Birding...Plus a little something else
 Our April newsletter is about to mail, and with it a printed version of our complete and finalized 2009 schedule. Scheduling at Field Guides is a good outlet for creativity -- after all, everyone gets to thinking about new ideas, bringing back an old favorite that's been out of the schedule for a while, fine-tuning a standard itinerary, co-leading a tour with someone they haven't been in the field with for a while...it's a lot of fun. Our Scheduling Committee has been hard at work since last fall to get everyone's input, try to make all the pieces of numerous 'dream' guide schedules fit together, and assess what they think will work to create the best offering of Field Guides tours possible next year.
One idea for a new set of 2009 tours began with a few single Field Guides trips quite a few years back (Britain: Birding the Wordsworths' Lake District was a pioneer), and the concept is now fledging fully with our new BIRDING PLUS tours. These itineraries will combine birding with birding-related activities (for example, a banding program, or opportunities to learn in depth about one or more particular groups of birds, or amateur bird photography) or with activities not directly related to birding but which we believe will have strong appeal to our clients (for example, archaeological ruins, or special cultural features, or historical interest). We will have time to enjoy some great birding, of course, but we will not be driven by a particular target list or number; rather, we will weave together the birding that we all love with the other goals of a particular ‘Birding Plus’ itinerary to enjoy the best of both. If you find yourself drawn to both birding and other interests and would like to combine them in your travel, one or more of these tours may be just right for you.
Our selection of Birding Plus tours for 2009 is listed below; note that our already popular Ireland tour, inaugurated with this fall's departure, is a natural for this genre, so we've woven it in. See you in the field soon!
— Jan Pierson
BIRDING PLUS Itineraries for 2009
|
Venezuela’s Llanos & Photography—February 20-March 2, 2009 with George Armistead
More photo opps in the context of slower-paced birding than on our regular tours. We’ll take advantage of good opportunities for photographing birds, and we’ll mix these with spotting and identifying a good many of the myriad species possible at our two main sites. If you enjoy both birding and photography, you’ll enjoy this tour!
|
 |
|
North Carolina: Petrels & the Deep Blue Sea—May 16-25, 2009 with George Armistead
Demystify those ocean birds on this itinerary scheduling 3 pelagic trips into North Carolina’s rich offshore waters along with informative presentations on seabird I.D. and natural history. And we’ll also enjoy some landlubber birding in some of NC’s best forest and coastal shorebirding spots.
|
 |
|
Cape May Migration: Orient Yourself!—October 3-9, 2009 with George Armistead
See bird migration in action and learn about regional movements, local influences, and orientation, and pick up important identification tips for raptors and other groups. We'll run the trip in a field-and-presentation format itinerary and be visiting one of the best migration hotspots in North America.
|
 |
|
Ireland: Birds, Traditional Music & Pubs—October 30-November 8, 2009 with Terry McEneaney & Eugene Byrne
We’re already inaugurating this itinerary for fall 2008, and that departure virtually sold out immediately. It fits right into our Birding Plus concept, combining birding and the well-known traditional highlights of Irish culture—it should be great fun again in 2009!
|
 |
|
El Salvador & Banding—October 31-November 7 with Jesse Fagan
A unique opportunity to combine the up-close experience of netting and banding birds in a research program with several days of birding in lovely settings: birds in the hand and in the bush for a great, week-long learning-and-birding experience that will build your birding skills and knowledge.
|
 |
Travel options over the next few months...
Guatemala, Honduras, Yucatan, Hawaii, Panama, South Texas, Ecuador, Brazil, Puerto Rico -- it's been a busy past month of Field Guides tours. And with spring finally on the way, our guides are getting excited about upcoming migration and summer tours! Here's a listing of a few with space still open for your birding escape:
| - 3 spaces on our North Carolina tour with George Armistead, May 10-18; this rich state's diverse forest and coastal birding combined with a Gulf Stream pelagic trip.
- 1 space on Point Pelee & Algonquin Provincial Park with Peter Burke, May 11-20; the migration hotspot of Pelee with the boreal specialties of Algonquin.
- 1 space on Machu Picchu & Abra Malaga I with John Rowlett, June 24-July 5; an exploration of Andean birding from Cusco to Machu Picchu (which features not only the famed ruins but some great birding itself).
- several spaces on Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec with Jesse Fagan, June 28-July 6; a Maritimes classic, from the boreal beauty and birds of mountainous Gaspesian Provincial Park to the famed seabird colony and gannetry of Bonaventure Island.
- several spaces on Papua New Guinea with Phil Gregory & Dave Stejskal, July 21-August 12, with a Fiji pre-tour from July 16; between King-of-Saxony Bird-of-paradise, Ribbon-tailed Astrapia, Wattled Ploughbill, and fantastic paradise-kingfishers there are myriad other fantastic endemic birds, not to mention a fascinating culture and lush landscapes.
- 1 space on Mountains of Manu with Rose Ann Rowlett, July 26-August 10, with a Machu Picchu extension to August 13; from treeline through temperate and subtropical forests down to rich upper-tropical zone -- spectacular birding scenery along one of the birdiest roads in the world.
- 1 space on Summer Costa Rica with Megan Crewe, July 26-August 10; quetzals in their full resplendence, bizarrely wattled bellbirds, lovely manakins, dazzling hummingbirds -- not a bad way to spend a couple of weeks!
|
 |
Above, an eye-catching Velvet-purple Coronet from Montane Ecuador, one of dozens of species of hummingbirds possible on this itinerary -- Ecuador is the heartland of hummer diversity! We currently have 2 spaces on Montane Ecuador I tour, June 23-July 2, and 3 spaces on Montane Ecuador II, July 28-August 6, both with Mitch Lysinger. The first tour may also be combined with our Sacha Lodge III tour, July 1-10 with Jay VanderGaast, to add exciting rainforest and canopy platforms.
|
The Five Pillars of Birding
Yes, I know I had a photo of the meeting of the waters near Manaus, Brazil, in this space of our last emailing, so been there, done Brazil... Yet a particular group of photos from our recent Northeastern Brazil tour caught my eye -- not so much because they're Brazil again, but rather because they're about what we enjoy so much while birding with our groups -- five key aspects to heading out in the field. Here they are, photographically if perhaps in no particular order (and thanks to Bret for sending in some fun pix). — Jan Pierson
 |
 |
|
Beauty
We know the birds are going to be beautiful. But many of the places we get to bird are amazingly beautiful and unique as well -- one of the plain and simple joys of birding travel.
|
Sustenance
Birding makes us hungry! Most famous lines from seemingly every tour group: "We never eat this much when we're home!" Most fun at meals (culinary birding, sort of): Figuring out exactly what that is in that dish!
|
 |
 |
|
Focus
Bins up, eyes forward! If someone next to you can't spot it yet, give a pointer. If you can't find it, let us know. After all, we want to share the experience!
|
Patience
You have sooooo been here, haven't you? Well, it's a nice chance for a little chat with your fellow travelers, in any case, and post-shower the birds will be singing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Success
Nothing better than a great bird, a happy group, and tales to share!
|
|
