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Welcome to our April emailing!
Greetings, birding friends! Spring has certainly sprung, new migrants are arriving daily, every local breeder is in full throat, and the hummingbird feeders filled. How does that song go, "It's the most wonderful time of the year"? Those folks who sing it in December are clearly not birders! We are humming along here at Field Guides, too. As you read this, we've got folks taking in migration along the Texas coast with John Coons, others are exploring Spain, Terry Stevenson is leading folks around Hungary and Romania, another tour just started in Arizona, and within a day or so we start our Florida migration tour.
While it is certainly too early to think about birds of other seasons, it isn't too soon to think about planning some birdy adventures in summer, fall, or beyond. In the sections below, we have a few tours that you might find of interest. For the domestically inclined, we've got tours on each of the U.S. coasts featured. We also want to tell you about our Antarctic cruise—and we've even put together a little gallery of great images from that tour. A couple other tours we're highlighting are in Ecuador and Brazil, so please check them out.
We have a couple short videos from recent tours that you might enjoy watching, a new Recent Photos Gallery, with 115 images from tours to 11 countries on four continents. For those who prefer spontaneity to long-distance planning, there's our list of upcoming tours with available spaces for the next six months. You'll also find the link to our Field Guides Store. Lastly, we have 16 triplists from recent tours and a dozen fresh itineraries for upcoming tours this year and early next year.
We'd like to thank participant Joshua Horner for the image above of the Drakensberg Rockjumper from from last year's South Africa tour. That tour and our slower-paced South Africa: Birds, Wines & Wildflowers are both being offered again this fall.
Our thanks, too, to guide Sam Wilson for the image below of an adorable Snowcap, taken during one of last year's Holiday Costa Rica: Rancho Naturalista departures.
As always, we appreciate you opening and reading through this emailing, and if a tour seems interesting and you'd like to find out more, just contact our office and we'll help you get on your way.
| | Coastal U.S. birding in September | | |
This summer and early fall we've got an array of options for birding the west or east coasts of North America. Oregon, California, Maine, and New Jersey are all beckoning, each with its own avian flair.
In the Pacific Northwest, guide Cory Gregory is ready to show you Oregon: From the Coast to the Cascades, August 30-September 10. Oregon's coast is an untamed, rugged edge teeming with birdlife. We also visit the Cascades, rising out of the forested foothills with postcard-like beauty, harboring their own suite of birds. And the Great Basin and Crater Lake National Park are stops on our tour route as well.
Just a few hundred miles south, we have two departures for our Slice of California: Seabirds to Sierra tour. Both departures cover the same areas (including an exciting pelagic trip out of Half Moon Bay) but do so in a different order. The itinerary features coastal California birding, the Central Valley, and the Sierra Nevada. Chris Benesh leads one tour, and Alex Sundvall is at the helm for the other.
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We've got some fine birding available on the other side of the continent, too. Sam Wilson will lead a group on our Maine in Fall: Seabirds & Coastal Migrants tour, which promises fantastic scenery, fresh seafood, and loads of good birds. This itinerary includes a visit to Acadia National Park, a pelagic trip out of Bar Harbor (pictured here), then we head Downeast for a second, private boat trip out of Eastport. Aside from the birds and marine life here, we'll also see the largest whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere. Lastly, we also have three nights on legendary Monhegan Island, where sometimes migration magic occurs!
During fall migration, Cape May can make a claim as the East Coast's premier birding destination. The local geography funnels southbound migrants into a narrow path, concentrating them at the tip of the Cape May peninsula. On peak migration days, dawn has songbirds just about everywhere, while later in the day many scores of raptors streak past the famous Cape May Hawk Watch. There are also the dynamic coastal habitats, which can be awash with shorebirds, terns, gulls, and many marsh dwellers. The entire tour is based in a single beachfront hotel, and most of the birding venues are quite close.
To sign up or get more information about any of these tours, please contact our office.
