TRINIDAD & TOBAGO ~ December 2006

Over 200 species were seen on this trip between the coastal swamps, inland plains and forests of Trinidad as well as Tobago’s rain forest and seabird islands which saw Red-footed and Brown Boobies and Red-billed Tropicbirds beginning to nest. At Nariva we tracked down a Pinnated Bittern and got a very pleasant surprise with a sighting of the rare Azure Gallinule as well as a first record for the country of an Orchard Oriole. At Grand Riviere we had stunning views of the only endemic, the Piping Guan, and at Caroni who is going to forget the magical spectacle of several thousand Scarlet Ibis coming into roost in the mangroves.

Piping Guan © Jane Binns

It was just like a Christmas tree being lit up and very appropriate for this time of year. Between all the feeders at Asa Wright and PAX Guest House we got to see 12 species of hummingbird including Tufted Coquette; honeycreepers, tanagers, euphonias and manakins, and had circling White Hawks and Zone-tailed Hawks overhead while at Point-a-Pierre we came across a very confiding American Pygmy Kingfisher rounding out an excellent 11 days on these beautiful islands.

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PUERTO RICO ~ Oct 2006 In spite of 4 days of on and off rain, we got to explore a number of habitats from coastal beaches and salt pans to lagoons and grasslands along with 3 main forested areas which yielding 17 of the 18 Puerto Rican endemics between them. Our encounters included exceptional views of Puerto Rican Bullfinch and Puerto Rican Lizard Cuckoo in the Caribbean National Rain Forest at El Yunque in the Luquillo Mountains; numerous Puerto Rican Flycatchers in the dry southern forest at Guanica, this being the most common endemic seen here though the Adelaide Warbler stole the show; and in the wet mountain forest at Maricao in the western part of this island where we had a close encounter with the recently discovered Elfin Woods Warbler, several diminutive and colorful Todies with their red bills pointed upwards in search of insects, a stunning male Puerto Rican Spindalis and a pair of beautiful Puerto Rican Woodpeckers. We did get to hear the Nightjar and missed only the extremely rare Parrot, which was not bad for such a short trip! See Trip List Puerto Rican Tody © A&J Binns Kenya – Aug/Sept 2006 Kenya surely must be the greatest avian and mammal experience one could possibly see in one country as we encountered 60 species of mammals and over 450 birds. The spectacle of hundreds of thousands pink flamingos ringing the Nakuru’s soda lake; massive wildebeest herds snaking their way through the grasslands and crossing the Mara River; 4 species of vultures patiently waiting their turn as cheetahs finish their kill; weavers nest building and trying to attract mates by hanging upside down and rapidly flapping their wings at the entrance hole; seeing flocks of noisy large Black-and-white Casqued Hornbills; and then there are the colourful Red and Yellow Barbets, Lilac-breasted Rollers, Golden-breasted Starlings, Saddle-billed Storks, Malachite Kingfishers, Red-headed Bluebills; the majestic African Fish Eagle; the worlds largest bird the Ostrich and the diminutive Crombec (barely the size of the ostrich’s eye) to one of the more secretive forest birds the White-spotted Flufftail, and the heaviest flying bird the Kori Bustard of the open savannah; leopards resting in a tree with their feet dangling from a branch and the surprise of coming across two of Africa’s rarest mammals, the Hunting Dog and the Striped Hyena. We return once more in August 2007 to watch this amazing wildlife spectacle that will leave you with memories for a lifetime. See Trip Report & List African Fish Eagle © A&J Binns Utah & Snowcock – August 2006 We had another very successful trip with some fabulous views of Himalayan Snowcock set in one of the North Americas most beautiful locations – the Ruby Mountains. Amongst the many highlights, the extraordinary shorebird migration that congregates around the Great Salt Lake with thousands and thousands of Eared Grebes, Wilson’s and Red-necked Phalaropes, American Avocets etc. We watched in amazement as a very aggressive Black-necked Stilt chased several yellowlegs and willets until he had successfully cleared the mudflat, and also witnessed a Caspian Tern escort a Golden Eagle out of its territory as it harassed the rear-end out of