Two places have become available on our upcoming New Zealand birding tour, Nov 25 - Dec 9, 2000. Please contact us if you're interested (by e-mail or by phone 1-800-362-0869 in the US).

The tour's to be led by expert New Zealand birders with Mark Hanger, and it's a great opportunity if you'd like to see Kiwis, Keas, Kakas, and Kakakos.

There will be an evening trip for the Brown Kiwi.

At another time during the tour, an island will be visited for the Saddleback and Stitchbird - 2 birds now extinct on the mainland of New Zealand.

In a subalpine region of a beautiful mountain valley, we'll be going for the rare Blue Duck.

The timing of this tour is ideal for both the Fiordland Crested Penguin and the Buller's Albatross.

These are just 2 of the seabirds to be observed during this tour with some tremendous pelagic birding.

Other pelagic bird species include: Yellow-eyed Penguin, Little Blue Penguin, Wandering Albatross, Northern Royal-Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Shy Albatross, Southern Giant-Petrel, Cape Petrel, Cook's Petrel, Black Petrel, Westland Black Petrel, Fluttering Shearwater, Hutton's Shearwater, Fairy Prion, Common Diving-Petrel.

Also 5 species of shags, gulls, terns, and Southern Skua.

A number of these seabirds will be seen from our chartered boat we'll take around the shores of Stewart Island. During another pelagic-trip others will be seen, along with some marine mammals, notable among them a New Zealand endemic, the Hector's Dolphin, one of the rarest marine dolphins in the world. Also possible are Dusky Dolphins and Sperm Whales.

Waterfowl, in addition to the forementioned Blue Duck, will include: the Paradise Shelduck and New Zealand Shoveler.

Shorebirds to include: the South Island Pied Oystercatcher, Banded Dotterel, the Wrybill, the Far Eastern Curlew, and the rare Black Stilt, one of the rarest shorebirds in the world.

New Zealand landbirds, in addition to some mentioned above, include: the Morepork, Rifleman, Fantail, Fernbird, the Mohua, and the Tui.

The price for this tour: US$ 2,595, based on double occupancy. FONT (Focus On Nature Tours) has good air fares on Air New Zealand between the United States and New Zealand.

For those of us in the northeastern USA, there are still a few places available on the upcoming all-day pelagic birding trip from New Jersey on Saturday, December 9.

From Brielle, NJ, departing at 5am. The cost: $80 per person.

This annual trip is the one during which we go for Great Skua (seen previously) and alcids (seen previously: Dovekie, Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, and Common Murre). Also seen during this trip in the past: Manx and Greater Shearwaters, Pomarine Jaeger, white-winged - both Glaucous and Iceland - Gulls, along with numerous Kittiwakes and Gannets.

Reservations are required. Please contact us either by e-mail or phone to be sure you have your place.

The boat is large - 110-feet, with a big enclosed area, and an outside deck all around the entire boat. And, during our December trip, the handrails are heated!

Our team of leaders & spotters will aim to get your eyes on the birds as quickly as possible. It's fun to see those little Dovekies on the water. The British call them Little Auks!

The first FONT pelagic trip off the coast of Brazil occurred on September 19, 2000, from a place called Ubatuba - a neat name! - along the South Atlantic coast of the state of Sao Paulo. We went out on a diving boat - unfortunately not too far, and not too long - but it was our first, and we saw: Magellanic Penguin, Manx Shearwater, 5 species of terns (Cayenne,

Royal, South American, Antarctic, and Common) and at least a couple hundred Brown Boobies - close in to the nearby fishing boats - in fact some even coming onto the boats.

A publication is now available from FONT of "Oceanic Birds & Other Marine Life during 10 Years of Tours and Pelagic Trips various places in the World" (from 1991 thru 2000). If you'd like a copy, please contact us. The booklet has sections pertaining to North American pelagics on the East and West Coasts, oceanic birds off Japan and Chile, and new albatross taxonomy.

In our web-site <http://www.focusonnature.com/> about 50 species of seabirds are pictured in the Photo Gallery of Seabirds. There's another Gallery of Other Marine Life (cetaceans, etc). On the home page of the web-site, scroll down the left side. Also our web-site: our tour itineraries, bird-lists, other photo galleries and more. We hope you'll visit!


A number of additional photographs have recently been put into the FONT web-site (www.focusonnature.com), including some fine shots taken by Jon R. King of GULLS in JAPAN, including:

Kamchatka Gull
Black-tailed Gull
Vega Gull
Heuglin's Gull
Slaty-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull

We're very pleased (and appreciative) to have these in our site, along with that of the Ross' Gull that was seen during our Winter Birding Tour in Japan last December in Tokyo (that photo by tour participant Joseph Fuhrman). 
Other photographs in the site (of gulls & other birds) are those contributed by one of our Japanese birding friends, Koji Taji. His fine photos include those of various shorebirds and landbirds.

