PO Box 9021, Wilmington, DE 19809, USA
E-mail: font@focusonnature.com
Phone: Toll-free in USA, Canada, & Puerto Rico 1-800-721-9986
or 302/529-1876; Fax: 302/529-1085
PO Box 9021, Wilmington, DE
19809, USA
E-mail: font@focusonnature.com
Phone: Toll-free in USA, Canada, & Puerto Rico 1-800-721-9986
or 302/529-1876; Fax: 302/529-1085
HIGHLIGHTS
FROM OUR PAST BIRDING & NATURE TOURS in 2010
INCLUDED HERE ARE TOURS CONDUCTED IN: BRAZIL, JAPAN
AND IN THE US, TOURS IN:
Again, on the snow, during
our January 2010 Japan Tour.
there were Red-crowned, or Japanese, Cranes,
known as "Tanchos".
The tour summaries here are given with the most-recent tours first.
For
some tours there are links below for longer NARRATIVES. Also there
are links to UPCOMING TOUR ITINERARIES, and LISTS relating to BIRDS,
MAMMALS, & OTHER NATURE.
Links to Tours:
During the FONT tours in Costa Rica in March 2010, about 400 species of birds were found.
Mammals, during the tour, included: the Northern Tamandua (or Collared Anteater), the White-nosed Coati, 2 kinds of Monkeys (the Central American Spider and the Mantled Howler), and a wild cat called the Jaguarundi.
Among the 400 or so bird
species, there were many highlights.
During our Northern Costa Rica Tour, there
were both Great Green and Scarlet
Macaws, the Agami Heron, 2 Jabirus (in the large bird
department), while
in the small bird department there a number of antbirds, including
the Ocellated, Bicolored,
and the Spotted.
Some of the birds had the
adjective Great, and they were these, all seen:
Great Tinamou, Great Potoo, and Great Curassow, with both male and
female nicely seen of the
last of these.
In far-northern Costa Rica, not far from Nicaragua, 2 species of birds were seen with the adjective Nicaraguan: the Nicaraguan Grackle and the Nicaraguan Seed-Finch, with its huge pink bill.
During our Southern Costa Rica Tour, certainly outstanding were the Resplendent Quetzals that we saw so nicely on tree branches in the cloud forest, when it was not cloudy or misty, but rather as the sunshine accentuated all the more the beauty of the birds.
In Southern
Costa Rica, we visited the home of the renowned naturalist, Alexander
Skutch, for the first time for us since he died, after living a century.
He passed away shortly after the current century began. We visited his
place and him, during some of our previous tours, but until now, in 2010,
we did not go back after he passed away.
Three times during our previous
visits with Mr. Skutch, we enjoyed, with him,
the sight of a Turquoise Cotinga atop a tree. This time, in March 2010,
when we went to the same porch as we had in the past, there, once again,
was a Turquoise Cotinga at the top of a tree. With that, for us, the
spirit of Alexander Skutch lived
on.
Links:
Costa Rica Birds: (a list of 863 bird species; about 700 during FONT tours- with some photos)
Costa Rica Birds during northern Costa Rica tours (605 species)
Costa
Rica Birds during southern Costa Rica tours (493 species)
Upcoming FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Central America
During this tour, in Amazonian Brazil, included a place with both Hoatzin & Harpy - Harpy Eagle, that is. It was a place in a system of Amazon waters, where we traveled mostly by boat along rivers and channels, but also where we hiked on trails in the rainforest.
Among our favorite birds were the Agami Heron and Horned Screamers, which were in addition to a good assortment of raptors, parrots and parakeets, toucans, and trogons. Small birds that were nice to see were the hummingbirds, manakins, and near us on a branch in the forest, a tame little creature with an odd name, the Dwarf Tyranneutes (formerly known as the Dwarf Tyrant-Manakin).
But the best of our more than 200 species of birds was the Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock. Not only did we see so very well the brilliantly-colored orange males, like beacons in the forest, we enjoyed the rare sight of a dark, nearly-black, female Cock-of-the-Rock sitting on its nest, on a ledge of a big rock, at a grotto by the entrance to a cave, in which, during the day, numerous bats were roosting. On the soft ground below, there were tracks of an Ocelot.
Other mammals during the tour included various monkeys: the Red-handed Tamarins, Bare-eared Squirrel Monkeys, White-nosed Bearded Sakis, Brown Tufted Capuchins, and the noisy Red Howler Monkeys. In the water, we saw both Gray Dolphins and Pink River Dolphins. The Amazonian Manatee was there also.
Among other birds (too many to note here), a few, however, should be mentioned, including: the hollering of a group of Red-throated Caracaras, along with the raucous calls of macaws, that late one afternoon, made the normally loud Mealy Amazons and Red-fan Parrots seem rather quiet by comparison.
Links:
List of Birds & Other Wildlife during the FONT Brazil Tour - February 2010
A
Complete List of the Birds of Brazil:
Part 1: Tinamous
to Flycatchers
Part 2: Antshrikes to Grosbeaks
Rare Birds during FONT Tours in Brazil (with photos)
Mammals & Other Wildlife in Brazil (with photos)
Upcoming FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Brazil
Japan - January 2010
The 33rd FONT birding & nature tour in Japan took place in
January 2010.
During that tour, a wild creature was seen for the first time during any of our
tours in Japan. On the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido, at the
easternmost place in Japan, seen from shore were 2 Sea Otters. At another place
in eastern Hokkaido, late that same day, as many as 1,000 Sika Deer were seen.
And these in that part of Japan were in addition to the avian cast of characters
that we've always enjoyed seeing, the eagles, both Steller's Sea Eagles
and
White-tailed Eagles, both seen closely, and the cranes, the Red-crowned, or Japanese,
Crane, that were again
as stately as they've always been for us, on the
snow.
Among the numerous waterfowl that we saw during the tour were 2 species of
swans, 2 species of geese, and numerous ducks. Notably beautiful among the last
of these were the Mandarin, Falcated, Long-tailed, and Harlequin
Ducks, and Smew. Of
each of these, we had wonderful sightings.
Other interesting and enjoyable sightings during the tour included: Japanese
Macaques (or "Snow Monkeys"), Pallas' Rosefinch, Red-flanked
Bluetail,
and many Daurian Redstarts and Brown Dippers.
Links:
Birds & Other Wildlife during FONT Japan Tour in January 2010
Cumulative List of Birds during our Japan Tours
Rare Birds during FONT Tours in Japan
Upcoming FONT Japan Birding & Nature Tours
During the FONT Japan Tour in
January 2010,
2 Sea Otters, known as Rakkos, were seen
from shore in eastern Hokkaido.
The Sea Otter is very rare in Japan.
Only 2 or 3 dozen are said to exist
in the nearby islands
that are part of Russia.