The ‘River of Raptors’ lived up to its name as we spotted a humongous kettle forming just outside Cardel. Pulling over, everyone was in awe at the shear numbers of Broadwings - thousands riding the thermals above the road and many more streaming back as far as the eye could see. For half an hour we watched as the show continued unabated and there were still as many again stretched back to the horizon, when we headed to the comfort of the roof top hawk-watching site. We sensed that this was going to be a big day and sure enough it was; this was only the beginning of what would turn out to be about 450,000 hawks over the course of the next 5 hours.

White Hawk © J & A Binns

Veracruz offers so much more than just the large numbers of raptor migrating. 27 raptor species were seen `including Hook-billed Kites; small numbers of Mississippi Kites; two gorgeous White Hawks circling above our heads as we watching a pair of Black-and-White Owls perched in the open canopy; Bat Falcons and Aplomado Falcons and even 1 Golden Eagle! Passerine migration was evident with dozens of Fork-tailed and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers often side by side; large flocks of Dickcissel’s and White-winged Dove’s as well as groups of up to 50 Great Blue Heron’s, something one does not often get to see.

In the rain forest a great find was a Ruddy Woodcreeper while we were tracking down a Stub-tailed Spadebill. A new location produced Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaners; Slaty-breasted Tinamou and eye level looks at Long-tailed Sabrewing and Golden-browed Warbler, one of 36 warbler species seen. Boat rides produced 4 kingfisher species, Bare-throated Tiger Heron and Gray-necked Wood Rail while the wet savannah held Double-striped Thick-knees and 3 Pinnated Bitterns. We can’t leave out the butterflies, as they were very evident while we birded. Though some certainly went unidentified we tallied over 80 species including stunners such as Harmony Daggerwing, Mountain Heliconian, Coastal Owl and Four-spotted Greenwing.

For a full trip report, click here. We return once again to this outstanding destination Sept 24 - Oct 6 2005.

Arizona ~ July/Aug 2004

The contrast in scenery that we encountered during our 14-day trip was simply outstanding as we traversed a good part of the state, from the shear magnificence of the Grand Canyon to the Sonoran Desert dotted with Saguaro cactus to the refreshing and well-vegetated sky islands. With the changes in landscape came a wide variety of wildlife including 13 hummingbird species in spite of an estimated 90% drop in numbers compared with last year; butterflies including the beautiful ‘Siva’ Juniper Hairstreak in Sawmill Canyon; 23 reptile species including a Tiger Rattlesnake caught in the headlights as we came out of California Gulch; Coyotes being part of the dawn chorus in the Chiricahua’s; a small kettle of 3 raptors – Zone-tail, Grey and Red-tailed above Kino Springs……… but surely we’ll never forget the Black-capped Gnatcatcher on a nest, or the Bobcat frozen for a few seconds in the center of the road at Cave Creek, or the Elegant Trogon that proceeded to fly, perch and call from a number of locations around us in Madera Canyon, or the male Lucifer’s Hummingbird that appeared as lightening lit up the Huachuca’s, or the surprise (and joy) of seeing no less than six California Condors soaring together above the Grand Canyon once again. This is just some of the wide diversity that one can see in Arizona and that we’ll explore again in July/August 2005. See Trip Report.

White-eared Hummingbird © J & A Binns

Manitoba ~ June 2004

A group of 10 of us visited Southern Manitoba and Churchill at a gorgeous time of the year – spring migration. It was great to actually be able to see singing Philadelphia Vireos, Chestnut-sided and Tennessee Warblers because the trees had yet to fully leaf out. The shear number of Black Terns was a welcome site and pairs of waterfowls were seemingly at every waterhole. Upland Sandpipers and Wilson’s Snipe called from fence posts and displaying Sprague’s Pipits and a calling Marbled Godwit in the grasslands proved unforgettable. Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow, American Bitterns, Virginia Rails and Sora were common at Brandon Marsh but the Yellow Rail proved elusive despite hearing it.

Riding Mountain National Park was a special place with an assortment of breeders in the spruces including Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Blackburian Warblers, Three-toed and Black-backed Woodpecker with Red-necked Grebe’s and calling Common Loons on the lakes. A very pleasant surprise was finding a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, no doubt about as far north as they get, and having White-winged Crossbills feeding only feet away from us.