All of these are to be found from the home page of the FONT web-site by scrolling down on the left side to the "Gallery of Japan Bird Photos" (with photographs of nearly 50 species).

The FONT Winter Birding Tours January 15-27, 2001 to Honshu, Hokkaido, & Kyushu 
and January 27 - February 2, 2001 to the islands of Amami & Okinawa
have been filled for a while.

But there are still some places available on the birding tours that immediately follow, that is:
February 2 - 14, 2001 to Honshu, Hokkaido, & Kyushu
and February 14-20, 2001 to the islands of Amami & Okinawa.
More information (about these & the following tours) in our web-site.

There's also still some availability on FONT birding tours during the Spring of 2001:

April 10-21 to the Izu Islands (for the Japanese Murrelet and other specialties) and the countryside of Honshu (for birds of various kinds including migrating shorebirds).

May 16-26 on the Ryukyu Islands (Iriomote, Okinawa, and Amami) & Kyushu
and
May 26 - June 6 on Honshu & Hokkaido.
These two tours can be done in combination.

The FONT Winter Birding Tours in 2002 are already half-filled:
January 14-26, 2002 to Honshu, Hokkaido & Kyushu
January 26 - February 1, 2002 to the islands of Amami & Okinawa.
You may wish to contact us soon if you're interested in participating.

Included in virtually all of the FONT birding Japanese tours are pelagic trips onboard large ferries. 


The gull photographs referred to earlier are also in the FONT web-site in the "Gallery of Seabird Photos" (also on the left side of the home page).

We have recently obtained some new scanning equipment, and within the next week that photo gallery (of seabirds) will be enhanced and the quality of some photos improved. You may wish to check it out. We're continually adding to it.
Check out also the gallery of other marine life (cetaceans and more). 


Regarding FONT pelagic birding trips off the East Coast of North America, from Manteo North Carolina (to the Gulf Stream and the Continental Shelf), the schedule for 2001 is:

Sunday, June 3
Monday, June 4

Saturday, June 9
Sunday, June 10

Sunday, August 5
Monday, August 6

Sunday, August 12
Monday, August 13

The price per person per trip is: $US 104 (the cost of fuel has gone up).
But for anyone participating on MORE THAN ONE Focus on Nature NC pelagic trip, anytime during the season, the price per person, per trip, would be the same as it was this year, that is: $US 99.

For a group that would be interested in a NC pelagic trip, we would be glad to arrange for either Saturday, August 4 or Saturday, August 11. ($99 per person)
If you're interested in this, please let us know SOON.


For now, hope all is well, and good birding wherever you may be,

Armas Hill

FONT E-NEWS, Vol. 1, No. 11:
From Armas Hill, Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.

July 6, 2000

A new FONT birding tour for the Spring of '01 has just been put into our web-site, (www.focusonnature.com)
To HUNGARY, adjacent Romania and Slovakia. May 5-17,2001. $US 1,795 per person, based upon double occupancy. 
Some of the birds to be seen during the tour are tremendous: Capercaille, Wallcreeper, Great Bustard, Imperial Eagle, Red-footed Falcon, Saker Falcon, Ural and Eagle-Owls, European Pygmy and Tengmalm's (Boreal) Owls,
Ring Ouzel, Wryneck and a number of Woodpeckers, Hazel Grouse, Barred and Aquatic Warblers, just to name a few.

And there are some aspects of the tour to make it quite interesting, in addition to the good birding:

* During an afternoon or two, observing of European Brown Bears (safely in hides, or blinds)

* Tastings of superb Hungarian wines: famous Tokaj white wine (the "wine of kings" or the "king of wines", depending how you look at it). Also superb Hungarian meals. And brandies after the bears: plum, apricot, pear, and cherry. 

* And lastly, during the time we'll be birding in the region of Transylvania, an afternoon visit to a house where Drakula, yes Drakula, once lived. 
Now how many tours can include that! And how many birds can there be on Drakula's yard-list ?


In our last e-mail bulletin, last week, we mentioned that the upcoming FONT winter Birding Tour in JAPAN (tour FON/JA-1) January 15-27, 2001 has been filled. 
We also mentioned that if enough people expressed interest we would do a second tour (in February), with the same itinerary (including Sea-Eagles, Cranes, and Blakiston's Fish-Owl). That has happened, so we are doing the tour as FON/JA-1A: February 2-14, 2001. The itinerary & other information here.


