VENTFLASH #77

In this issue:

Dear friends:

The fall season started auspiciously for VENT with Attu and Jungle Rivers trips. It has continued to be a very good fall for us. We have had an excellent response to our winter tour program. I wanted to call your attention to a few great winter birding opportunities:

— Our ARIZONA WINTER BIRDING FESTIVAL, January 10-15, will afford participants a chance to bird a scenic and bird-rich part of the country that enjoys mild winters. Leaders will include Kenn Kaufman, Barry Zimmer, Barry Lyon, and myself. We will spend all our nights at the Embassy Suites hotel. Field trips to four different areas will be complemented by evening programs. I am looking forward to this event and hope you will sign up for one of the remaining spaces.

— If you have more time and want to bird Southern California and Southeastern Arizona in January, I can’t recommend our CALIFORNIA & ARIZONA tour too highly. I had heard glowing reports about it for years and was finally able to see for myself how marvelous this trip is. Barry Zimmer and Brennan Mulrooney will co-lead, January 22-31, 2007.

David Wolf is one of VENT’s senior leaders. He receives consistently excellent evaluations. I regard him as one of the finest tour leaders working for any company, both for the depth and breadth of his knowledge, as well as his people and logistical skills. Every person that has ever had the opportunity to travel with David agrees he is a great guy with whom to share birds and nature. David has led tours for VENT to many parts of the world and has done a superb job everywhere, but his special areas of expertise are two of the richest countries in the world for birds: Kenya and Ecuador. He has a deep affection for both of those countries.

Ecuador is one of the most pleasant and rewarding countries in the world for birders and naturalists. In the last ten years ecotourism has taken off in Ecuador. As a result, it has some of the finest lodges in the world including the famous Napo Wildlife Center, which was recently judged to be the top ecotourism lodge in the world.

Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador — Photo: Peter English

Space is still available on both our ECUADOR: AMAZONIA AT NAPO WILDLIFE CENTER tour, January 5-14, and our ECUADOR: THE NORTHERN ANDES tour, January 13-21. Both will be co-led by David Wolf and Paul Greenfield. Paul painted the birds of Ecuador for the superb field guide, The Birds of Ecuador.

About ten years ago VENT offered its first boat trip on the Amazon. I was one of the team of leaders. I had birded Amazonia for years, staying at a variety of lodges. I enjoyed all those trips, but was impressed by how nice it was to bird the Amazon from the comfort of a well-appointed boat. It was so pleasant, after a day in the field, to come back to your nice, air-conditioned room, and to watch the Amazonian forests pass by from the upper deck. VENT has chartered the La Turquesa for a week-long trip up the Amazon from Iquitos. It will be a delightful experience filled with birds, other wildlife, and wonderful sunrises and sunsets.

Sunset on the Amazon — Photo: Steve Hilty

Space is still available on our AMAZON RIVER CRUISE, January 20-28, which will be co-led by Steve Hilty, David Ascanio, Paul Greenfield, and Andrew Whittaker. A post-trip extension, January 28-February 4, will visit Machu Picchu and the Peruvian coast.

Of all the winter tours we offer in North America, perhaps the most exciting is our WINTER WASHINGTON AND BRITISH COLUMBIA tour, which is scheduled for February 3-10. It will be led by Bob Sundstrom, who lives in the area and has led many trips in the Pacific Northwest. The Puget Sound area offers superb birding anytime, but more so in winter than any other time because so many ducks, geese, swans, hawks, and owls winter in this part of the country. Many species that winter in this bird-rich region will probably be new for most birders who live in other parts of the country. This region has also been host to a remarkable array of rare birds including Arctic Loon, Northern Hawk Owl, Great Gray Owl, Xantus’s Hummingbird, Dusky Thrush, Falcated Teal, Tufted Duck, Emperor Goose, King Eider, Slaty-backed Gull, and Brambling. You simply never know what will turn up.

