News: Tour Reports
Browse News by Category
Catch up on the latest news from Victor Emanuel Nature Tours by reading the latest VENTflash.
Venezuela: New Year in the Llanos
Jeri Langham: February 08, 2012
For 23 years I led a New Year's tour to Hato Piñero, a 200,000-acre Venezuelan Llanos ranch, which was a world-class example of how cattle ranching and conservation can go hand-in-hand. No hunting had been permitted for over 65 years, thus there were lots of animals to see on night drives, and some of the larger birds like Yellow-knobbed Curassows, that make good eating, were easily seen…it was one of my favorite tours. Two years ago my co-leader David Ascanio's November...
Amazon River Cruise
Steve Hilty: February 07, 2012
In a large and diverse avifauna such as that of the Iquitos area, much of one's enjoyment comes from the sum of visiting the many different habitats in which birds live, and in observing their behaviors, as well as their unusual, often novel songs, duets, and breeding activities. In a way, this is more important than numbers on a list (well, at least for me). We made a point, in fact, of visiting river islands and early successional growth habitats, várzea (or floodplain) forests, ...
Machu Picchu Pre-trip to Amazon River Cruise
Steve Hilty: February 07, 2012
This short trip, preceding the Amazon River Cruise, provides a dramatic contrast to the steamy lowlands and overwhelming biological diversity of Amazonia. This is a trip through high mountain valleys carved from powerful rushing rivers, a trip into high Andean grasslands and, most of all, a trip through history. It is, by all accounts, a region of colorful markets and of remarkable people dressed in distinctive but regionally varied clothing. Women carry babies, wrapped in bright blankets, on...
Colombia: The Santa Marta Getaway
Steve Hilty: February 01, 2012
Colombia is rapidly becoming a "must see" destination, as most areas within this beautiful country can now be safely visited by birders. This fact has not been lost on the birding community, which is now flooding numerous tiny reserves, as well as national parks, and pressing into new uncharted sites. The Santa Marta Mountains are well-known for the large number of endemic birds that occur there, and quite a few of them can be seen even in a short visit.The stars aligned well for us...
Galapagos Islands Cruise aboard Isabela II
Paul Greenfield: January 26, 2012
Cruising the Galapagos Islands is a wonderful and fulfilling experience that really defies an adequate description. Each participant brings his or her own expectations to this weeklong journey, and every encounter and interaction with an iguana, lizard, tortoise, sea turtle, fish, whale, bird, or sea lion builds a very personalized bank of memories. This was Charles Darwin's laboratory where he witnessed clues to what would become his Origin of the Species, a work that would change foreve...
Galapagos Cruise: Tandayapa Pre-trip
Paul Greenfield: January 26, 2012
The "pint-sized" South American country of Ecuador is by no means a "little" nation when it comes to biodiversity. On the contrary, Ecuador can (for example) proudly boast of holding over twice as many bird species as the entire continent of North America, even though it is some 87 times smaller! So in preparation for VENT's November Galapagos Islands Cruise, we offered a two-day visit to the species-rich northwestern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes as an opportunity to...
Winter New Mexico
Barry Zimmer: January 21, 2012
We arrived at a small ponding area on the north side of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in mid-afternoon to find roughly 2,000 white geese bathing and resting within a short distance of the parking area. We were able to walk out within 30 feet of some of the birds and had marvelous side by side comparisons of Snow Geese and the diminutive Ross's Geese. Small groups of Sandhill Cranes kept gliding in overhead, rattling and trumpeting as they sailed into the marsh. Suddenly all t...
Mexico: Oaxaca Christmas
Héctor Gómez de Silva: January 20, 2012
The city of Oaxaca (pronounced "Wa-Haca") is like a hub for birders in this birdiest state of Mexico. Different ecosystems are to be found to the north, east, west, and south of the city. Consequently, a few hundred bird species, many of them endemic to Mexico (or even to just a small part of the country), are readily encountered in short to moderate length day-trips from the city. The city is also one of the most culturally interesting parts of Mexico, and Christmas is one of the m...
Belize: Chan Chich New Year
Bob Sundstrom: January 18, 2012
The Chan Chich New Year tour is hard to beat as a holiday nature experience. A short half-hour flight from Belize City, Chan Chich offers the top notch amenities of one of the premier jungle lodges in the world, combined with superb tropical birding on 200,000 acres of private holdings. This year's tour at Chan Chich will be fondly remembered.On a tour with plenty of highlights, one especially comes vividly to mind. While much of the birding we do at Chan Chich takes place on trails leadi...
Ecuador: The Northwestern Andean Slopes
Paul Greenfield: January 16, 2012
Ecuador's northwestern region offers some of the very best birding to be found anywhere on Earth! In a compact week, set within a compact "area of operations"—staying at only one lodge—with excellent opportunities to see a great diversity of bird species under superb viewing conditions at relatively short distances from "home," we are able to sample a variety of habitats in four different life-zones. And that's exactly what we did! This is hummingbird h...
