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[Don't forget to check our NEWS page for recent updates and upcoming tour information.] Field Guides leader: JAY VANDERGAAST"I’d follow Jay VanderGaast anywhere he’s leading a tour. His unequivocal concern for all participants is phenomenal.” L.S., Venezuela: Tepuis Endemics 2008
Each tour link leads to a more detailed description. For another guide's schedule, click here. JAY'S UPCOMING TOURS CANADIAN ROCKIES: ALBERTA June 14-24, 2008 with Jay VanderGaast. Great western birding and spectacular landscapes. Limited to 8 participants. ECUADOR'S AMAZONIAN RAINFOREST: SACHA LODGE III July 1-10, 2008 with Jay VanderGaast. One-site tour to one of the most comfortable lodges in western Amazonia with three of the birdiest and sturdiest canopy platforms anywhere. Limited to 8 participants. May be combined with MONTANE ECUADOR. ECUADOR'S AMAZONIAN RAINFOREST: SACHA LODGE IV July 31-August 9, 2008 with Jay VanderGaast. One-site tour to one of the most comfortable lodges in western Amazonia with three of the birdiest and sturdiest canopy platforms anywhere. Limited to 8 participants. CHINA: BEIDAHE & THE TIBETAN PLATEAU September 12-29, 2008 with Jay VanderGaast & Jesper Hornskov. A truly fabulous birding adventure, beginning with a tide of stunning autumn migrants at Beidahe and Happy Island and concluding high the mountains of the remote Tibetan Plateau. SOUTH AFRICA October 10-November 1, 2008 with Rod Cassidy & Jay VanderGaast. Survey tour of the birding highlights of this beautiful country, from Cape Town to the Drakensberg and Natal. THANKSGIVING VENEZUELA: TEPUIS ENDEMICS II November 22-December 1, 2008 with Jay VanderGaast. One-site tour focusing on the many endemics and specialties of eastern Venezuela. Limited to 9 participants. HOLIDAY AT SAN ISIDRO, ECUADOR December 27, 2008-January 5, 2009 with Jay VanderGaast. Based at comfortable cabanas with dramatic cloud forest vistas and fabulous food, our small group will bird rich east-slope Andean forest from the foothills to treeline and paramo. Limited to 8 participants. PANAMA'S CANOPY TOWER I January 17-24, 2009 (Canopy Lodge Extension to January 28) with Jay VanderGaast & local guide. A towering introduction to Neotropical birds based entirely in one unique lodge; great birding from the Tower with quick access to famous Pipeline Road and other locations. Limited to 8 participants. May be combined with WILD PANAMA: BURBAYAR, MOGUE & THE HARPY EAGLE. VENEZUELA: TEPUIS ENDEMICS January 30-February 8, 2009 with Jay VanderGaast. Short, one-site tour focusing on the many endemics and other specialties of eastern Venezuela. Limited to 9 participants. May be combined with VENEZUELA. COSTA RICA March 7-22, 2009 with Jay VanderGaast & Megan Crewe. Resplendent Quetzals, Three-wattled Bellbirds, and Scarlet Macaws in a beautiful country with easy travel, good facilities, and welcoming people; a wealth of interesting birds and natural history. ZAMBIA & MALAWI: VICTORIA FALLS & CENTRAL AFRICAN ENDEMICS April 10-May 5, 2009 with Rod Cassidy & Jay VanderGaast. From Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River to the world famous Luangwa National Park, the magnificent Nyika Plateau, and the Cholo Mountains—all rich in central African endemics. POINT PELEE & ALGONQUIN PROVINCIAL PARK May 10-19, 2009 with Jay VanderGaast & Peter Burke. Boreal birds and mammals in the accessible wilds of Algonquin Provincial Park plus birding the premier migration hotspots on the Lake Erie shore. CANADIAN ROCKIES: ALBERTA June 13-23, 2009 with Jay VanderGaast. Great western birding and spectacular landscapes. Limited to 7 participants. PAPUA NEW GUINEA July 4-26, 2009 (Fiji pre-trip from June 29) with Phil Gregory & Jay VanderGaast. Birds-of-paradise, bowerbirds, and one of the world's most remarkable avifaunas against an unrivaled cultural backdrop. May be combined with NEW CALEDONIA. CHINA: BEIDAHE & THE TIBETAN PLATEAU September 11-28, 2009 with Jay VanderGaast & Jesper Hornskov. A truly fabulous birding adventure, beginning with a tide of stunning autumn migrants at Beidahe and Happy Island and concluding high in the mountains of the remote Tibetan Plateau. AUSTRALIA (Part II) October 13-28, 2009 (Tasmania extension to November 2) with John Coons & Jay VanderGaast. Completes the continent with Darwin, Cairns, Atherton Tableland, and O'Reilly's. Click a link or photo below to view the upcoming schedule of any guide.
Contact our office by e-mail in Austin, Texas at fieldguides@fieldguides.com.
Field Guides Incorporated, 9433 Bee Cave Road, Building 1, Suite 150, Austin, TX 78733 Copyright © 2008 Field Guides Incorporated Field Guides is a registered trademark of Field Guides Incorporated. |
Jay VanderGaast was introduced to birding by his father, and his obsession with birds was evident by age seven when he memorized the plates in Peterson’s eastern field guide. He went on to earn a B.S. in biology at university and briefly contemplated a career in research, but two years on the buggy arctic tundra watching ptarmigan do little other than occasionally getting eaten by Gyrfalcons soon put an end to that plan! Instead, he strapped on a backpack and a pair of bins and began roaming the world in search of birds. His travels eventually led him to Costa Rica, where he took a job as a birding guide at Rancho Naturalista lodge. He held this position for six years, becoming one of the country’s leading guides in the process, before joining Field Guides in 2000. When not touring, Jay’s native habitat is his and partner Annie’s recently purchased and still not completely renovated home near Montreal. Here he spends his time playing with their beautiful baby daughter, Ariane, fighting a losing battle to keep the squirrels off his bird feeders, and doing anything else that will keep him from having to paint another room. 
