Back from Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands

I now know why they call this the "Number One Natural History Destination!" What a stupendous place and experience. I recently returned from this great trip with the nine other enthusiastic travelers. Everyone had a great time, and I am sure will rave about the sights, sounds, volanic landscape, close encounters with wildlife, and so much more for years to come. Make sure this is on your bucket list!

Most of our group spent the first three days in the Ecuadorian highlands, with many hummingbirds (Booted Racket-tail...OMG!), tanagers, toucanettes, and even more exotic species than one might immagine, but that is a story for another time. On to the Galapagos!

We departred the mainland and after about a two hour flight got our first glimps of the island from the air with its rugged volcanic coastline, black lava, and patches of torquoise sea. Land of Darwin, Giant Tourtoise, Flightless Cormorant, the most northern penguins, sealions, and all that we as kids remember from National Geographic Magazine. It was all here.

After much waiting at immigration and a short panga ride to in the harbor of San Cristobal, we arrived at our home for the next week, the very comfortable MY Letty. What a great boat and crew who instantly started to take care of us with food, drink, information, and unequalled kindness. We were kings and queens in paradise!

We motored for a short way to a nearby cove and beach for our first birding and swimming. Both were wonderfully welcoming with great views of Blue-footed Boobie, Galapagos Sealion, our first of Darwin's finches, Galapagos Shearwater, and White-vented Storm-Petrel. Outstanding!

Enjoy the photos and I will post more about the trip in the coming weeks. Hope you enjoy it.

AG

Cuba Bird Study Program

Our group of enthusiastic census takers recently returned from a great trip to Cuba. We not only counted and documented many neotropical migrants but were lucky to see all the "gettable" endemic and soon to be endemic bird species.

Our first few days for a small group of four was spent birding in Mexico where we not only saw some great birds but also visited a couple of great archaeological sites at Tulum and Chichen Itza. Both sites were outstandingly inspiring and must have been even more so when their civilizations were at their peak. I could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of the struggle and loss of human life that must have gone on here, especially at Chichen Itza. If you have the chance, do not miss this experience. I am planning a Yucatan Peninsula tour that will include these two sites not too far in the future. There are some birds that are endemic to the area making this destination doubly interesting.

This was my second trip to Cuba and interesting to see some of the changes that had taken place in three years. There were not many, but the most prominent were the number of people using cell phones and the new public buses in Havana. The endemic birds were spectacular as expected, I finally getting a good look at two, the Zapata Sparrow and Blue-headed Quail Dove, that I had missed on the first trip. To see some photos of the birds, click on this link. http://ecotravel.ctaudubon.org/Photos/April202009.htm

I am off to the Galapagos Islands in about nine days for my first time. It is the celebration of Darwin's 200th birthday so that will make it a bit more special.

Thanks for reading. I will post some more photos of Cuba as well as the Galapagos Islands when I get back. There is no Internet access on the trip.

I plan to publish a book of my as well as other travelers' Cuba photos before too long. I will let you know when that is available.

Cheers, AG

Cuban Tody

Successful Eagle Season

Without the Eagle Festival this year, EcoTravel had its best eagle season benefiting from the many people who might have gone to the festival looking for boats. The ice coverage for about 10 days was ideal, concentrating about 35 eagles in the stretch of river from Essex to Hamburg Cove. Once the ice left town, the eagles spread out and were not so numerous. The lower numbers did not reduce the quality of the sightings offering many close encounters and superb photo opportunities.

We are now in our Osprey season and trust that you will be able to join us on one of those boats or some of our other great bird and natural history tours.

Photos are of first year, second year, and adult bald eagles.

In Search of Rarities

Wow...the last few weeks has been a bonanza of great birds not too far from home. Some brave souls and good friends and I have made runs to see the great offerings in New Hampshire and Massachusetts of late. A Northern Hawk Owl had been consistently seen in mid-NH so we headed out for what ended up being a 600 mile day. The owl was right where we had hoped and gave us fine opportunity for good photos.

After spending some time with the magnificent owl, we headed off to surrounding towns in search of fruit trees that might be host to another northern visitor, the Bohemian Waxwing. With some adept spotting from the back seat, we located a flock of about 30 of the buff beauties.

We then made a dash to Gloucester in search of one of two Ivory Gulls in Massachusetts, but had little time and struck out in the dwindling light.