Also now here in the web-site, a couple outstanding photos have been added into the "Photo Gallery". In the Gallery of Marine Life Photos. 
* A great photo of a WHALE SHARK offshore from western Puerto Rico, during a FONT tour, 
* and a BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALE, off Monterey, California, during a FONT Pacific Coast Tour, onboard a Shearwater Journeys pelagic trip.

The FONT PACIFIC COAST TOUR takes place every year (it has now for 10 years) in September. There are still a few places available on the tour this upcoming September 8-17. The first part of the tour is in Washington State, the second part in central California. There are pelagic trips, during the tour, from Westport, Washington, and Monterey, California. 

In the Marine-Life photo gallery, in the web-site, the BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALE photo joins others of interesting cetaceans such as: PYGMY SPERM WHALE and DWARF SPERM WHALE (the latter seen this year, in April, during a FONT pelagic trip off the Caribbean island of Dominica).

The photos of the WHALE SHARK and BAIRD'S BEAKED WHALE were taken by Marie Gardner, a participant on both FONT tours. 
The Photo Galleries in the FONT web-site contain a number of photographs taken by tour participants on various FONT tours during the last 10 years (since FONT began in 1990). We are appreciative of everyone who kindly offered that their photos could be used. 
If you have a photo (or photos) that you think could fit in, please contact us: font@focusonnature.com
 Galleries in the web-site include: Pelagic Birds, North American Birds, Central American and South American Birds, Caribbean Birds, Japanese Birds, and Marine-Life. There will soon be a new Gallery of Hummingbirds.


Also now here in the web-site, a bird-list for FONT's annual tour in October in ICELAND. Maybe not many birds occurring there, but some good ones: White-tailed Eagle, Gyrfalcon, all-white Rock Ptarmigan, huge rafts of eiders, other waterfowl, alcids, shorebirds. All in beautiful, and uncrowded, settings. 
Add another bird: the Iceland Gull in Iceland. How many people see it there? Not many. They don't breed there in the summer. They arrive (from Greenland) by early October. 

For the upcoming Iceland tour, this year, FONT has some excellent fares for trans-Atlantic flights. For Iceland alone, or a combination of tours: Sweden (Sep 30-Oct 8) and Iceland (Oct 8-11). In southern Sweden, an
enjoyable time during the peak of southbound bird migration.

Both bird-listshere  in the web-site (for Sweden and Iceland), contain bird names not only in English, but in Swedish and Icelandic respectively. Sweden bird-list. Iceland bird-list. 
Our Japanese bird-list contains both English and Japanese names. 
What's to be fun, soon, will be the Polish names in that list! 

Good birding (in whatever language),
Armas Hill
Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.

FONT E-NEWS, Vol 1., No. 10:
From Armas Hill, Focus on Nature Tours Inc.

June 12, 2000

May/June 2000 Alaska Tour Highlights
Cahow off North Carolina - June 2000
Other East Coast USA Pelagic Trips

Highlights of the recent FONT (Focus On Nature Tours) birding tour in ALASKA, May 25 -June 4, led by BJ Rose, follow. 
The first part of the tour, this year, was 3 days in the Pribilofs on Saint Paul Island; the latter part of the tour in and around Nome, and along the Glenallen route northeast from Anchorage.
This year, we did not do the optional extension to either Homer or Seward, but that segment is included in our Alaska tour program for 2001 (May 24-Jun 6). That itinerary is now here in our web-site.
And the complete bird-list for the just-completed 2000 tour will be there shortly.

Here, now, are the highlights of the May 25-June 4, 2000 tour, from the approximately 150 species of birds:

All 5 Loons. With Yellow-billed at the Pribilofs and Nome. 
Arctic Loon at Nome.
Emperor Geese at Nome.
All 4 EIDERS! (3 of them at Nome.) The King Eider only on the Pribilofs. Several flocks of Steller's Eiders were seen at Nome in flight and on the water in the surf.
A flock of 7 Spectacled Eider was seen along the beach at Nome (4 drakes and 3 ducks). 
A male Smew was seen on St Paul Island in the Pribilofs.
2 Gyrfalcons were seen during the tour: 1 near Nome, another along the highway northeast of Anchorage.
4 Common Greenshanks were seen at St. Paul.
Red Phalaropes at Nome.
As usual, all 3 jaegers were seen during the tour.
There were a few Slaty-backed Gulls. Sabine's Gulls were at St. Paul and Nome. Aleutian Terns at Nome.
As many as 5 Northern Hawk-Owls were seen: 1, surprisingly, near Nome, and 4 northeast of Anchorage!
Black-backed Woodpeckers at their nest were seen in Anchorage.
Bluethroat and Northern Wheatear were near Nome.
Both Willow and Rock Ptarmigan were seen in numbers in the Nome area. During one ride, as many as 29 Willow and 28 Rock were counted. 
Spring was late in Nome this year. Thus, road conditions prevented the area of the Bristle-thighed Curlew from being reached. That bird is one to look forward to next year! 