it. One section that we dubbed “raptor alley” produced over 50 individual raptors with Red-tails, Swainson’s and Ferruginous Hawks being the most numerous and included a Prairie Falcon as well as Golden Eagles. Not to be outdone the numbers of owls that we saw were something to behold – dozens of Great Horned and Short-ears including a large group quartering a recently mowed hayfield in perfect early evening light, and of course the diminutive Flammulated Owl that posed nicely! Then there were 3 separate sightings of Badgers…..magical. The combination of scenery and wildlife on the trip certainly make this a very appealing part of the world and we look forward to returning Aug 3-9, 2007. Ferruginous Hawk © A&J Binns Uganda – July 2006 Over 3 weeks was spent exploring the national parks and the extensive rain forests of Western Uganda where we saw an astonishing 528 species. Our close encounter with primates was certainly one of the highlights with treks for Chimpanzees and Gorillas thrilling the whole group. A total of 50 mammal species were seen including 11 species of primates. Shoebill © A&J Binns Even though it felt as if we had to work very hard for our forest birds, with most of the species seen in the upper levels of the canopy, we were simply blown away by 2 species in particular; Doherty’s Bush-Shrike and Black Bee-eater, and we did manage to see 18 of the Albertine Rift Endemics. By contrast the savannah birds were very cooperative and our boat rides produced stunning views of the Shoebill as well as a very big surprise for Uganda, breeding White-crowned Lapwings. The weather for the most part was very pleasant with temperatures in the 70’s and low 80’s with considerably more overcast than sunny days and we did unexpectedly encounter the beginning of the rainy season by the time we got to Bwindi, cutting short our visit to the highlands by a day. The people were very pleasant and friendly, and we found the country very clean though the southern part of the country in particular had been striped of forest in favor of a variety of agricultural practices. Pyrenees June 2006 The scenic valleys were full of singing Firecrests, Chaffinches, Blackcaps, Serins, Song Thrushes, Yellowhammers, Cirl Buntings and soaring Buzzards, Booted Eagles, Red and Black Kites. At dusk we saw Nightjars and had a Eurasian Eagle Owl fly over our heads. In the higher elevations it was wonderful to see Alpine and Red-billed Choughs along with good numbers of Griffon Vultures and exciting to pick out Lammegeriers amongst them. Though our views of Wallcreeper were rather distant it was, along with Citril Finch, Alpine Accentor, Ring Ouzel, Black Woodpecker and the very rare White-backed Woodpecker one of the highlights. A great surprise this far north was coming across a Black Stork and with the abundant sunshine we saw over 40 species of butterflies including gorgeous Peacock, Small Tortoiseshells and Spanish Gatekeepers. Mammal highlights included Chamois and a Red Fox and her kit. We return to the mountains early next summer following a week in Extremadura. Black Kite © A&J Binns Dry Tortugas ~ April 2006 A great surprise was coming across a Greater Flamingo near Key West, which we all saw before boarding the boat. Our short 3-day visit to the islands was a great success beginning with Bridled Terns, Audubon's Shearwater and a very close Pomarine Jaeger and finishing with Roseate Terns. Although we did not get the numbers of warbler species that we would have expected we did get exceptional looks at Cape Mays, Ovenbird, Black-throated Blues, Yellow-throated and Tennessee. Other highlights included several Short-eared Owls of the Caribbean race and a Black Noddy along with not-often recorded Lincoln's Sparrow and Least Flycatcher. See Trip Report Birding the parade grounds at Ft. Jefferson © A&J Binns COLORADO ~ Chicken Odyssey April 2006 A clean sweep of the 13 ˜chickens" as well as great looks at all our target species made this is a very successful trip. The numbers of Gunnison Sage Grouse and Lesser Prairie Chickens on the lek were the highest we have ever seen and along with Greater Prairie Chicken and Greater Sage Grouse the displays on the leks were extraordinary. The only minor disappointment was the Sharp-tailed Grouse with only a few seen on a windy day. Rosy-finches, longspurs and Mountain Plover were amongst the highlights. Waterfowl and raptors were well