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BIRD TREKS NEWS FLASH! #59 12 January 2008 ADAK ISLAND ALASKA, May 11 - June 1, 2008 Things are shaping up well for our spring birding tours to Adak Island in the Aleutians, http://www.birdtreks.com/itin/akad108.html. We have people registered for all three weeks: 11-18 May, 18-25 May, and 25 May - 1 June. So anytime during that period that you would like to join us, Jason Horn and I are ready to help you search for Adak specialties and Asian strays. There are two round trip flights per week from Anchorage, Sunday and Thursday. So you can plan your stay on Adak for one week, 10-11 days, two weeks, 17-18 days, or the full three weeks. The accommodations are quite comfortable, the food is good, roads and vehicles are more than adequate, and the birding ranges from good to spectacular. Please read trip report for a taste of spring birding on Adak: http://www.birdtreks.com/highlites/akad.html. PANAMA, GREEN SEASON BIRDING AT ITS FINEST! Several years ago we introduced a very successful mid-summer tour to Costa Rica. Now, thanks to tour leader Jim Danzenbaker, we have a wonderful summer tour planned to Panama, From TINAMOUS to TANAGERS in a PANAMANIAN PARADISE! The price is lower, the temperatures are cooler, and the birding is just as grand as during other parts of the year. We are offering our premier Green Season Panama Tour 31 May - 8 June 2008. Read all of the details at http://www.birdtreks.com/itin/pact08.html. CALIFORNIA HIGHLIGHTS A few months ago Jason Horn led a fantastic trip to California. For the complete trip report, click on http://www.birdtreks.com/highlites/cacc.html. Here are a few of the highlights.
COMPLETE CALIFORNIA TOUR Day four we were up early for another attempt for the Great Gray Owl. Just as we were about to give up, Peter spotted one as it came out of the tall grass carrying a vole! The bird landed on the same perch that the Long-eared Owl was on the night before. The bird then moved to the top of a small bush where it sat for a while before it disappeared into the forest. This was an experience that will not be soon forgotten. Back on track we headed toward Glacier Point where we found Pileated Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadee, White-throated Swift, and a few other mountain birds. The main target bird at this location was Sooty Grouse. Unfortunately we were unable to locate one; therefore this bird would have to wait until another trip. I guess we must have used up too much luck on the owl. The only consolation was the majestic view of the Yosemite Valley form Glacier Point Overlook. Wow! After leaving the point we worked our way into the valley. Once in the valley we birded the area below Bridal Vail Fall where we found a beautiful Great Horned Owl being mobbed by a group of Steller's Jays. We birded our way through the park and found our way to Mono Lake area where we concluded our day at Mono County Park. Here we saw large number of California Gulls, Eared Grebes, and Red-necked Phalaropes on the lake. In the parking lot we were delighted by several Red-breasted Sapsuckers, a Black-billed Magpie, and a few other nice birds. Day seven we headed to Monterey to go on our first of two pelagic trips with Debra Shearwater Journeys. During the debriefing of ship rules we had a first year Sabine's Gull in the harbor. What a nice way to start the trip! We had a beautiful calm day with close and excellent views of most species. Species seen on the trip included: Black-footed Albatross, Sooty Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater (first one for the season), Buller's Shearwater, Pink-footed Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Ashy Storm-Petrel, Black Storm-Petrel, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel, South Polar Skua, Pomarine Jaeger, Parasitic Jaeger, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, and Rhinoceros Auklet. Also seen were Humpback Whale, Northern Right Whale Dolphin, Pacific White-sided Dolphin, Dall's Porpoise, California Sea Lion, Harbor Seal, and Sea Otter. After the pelagic were made a short visit to Point Pinos to see Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, and Wandering Tattler. Day eight we went to Pinnacles National Monument. We stopped at Paicines Reservoir where we had Bald Eagle, Wilson's Snipe, Baird's Sandpiper, Cassin's Kingbird, Western Kingbird, and many others. Also along the road we found a Prairie Falcon and several Yellow-billed Magpies (endemic to California). Upon arriving at Pinnacles we found three more target birds: Oak Titmouse, Nuttall's Woodpecker, and FIVE California Condors! Other highlights included Golden Eagle and Pacific-slope Flycatcher. After leaving Pinnacles we headed to a location to look for California Thrasher and Lawrence's Goldfinch. Both birds showed nicely, especially the flock of goldfinches that were coming in to drink at a small spring. Day thirteen we went to Maricopa to look for Le Conte's Thrasher. We quickly found a cooperative pair of thrashers, along with Greater Roadrunner and Sage Sparrow. After the nice thrasher show we headed toward Mount Pinos. We found a Grasshopper Sparrow, many Lark Sparrows, and two California Condors that were just finishing their breakfast that consisted of a road-killed Black-tailed Jackrabbit. The one condor was in the company of several Common Ravens that were dwarfed by its presence. This bird allowed for a close approach until a passing car caused it to take off and circle by our van. This was a real treat to see such a critically endangered bird at such close range. At Mount Pinos we found Lewis's Woodpecker, White-headed Woodpecker, and Townsend's Warbler, just to name a few. The 2008 tour is scheduled for the same dates, 15-28 September, with a Salton Sea Extension immediately following. TOURS GUARANTEED TO GO IN 2008 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 for you to join us. 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. Tour route maps are being added to the web site. Checklists from previous tours are also available. The following three tours are GUARANTEED TO GO:
We need just ONE or TWO more people in order to guarantee the following tours. Please note that the following tours are not yet guaranteed, but we hope that they soon will be.
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. COMING SOON . . . We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our recent California Adventure. Thanks to all of you who gave a Bird Treks gift certificate to friends and loved ones for the holiday. I can guarantee you that they are very happy with your choice. Please let us know if we can assist you with any additional information about our upcoming tours. We're here to help you with your birding needs. Sincerely,BOB BIRD TREKS--Quality Worldwide Birding Tours Robert M. Schutsky 216 Spring Lane Peach Bottom, PA USA 17563-4008 WEB SITE www.birdtreks.com VOICE: 717-548-3303 FAX: 717-548-3327 E-MAIL: info@birdtreks.com Back to FLASH menu page Back to main page Send comments or questions about this web page to the WebMaster. |