Welcome to our July 2021 emailing from Field Guides! Our summer tours continue apace, with two of our popular Arizona's Second Spring departures currently under way. Would you like to get away yourself for some fabulous birding in the next few weeks? As it happens, we've added a fourth departure of Arizona's Second Spring for Aug 14-23 with Dave Stejskal. We have two folks booked and we need just two more participants to confirm the tour, so the participant-to-guide ratio is likely to be amazing! Also, it's the monsoon season, meaning there is wonderful, cooling rain coming in afternoon thunderstorms, everything is greening up, and the birds are singing and breeding! And you'll be under the expert leadership of Dave, our "Roadrunner" — there's no one better to guide you through the state's birding highlights. Contact our office ASAP if you're interested in joining Dave.
In this emailing you'll find our announcement of a new tour to Mexico's "River of Raptors" this October, triplists from recent tours, two cool recent Alaska videos from Tom Johnson, Sep-Dec tour openings, interesting bird news, and updated itineraries for late 2021/2022. Additionally, as ever, you can enjoy a wonderful collection of nearly 80 images from various recent tours by our participants and guides (our thanks to all of them!) in this month's July Recent Photos gallery. Our thanks to tour participant James Lee for the photograph above of a Broad-billed Hummingbird from a past Arizona's Second Spring tour.
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Added 2021 departures: Veracruz & Antarctica |
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We've just added the following two tours to our advertised schedule. Contact our office if you'd like to join us.
Mexico: Veracruz's River of Raptors, Oct 1-10, 2021 with Doug Gochfeld & Jorge Montejo-Diaz — The amazing spectacle of millions of raptors (and myriad landbirds) migrating southward. Plus we'll do some endemic-rich highland birding too!
Antarctica, South Georgia & The Falklands, Nov 23-Dec 14, 2021 — Guide Dave Stejskal hosts his "swan song" dream trip to the southern continent and fabulous South Georgia Island...and there are still a few spaces now open!
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Triplists from recent tours |
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Take a few minutes to get away with us to Alaska—we've got a pair of beautiful, just-released video clips that guide Tom Johnson put together from two of our recent Alaska tours. We've embedded them in their respective tour pages for our regular Alaska tour and for the single-destination Alaska: No Place Like Nome trip. Skip right to the videos by clicking the links above! Once there you can also watch them full-screen by clicking the symbol at bottom right of the video panel.
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Comments from participants |
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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 a few representative recent comments. From all of us at Field Guides, our thanks for all of your valuable feedback.
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“The best feature of this tour for me was our guide, Dave Stejskal. His knowledge of birds, their various plumages, their sounds, their habitats and habits, etc. was beyond what I thought one person could know and remember. He was also an excellent leader and handled the inevitable (but necessary) tour alterations to address changing conditions with aplomb. We had a great group, all far more experienced than I. Dave gave everyone his full attention and made sure we each got to see and hear the species we particularly wanted. I felt like we were all members of the same little birding community by the time the tour ended. The office staff was very friendly and competent. All communications were clear and timely, and I felt like Field Guides really cared about me as a customer. The tour was excellent, it exceeded my expectations. You set the bar so high I'm not sure anyone else can measure up.” H.L., ARIZONA: BIRDING THE BORDER 2021
"This tour exceeded my expectations. It's hard to think of a way that my experience could have been better. I can't say enough about how much I appreciate Jesse Fagan’s professionalism, attention to detail, birding skills, organizational skills, thoughtfulness, and sense of humor. He worked so hard to cater to each individual that I honestly worried about him! Jesse truly did an outstanding job in every imaginable way. I hope that I will be able to travel with him again in the near future. The tour manager and office staff did a great job of responding to my questions with thoughtful, detailed answers. I will definitely book another tour with Field Guides. In fact, I'm searching for another domestic tour right now!" C.H., FLORIDA 2021
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“My previous experience with Field Guides suited my wife and me well. Further, our past co-participants (who were more experienced travelers), both recommended Field Guides based on their past experiences with the company. Chris Benesh, our guide, was excellent. On the personal level he was considerate, thoughtful, and responsive. On the knowledge and experience level, I can't imagine a more well-rounded person. I'm grateful he was willing to share so much about the geography, history, and biology of the region. The tour manager, Nicole Cannon made this tour happen for me. She was very considerate regarding the cancellation of the 2020 tour, enthusiastic about the 2021 potential, and most considerate over the rushed final plan. She navigated complicated airline-voucher use for my wife and my flights that saved us time and money. That she joined the group for our final dinner (she provided it!) was a testament to her personal investment.” F.K., TEXAS 2021
"It was a wonderful trip. This was my fifth trip with Field Guides, and the experience was most excellent once again. The best features were the birds, mammals, geology of various parts of Alaska, and especially our guides. Dave Stejskal and Micah Riegner are hardworking professionals with amazing birding skills who were always in good humor. I would travel with them again. Karen Turner and the office staff were great as ever. As usual, Field Guides is great when compared to other tour companies. My friends and I are going to Guyana with John Coons in January, and we look forward to traveling with Field Guides once again!" J.W., ALASKA III 2021
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September through December 2021 tours |
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With our August tours fully booked (with the exception of the recently added Arizona's Second Spring for August 14-23 listed above), below you'll see our schedule from September through December with space still available. Our US departures for this period are either confirmed or soon will be. For foreign tours we continue to watch developments closely and make decisions about departures 60-90 days out depending on circumstances at that time.
