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Elegant And Exclusive, the Crane Family has Just 15 Members

March 23, 2023 Naturalist Journeys Leave a comment

Discover 13 Cranes on 5 Continents with Naturalist Journeys in 2023

The crane family tree has just 15 branches, but these elegant, giant, marsh-nesting birds loom large on each of the five continents where they are found.

That’s particularly true in Asia, home to eight crane family species, where crane iconography seems to be everywhere: Cranes can be found flying, dancing and striking a pose on coins and paper money, in paintings, pottery, sculpture and even architecture. Japan, where tens of thousands of cranes overwinter is particularly enamored of cranes.

1000 Yen note with cranes, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Crane tapestry in the Song Palace built by Emperor Huizong, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Japan is justifiably proud of its cranes. Photo Credit Peg Abbott

Birds in the Crane Family are Large and Loud

Cranes are exceptional in so many ways. The crane family (Gruidae) is an ancient one, dating back 60 million years. They are among the largest birds, and even the smallest, the Demoiselle Crane, dwarfs most birds at 39 inches. The largest crane family member, the Sarus, tops out at 5’9”, taller than many people in their home range countries of India and Australia. Cranes are also loud, as anyone who has experienced a flock of Sandhill Cranes flying in to roost can confirm. Adult cranes’ bugling or trumpeting call is used for signaling family and flock members more than two miles away.

Sandhill Cranes on Nebraska’s Platte River by Dave Krueper

Cranes Can Dance When They Want To

Graceful fliers, cranes mate for life and yet continue to court their partners with dance and vocalizations, teaching their young colts to dance at a very young age, even though they won’t mate for several years. Cranes dance not only during courtship, scientists say, but also “when they are excited, frustrated, or just need to release pent-up energy.”

‘Bow to your partner!” Red-crowned Cranes, Bryan Shirley
Mirroring Red-crowned Cranes by Debbie Hall

Cranes in Profile

When standing or strutting, their enormous feathered wings are usually gathered into a bustle behind them, which disappears entirely when their wings are busied in flight. Unlike herons, who tuck in their necks when aloft, cranes fly with their elegant necks outstretched, one easy way to tell these large birds apart in silhouette. Another striking crane posture can be seen when pairs are engaged in unison calls, with their heads tipped back, as depicted here in an illustration published by the University of Nebraska:

crane family members have different Unison Call postures — Crane family members have different unison call postures. See key below., University of Nebraska figure.

Crane Habitat (and Most Cranes) are Threatened

Cranes nest in marshy wetlands, a habitat that is rapidly being repurposed worldwide to grow field crops, for aquaculture or for urbanization. So it’s no surprise that most members of the crane family are listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable (7 species), endangered (3 species) or critically endangered (1 species). Only four species are designated by IUCN as species of least concern.

Happily, we have chances (some great, some very slim) to see thirteen of the fifteen crane family members on a range of tours throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, all of which contribute directly or indirectly to crane conservation. In this blog, we’ll describe each of the crane family species in turn and describe for you the tours where we hope to find them.

Cranes of Japan – Three Likely, Six Possible Species

We begin with our crane-tastic Japan Birding & Nature Tour, a scenic snowy adventure designed specifically to witness the masses of White-naped and Hooded Crane that overwinter on the Japanese archipelago, along with the star of this tour, Red-crowned Crane.

Cranes in Japan by Peg Abbott

White-naped Crane by Peg Abbott
White-naped Crane by Peg Abbott
Hooded Crane by Peg Abbott
Red-crowned Cranes by Debbie Hall

Rare and critically endangered Siberian Crane was unexpected but welcome for our inaugural Japanese tour group in January of 2023. Siberian Crane is the only member of the crane family credited with a true song. Its calls are more flutelike, less a honking or trumpeting.

Our inaugural Japan tour was also pleasantly surprised to see single birds of two other species: Demoiselle and Sandhill Crane, from a Siberian population separate from those we see in North America. One one auspicious day of this tour, our group saw five different crane species!

Demoiselle Crane. Photo Credit: Ken Billington. via Wikimedia Commons
Siberian Crane by Alastair Rae via Wikimedia Commons

Japan Birding & Nature
Nov. 29 – Dec. 15, 2023 & Jan. 7 – 23, 2024 | $7390 w/Guide Bryan Shirley
Inaugural 2023 Trip Report | Species List | Full Itinerary

Japan offers a fantastic array of birding and nature opportunities—from the wintering cranes in Kagoshima to the world-famous Snow Monkeys in Jigokudani and so much more, from birds to gorgeous snowy mountain landscapes, to sublime culinary and cultural delights!

Cranes of Australia: Two Possible Species, Sarus and Brolga

We have good chances to see both of Australia’s two crane species on our Queensland’s Wet Tropics Tour, the Sarus and the Brolga.

Sarus Crane by Ad031259 via Wikimedia Commons
Brolgas in flight by Guide Emeritus Greg Smith

The Sarus Crane, as noted before, is the tallest crane in the world. Watching this massive crane fly, dance and call in unison with a lifelong partner is spectacular almost beyond words. Two non-migratory groups of Sarus Cranes persist, one in India in addition to those of far Northeast Queensland. We also have a chance for Sarus on our Grand India Tigers & Glorious Birds tour.

The Brolga, though twenty inches shorter than the Sarus, is still an impressive specimen at 49 inches tall. More widespread on this island continent, it is sometimes called the Australian Crane. Also found in New Guinea, its official species name is derived from the indigenous name, burralga.

