VENT Birding Tours: Photo Galleries
Brazil: Alta Floresta's Cristalino Jungle Lodge
Jan 30, 12
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have lived and birded in Amazonian Brazil for the last 25 years. During this time I have completely fallen in love with the Amazon rainforest, the world's richest biome, with over 1,400 species of birds and an incredible biodiversity. New species are still being described here.The wonderful Cristalino Jungle Lodge is one of the best kept secrets of Amazonian Brazil. The late Ted Parker found this amazing lodge many years ago, and VENT's group w...
Northern Peru's Cloud Forest Endemics
Jan 25, 12
Andean Cloud forest birding at its best perfectly describes VENT's Northern Peru tour. Based at a single site, our home for the week is the new forest-based Owlet Lodge in the Abra Patricia Pass, with birds right outside our rooms, and spacious and comfortable bungalow accommodations in a pristine 13,000-hectare cloud forest reserve. Abra Patricia is famous for its stunning array of rarely seen range-restricted endemics, including the mythical Long-whiskered Owlet and possibly the classie...
Ireland & the British Isles 2012
Jan 20, 12
Returning to my native UK is always a thrill. I am eagerly anticipating VENT's trip to Ireland and the British Isles aboard the fabulous Clipper Odyssey this year, May 22-June 4, 2012. This cruise offers a marvelous combination of history, culture, and birding. Among the birding highlights will be the second largest gannet colony in the world, a fine selection of shorebirds, Common Murres, Razorbills, Atlantic Puffins, Black Guillemots, and a fine sample of British birds including White a...
Barrow Extension to Alaska Mainland 2011
Oct 20, 11
We arrived in Barrow at 7:30 PM and after quickly checking into our hotel and grabbing dinner, we headed out onto the tundra for a late evening excursion. It was a beautiful sunny evening and we were greeted almost immediately by some of the common Barrow birds. Snow Buntings sang from the rooftops and Lapland Longspurs skylarked next to the road. Red and Red-necked phalaropes, American Golden-Plover, Pectoral Sandpiper, Long-tailed Duck, Pacific Loon—the birds came in rapid succession....
Alaska Mainland 2011
Oct 19, 11
On our second full day in Nome we ventured north out the Kougarok Road. It was yet another glorious weather day with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 60s. We stopped about 18 miles out as an Arctic Warbler was singing right next to the road. The warbler, a real Alaskan specialty, responded quickly, offering superb views, as did a nearby Fox Sparrow and an Orange-crowned Warbler. Just as we were about to load up again, someone in the group spotted three grizzly bears on a distant hillsi...
Northern Tanzania 2011
Oct 13, 11
Read Adam Riley's daily diary and birdlist from VENT's 2011 Northern Tanzania tour.
Namibia, Botswana and Zambia
Oct 11, 11
Suzi van de Reep is the Managing Director of the award-winning Huab Lodge and BushSPA in Namibia. Participants on VENT's "Namibia, Botswana & Zambia" tour spend three nights at this wonderful lodge. Suzi has shared with us some of her photos of wildlife visiting the numerous waterholes in Etosha National Park.
Avian Jewels of Arizona 2011
Oct 06, 11
Thirteen species of hummingbirds! This is the stuff of fantasies for birders from the east, where only one species is regular. Even most areas of the west harbor only three or four hummingbird species at best. But in southeastern Arizona the story is quite different.On our recent Avian Jewels of Arizona tour, we had marvelous hummingbird displays throughout the trip and tallied a very impressive, though not entirely unexpected, 13 different species. The biggest problem was determining which o...
Autumn Grand Manan 2011
Oct 01, 11
Once again, our boat trip on the Autumn Grand Manan tour was absolutely amazing. I don't think any one-day pelagic trip in North America can top the combination of variety, sheer numbers of birds, close-viewing, specialty birds, and marine mammals that the Bay of Fundy has to offer. Another Great Shearwater, one of an estimated 1,800 for the day!— Photo: Barry Zimmer On near glass-like seas, we ventured out from Seal Cove on a nine-hour day-trip to such areas a...
Southern Argentina 2010
Sep 27, 11
The radio in my pocket crackled and I fumbled to extract it from beneath my jacket. A frantic voice was screaming something I couldn't understand—English, Spanish, or just Marcelo's enthusiasm? "I found it! I found it," he seemed to be saying. "The seedsnipe. She got three cheeks! Come quickly!" We looked up the slope toward the glacier. It was windy and blowing snow. We couldn't see Marcelo anywhere. I'd checked his location a few minutes ago, but he...