Along the EAST COAST of the USA, FONT PELAGIC BIRDING TRIPS, so far this year, have produced some interesting birds. "Tops" among them: a BERMUDA PETREL (or Cahow) seen out of Manteo, NORTH CAROLINA on June 3, and two TRINIDADE (or HERALD) PETRELS out of Manteo on June 4. One of them dark, one light.
As usual, numbers of Black-capped Petrels and Band-rumped Storm-Petrels were seen (both days, Jun 3&4) Leach's Storm-Petrels; Audubon's, Cory's, and Greater Shearwaters; Bridled Terns and Sooty Tern.

The schedule for remaining FONT North Carolina Pelagic Trips this Summer, is:
Sat, Sun, Mon: July 29, 30, 31.
Sat, Sun, Mon: August 5, 6, 7
Each weekend, do any or all trips as you wish.
Availability, at this time, still remains. 
$99 per person per trip.
FONT can handle your overnight motel accommodations, if desired.

There have been 2 FONT PELAGIC BIRDING TRIPS out of Lewes, DELAWARE this month. One on June 4th, one on June 10th. Each with a nice number of birds, many seen well close to the boat. 
On the first trip (Jun 4): about 430 Sooty Shearwaters, about 120 Greater Shearwaters, some Cory's Shearwaters, both Wilson's and Leach's Storm-Petrels, a South Polar Skua (in Maryland waters), a Bridled Tern (also off Maryland), and 3 Atlantic Puffins (on Delaware and Maryland waters).
On June 10th: over 200 Greater Shearwaters, over 150 Sooty Shearwaters, some Cory's Shearwaters, a Manx Shearwater, and about a dozen jaegers (often close to the boat) - both Pomarine and Parasitic. 
Both Loggerhead and Leatherback Sea Turtles were seen.

The NEXT pelagic trip scheduled to go from Lewes, DELAWARE is on Sunday, SEPT 3. $100.

ALSO, that same day, over the Labor Day weekend, there's a FONT pelagic trip scheduled to go from Cape May, NEW JERSEY on Sunday, SEPT 3. $96. At a prime-time for White-faced Storm-Petrel.

There's still some room on the FONT pelagic trip from northern New Jersey (Brielle) on Saturday, AUGUST 26 - to New Jersey and New York waters. All-day: $80. During this trip, last year: 2 WHITE-FACED STORM-PETRELS. And it's a good time for LONG-TAILED JAEGER.

Bird-lists relating to these upcoming pelagic trips here on our WEB-SITE.

PHOTOS from our recent pelagic trips, taken by participants, (of Herald Petrel, South Polar Skua, and Atlantic Puffin) will soon be in the "photo gallery" section here on our web-site.

New photos in the site this week include some of birds to be found during our upcoming "Southern & Western Ecuador" birding tour (July 24-August 6), particularly some birds on the offshore island of Isla de la Plata, where there are species otherwise in the Galapagos (Waved Albatross among them).
There's still a few spaces available on this tour. The itinerary here. 

If you have any questions about any of our tours and pelagic trips, please feel free to contact FONT at: 302-529-1876 (or in the US: 1-800-362-0869), or by e-mail to: font@focusonnature.com

Wishing you good birding!
Armas Hill
Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.
Wilmington, DE
USA

FONT E-NEWS, Vol.1,  No. 9:
From Armas Hill, Focus on Nature Tours Inc.

June 8, 2000

For the second time during a FONT (Focus On Nature Tours) pelagic trip, this year, off the coast of Japan, the rare SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS was seen. The first time, back in January, was when an immature bird flew by the boat. The second, recent occurrence, on June 2, during the recent FONT Late Spring-Birding Tour, was when an adult bird was seen from a ferry off the coast of Honshu - the bird sitting on the water, close to the boat. It stayed there, as the boat passed by. The largeness of the bird, the yellowish head, and the big pink bill were all seen well. So very well!

The Short-tailed Albatross is one of the rarest seabirds in the world. For a while, during the mid-20th Century thought to be extinct. A few young birds, that for some years had been at sea, then appeared on the small Japanese island where the species traditionally bred prior to its "extermination". From those very few (about 10) birds, the population has now grown to between 6 and 7 hundred. Nesting only on 2 small Japanese islands.

The Short-tailed was one of three species of albatrosses seen during the FONT pelagic onboard the Japanese ferry on June 2. There were over 300 Laysan Albatrosses and about half that many Black-footed Albatrosses during the day at sea.