The following week, our Sachuest Point trip took a detour to Plymouth for the second Ivory Gull, and were lucky enough to find the bird waiting for us when we pulled into the parking lot, on the pier, in the middle of town. This bird is outstanding! A delicate, white whisp, traveling the seas in search of whale carcasses. How cool is that!

Published Book

I recently finished creating a photo and narrative book for Connecticut Audubon's trip to Churchill for the annual Polar Bear migration. If you would like to preview it and perhaps even purchase a copy, click on this link. I trust that you will enjoy it!

Link to Polar Bear Book: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/548793

Another Great Arkansas Adventure

Little known Arkansas really is an untapped birding location in the winter with its great sparrow collection, thousands of geese and ducks, and impressive tracts of bottomland woods. The area where we spent much of our time was an 1,800-acre tract along the White River, best known for its recent Ivory-billed Woodpecker sightings. The impressive trees are enough to keep one entertained in addition to the four-wheeling mud holes, outstanding number of woodpeckers (mostly Pileated and Red-bellied ...eight species total), and warm, friendly, and welcoming people.

This location is not on many peoples' top ten list of places to go, but one might want to reconsider. And there is always the chance that you might see...you know...The Bird!

Arkansas Birding

Well I have not had much Internet access or the energy to write since our days have been long and full of active birding. Our first three days were constant rain, the second two freezing rain that created a half inch coating of ice every surface.

Despite the weather we have seen some great birds including killer views of both Leconte's and Henslow's Sparrows, thousands of geese (many Ross's Goose), and incredible numbers of woodpeckers. If I saw the Ivory-billed, I would not say for fear of loosing all my credibility, the small bit that I might have.

We are headed back up towards Little Rock today. I hope to post more tonight.

Thanks for reading.

AG

Adventuring Again in Arkansas
Well known for the last five years are the reports of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in Arkansas. We have been coming here for the last three years. Certainly one doesn't expect an audience with the famed bird, but just seeing where it lives, or once lived, is special enough. Our privileged group of four will spend the next six days in the land of legend, tupelo and cypress bottom lands, a place of impressive beauty, a starkness that parallels in it's poetic richness the tundra of the Arctic and the grasslands of the Serengeti. We will let the bird find us, if we are deemed worthy.

After a half day of travel, we headed north of Little Rock to take in some special birds, some that are not seen very often by many birders. Trumpeter Swans have been long time listed on the endangered species list and considered uncommon except locally. For the last fifteen years or so there has been a group of trumpeters that spends its winters in northern Arkansas on a small lake near Heber Springs, offering visitors high quality, close-up looks at this largest of North American waterfowl; truly an impressive bird with what also may be the largest bird feet in North America.

The swans were not the only treat, but the close looks at Ring-necked Duck and Bufflehead were some of the best one could wish for. Multiple species of duck, geese, sparrow, and woodpeckers will be the norm over the coming days. I hope you will enjoy the adventure with us.

Cheers,

AG

Tundra (foreground) and Trumpeter Swans

Home Again
After two good days of travel, lost luggage, delayed luggage, flight changes, and all that makes travel what it is, we all are basking in the afterglow of our wonderful adventure.

With 37 bears one day on the tundra, 20 plus on another, Arctic Fox, Willow and Rock Ptarmigan, Snowy Owl, Spruce Grouse, and Common Ravens galore, one must say that the wildlife certainly was all that we had hoped. Our sled dog experience was superb, the two young boys very pleased that they got to ride the snow machine too.

The food was great as was the service in Churchill. Pat, our local guide, was, as always, the king pin of our trip. Above all, the travelers were a wonderful collection of interesting people, resulting in much stimulating conversation, endless humor, and moments of great delight. I wish we were all still there! I will miss each one of them (you) but trust that we will be together again in the near future. Thanks to all for being such patient, kind, easy to please participants, and good friends.

Cheers,
Andy

The Bear

Tony and Pattsy

Tony

Sam "Little Dog"

Sam and Gray Jay

Paul

Pattsy and Chuck

Pat "The Fearless Guide"

Marilou and Charmagne

Marilou

Linda

Joan

Hatsy

George

Duke and George

Duke

Delice

The Chirico Family

Charmagne

Alex and Sam

Alex

Yours truly,

Andrew