Northwest Argentina 2010
Sep 27, 11
Northwestern Argentina has a great diversity of habitats and birds and, even at high elevations in the puna, birds are numerous. On a late afternoon excursion near Salta, on the day of our arrival, we were able to find both Huayco Tinamou and Darwin's Nothura. On our first full day we logged 119 species, but more than numbers were the quality of species and fine views of many of them including Chaco (Spot-backed) Puffbird, Great Rufous Woodpecker, Red-billed Scythebill, Lark-like Brushrun...
Northeast Argentina 2010
Sep 27, 11
Argentina is mostly wide-open space—the pampas, the Iberá marshes, and Patagonia—but in a tiny northeastern corner it is covered with dense forest that surrounds Iguazú Falls, one of the world's most spectacular waterfalls. Our trip visited all of these regions except Patagonia, which is saved for a trip to the far south. And, there are equally impressive avian contrasts on this trip: flightless rheas with ostrich-like demeanor, giant screamers that seem to have ...
Spring Grand Arizona 2011
Sep 21, 11
We arrived on the west side of the Chiricahua Mountains at around 7:45 PM in search of the always difficult Flammulated Owl and the recently split Mexican Whip-poor-will. Due to a large fire in the range, we were unable to stay in the Chiricahuas this year and this would be our only chance to go owling in the area. We were coming all the way from Benson (nearly two hours away) and I had warned people that we might be out until midnight. A steady and cool breeze blew down Pinery Canyon, and th...
Big Bend National Park and the Texas Hill Country 2011
Sep 16, 11
To our left, Lucifer Hummingbirds buzzed about the feeders like bees, probably a dozen or more total in amongst the more numerous Black-chinneds. Brilliant bluish-purple gorgets flashed in the morning sun just feet away. In front of us on the ground were myriad species representing a seemingly endless array of color. A male Painted Bunting hopped about among the Clay-colored, Brewer's, and Chipping sparrows. A gorgeous Green-tailed Towhee popped in and chased an equally pretty Lark Sparro...
Spring in South Texas: Hill Country Extension 2011
Sep 13, 11
In a small bare tree about 50 feet away, the Black-capped Vireo sang its heart out. Its velvety-black cap, huge white goggles, red eye, and greenish upperparts were truly stunning. This shy bird is often seen only briefly, as it moves furtively through the thickets, but this particular individual sat up in the open, actually in the scope for a short while, providing great views for all. This is perhaps the prized bird of any trip to the Hill Country, and we had just nailed it (we saw a total ...
Spring in South Texas 2011
Sep 13, 11
We arrived at the King Ranch shortly after 7 a.m., and fifteen minutes later we were making a quick restroom break before our birding started in earnest. While waiting for others to finish up, I casually started whistling a pygmy-owl imitation. I didn't expect a reply (this was not one of the standard areas where we search for this highly prized target), but much to my surprise a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl did respond, and quite close. We quickly rounded up everyone and started walking in the ...
Spring Birding in Spain 2011
Sep 13, 11
Spain did not disappoint. Birds, wine, amazing scenery in the mountains and plains, and delicious cuisine satisfied every sense. Each of these aspects was brought to the forefront at some point during the tour, particularly the alpine scenery, which was unforgettable. The rugged peaks dominating the skylines of the Picos de Europa and the Pyrenees were sublime. We saw flamingos, spoonbills, storks, bustards, eagle-owl, eagles, hawks, falcons, harriers, sandgrouse, pratincoles, eight species o...
Birds and Art: Memories of El Triunfo
Aug 22, 11
One of the reasons I make quilts of birding trips I take with VENT is my need to further express and remember how much I enjoyed my trips. There were so many fond memories:• Being in such a spectacular wilderness area in the State of Chiapas, Mexico.• Hearing the morning and evening choruses at El Triunfo which included Brown-backed Solitaires.• Hiking in a light sprinkle to watch two Horned Guans sitting in a tree above us, while a male Mountain Trogon called from the same are...
Minnesota and North Dakota 2011
Aug 19, 11
Hidden in the marsh, his "peents" were easily heard. On twittering wings, the Timberdoodle (American Woodcock) ascended into the night sky, silhouetted against the clouds, only to dive down and peent again. The following morning a Great Gray Owl was hunting Sax-Zim Bog for all to see; we had wonderful looks at the bird of the trip as it stared at the ground, intently seeking voles.The first morning of our Minnesota & North Dakota tour was filled with great warblers and cooperati...
Grand Belize Part II 2011
Jun 14, 11
We arrived at Chan Chich Lodge just in time for lunch, and quickly settled in to the outside tables facing a large water feature and a fruit-laden firebush. Before we could get our order taken, a stunning male Red-capped Manakin was spotted at eye level just 15 feet away. A flock of Ocellated Turkeys strolled about between the cabanas in the background, and two Crested Guans were seen in a nearby fig tree. An Ochre-bellied Flycatcher followed the manakin into the firebush and was joined by a ...
