WINGS E-mail Newsletter

Arizona and Utah: Fall Migration in the Canyonlands

September 8-20, 2009: Birding our way across some of the most glorious--and most often pictured--landscapes in the United States, we’ll visit colorful canyons and monoliths sculpted from the massive Colorado Plateau, including the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion Canyons, Monument Valley, and the Petrified Forest. We’ll also stop at a number of historic and scenic sites in Navajo country before ending up in the boreal coolness of eastern Arizona’s White Mountains, where we'll be on the lookout especially for American Three-toed Woodpecker, Gray Jay, and Pine Grosbeak, all of which nest locally in the spruce-fir forest. Gary Rosenberg leads.

You can read about Gary's latest tour to these iconic landscapes and review the impressive list of birds and mammals on line. 

California: The Southern Coast, Santa Cruz Island, the Salton Sea, and the Mohave Desert

September 9-19, 2009: The popular image of rampant overdevelopment and crowds of people notwithstanding, southern California preserves many areas that are both wild and beautiful. Timed for the very peak of fall migration for many birds, our tour regularly produces a long list, focusing especially on those species that are difficult or impossible to see elsewhere in the United States. On our visits to the offshore islands northwest of Los Angeles, the coastal areas of Los Angeles, and the legendary Salton Sea, California Quail, California Gnatcatcher, California Thrasher, and California Towhee are all expected sights, as are Yellow-footed Gull, Allen's Hummingbird, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Oak Titmouse, and Tricolored Blackbird. Past tours have produced such notable rarities as Eastern Yellow Wagtail and Buff-breasted and Upland Sandpipers. Jon Dunn leads.

Last year's was yet another excellent tour with Jon Dunn, as the tour narrative shows. The tour's bird list includes virtually every species regularly recorded in southern California, plus an impressive number of state and continental rarities.

New Jersey: Cape May

September 20-26, 2009: Cape May is the place to observe the spectacle of fall migration in North America. This sandy peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean funnels south-bound migrants to its narrow terminus. Renowned the world over for magnificent morning flights with more than 20 warbler species and daytime flights of nearly a dozen species of raptors, September in Cape May is as exciting as it gets for seeing a new suite of birds every day. Nearby areas in coastal southern New Jersey and in adjacent Delaware also hold staggering numbers of staging shorebirds and waterfowl. In addition to migrants, a number of uncommon and local species occur along the New Jersey coast and will be an additional focus of this trip. Jon Feenstra and Jon Dunn lead. 

No name in North American birding is as evocative as "Cape May," where the bird list is long and the skies can be full of migrants. Join us this autumn in the birthplace of American birding.

India: Goa

Wonderful birding, exquisite beaches, and delicious food: it's no wonder that India's Goa has become such a popular destination for birders and vacationers from around the world. As Paul Holt's account of our latest biennial tour demonstrates, Goa is the ideal place to find species endemic to peninsular and southern India and large numbers of wintering birds from farther north:

Fourteen consecutive nights in one hotel: no packing and unpacking! Our comfortable pace, superb weather, deliciously varied food, exciting shopping, and birds galore once again made this a wonderful tour. We took it easy on the first day, briefly venturing out from our hotel on a late-afternoon sortie that produced a fly-over Oriental Honey-Buzzard and a pair of Greater Painted-snipe from the poolside patio. The next day we drove 20 minutes to a small mangrove marsh, where we enjoyed good looks at a Verditer Flycatcher and our first Booted Eagle and Purple-rumped Sunbirds. Our driver then took us to a "new" site nearby, where within minutes we were treated to some superb, lengthy, scope-filling views of Indian Pitta. “Bird of the Trip” right then and there, and we’d been in the country little over 24 hours....

Read Paul's full narrative of this exciting and rewarding tour to a tropical vacation paradise with a unique blend of European culture and Indian ambience. The extensive bird list accumulated by this tour is also available for review on line. 

Gambia

Despite its small size--just over 200 miles long and no more than 30 miles wide--Gambia has become a favored haunt for birdwatchers from all over the world. Conveniently enough, the facilities developed for vacationers to escape the winter gloom of Europe also provide birdwatchers access to some superb habitats and some superb birds, as James Lidster reports:

I always wonder if one year I will go to the Gambia and not be amazed. It can’t be that good every trip, can it? Well, it seems it can! I can never believe how many birds there are or how showy they can be—and all so close to our hotel. The rarest bird of this tour was undoubtedly a Brown-necked Raven. The raven lost out in the beauty stakes to the Shining-blue Kingfisher (one of eight species we found, including Giant, Malachite, African Pygmy, and Gray-headed). Equally exciting was an African Goshawk, perched close in an area of forest that has only recently opened up for birding....