And there were, ALL THROUGHOUT the day, THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of SHEARWATERS. There were always, until nearly at the Hokkaido shore, shearwaters in sight. The most common of them the SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATER, continuously flying north, as the boat traveled the same direction. During the first part of the day, especially, there were also thousands of STREAKED SHEARWATERS, and many (again, thousands) of SOOTY SHEARWATERS.
Also, but in smaller numbers: FLESH-FOOTED SHEARWATER, 2 BULLER'S (or NEW ZEALAND) SHEARWATERS (among the SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS), NORTHERN FULMARS, and SOUTH POLAR SKUAS harassing the various shearwaters.
There were, particularly at mid-day, many RED-NECKED PHALAROPES (in flocks again totaling thousands). Earlier in the day, some RED (or GREY) PHALAROPES were noted.
COMMON MURRES (or GUILLEMOTS) were seen, usually sitting on the water. Some RHINOCEROS AUKLETS were also. And, SOOTY STORM-PETREL.
GULLS observed from the ferry were: BLACK-TAILED, SLATY-BACKED, HERRING (the Vega form), and a GLAUCOUS.

Marine mammals included a number of Northern Fur Seals (some basking, some swimming and fishing), and Pacific White-sided Dolphins.

There were some interesting land mammals during the May 27-June 7 Japan tour. In the mountains, there was a close encounter with a Japanese Serow (an odd mountain-goat type, a rupicaprid, not usually encountered) and the Japanese Macaque (or "Snow Monkey") was seen.

Birds during the land portions of the tour (on Honshu and Hokkaido) included: both Copper and Green Pheasants, the Red-crowned (or Japanese) Crane, White-tailed Eagles, courting Mandarin drakes, and a striking male Smew. Shorebirds (or waders) included: Mongolian Plovers (in their most colorful breeding plumage), the Far Eastern, or Australian, Curlew, and an actively-feeding Terek Sandpiper. Seen and heard displaying were the Latham's, or Japanese Snipe. Also seen and heard were Cuckoos (Oriental and Common) and Japanese Green Pigeons. Especially nice, among the landbirds, were some colorful songsters: Narcissus Flycatcher, Siberian Rubythroat, and Yellow-breasted Bunting among them. 
A seabird, from land, during the tour, was the Spectacled Guillemot (a bird mostly of the Okhotsk Sea). 
These birds were just some of the approximately 150 species during the tour. 

A booklet listing all of the birds and mammals found cumulatively on FONT tours in Japan during the last decade can be obtained (at no charge), upon request, by mail from Focus On Nature Tours. 

Yet another component of the tours in Japan that should be mentioned is opportunity to experience the culture at places both in and away from the cities. And particularly so in the countryside. Those who wish can experience such cultural aspects as the distinctive cuisine and the onsens (or hot baths). 

The next FONT tour in Japan (including a pelagic trip) will be in January 2001. That tour is presently full. But if there's interest for another tour, during February 2001, it will be scheduled. Contact FONT (Focus on Nature Tours) by e-mail at: font@focusonnature.com  if you might be interested.

There's another FONT Japanese birding tour scheduled for May/June 2001, with a pelagic trip to be included as described above. That tour currently has availability. 
And, a new FONT Japanese birding tour will be scheduled for April 2001 with pelagic trips between the Izu and Bonin Islands. Among the pelagic species during that tour should be the Bonin Petrel and Japanese Murrelet. Also, the boat will pass near the island with the most Short-tailed Albatrosses. 
The itinerary for the new Izu/Bonin Tour in April 2001 will be in the FONT web-site soon. 
The other FONT Japanese tour itineraries are here in the web-site now:
Japan Winter Birding: FON/JA-1 Honshu,Hokkaido,Kyushu: Jan. 15-27, '01 
FON/JA-2 Amami & Okinawa: Jan. 27-Feb.2, '01
Japan Late-Spring Birding: FON/JA-3 Honshu & Hokkaido: May 26-Jun. 6, '01

For those not planning to go to Japan, a number of the pelagic bird species that we noted in the summary at the beginning of this message, can be seen during an upcoming FONT birding tour, later this year, in western North America. 
This tour, with still some space available, from Friday, September 8 to Sunday, September 17 is our annual "Pacific Coast Tour" in the western United States (Washington State and California), and Canada (British Colombia). It includes 2 pelagic trips: from Westport, Washington, and Monterey, California. The first half of the tour is in Washington Sate (and adjacent British Colombia). The second half in central California. Cumulatively, since 1991, 315 species of birds and about 50 species of mammals have been seen during our PC tour.