Of all the countries I have visited, India stands out as one of the most exotic, pleasant, and richest in birds and wildlife. VENT has been operating tours in India for over 25 years. Our agents in India are among the best we use anywhere in the world. India is a country of so many wonderful layers of experiences: the birds, the wildlife, the scenery, the culture, the history, and the food. The Indian people are some of the most welcoming, kind, and gracious people I have ever met.

Bengal Tiger — Photo: David Bishop

This winter we are offering a three-part Classic India tour led by David Bishop. David has led more India trips than anyone and has a special feeling for India and its birds, wildlife, and people. You may choose to take any one part, or combine two parts, or take all three parts. A few spaces are still available on all three parts:

BHARATPUR PRE-TRIP, February 11-19.

PART I, CENTRAL INDIA, February 18-27.

PART II, CORBETT NATIONAL PARK AND THE WESTERN HIMALAYAS, February 25-March 10.

SHORT WEST MEXICO: If you are looking for a short, bird-filled trip to a destination that is easy to reach from almost any major U.S. city, this is the perfect tour for you. Our other Short West Mexico tours are sold out, but space remains available on our February 5-11 departure. It will be led by Brian Gibbons, and limited to six participants. All nights will be spent at the delightful Rancho Primavera, a private ranch located at 2,000 feet elevation and surrounded by mountains with nearby habitat choices ranging from the Pacific Ocean coast and mangroves through lowland scrub, arid and moist deciduous forest, pine-oak woodland, and a nearby reservoir. All you have to do is fly to Puerto Vallarta, a major tourist destination.

Of all the places I have visited over the past 30 years, my favorite is a cloud forest preserve in Southern Mexico called EL TRIUNFO. I went there for the first time in March 1977 and fell in love with this region with its pristine forests and wilderness setting. From that time on I co-led a tour there almost every year. Due to other commitments I haven’t been to El Triunfo in three years. I am very excited about returning this March, and I’m delighted that my good friends Bob and Birgit Bateman will be on this tour. This trip has been full for months, but as a result of a cancellation two spaces have become available. The dates are March 17-27. I will co-lead with Brad Boyle and Barry Lyon.

Let me say a word about the concerns some people may have about traveling in Mexico. As a result of the strikes and political unrest in Oaxaca, Mexico has been in the news a lot recently. These problems are confined to that state and will not affect travel in other parts of Mexico. Many thousands of American tourists visit Mexico every day. There have been no incidents or problems except in Oaxaca. The dispute over who won the Mexican presidential election will not affect travel in Mexico. I have gone to Mexico almost every year for 50 years. It is one of my favorite countries to visit. I have many good friends there, and like the Mexican people very much.

A few other winter tours that have space available include:

SHORT COSTA RICA, February 10-18, with David Wolf and Mimi Wolf

NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL, February 3-21, with Andrew Whittaker

VENEZUELA: HATO PINERO, February 4-11, with David Ascanio

PANAMA: EL VALLE CANOPY LODGE EXTENSION, February 10-15, with Marshall Iliff

HONDURAS: ATLANTIC SLOPE, February 13-21, with Robert Gallardo

HONDURAS: WESTERN HIGHLANDS, February 21-March 1, with Robert Gallardo

GRAND VENEZUELA, February 17-March 6, with Steve Hilty and David Ascanio

PANAMA: FOOTHILLS OF NUSAGANDI, February 18-24, with Kevin Zimmer

JAMAICA, February 18-25, with Brandon Hay and Brennan Mulrooney

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, February 23-March 4, with Bob Sundstrom

WINTER RIO GRANDE VALLEY, February 24-March 2, with Kim Eckert

YUCATAN AND PALENQUE, February 26-March 8, with Paul Wood

TAIWAN, March 2-14, with Susan Myers

PANAMA: EL VALLE?S CANOPY LODGE, March 3-10, with Barry Zimmer

EASTERN VENEZUELA, March 6-17, with Steve Hilty and David Ascanio

BEST OF COSTA RICA, March 17-29, with David Wolf and Mimi Wolf

As I write this, I am on my way back to Austin after a wonderful visit to New York City. I traveled to New York to be interviewed for a documentary about Peter Matthiessen that will appear on PBS sometime in late 2007 or early 2008. Then I spent the weekend in Sagaponack with Peter and Maria Matthiessen. One afternoon Peter and I went to Montauk Point. This is the area where I first birded with Peter 33 years ago. Since that initial foray we have birded on all the continents and have shared many wonderful experiences.

At Montauk we saw over 1,000 gannets hovering over the ocean in a great white swarm. They were concentrated by the presence of a school of herring. The herring were being forced to the surface by striped bass. As we watched, the gannets plunged into the sea from high above. Peter and I had seen similar feeding assemblages of Blue-footed Boobies in the Galapagos and Peruvian Boobies from the coast of Peru years ago with the late Ted Parker. Here we were enjoying a similar spectacle in Peter’s home territory. The last morning I spent at Sagaponack, I got up early to see the sun rise from the Atlantic. Looking out to sea, I observed a continual stream of gannets, all flying southwest with an orange sky behind them. I counted 25 passing in one minute.

While I was visiting the Matthiessens, Peter showed me a letter he had received from Danny Williams, who participated in Camp Chiricahua this past summer. Danny is 15 and lives in East Lyme, Connecticut. Peter was touched by Danny’s letter, as was I. I wanted to share it with you:

“Dear Mr. Matthiessen,

My name is Danny Williams and this summer I participated in the bird camp with Victor Emanuel who encouraged me to write to you and gave me your address. I’m not sure how to say this or even if you will understand, but I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to appreciate the beauty left in this world. I have been reading your books since I was ten and it was those very books which put my world in perspective. It was those books which allow me to love the natural world around me. Now in my life I am never afraid of being lost or lonely because there will always be a tree or a bird somewhere to remind me what is important. I worked at identification hard, but what your writing has given me is the ability to see pure beauty in all things wild regardless of science or a field guide. Whether or not this is what you intended I can’t say, but I want you to know what you did for me is powerful stuff, special stuff that doesn’t happen every day, and I can’t express my gratitude enough in a letter.

Thanks,

Danny Williams”

Just prior to leaving for New York City I received this email from Daniel Lopez Velasco, who attended Camp Chiricahua in the summer of 2001.

“Dear Victor,

My name is Daniel Lopez Velasco, and I’m the Spanish young birder that joined the tour to Papua New Guinea this August. First of all, I wanted to tell you that the trip was both incredible and unforgettable. It was a dream come true. Everything was perfect, mainly because of both tour leaders, David and Dion. I don’t have enough words to thank them for everything they did to make the trip to Papua the best birding experience I’ve had in my life. Their birding skills were impressive, but above all they were such great persons, kind with everyone, sharing their vast knowledge about Papuan birds and always trying to answer my questions. They always tried to make everyone happy, especially me.

But the highlight of the entire trip was undoubtedly the moment when we spotted a male Blue Bird-of-paradise feeding on a fruiting tree in the mist? I had dreamt about that bird since I was 10, and I simply couldn’t believe my eyes when I watched it, my favorite bird above all the others, the best bird in the world. That was a magical moment that will last in my memory forever. Apart from David and Dion, if it weren’t for you that wouldn’t have happened either, so I wanted to thank you for creating VENT tours, for making such unforgettable moments available to everyone. I won’t forget Camp Chiricahua either. Before attending the camp in 2001 I didn’t even know there were other young birders in the world! It was a great experience, and I made several great friends, some of them had come to my house in Spain and birded together all around the country. Trust me, those camps are the best idea I’ve seen in terms of preparing and teaching young birders. I hope I get the chance of meeting you someday. Thank you very much for everything.

Daniel”

It was wonderful that within one week I received an email from a young birder named Daniel, and then read a letter from a young birder named Danny, both who had attended Camp Chiricahua. Reading these communications, you can see why I regard these summer birding/nature camps as the best thing I have ever done.

On December 17, I will participate in the 50th Freeport Christmas Bird Count. I founded that count in 1956 when I was 16.

I hope you and your family enjoy a wonderful holiday season and good New Year.