Ecuador: Tinalandia Pre-trip
Paul Greenfield: January 16, 2012
This year's Tinalandia Pre-trip proved, yet again, to be the perfect complement to our Northwestern Andean Slopes tour. With an unhurried and relatively relaxed but birdy itinerary, we were able to ease ourselves into the complex world of Neotropical birding and begin to experience the tremendous biodiversity that this pint-sized country of Ecuador has to offer. Many of the species we recorded were not seen on the main tour, and many others were actually seen better. There is a well-...
New Zealand Highlights
Dion Hobcroft: January 15, 2012
New Zealand certainly lived up to its great expectations of stunning scenery, special bird life, tasty food, and wonderfully friendly people. It was a great trip!We commenced in Auckland, convening at the airport and making a short drive to the Salty Dog Inn at Snell's Beach. After lunch we headed to Pakiri where we were soon admiring New Zealand Dotterels with tiny chicks, and then enjoyed a superb view of a Fairy Tern. This was followed by a Buff-banded Rail that decided to take a bath ...
California Central Coast: An Introductory Birding Tour
Kevin Zimmer: January 06, 2012
Early December proved to be the ideal time for the return of our California Central Coast tour. We enjoyed four beautifully sunny days of birding amid the varied habitats of San Luis Obispo County, and, in the process, saw 13 species of mammals and over 160 species of birds. Wrentit, Montana de Oro State Park, California, December 7, 2011— Photo: Kevin Zimmer Our first day afield was spent mostly around the estuary of Morro Bay, one of the most important sites for ...
Southeastern Brazil Part III
Andrew Whittaker: December 21, 2011
Espírito Santo once again dished up its own special blend of montane and lowland Atlantic Forest endemics to round out our Southeast Brazil Trilogy in fine fashion. This was the breakout year for the new-and-improved version of our long-running and perennially popular Southeast Brazil Tour. Heeding the calls for shorter tours, while striving to provide a thorough survey of Brazil's Atlantic Forest, one of the world's true hotspots of endemism and biodiversity, demanded some cha...
Kenya Birds & Wildlife
David Wolf: December 16, 2011
Almost every November for the last thirty years has found me in Kenya, but it still amazes me how different each safari has been. Upon arrival this year we found that the "short rains" had begun almost a month earlier than expected, and that the land had quickly started to rejuvenate from the drought earlier in the year, turning emerald-green and bountiful. The birds had responded too, many of them changing into brilliant plumage and beginning a new breeding season with bursts of so...
Bhutan
David Bishop: December 12, 2011
Our 23rd tour to Bhutan was everything we had hoped it would be and more. While clearly everyone wants to see such mega-charismatic species as Satyr Tragopan, Ward's Trogon, Rufous-necked Hornbill, Himalayan Monal, Ibisbill, Beautiful Nuthatch, and a host of other specialties, there is always a tremendous sense of excitement at experiencing the unknown in Bhutan. And because we know this country and its birds so well, we are in an excellent position to take our clients to less utilized si...
Papua New Guinea Highlights
David Bishop: December 08, 2011
Our inaugural Papua New Guinea Highlights tour was immensely successful. While it is unfair to compare this tour to our comprehensive Papua New Guinea tour, our fabulous group of sharp-eyed, charming, and entertaining participants shared a great deal of fun, in addition to some truly spectacular birds and some fine cultural experiences. Despite Papua New Guinea's sometimes insalubrious reputation, its people are undoubtedly among the friendliest and most fascinating on our planet.Ki...
Grand Australia: Tasmania Extension
Dion Hobcroft: December 02, 2011
The success of this tour was beyond my already great expectations. Everybody saw all of the endemic birds of Tasmania, we had outstanding encounters with special mammals and superb wildflowers, and we enjoyed fine food and a relaxed itinerary.After a short morning flight from Melbourne, we loaded up into our bus (taking time to get views of Musk Lorikeet) and then checked into the Grand Chancellor Hotel. We spent a splendid afternoon at the wonderful Peter Murrell Nature Reserve. In a 100-met...
Grand Australia Part II
Dion Hobcroft: November 30, 2011
We commenced our tour in Brisbane, joining forces with seven new participants, with three carrying over from Part I of our Grand Australia tour. Our first stop was the Daisy Hill Reserve, which failed to produce the hoped for koala (the locals commenting on their decline at this location), yet it came through with great views of red-necked wallabies, Pale-headed Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, and Sacred Kingfisher. For those participants experiencing their first day of birding in Australia, it...
Grand Australia Part I
Dion Hobcroft: November 30, 2011
Our series of Grand Australia tours this year accumulated an astonishing 503 species of birds. It was my pleasure to lead the whole program with a great bunch of folks. We enjoyed plenty of two- and three-night stays in a range of very comfortable hotels. We enjoyed a 20-seater coaster bus to accommodate our group of 10, and we sought out the best cuisine on offer in my home country. Covering several thousand kilometers in a variety of amazing habitats with some equally amazing scenery, we we...