Seabirds, referred above in Japan, seen during the FONT September Pacific Coast tour have included: Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses; Northern Fulmar; Sooty, Short-tailed, Flesh-footed, and Buller's Shearwaters; South Polar Skua; Red-necked and Red Phalaropes; Common Murre and Rhinoceros Auklet.

Also seen pelagically during the PC tour: Pink-footed and Black-vented Shearwaters; Fork-tailed, Wilson's, Leach's, Least, Ashy, and Black Storm-Petrels; Red-tailed Tropicbird (once), Pomarine, Parasitic, and Long-tailed Jaegers, Sabine's Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake; Marbled, Xantu's, and Craveri's Murrelets; Cassin's Auklet, Tufted Puffin, and Pigeon Guillemot. 

Marine mammals have included: Blue, Humpback, Minke, and Gray Whales; Gray Grampus, Orca, Baird's Beaked Whale, Short-finned Pilot Whale; Common, Pacific White-sided, and Northern Right Whale Dolphins; Dall's Porpoise; Elephant, Harbor, and Northern Fur Seals; California Sea Lion, Sea Otter. 

The timing of the Pacific Coast tour is also good for rarities, particularly SHOREBIRDS. Some just noted as in Japan have been seen during the PC tour in the past: Mongolian Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit. Not (at least yet) the Far Eastern Curlew, but the Little Curlew has been (once in 1994). 

A complete list of the birds & mammals and itinerary information for the upcoming PC tour here on our web-site.

And check with FONT as to space remaining on the Pacific Coast USA & Canada Tour in September 2001. Either e-mail us at: font@focusonnature.com  
or call: 302-529-1876 (or  toll-free in the US: 1-800-362-0869).

FONT E-News, Vol. 1, No. 7:
From Armas Hill, Focus On Nature Tours Inc.

May 18, 2000

UPCOMING BIRDING TOURS IN ECUADOR, BRAZIL (& JAMAICA, JAPAN, and ALASKA)

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR RECENT GROUSE TOUR IN COLORADO, USA

During the last month or so, on FONT tours, there's been some good birding in southern FLORIDA and in COLORADO, the latter a tour designed in which to see all the chicken-like, grouse-type birds that occur there. There's a summary of that tour in this bulletin.

During the next few weeks, there will be FONT birding tours in Alaska (including the Pribilofs and Nome), with Mr. BJ Rose leading, and our late-spring Japanese birding tour, with Armas Hill leading.

In JUNE, our upcoming CARIBBEAN birding tour to JAMAICA & GRAND CAYMAN, JUNE 16-22, is nearly filled. (1 or 2 spaces left, if you're interested.) 
Our birding tours in Spain in June/July are filled.

Still some space on our birding tours THIS SUMMER in ECUADOR and BRAZIL (both have 4 spots still available):

ECUADOR:
Andean & Amazonian Birding, July 15-25, including Sacha Lodge along the Napo River, San Isidro on the eastern Andean slope, and other places near Quito, $US1695.
Southern & Western Ecuador, July 24-August 6, including Podocarpus National Park, the Andes near Cuenca, Manta Real, and along the Pacific Coast from Cerro Blanco to Machalillo National Park. Includes the offshore islands of Isla de la Plata (with nesting Waved Albatross). $US1,995
The 2 Ecuadorian tours can be done in combination.

BRAZIL:
Mato Grosso, August 12-22, including the Pantanal, and the nearby location of a Harpy Eagle nest, and a new birding lodge with an "Amazonian tint" (cotingas, trumpeters, and more). $US1,895 
Followed by an optional extension to Alta Floresta (and the pristine area of the Rio Cristalino), Aug 21-26, $US845.

There's been an addition to our tour schedule in 2000: In September, to SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL, the areas of Itatiaia and Ubatuba. Odd words, but great birds! Sept 9-20, $US1,795.

INFORMATION (itineraries and bird-lists) for all these tours can be found in the FONT WEB-SITE at: WWW.FOCUSONNATURE.COM
Please visit (and check out the photo galleries of birds from various places - more photos being added almost daily ).

Now the SUMMARY OF HIGHLIGHTS from our recent annual "GROUSE GET-OUT" in COLORADO and adjacent KANSAS:
During which we did "get out" and saw everything that we went for: 
the two PRAIRIE-CHICKENS, SHARP-TAILED and SAGE GROUSE at their leks, all-white PTARMIGANS in the snow, and a spectacular close-up look at a male BLUE GROUSE. These among over 150 species of birds and about 25 species of mammals during the tour.

It was at dawn on Easter morning that we had our first experience with a chicken or grouse. At daybreak, male LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS were just outside our vehicles. We sat quietly as the chickens displayed, with the
feather tufts on their necks raised, their feet stamping rapidly, and hollow gobbling sounds made as the birds pranced about. At one point, they flew away, only to walk back to their favored knoll, crossing one by one across the dirt road in front of us. These Lesser Prairie Chickens that we saw in Kansas are a declining species, occurring only in a narrow strip of the central Southwest portion of the U.S.

The GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN has a larger range. It's also a slightly larger bird. And it makes a louder sound. As it occurs, at dusk and dawn, on its booming ground. With more birds and more activity early in the morning. There were 25 to 30 of these birds, quite close, at the spot we visited during a beautiful early morning. With sounds made as if by blowing across the top of an empty bottle. The males dancing the prescribed steps, sometimes spatting with others. 
As some Coyotes howled in the distance. Mule Deer and Killdeer were about. Meadowlarks singing their melodious song. Horned Larks calling high in the sky doing their flight display. 

The SHARP-TAILED GROUSE we saw at their leks (or display grounds) superficially look like Prairie-Chickens, but their neck sacs are purplish (not orange as those of the prairie-chickens). And their dance is quite different, with the result being a group of birds moving, all at once, much like wind-up dolls, then stopping, all at once, then starting, again. During our morning with the Sharp-tailed Grouse, a pair of calling Sandhill Cranes flew past. They nest in the river valley beneath the rolling hills. It was atop one of those hills was where the grouse were performing. 

Atop a mountain pass, in the Rockies, was where the WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN were seen, closely. On some patches of snow, sheltered from the wind by small bushes, tame, these birds, walking about, making their odd, nasal sounds. There were about a dozen of them - most of the birds all-white, except for their beady black eyes. Another nice sight! Another experience.

The largest of the grouse we saw during the tour were the SAGE GROUSE. Seen at their booming grounds, at the end and the beginning of a day. Arriving, like clockwork, at dusk, about 35 birds quickly appeared. Doing their ritual, puffing up their big air sacs, the males strutting about. A female or two observing the spectacle, as we were. 
In southern Colorado, the Sage Grouse that we saw are part of an isolated population, that according to some are distinct enough to be considered a species. 

For many of the participants on the tour, the last grouse to be referred to now, was the best of them all. A tame, male BLUE GROUSE, in full breeding plumage, walking about, just feet from us, along the side of a road. It was a sight to behold. (A color photograph of this bird is in the FONT web-site in the "feature section" of the photo galleries. Scroll down the left side of the home page.) The picture nearly says it all. What can be said, beyond the photo, is that we all experienced the bird for about a half-hour, as it ambled about, giving its ever-so-deep hoots. 
During our time in Colorado, in addition to these grouse and the like, just mentioned, other gallinaceous birds we saw included Scaled Quail, Northern Bobwhite, and Wild Turkey. We didn't "go for" the introduced Chukar.

But what we did see, beyond the grouse, included: a Prairie Falcon on a cliff-ledge, Mountain Plovers and 2 species of Longspurs (Chestnut-sided and McCown's) on grasslands, Mountain Bluebirds and Red-naped Sapsuckers with the backdrop of truly beautiful mountainous countryside, Pine Grosbeak and Rosy Finch in coniferous forest, and Long-billed Curlew and an assortment of sparrows (such as Lark and Vesper) in vast open-country without the sign of any people (other than us) in sight. 

THIS TOUR will be going again NEXT YEAR: APRIL 20-29, 2001. 
Already 4 people have registered. 12 will be the maximum. The tour information is now in our web-site (or it can be sent by mail, upon request, to anyone interested).

Our thanks to those who helped us during our tour, this year, in order that we be at right places at right times. To a number of people in Colorado, and a friend as far away as Massachusetts, we're most appreciative. Without their generous input, our tour would not have been as successful as it was.

Good birding.
Armas Hill
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FONT E-NEWS, Vol 1, No 6:

From Armas Hill, Focus On Nature Tours Inc.

April 4, 2000

Highlights of Tours in PUERTO RICO & JAMAICA.
Upcoming Birding Tours in Japan, Alaska, & Ecuador

During the FONT birding tour in Puerto Rico last week (March 26 - April 1), 5 of the very-rare Puerto Rican Parrots were seen in the wild. At this time, only 35 of these parrots remain in the wild. There are now, as we understand, 112 in captivity (in a breeding program).
This tour last week, led by BJ Rose, was the 22nd FONT birding tour in Puerto Rico, since 1990. Over the years, Puerto Rican Parrots have been seen, now, during 10 of the tours. In the early nineteen-nineties, the species was found more easily (in 1993 & 1994, four times). The most recent FONT sighting was during the tour in March 1998 when 3 were seen.
Also during the March tour this year, 6 of the rare and localized Puerto Rican Nightjars were seen and heard. That species has had a most interesting history - "re-discovered" in the early 1960's after being known only from the 1800's.
Also during the tour, 6 White-tailed Tropicbirds were seen by cliffs along the Puerto Rican coast. 