And so it went for the entire tour, excellent rarities interspersed with large numbers and great views of more common, but no less appealing, African specialties.  You can read James's complete report of our latest tour to this fantastic country on line.

Chile: Tierra del Fuego to the Atacama Desert

The narrow strip of South America that is Chile is a land of immense variety and beauty: the grandeur of wave-dashed Pacific beaches, the solitude of high Andean lakes, the rolling plains of Tierra del Fuego, and the utterly barren Atacama, the most perfect of deserts. Chile is also, as Gavin Bieber reports, home to a bizarrely varied and endlessly fascinating avifauna, from penguins to sierra-finches:

As always, our 2008 tour impressed everyone with its remarkable contrasts and variety: from the windswept solitude of Tierra del Fuego to the richness of the Humboldt Current, and from rich altiplano bofedales to the utterly barren Atacama Desert. This year's highlights included fantastically close views of a family of Magellanic Woodpeckers, impossibly long-winged Northern Royal Albatrosses wheeling around our boat for over an hour, a flock of endemic Slender-billed Parakeets in a farm field, Andean Condors drifting majestically along postcard-perfect Andean ridges, and Diademed Sandpiper-Plovers entertaining us for an hour i na beautiful Andean bog surrounded by massive purple-and-green scree slopes....

Read more, and review the tour's impressive bird list. Our 2009 tour, led by Steve Howell, begins on October 25. 

Mexico: A Week at Palenque

 

January 17-24, 2010: Many birders first make the acquaintance of tropical birds amid the ruins of Palenque--and then return, captivated, again and again to this wonderful site. The small town and spectacular Maya ruins olie in the Gulf of Mexico lowlands, at the foot of the Yucatán Peninsula and just inland from the vast Usumacinta marshes. North American breeding warblers, vireos, and other migrants share the forest with toucans, parrots, trogons, motmots, antbirds, and a host of other Neotropical residents. We’ll become familiar with the regularly occurring species and search for local rarities, as well as have ample time to enjoy the famous ruins and relax in the sun. This is an excellent tour for those who wish a pleasant introduction to tropical birding, a shorter Mexican experience, or a trip with the comfort and convenience of a single locality. Rich Hoyer leads.

For more on the birds and the experience of visiting one of Mexico's most atmospheric sites, read the narrative report from Rich's most recent tour.

 

Ecuador: La Selva Lodge

January 7-17, 2010: More than 500 species of birds are known from La Selva, among them five species of macaw, 10 puffbirds, seven toucans, and more than 40 antbirds. It is possible here to see some of the rarest and least known Amazonian species, such as Zigzag Heron, Black-banded Owl, White-browed Purpletuft, Banded Antbird, Orange-crowned Manakin, and the recently rediscovered Cocha Antshrike. The addition of a 100-foot tower, easily accessible by stairs, has brought a new dimension to Amazonian birdwatching: the ability to observe many rarely seen canopy species. The rustic lodge offers a degree of comfort seldom seen in Amazonia: excellent meals, service, and private bungalows, each with a private bathroom complete with hot water. Gary Rosenberg leads.

Eastern Ecuador's Amazonian lowlands hold their own among the most diverse and most beautiful localities in the world. For a taste of birding the heart of the rainforest, read Gary's exciting tour narrative--and go green with envy over the fine images in the photo gallery.  

Thailand: The Coast to the Highlands

February 6-24, 2010: Thailand is one of the most ornithologically exciting countries in all of Asia. A wide variety of habitats and an extensive park and sanctuary system support a huge number of resident bird species and a rich array of Palearctic migrants. Our newly revised tour samples habitats from the marshy plain and mangrove coastline around Bangkok, to the beautiful forest national park at Khao Yai and the cool mountains near the northern capital of Chiang Mai. In the Thaton Highlands, we visit mountainous regions in the country’s extreme northwest, where a number of new species await us. Jon Dunn and Jay Limparungpatthanakij lead.

This tour can be taken in conjunction with Jon Dunn's tours Peninsular Thailand and Gurney’s Pitta or Cambodia.

Highlights on this tour include chances at the very rare Spoon-billed Sandpiper and the newly rediscovered "White-faced" Plover, along with a dazzling array of Asian specialties and Palearctic migrants. Read Jon's 2009 tour narrative for more details about this wildly successful, and rightly popular, tour to one of Asia's ornithological treasures.

The Dominican Republic

March 4-10, 2010 (with Puerto Rico Extension to March 14): Site of the oldest European city in the New World, the Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Greater Antilles. This varied landscape, dominated by the highest mountains in the Caribbean and ringed by a beautiful coastline, is home to thirty endemic bird species, including Palmchat, the single representative of the monotypic family Dulidae. Our search for the endemics and regional specialties will take us to the cloud forest and thorn scrub of the rugged Sierra de Bahoruco, as well as to the bizarre cactus forest of the Lago Enriquillo basin. That lake itself is home to flocks of flamingos, herons, shorebirds, and waterfowl. Our visit to the Dominican Republic will be enriched by the gracious hospitality of its people and their excellent Spanish-style cuisine. Gavin Bieber leads.