Arriving in Churchill, the river and Hudson Bay were still frozen, but by the time we left the river was open and the bay breaking up. Mergansers, Goldeneye’s, and Eider’s were beginning to move through, while Hudsonian Godwits, Stilt Sandpipers and American Golden Plovers were nesting in the tundra. Willow Ptarmigan in their ‘in-between’ plumage were still conspicuous in spite of patches of snow while four species, Pacific Loon, Ross’ Gull, Spruce Grouse and Smith’s Longspur stole the show. See Trip report.

Willow Ptarmigan © J & A Binns

ABA Endorses JaegerTours

In 2003 we received an endorsement from the American Birding Association . Following several very successful tours in the spring of 2004, the American Birding Association continues to endorse Jaeger Tours as a leader in the birding community with high quality tours to outstanding birding destinations of interest, with 4 special tours scheduled for 2005 – Morocco in March; South Florida & the Dry Tortugas in April; Scotland in June/July and Veracruz “River of Raptors” in Sept/Oct

South Florida & Dry Tortugas ~ April/May 2004

During the course of 3 weeks I ran 3 trips to the Dry Tortugas as well as 2 trips around South Florida. The highlight was a rather unexpected White-tailed Tropicbird that came right over our boat on our first day at sea. Up to 3 Red-footed Boobies were on the Dry Tortugas throughout our visits while Audubon’s Shearwaters and Bridled Terns proved elusive on one of the trips yet the later was common only a few days later.

The Caribbean race of Short-eared Owl was seen well on several trips, as were Chuck-will’s-widows and numerous passerine species, all of which made visits to the fountain. The biggest surprise on the island was finding the second record of a White-crowned Sparrow seen on the last trip.

Mangrove Cuckoo © A&J Binns

Though it was an ‘off’ season for Caribbean strays this spring there was still plenty of variety to be found. We had great looks at some of the southern specialties including Mangrove Cuckoo; a recently fledged family of Smooth-billed Ani’s, Red-cockaded Woodpecker’s inspecting nest holes; displaying Antillean Nighthawk; close up feeding Spot-breasted Oriole; Florida Scrub Jays and we are always enthralled by the graceful flight of Swallow-tailed Kites. We have 2 trips scheduled for 2005 – April 17-26 and April 26-May 5. For the trip reports from the 2004 tour. Florida I Florida II

Colorado “Chicken Odyssey” ~ April 2004

Greater Prairie-Chicken © J & A Binns

If there ever was a trip where everything came together perfectly this was it! At one stage we were surrounded by Greater Sage Grouse; we came eyeball to eyeball with White-tailed Ptarmigan; had Lesser Prairie Chickens on top of Agave stalks; Mountain Plovers preening at close quarters; displaying Chestnut-collared Longspurs; large clans of Lewis’ Woodpeckers; several hundred Sandhill Cranes bugling; Snowy Plovers running along the shoreline; courting Williamson’s Sapsuckers; a Northern Pygmy Owl calling non-stop just above our heads; and we had to sweat it out till the 11th hour to get all three rosy-finches.

Not only was this trip special because it was the first time that we had a clean sweep of all the chickens (13 species), several participants reached major milestones - their 600th ABA bird….. and let’s not forget that Mike finally got the ptarmigan on his 10th try!

We return to witness all the leking ‘chickens’ and more next April 7-17.
For the trip report from the 2004 tour.

Morocco ~ March /April, 2004

We had an excellent spring trip to Morocco that traversed the snow covered peaks of the High Atlas mountains to the Sahara desert which happened to have sand storms during our visit and onto the fertile agricultural plains along the Atlantic coast finishing with a total of 220 species.

Highlights, other than the bargaining for at least a dozen carpets in the Taroudannt Souk, included 7 wheatear species as well as the Moroccan race of Northern; 14 lark species; a stunning male Montagu’s Harrier at Merjda Zerga in perfect light quartering the marsh; Black-crowned Tchagra at the Tiouti Palmery singing in full view; 2 Cream-coloured Coursers courting

on the hamada; a walk-right-up-to Red-necked Nightjar; Wryneck in the desert; African Desert Warblers in the wadi showing well; Trumpeter Finches in all their glory; fly-over Bald Ibis, whose numbers have reached a high of 356 this year; a Western Reef Heron at the Ouarzazate barrage; a female White-headed Duck which was a wonderful find at Sidi Bourhaba and of course making the best of the sand storm in the desert and seeing Desert Eagle Owl before the conditions worsened.

© J&A Binns

We return again to this exotic country in the spring of 2005 for a trip that encompasses stunning landscapes, culture and some of the western palearctic’s most sought after species. For the 2004 trip report .

Trinidad & Tobago ~ March 2004

© J&A Binns

Sitting on the verandah at Asa Wright Nature Centre sipping tea and rum punch while watching all the activity at the feeders has surely got to be one of the best experiences a birdwatcher could ever wish for. We totaled over 65 species including Chestnut Woodpecker, Channel-billed Toucan, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Yellow Oriole and Rufous-breasted Wren and not to mention the plethora of tanagers, bananaquits and honeycreepers.

The grounds held the a very active White-bearded Manakin lek with over 2 dozen individuals performing; a very co-operative Bearded Bellbird that we watched in the open over a path for half an hour doing it’s best to attract a mate and the eerie calls of the Oilbirds could be heard as we wound our way through the trails in search of Streaked Xenop, Bright-rumped Attilla, Euler’s Flycatcher, Stripe-breasted Spinetail and trogons.

Night birding on the plain was a great success with both Pauraque and White-tailed Nightjar being seen at very close quarters and a Tropical Screech Owl at head height only feet away. The Common Potoo hawking moths wasn’t bad either!

On Tobago we visited the rain forest at Gilpin Trace, where a female White-tailed Sabrewing was feeding her 2 young and a White-throated Spadebill finally showed for all to see as she worked the dense undergrowth, but it must be the trip the Little Tobago that we’ll all remember – not just for the boobies at their nest and the Red-billed Tropicbirds young at our feet, but for the sight of them flying effortlessly all around us once we had reached the lookout.

This is a wonderful country to visit for your first neo-tropical birding, allowing for easy birding in a wide variety of habitats with some outstanding avian experiences, as well as witnessing a true avian spectacle - Scarlet Ibis coming into roost. Consider joining us in January 2005.

For the 2004 trip report.

San Diego Bird Festival ~ Feb 2004

I was privileged to be the kick-off speaker at this year’s festival, giving a talk on the origins of bird names to a raucous and enthusiastic crowd filled room. Over 275 participated in making this festival a great success for owners Claude Edwards and Mike Klein. Field trips were run to a variety of habitats and despite the recent fires that devastated a great deal of San Diego County the festival tallied an amazing total of over 200 species seen – the shear number of shorebirds and ducks is a sight to be seen. I co-lead 2 trips, one to Point Loma with Claude Edwards where we picked up Red-masked Parakeets, the sooty and slate-colored race of Fox Sparrow, Yellow-crowned Sparrow and California Thrasher and the other to La Mision in Baja with Mike Evans.

Highlights included Parasitic Jaeger, Pacific Loon, Red-breasted Sapsucker, ‘Belding’s’ Savannah Sparrow, Rufous-crowned Sparrow and California Gnatcatcher. I also participated in a pelagic to the Coronado Island’s, which produced a great number of Black-vented Shearwater, small numbers of fulmars and 4 Brown Boobies which was a surprise. For more information on this very successful festival please visit www.sandiegonaturefestivals.org

California Gnatcather © J & A Binns

Ontario ~ Feb 2004

A long weekend was spend in the boreal forests of Algonquin Provincial Park where large numbers of Common Redpolls were visiting the feeders and Gray Jays and Pine Grosbeaks along with a few White-winged Crossbills put in regular appearances. A flock of Evening Grosbeaks in the bright early morning sunlight was a treat and we had a very co-operative Black-backed Woodpecker drilling a hole on a telegraph pole besides the road. A female Spruce Grouse we seen feeding high in a spruce tree and we also got to see a Gray Wolf which turned out to have a bag leg and was limping which was unfortunate. A visit to Amherst Island only produced one owl, though a splendid one he was – a male Snowy.

© J&A Binns

We return again to this scenic part of the world in late winter 2005.
For the 2004 trip report Adrian Binns ~