For the first time, during the March Puerto Rican tour, there was a birder participating from Puerto Rico. 
As of 2000, the 10th year for FONT, there have been tour and pelagic trip participants from all of the US states except Hawaii and Utah. As well as from most Canadian provinces, and from a dozen countries outside of North America. 


White-tailed Tropicbirds by cliffs, West Indian Whistling-Ducks at a marsh, and ALL of the possible (28) endemic birds of Jamaica were highlights of our tour there last week, March 26 to April 2. That tour, led by Armas Hill, was the second FONT birding tour in Jamaica this year. 
There will be another FONT BIRDING TOUR in JAMAICA in 2000, from 
June 17-23. That tour to also include a couple days of birding on Grand Cayman Island, where there's an endemic warbler, as well as the Rose-throated Parrot, Yucatan Vireo, Cuban Bullfinch, and other interesting birds. There's still some room. If you're interested in joining the tour, please contact us.

Currently, the schedule for FONT birding tours in the Caribbean in 2001 includes the following:
Dominican Republic: Feb. 12-18
Puerto Rico: Feb. 18-24
Lesser Antilles (St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Dominica): Feb. 24-Mar. 4
Jamaica and Grand Cayman: Mar. 4-11
All of the above can be done in combination.
Also:
Lesser Antilles (St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Dominica): Apr. 20-29
The last of these to be followed by an optional 1-day visit to Guadeloupe for the endemic woodpecker there.
Information about the 2001 tours (and lists of birds) is currently in the FONT web-site at: www.focusonnature.com 

Coming up, in 2000:

Just a place or two remain on the FONT Late-Spring Birding Tour in Japan, 
May 27-June 7. Please let us know if you're interested in joining. The tour will be to the 2 Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. There will be a pelagic trip, onboard a ferry, between the two islands. On Honshu, there will be an assortment of cuckoos, flycatchers, and thrushes. Also to be sought such Japanese specialties as the Copper Pheasant and Japanese Accentor. On Hokkaido, more specialities, including Japanese Cranes and the Blakiston's Fish-Owl. The tour to be led by Armas Hill, who's birded in Japan since 1984. 

And there's still some availability on our upcoming birding tour in Alaska , May 25 to June 4. The tour to be in 2 parts. Participants can do either or both:
1) The Pribilof Islands: May 25-29
2) Nome & Anchorage and nearby: May 29-June 4
Additional information is in the web-site.

During the Summer of 2000, our two birding tours in Ecuador still have just a few spaces available:
* Andean and Amazonian Birding, July 15-25, including 3 full-days at Sacha Lodge. Also various places near Quito, and San Isidro on the eastern slope of the Andes. 
* Southern & Western Ecuador, July 24-August 6, including Podocarpus National Park, montane habitats near Cuenca, and an assortment of coastal habitats. The list of birds to be found will be high. 
These two Ecuador tours can be combined.

Check-out these and other birding tours in the FONT web-site at: www.focusonnature.com
Including tours later this year to Brazil, the Pacific Coast USA & Canada, Sweden, Iceland, New Zealand, Chile, and Guatemala.

Good birding.
Armas Hill

FONT E-News: Vol 1 No 5:
From Armas Hill, Focus On Nature Tours, Inc.

March 30, 2000

A Caribbean Pelagic Trip off Dominica (Mar 25, '00)
Birds during Lesser Antilles Tour March 2000
Caribbean Birding Tours in 2001
The Birdlines (from Philadelphia & Delaware) on the Web
Upcoming Pelagic Trips & Birding Tours (Japan, Ecuador, Brazil)

FONT E-News: Vol 1 No 4:
From Armas Hill, Focus On Nature Tours, Inc

March 26, 2000

Jamaica Birding Tours in 2000: March & June, the latter including Grand Cayman
Upcoming Pelagic Trips & Birding Tours (Ecuador, Brazil) 
Japan Birding Tours (Late Spring 2000 & Winter 2001)
Some Highlights of the FONT Venezuela Birding Tour in February 2000 

FONT E-News: Vol 1 No 3:
From Armas Hill, Focus On Nature Tours, Inc

 People have been registering for our upcoming birding tours and pelagic trips:

FONT E-News: Vol 1 No 2:
From Armas Hill, Focus On Nature Tours, Inc

FONT E-News: Vol 1 No 1:
From Armas Hill, Focus On Nature Tours, Inc

January 4, 2000

Some Highlights from FONT's Japan Winter Birding Tour, Dec 27, '99 - Jan 14, '00

Birds during the winter tours have included: