around Lake Nakuru. In fact it was quite often like being in one of those TV wildlife documentaries as the animals were often very close! Of course there were many birding highlights with each new site offering an incredibly diverse selection of species. But one of our favourite sites is Kakamega Rainforest which provides such a contrast to other habitats visited, and we did really well here with fine views of a displaying African Broadbill just a few feet away. Several stunning Blue-headed Bee-eaters were seen well, and we also had White-spotted Flufftail, Yellowbill, Great Blue Turaco, Purple-throated Cuckoo-shrike, Bocage’s Bush-shrike, African Shrike-flycatcher, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Red-headed Malimbe and Equatorial Akalat amongst many others. For the full story of our exciting African adventure as we journeyed to Lake Victoria, Lake Baringo, Lake Nakuru, Mount Kenya, and Samburu then keep an eye out for the full tour report!
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LAKE BAIKAL - SIBERIA
180 species seen in 13 days.
We visited the rich Taiga forests and marshes of Central Siberia in order to prepare for next year’s exciting tour. Although this visit is a month later than our 2008 tour we still found nearly all of our target birds, with the exception of any decent thrushes that had stopped singing by the time we arrived. Arriving in Irkutsk (where the sky is full of Pacific Swifts) some nearby marshes held plenty of Pallas’s Grasshopper Warblers, as well as Falcated Duck, Long-toed Stint, Upland Buzzard, Eastern Marsh Harrier, and Yellow-browed Bunting. A forest site close to the city was productive with Three-toed Woodpecker, Mugimaki Flycatcher, Siberian Rubythroat, Siberian Blue Robin, Yellow-browed Bunting, and the ever-present Black-faced Bunting. A secluded valley just a couple of hours drive from the city had lots of Olive-backed Pipits and Daurian Redstarts, as well as Nutcracker, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Two-barred Greenish and Pallas’s Warblers, and Taiga Flycatcher. The nearby Arshan wetlands could not be reached due to flooding so we missed Asiatic Dowitcher, but the area is very productive with Capercaillie, Hazel Grouse, Demoiselle Crane, White-backed Woodpecker, Brown Shrike, Thick-billed Warbler, Siberian Meadow and Pine Buntings, Daurian Jackdaws, and lots of song-flighting Richard’s Pipits. The nearby Sayan Mountains were hard going but Red-flanked Bluetail, Arctic and Yellow-browed Warblers and Common Rosefinch were found before reaching the alpine zone where Eversmann’s Redstart, Alpine Accentor and Plain Mountain-finch were seen amidst spectacular scenery. We then flew 650kms to the north end of Lake Baikal where spectacular White-throated Needletails were possibly bird of the trip. The Taiga was very kind to us with Oriental Cuckoo, Bohemian Waxwing, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed and Siberian Blue Robins, Radde’s and Dusky Warblers, Siberian Jay, Two-barred Crossbill, and both Yellow-browed and Chestnut Buntings. We also found a relatively accessible mountain site for Pallas’s Rosefinch and Siberian Accentor, whilst on the lake and marshes were Stejneger’s Scoter (a recent split from Velvet Scoter) Mongolian Gull, Caspian and White-winged Terns, White-tailed Eagle, Marsh Sandpiper, and Long-tailed Rosefinch. Plus huge numbers of Pallas’s Grasshopper Warblers.
Next year’s tour also has the opportunity to see Grey-tailed Tattler, Asiatic Dowitcher, Red-necked Stint and Lanceolated Warbler which pass through in good numbers on migration.
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KAZAKHSTAN
249 species, 12 days
There were many highlights on this superb tour, but the excellent views we had of just about all the birds we saw was what made it so special. Starting off in the desert we were thrilled to see over 6 MacQueen’s Bustards, plus a very confiding Caspian Plover at its nest. Thorough searching found us Mongolian Finches, Turkestan Shrikes, Syke’s and Asian Desert Warbler, Red-throated Pipit, White-winged Larks, Grey-headed Goldfinch, Azure Tit, White-crowned Penduline Tit, the very attractive Saxual Sparrows, Yellow-eyed Stock Doves, White-winged Woodpecker and Grey-necked and White-capped Buntings. At a well we enjoyed fantastic close views for over 15 minutes of a pair of Pallas’s Sandgrouse. In the beautiful Tien Shan Mountains birds were very different and scenery spectacular. From our Astronomical Observatory Lodge we encountered all the specialities including nesting Songar Tits, Blue-capped, Eversmann’s and Guldenstadt’s Redstarts, Himalayan Rubythroats singing from every bush and amazing close views of several stunning Severtzov’s Tit-Warblers.
A distant Ibisbill was found and we saw Altai, Black-throated and Brown Accentors, White-winged Grosbeak, Sulphur-bellied Warblers, Three-toed Woodpecker, Nutcracker and two Himalayan Snowcocks just 500 metres away, rather than the distant scope views most people satisfy themselves with. Finishing the tour off in the Steppes we enjoyed countless Black and White-winged Larks, a flock of 11 Sociable Lapwings, Booted, Blyth’s Reed, Caspian Reed, Paddyfield and Greenish Warblers, Demoiselle Cranes, a colony of Black-winged Pratincoles, Pallas’s Gulls and the amazing spectacle of thousands of Yellow Wagtails and tens of thousands of Red-necked Phalaropes and Ruff. Join us next year to see why Kazakhstan is so special!
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ISRAEL
MOROCCO