represented with 20 and 13 species respectively; including side by side Barrow's and Common Goldeneye, a dark morph Swainson's Hawk as well as good numbers of Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawks. See Trip Report & List Lesser Prairie Chickens © A&J Binns Southern Morocco ~ March 2006 Tristram's Warbler © A&J Binns Sometimes it pays to be extremely lucky. Being in the right place at the right time, a Houbara Bustard, a species reduced to mythical status in Morocco in the last decade just happened to walk right by us! A small group of migrating Black Storks was a pleasant surprise; Crowned Sandgrouse at close quarters; a roosting Pharaoh Eagle Owl; 30 species of larks, 7 species of wheatears and 8 sylvia's including Tristram's Warblers and African Desert Warbler on the breeding grounds; Desert Sparrow's feeding amongst camel dung. An astonishing several hours were spent in the presence of 30 raptor species including Long-legged Buzzard, Goshawk, Lanner, Barbary Falcon, Booted, Bonelli's and Short-toed Eagle; and then there was a tenth of the world's population of Bald Ibis in flight?. These were some of the many highlights as we traversed the snow covered High Atlas, valley of the Kasbahs, gorges, palmeries, sand dunes and arid desert regions that border the Sahara and that make this one the world?s most beautiful and friendly countries. I hope that you?ll consider joining us again in 2007. See Trip Report & List ONTARIO & QUEBEC ~ March 2006 Highlights of this wonderful weekend trip into beautiful snow covered southern Canada included seven Gray Partridges and two juvenile Snowy Owls; a group gathering of Evening Grosbeaks; a very confiding Great Gray Owl, one of a handful that have returned following last year massive irruption; a Barred Owl; small numbers of Common Redpolls; more Pine Grosbeaks than most of us have seen at any one time; tame Gray Jays feeding from out of our hands, and great views of a male Spruce Grouse in Algonquin Provincial Park. See Trip Report Pine Grosbeak © A&J Binns New England ~ Feb 2006 Boreal Chickadee © A&J Binns In spite of high winds and cold temperatures for the first couple of days we had a very successful trip to New England. Once again we had good numbers of gulls with many Iceland?s, three Black-headed and a 1st cycle Glaucous on Cape Ann. Along with a large group of Harlequins and amongst Common Eiders we had a spectacular drake King Eider capping off a wonderful half day of birding on the cape. A Snowy Owl on Plum Island made up for the lack of other species there and along the Maine coast we had a half dozen Barrow's Goldeneyes with cracking views of a drake. Reports of a Great Gray Owl in central Maine did not pan out but the area did give us tremendous looks at a couple of Barred Owls and our only Northern Shrike. We saved the best bird for last, with good views of a Boreal Chickadee that was visiting a feeding station south of Boston. See Trip Report Northern India - Jan 2006 India is as fascinating a place as anyone can imagine and coupled with a wide array of wildlife there is always something for everyone at every turn. Thanks to a good monsoon this summer Bharatpur was alive with an abundance of waterfowl, waders, geese, pelicans and eagles. It took us nine attempts to finally come face to face with a tigress and her two well grown cubs but it was well worth the wait. While the decline of the gyps vultures continues to be of major concern with no sighting of White-rumped at all, highlights in the lowlands of Rajasthan included Black Ibis, displaying Sarus Cranes, Indian Coursers, Brown Hawk Owl, Indian Nightjar, Grey-headed Lapwing, Red-necked Falcon, Spotted Creeper and a very confiding Orange-headed Ground Thrush. Orange-headed Ground Thrush. © J & A Binns We enjoyed a variety of new species many of them colorful in the foothills of the Himalayas including White-rumped Shama, Spot-bellied Eagle Owl, Snowy-browed Flycatcher, Hill Partridge, White-tailed Rubythroat, Rufous-bellied Niltavas, Collared Falconets, Spotted Forktail, several laughingthrushes, Himalayan Flameback, the stunning cryptic Scaled Thrush and finished up with another exhilarating sighting of a tiger at Corbett. With 360 species seen including Western Reef Heron (a good record), 24 mammals and 35 butterflies, visits to the Taj Mahal and Amber Fort and spectacular views of the Himalayas this was a very successful trip.