The Puerto Rico Extension provides opportunities for another 14 endemics and a number of additional Caribbean specialties. For a report on the 2009 tour, see Gavin's full narrative and the tour bird list.

Monhegan Island: WINGS Leader in Residence

September 19 - October 4, 2009: Small, isolated, and quite far offshore, Maine's Monhegan Island concentrates landbird migrants, attracts off-course vagrants, and provides some of the most pleasant birdwatching anywhere. Evan Obercian, the 2009 WINGS Leader in Residence, will be leading three birding walks a day, each limited to eight participants to ensure the best possible views and the best possible learning opportunities for all. Space on the walks can be reserved in advance by contacting WINGS, or you can arrange to participate through the island's main hotels . Late September and early October are traditionally the best birding times on Monhegan, and in this tranquil after-season, the island has a particular beauty: the last bloom of weedy wildflowers among stacked lobster traps, the ring of bell buoys on quiet afternoons, and low-angled sunlight on old buildings.

Read more about autumn birding on Monhegan in the report from our latest tour to this quiet island retreat.

Guatemala: Horned Guan and Pink-headed Warbler

February 2010: Just three hours’ flight from the US, the highlands of Guatemala’s Pacific slope are famous worldwide for two birds: the improbable-looking Pink-headed Warbler and the bizarre and critically endangered Horned Guan. Less well known are the astonishing concentrations of boreal migrants—especially wood warblers—that share these cool montane forests with a vast selection of Central American specialties. Though our tour specifically targets the warbler and the guan, we also take time to enjoy fully the diversity of the region’s birdlife and to appreciate the charm of Antigua, one of the finest baroque cities in the western hemisphere. An optional extension to Tikal combines an exploration of the magnificent Maya ruins with a completely different suite of tropical birds. Bryan Bland and Hugo Enriquez lead.

You can find out more about birding Guatemala here.

Georgia and South Carolina: Birding the American Civil War

April 4-10, 2010: This is the first in a series of new tours with Jon Dunn exploring the history and natural history of the sites associated with the American Civil War (the next will be to Maryland and Pennsylvania in 2011). The old colonial towns of Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, two of the most beautiful and historic cities in the Old South, figured prominently in the war, and both preserve important sites associated with the outbreak of conflict. Both towns also have excellent birding close by. Our April visit is timed to coincide with the peak period of song for resident species and with the arrival of spring migrants and breeders. The wide variety of species we should see includes the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker and the scarce and declining Bachman’s Sparrow. The trees and wildflowers should be in full bloom, and April temperatures are ideal for birding and exploring the birds and history of the Old South on the eve of the Civil War sesquicentennial. Jon Dunn and Giff Beaton lead.

This newest addition to our estimable run of "Birds and History" tours is designed to appeal to birders and history hobbyists alike.

WINGS Aloft

The art of Narca Moore-Craig will be on display until June 20, 2009, at The Chiricahua Gallery in Rodeo, New Mexico. Narca is an internationally known artist and illustrator, whose work hangs in private collections all over the world. Among her recently published paintings is a portrait of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in Noel Snyder et al., The Travails of Two Woodpeckers (New Mexico UP, 2009).

Read more about the activities of all your favorite WINGS leaders at The Wingbeat, the WINGS Birding Blog.

Rich Hoyer has published a fascinating article about the interplay of birding, languages, and travel in Spectrum. The illustrated essay can be read on line.

PHOTOGRAPHERS! WINGS has created a new Flickr group for participants to share their images of birds, groups, food, landscapes--anything they found memorable on their WINGS tour. Please "tag" your images with the tour name or destination so that your fellow participants can find the photos easily. If you have any trouble joining the group, sensibly titled WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, please get in touch with us here at the office.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has produced a new series of online videos, "Inside Birding," featuring the talents of Jessie Barry and Chris Wood. The first four installments offer great tips on using size and structure, habitat, behavior, and overall color pattern to identify birds.

Steve Howell's article "Great Expectations?"--including a thoughtful and much-needed defense of the sight record--is featured in a forum on the future of birding in the most recent issue of Birding. The same issue of Birding also includes book reviews by Derek Lovitch and Rick Wright.

 

The new second edition of the Collins Bird Guide, by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterstrom, and the late Peter Grant, will be released in Europe on May 28. The US edition, from Princeton University Press under the title Birds of Europe, is expected in October of this year.

Just for Fun

Do birders communicate better with their mechanics? A new take on birding by ear.