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Some destinations sell themselves. It isn't a question of if you want to get there, but more a negotiating of when. Antarctica is such a place. A visit to Antarctica is much more than a vacation or an adventure. It is a step back in time to a place that looks almost exactly as it has for thousands of years, though it is changing at an alarming rate. Nonetheless, this is the ultimate seabird and wildlife cruise, and a journey that nearly every birder imagines taking. King, Adelie, Gentoo, Chinstrap, Magellanic, Macaroni, and Rockhopper penguins are ripe for the seeing. Albatrosses, prions, petrels, diving-petrels, storm-petrels, skuas, and a few island endemics are on the docket, too. There are up to five species of seal to be seen, along with several whales and dolphins. Aside from the spectacular scenery of Antarctica, as well as visiting a new continent, and all the wildlife at Antarctica, the tour also visits the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, the latter home to the massive King Penguin colony with over 100,000 birds, including the four adults surrounded by "oakum boys" seen above.
Is this the year you'll join us on our amazing Antarctica, South Georgia & The Falklands cruise? We're shoving off Oct 20, and we'll return Nov 12. Our veteran seabird expert Doug Gochfeld is the guide, and he'll be leading his third boat-based tour in the last 20 months—including this very tour last December.
To pique your interest further, we've put together something of a pictorial itinerary, which you can see by clicking here. We've also got a link to the triplist from our 2023 departure, found by clicking here.
| | Short videos from recent tours | | |
Many of our triplists contain highlight videos from the tour that might showcase the birds, the scenery, the culture, other wildlife, or any combination thereof.
Our first video is from this past fall's Nowhere but Northeast Brazil! tour, guided by Bret Whitney. The video captures the scene as the group visits the redrock canyons of the Raso da Catarina to take in the spectacle of Indigo Macaws at dawn. There's also a cute surprise at the end. Click here or on the macaw below to watch the video.
The second clip is a fun highlight video from our recent Succinct Suriname: Cotingas & Trumpeters tour, shot and edited by guide Micah Riegner. You can view this video by clicking here or on the Rufous Crab Hawk below.
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Nestled deep in Amazonian Ecuador is Sacha Lodge—one of the most comfortable and best-run lodges in upper Amazonia. Our tour spends a full week here, giving us the time and opportunity to bird the Amazonian forest for species like Zigzag Heron, Harpy and Crested eagles, Scarlet-shouldered Parrotlet, Lanceolated Monklet, Collared Puffbird, Rufous-headed Woodpecker, Short-billed and Black-tailed leaftossers, Dot-backed Antbird, and Orange-crowned Manakin, to name a few. Sacha is also home to some of the best canopy walkways and towers that we've encountered. The warm and personable Willy Perez (a native Ecuadorian) is your guide; he's been leading tours to this destination for Field Guides since 2012.
| | Brazil's mouth of the mighty Amazon | | |
Our Brazil: Parrots & Cotingas—The Mouth of the Mighty Amazon is a two-week birding tour through diverse habitats around the mouth of the sprawling Rio Amazonas as we seek most of the endemics of lower Amazonia—and lots of flashy parrots and cotingas. Guided by Brazilian Marcelo Padua, this adventure runs August 1-14.
We'll bird areas around the city of Belem, where we'll hope to find Hooded Gnateater, Vulturine Parrot, Dusky Parrot, Opal-crowned Manakin, and Crimson Hooded Manakin. Then we board a chartered flight to Mexiana Island, set right at the confluence with the Atlantic Ocean. Here we’ll spend a day searching for specialties such as Blackish-Gray Antshrike, Crimson-hooded Manakin, Scaled Spinetail, and Ruddy-breasted Seedeater (which has a fairly small distribution in Brazil). We'll then swing well south to the remote Carajas National Forest. This area boasts a myriad of parrots and cotingas—among the species we seek are six species of macaws (including Hyacinth), Jandaya Parakeet, the very local Pearly Parakeet, and the stunning Red-fan Parrot, two species of bellbirds, the beautiful Purple-breasted Cotinga, and the range-restricted White-winged Cotinga. A few of the other exciting bird possibilities are Brazilian Tinamou, White-crested and Rusty-margined guans, Bare-faced Curassow, Russet-crowned Crake, Rufous-necked Puffbird, Red-necked Aracari, Dusky-billed and “Carajas” woodcreepers, Curve-billed Scythebill, lots of ovenbirds and antbirds including the rarely seen Black-bellied Gnateater; the ultra-rare Black-chested Tyrant; Black-and-white Tody-Tyrant, the spectacular, endemic White-tailed Cotinga, White Bellbird (represented by a subspecies known only from Carajas), and the little-known Guianan (Para) Gnatcatcher. Still not enough? Harpy Eagle is a realistic hope in the Carajas area; if the nest is active, we may have incredible views of this bird!
