2008 TOUR SCHEDULE
The 2008 schedule of tours is available to help you plan your next birding vacation. It is on our web site. A printed copy is being prepared. You will receive this in April if you are on our postal mailing list. We hope that you find a tour that meets your birding and travel needs. Let us know if you have any questions or wish to register for an upcoming tour.
SIX OPENINGS FOR KENYA
The originally scheduled tour to Southern and Coastal Kenya, 2-19 November 2007, is completely filled. We have arranged a second tour, with exactly the same itinerary as the first one, scheduled for 19 November - 6 December 2007. The first van of the second tour is filled, so we can accept 6 more people to fill the second van. If you would like to participate in this adventure, please contact the BIRD TREKS office. Click here for the day-by-day itinerary and additional information.
TOURS GUARANTEED TO GO IN 2007
The following tours have at least the minimum number of participants needed for the tour to go, but still have one or more openings available. Simply click on the web site address to view the detailed itinerary. Additional information concerning all of our tours is available by going to http://www.birdtreks.com/schedules/sched.html. This includes a short description of each tour, plus highlights, photos, and favorite species from previous adventures. Checklists from previous tours are being added as they are updated in the current taxonomic order.
These tours are GUARANTEED TO GO:We need just 1 or 2 more people in order to guarantee the following two tours:
Day-by-day itineraries and additional information are on our web site at www.birdtreks.com. Please contact the BIRD TREKS office if you need help accessing our web site or if you would rather have information mailed to your postal address. Many of our other scheduled tours are likely to go, but they cannot be guaranteed at this time. Please contact BIRD TREKS for more information or to register for the tour of your choice.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE RECENT COSTA RICA TOUR
COSTA RICA: 25 Feb - 10 Mar 2007We had two weeks in this beautiful country, visiting many different habitats. The tour began near San Jose, in the Central Valley, then continued to the Caribbean slope at Rancho Naturalista Lodge. From there we traveled to Savegre Mountain Lodge at 7500 feet and birded as high as 10,000 feet for the Timberline Wren, rare and local denizen of the Elfin Forest. Our next move took us to sea level on the mid-Pacific Coast at Carara and Tarcoles. And finally we were back in the low mountains at Arenal Volcano and the town of La Fortuna. Here are the Top 10 birds of our tour as voted upon by the entire group, with some commentary on our sightings.
1) RESPLENDENT QUETZAL--five feeding in a wild avocado tree, found
during our first hour at Savegre Mountain Lodge. Jacky found two perched
along the road the next day. Incredible scope views in the highlands at
Savegre!
2) Red-legged Honeycreeper--many good looks at the dazzling electric
blue males and green females, usually feeding on fruit.
3) Lattice-tailed Trogon--rare sighting of a male at Rancho Naturalista,
scoped high in the forest. This was a life bird for the entire group,
including the tour leader.
4) Sunbittern--on the riverbank at La Mina, below Rancho. We had walked
a mile or so of river and found it just mere feet from the van upon our
return.
5) Scarlet Macaw--many great views daily at Carara and Tarcol. We even
found some nesting birds.
6) Blue-crowned Motmot--knockout scope views our first day on the
grounds of Orquideas Inn, 30 minutes from the airport.
7) Baird's Trogon--one feeding low, one perched high, both at Carara
National Park.
8) Collared Redstart--many great views of the lovely little warbler
known locally as Amigo del Hombre, Friend of Man.
9) Black-mandibled Toucan--Carara and the Tarcol area yielded several
good looks. This stunning bird was formerly called Chestnut-mandibled
Toucan.
10) Lanceolated Monklet--a superb find at the base of Silent Mountain, a
brand new location for this diminutive puffbird. We watched it for 15
minutes in two scopes!
11) Spangle-cheeked Tanager--nesting and feeding at close range. They
gave us great views as they fed along the Rio Savegre.
Favorites among the mammals were Mantled Howler Monkey, White-faced Capuchin, and Spider Monkey. The only monkey that we did not see is the Squirrel Monkey of the South Pacific Coast. We found a Two-toed Sloth in a town plaza, along with two Black-and-white Owls, and saw numerous Central American Coatis. The Fish-eating Bats on the Tarcol River were very intriguing, as were the massive Central American Crocodiles. And Arenal Volcano put on a great, cloud-free show. And on our final night in La Fortuna we found a juvenile Barn Owl perched atop the massive cross on the church in the town square. We enjoyed it along with many of the local residents who joined us.
Next year's tour will follow the same itinerary and is scheduled to begin 19 February 2008.
COMING SOON . . .
We hope that you have enjoyed reading about Costa Rica, news from the field, and our upcoming tours. Our next NEWS FLASH will contain lots of exciting tales from various parts of the globe. And it's never too early to begin planning for 2008. Please let us know if we can assist you with any additional information. We are here to help you.
Sincerely,