You can find more information about these trips on their individual tour pages linked below. Of course, you may also contact our office to hold a space or if you have any additional queries. We look forward to traveling with you—and thanks to Tom Johnson for the great shot of a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron from New Jersey. It is a species that is likely to be found on our upcoming Mid-Atlantic Migration Magic tour (spaces still available!).
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Slice of California, Sep 2-11 with Tom Johnson (1 space)
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Morocco, Sep 6-21 with Jesse Fagan (4 spaces)
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Oregon: From the Coast to the Cascades, Sep 9-19 with Cory Gregory (1 space)
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Mid-Atlantic Migration Magic, Oct 1-10 with Eric Hynes (3 spaces)
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Mexico: Veracruz's River of Raptors, Oct 1-10 with Doug Gochfeld & Jorge Montejo-Diaz (open)
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Alaska Fall Goldmine (Barrow), Oct 7-11 with Cory Gregory (2 spaces)
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Machu Picchu & Abra Malaga, Peru II, Oct 8-17 with Jesse Fagan (2 spaces)
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Essential Short Uganda, Oct 23-Nov 5 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide (2 spaces)
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Louisiana: Yellow Rails & Crawfish Tails, Nov 4-8 with Dan Lane & Cory Gregory (2 spaces)
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Ethiopia, Nov 5-25 with Terry Stevenson (2 spaces)
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Spectacular Southeast Brazil (Part II), Nov 6-22 with Bret Whitney & Marcelo Barreiros (2 spaces)
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Bolivia's Avian Riches, Nov 14-30 with Dan Lane & Micah Riegner (open)
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Chile: The Classic Tour, Nov 14-Dec 4 with Willy Perez & local guide (open)
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Mexico: Yucatan & Cozumel, Nov 20-29 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide (4 spaces)
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Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falklands, Nov 23-Dec 14 with Dave Stejskal (4 spaces)
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Holland — Birds & Art, Nov 27-Dec 6 with Godfried Schreur & Jay VanderGaast (open)
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Holiday Costa Rica: Rancho Naturalista I, Dec 18-26 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide (3 spaces)
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Holiday Costa Rica: Rancho Naturalista II, Dec 28-Jan 5 with Megan Edwards Crewe & local guide (2 spaces)
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Arizona Winter Specialties, Dec 29-Jan 4 with Micah Riegner (open)
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Panama's Canopy Lodge, Dec 29-Jan 5 with John Coons & local guide (2 spaces)
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Ecuador's Wildsumaco Lodge, Dec 29-Jan 8 with Willy Perez (3 spaces)
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Our lovely Field Guides note card sets with bird art by guides Dan Lane and Micah Riegner (examples at right) are available for sale in our Field Guides online store. These are great items for yourself or as gifts for others!
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OutBirding with Field Guides: Our latest videos |
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The OutBirding with Field Guides series continues to grow, now with nearly 60 videos available. The videos range widely across topics of interest to all birders, and all videos remain permanently in the library for subscriber access at any time. Have a look at some trailers on our OutBirding Blog — there are fun recent ones on Sage Brush Sparrows (Arizona), Dancing Greater Sage-Grouse (Colorado), and a cool nesting video in Black Vulture Bungalow. Not a member yet? Grab a subscription for yourself via the options on our OutBirding home page or as a gift for someone in the OutBirding Store. Subscribers receive complete access to all videos for just $15 per month (or $10/month if paid annually), and we offer a "Lifer" subscription as well.
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Bird news and notes of interest |
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The American Ornithological Society's annual update of the Check-list of North American Birds was published last month. The most notable change for many North American birders was the split of Short-billed Gull (pictured here) from Mew Gull. BirdWatching has an informative article covering the decisions of the A.O.S.
The 2021 Audubon Photography Awards winners were announced recently, and twenty-five off the best images were published in this month's issue of The Atlantic. It's a beautiful gallery of avian eye candy.
The sight of a bald Northern Cardinal is familiar to many birders. It seems each summer folks are asking, "Why is that Cardinal bald?" The featherless heads occur in other species as well. So what's the scoop? It turns out that no one is sure, but there are plenty of speculated reasons.
Scientists in Australia have discovered how songbirds have evolved to be able to taste sugar. These birds have undergone a remarkable, complicated evolutionary journey to receptors that recognize sweetness. The article appears in this month's Atlantic and goes on to explain that this adaptation might have aided songbirds' ability to spread to other continents from their likely point of origin: Australia.
Congratulations to the Milwaukee Bucks for winning the National Basketball Association's 2021 Championship. Did you know that the Bucks play their games in the first bird-friendly sports arena on the planet? Cheers to the Bucks!
California Condors continue to make strides toward their recovery. This summer was the first time that Utah was the host of two different nestlings. This article in BirdWatching has a full report on these baby Condors and provides some interesting information about recent breeding success in the region.
How do mockingbirds compose their songs? We know that mockingbirds learn songs from sounds that they hear, but do they compose those sounds into intentional sequences? According to scientists, mockingbirds follow musical rules similar to those used in human musical composition.
Scottish bird researchers found a rare, white Atlantic Puffin while surveying coastal seabirds. The bird was discovered on Handa Island, off the Sutherland coast off the Scottish Highlands. The island is managed as a wildlife trust.
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Recently posted 2021 & 2022 itineraries |
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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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Field Guides Incorporated, 9433 Bee Cave Rd #2-105, Austin, TX 78733
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