To sign up or get more information about any of these tours, please contact our office.
| | Field Guides merch is available! We've got shirts, hats, hoodies, mugs, stickers, tote bags, and more—all a click away at our Field Guides Store. Fashionable and functional—sure to keep you comfortable and looking spiffy—check it all out at the store. | | Triplists from recent tours | | We have triplists from past tours linked below, each with some lovely images and some with video clips, and all with great texts by our guides. Enjoy! | | Comments from participants | |
We carefully read each post-tour evaluation we receive from our participants, so that we can continue to offer the best possible birding experiences and service on Field Guides birding tours. Here are two representative recent comments. From all of us at Field Guides, our thanks for all your valuable feedback. | | |
“I chose Field Guides and this tour in particular because the early spring timing worked out quite well. Certainly the endemics made this tour a must, as did the relative ease of getting there. The excursion's pace seemed doable too. The fact that Megan Edwards Crewe was leading this tour was the clincher, having been on two previous trips with her in the past. The tour was most delightful. Perhaps the very best part for me was the genuine and sincere companionship of local guides Dwayne Swaby and Raymond Condappa. Both were more than just guide and driver, as they shared with us their Jamaica. Both were very helpful in the field too. Dwayne's precise knowledge of target species and his coaching on how best to see them was magnificent. He and Megan worked so efficiently all day, every day. The meals and accommodations were great, especially Goblin Hill. All of my previous Field Guides experiences (12, I believe) have been uniquely exceptional. This one stands tall among them.” B.W., Jamaica II, 2025
“I chose this tour for visiting Cambodia as I wanted a tour that spent sufficient time seeing some of the famous temples, as well as the key rare bird species. I have traveled with Field Guides before, and I knew it was a reliable company. I enjoyed the tour, which was very much what I was hoping for in terms of timings at each site. I saw slightly more new species than expected, and I enjoyed renewing acquaintance with many old favorites. Accommodation and food was consistently good. I had not met guide Phil Gregory before, but I greatly enjoyed his company as well as his leadership and experience, and I would be very happy to go with him again. Phil is a wise and experienced leader and excellent company. He made the tour a lot of fun, as well as successful from the birding point of view.” R.B., Cambodia: Angkor Temples & Vanishing Birds, 2025
| | Tours with openings through October | | Each month we list in this section the Field Guides departures over the next six months that still have at least two spaces available (unless otherwise noted). | | |
Southeastern Arizona is one of the most prized birding regions in the U.S. and home to a myriad of species that are impossible or difficult to find elsewhere. In a typical year, late-summer's prevailing winds carry moisture and rains—the annual monsoon—to Arizona's thirsty desert and grasslands. A few local birds take advantage of this phenomenon and begin their nesting season. This includes Montezuma Quail (pictured) and Botteri's and Cassin's sparrows—all of which are at the peak of their singing. This has also proven to be a great time of year for Mexican vagrants, such as Eared Quetzal, White-eared Hummingbird, Rufous-capped Warbler, Flame-colored Tanager, and Streak-backed Oriole. We have two offerings of our Arizona's Second Spring tour. The first is Jul 19-28 with Chris Benesh, the other Jul 26-Aug 4 with Cory Gregory; each has space available. For more information or to book a space, please contact our office.
SOUTH AMERICA
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Rainforest & Savanna: Alta Floresta & the Northern Pantanal, Brazil, Jun 9-24 with Marcelo Barreiros (1 space)
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Galapagos: An Intimate Look at Darwin's Islands I, Jun 14-24 with Mitch Lysinger & local guide
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Peru's Magnetic North: Spatuletails, Owlet Lodge & More, Jun 14-26 with Dan Lane & Jesse Fagan
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Brazil's Rio Roosevelt: Birding the River of Doubt, Jun 14-29 with Bret Whitney
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Machu Picchu & Abra Malaga, Peru, Jun 25-Jul 4 with Dan Lane
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Amazonian Ecuador: Sacha Lodge, Jul-3-12 with Willy Perez & local guide
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Galapagos: An Intimate Look at Darwin's Islands II, Jul 12-22 with Willy Perez & local guide (1 space)
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Mountains of Manu, Peru, Jul 31-Aug 11 with Dan Lane
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Brazil: Parrots & Cotingas: The Mouth of the Mighty Amazon, Aug 1-14 with Marcelo Padua
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Iquitos, Peru: Canopy Walkways & Ancient Forests, Aug 1-15 with Micah Riegner
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Bolivia's Avian Riches, Sep 5-21 with Dan Lane (1 space)
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Rio Negro Paradise: Manaus, Brazil, Sep 13-28 with Marcelo Barreiros & Bret Whitney (1 space)
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Safari Brazil: The Pantanal & More, Sep 20-Oct 5 with Marcelo Padua
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Central Peruvian Endemics: The High Andes, Oct 4-20 with Dan Lane
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NEW TOUR! Bolivia's Lowland Lodges: Blue-throated Macaws & Beyond, Oct 5-18 with Micah Riegner
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Spectacular Southeast Brazil (Part I), Oct 17- Nov 3 with Bret Whitney & Marcelo Barreiros
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Antarctica, South Georgia, & the Falklands, Oct 20- Nov 12 with Doug Gochfeld
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Brazil: Atlantic Forest Getaway, Oct 23-Nov 2 with Marcelo Padua
NORTH AMERICA
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Arizona: Birding the Border, May 7-16 with Chris Benesh & Alex Sundvall
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Spring in Cape May, May 11-17 with Doug Gochfeld
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Arizona Nightbirds & More II, May 17-21 with Micah Riegner (1 space)
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Northern Arizona's Canyons & Condor, May 17-23 with John Coons & Sam Wilson (1 space)
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Alaska: No Place Like Nome, Jun 23-30 with Chris Benesh (1 space)
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Arizona's Second Spring I, Jul 19-28 with Chris Benesh (1 space)
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Arizona's Second Spring II, Jul 26-Aug 4 with Cory Gregory
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Oregon: From the Coast to the Cascades, Aug 30-Sep 10 with Cory Gregory
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Slice of California: Seabirds to Sierra I, Sep 4-13 with Chris Benesh
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Maine in Fall: Seabirds & Coastal Migrants, Sep 7-16 with Sam Wilson
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Slice of California: Seabirds to Sierra II, Sep 9-18 with Alex Sundvall (1 space)
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Fall for Cape May I, Sep 20-26 with Doug Gochfeld & Sam Wilson
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Fall for Cape May II, Sep 28-Oct 4 with Sam Wilson
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Alaska Fall Goldmine: Rarities on the Pribilofs, Sep 29-Oct 7 with Cory Gregory
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Alaska Fall Goldmine: Ross's Gull in Barrow Oct 9-13 with Sam Wilson
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Louisiana: Yellow Rails & Crawfish Tails, Oct 23-27 with Dan Lane & Alex Sundvall
MIDDLE AMERICA & WEST INDIES
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(No open spaces on Middle America & West Indies tours during this period. See our tour schedule online for more options after October.)
AFRICA
EUROPE
ASIA & AUSTRALASIA
To learn more about any of these tours or to hold a space, please contact our office.
| | Recently posted upcoming itineraries | | Click on any image or link below to see the detailed itinerary for the following tours. All of these itineraries are packed with information (and have a few nice photos as well). | |
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