Australia: Queensland’s Wet Tropics
Aug. 13—22, 2023 & July 7 —16, 2024
Exploring North Queensland and the Daintree Region is legendary among birders, with so many species ranking off the charts for color, beauty and song. This is a lush coastal area that combines mountain, rainforest and ocean birding in Australia’s most fertile area. The driving routes are spectacular and not long, so you have plenty of field time to take it all in. Interspersed with forest and coastal walks are boat trips and an ocean cruise to experience the Great Barrier Reef.

Bhutan: Migratory Black-necked Crane is Possible

Our Bhutan tour has an outside chance to see Black-necked Crane, a migratory species that nests in Tibet. It is 53 inches in height and considered vulnerable due to rapid wetland habitat loss. A sacred bird in Bhutan, it’s the world’s only alpine crane, feeding on dwarf bamboo there in the Phobjikha Valley wetlands, where they overwinter.

Black-necked crane is in the crane family Gruidae — Black-necked Crane by Candle Tree via Creative Commons

Africa, A Great Continent for Cranes: Four of Six Possible Species on Tours in South Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Botswana

Six crane species can be found in Africa and we have chances for four of them on our tours: Gray-crowned (South Africa, Uganda, & Kenya); Blue Crane (South Africa & Namibia); Wattled (S. Africa & Botswana) and Common Crane (Morocco and also throughout Europe and on our Israel tour). Demoiselle, which overwinters in North Africa and Black-crowned Crane, the smaller of the two crowned crane species, are unlikely to be spotted on our current Africa tours.

Gray-crowned Crane is part of the crane family Gruidae — Gray-crowned Cranes by Musiime Muramura via Unsplash

Cranes are deeply woven into the fabric of Africa and its folklore. Blue Crane is South Africa’s national bird, earning top billing among 850 avian choices. Many tribes consider the bird sacred, off-limits for hunting, and gather its feathers to award to their bravest tribesmen to wear in their hair.

blue crane is in the crane family Gruidae — Blue Crane by Art Cimento

Uganda’s national bird is the striking Gray-crowned Crane. We may see it on our tours to Uganda and also our Kenya and South Africa tours. It also lives in Zambia. With a stiff crown of golden feathers, black heads, white cheeks and bright red gular sacs, Gray-crowned Crane is regal indeed. But several other things set apart the crowned cranes of Africa:

They are the most ancient of crane species, by tens of millions of years.
They are the only cranes to roost in trees, enabled by a prehensile hind toe.
They have larger clutches than most cranes, hatching as many as 5 eggs.
Their striking appearance has made poaching of live birds and eggs for the pet trade one of the species’ biggest threats.

Wattled Cranes: South Africa & Botswana tours

The largest crane in Africa and the tallest flying bird, the Wattled Crane also has a distinctive, (though a bit less regal) appearance. A bumpy featherless face and its namesake dangling flap of chin skin easily distinguish it from other African cranes. Like its closest relatives in the crane family, the Demoiselle and the Blue Crane, the Wattled Crane has prominent secondary wing feathers that, when gathered into its bustle, give the appearance of a down-curved tail.

Wattled Crane is in the crane family Gruidae — Wattled Crane by Per Arne Slotte via Creative Commons

Wattled Crane often submerges its entire head to dig for plant roots and tubers, and is much more dependent on areas of standing water than other African cranes, putting it at greater threat for habitat loss. Wattled Crane also only fledges one chick on average. Their young take longer to hatch and fledge than other cranes, increasing the species’ vulnerability.

Africa Tours with Crane Family Chances:

Deltas to Dunes: A Namibia-Botswana Safari
Sept. 1 – 19, 2023 | $8990 w/guide Bryan Shirley
See two countries, close geographically but very different, each boasting distinct birds and mammals, with beautifully divergent landscapes on our Delta to Dunes Safari. The expansive Okavango Delta and stunning red dunes at Sossusvlei are two of the most iconic Africa experiences and the gorgeous backdrop to an unbeatable birding and wildlife safari.

Grand Uganda: Fabulous Birds & Mammals
July 13 – 29, 2023 | $8290 w/Gerard Gorman

Uganda Highlights: Fabulous Birds & Mammals
Nov. 22 – Dec. 5, 2023 |$6790 w/Andrea Molina & Peg Abbott
Birding in a rich mix of habitats is at the heart of our July and November tours to Uganda, from the shores of Lake Victoria to the Mabamba Swamp (for Shoebill!) to lush forests skirting the beautiful Virunga Volcanoes. We have chances to see a great mix of birds and mammals, including Chimpanzees and the opportunity, for those that can hike, to see endangered Mountain Gorilla. Uganda’s forests trace the spine of the continent and we delight in exploring them! We also visit Murchison Falls National Park, where we experience the classic savanna and safari.

South Africa: Birding & Wildlife Safari
Sept. 27 – Oct. 11, 2023 | $6490 DBL w/Mason Flint
We call South Africa a “Sampler” tour as it blends birding with botany, witnessing wildflowers of Cape Town’s famous fynbos region and in the mountains of the Drakensberg Escarpment. South Africa has modern infrastructure and great food and wine, making it a very comfortable journey. We often find 350 or more bird species as well as numerous mammals in this mega-biodiversity nation. Experience a short “big-five” safari in legendary Kruger National Park. Sprinkle in the culture, culinary delights and gorgeous Table Mountain-meets-coast delight of Cape Town and it’s time to start looking for flights!

Common Crane: Possible in Africa, Much More Likely on Europe and Israel Tours

Though Eurasian/Common Crane may be seen in northern Africa, we are much more likely to spot it where most of its population lives and breeds: throughout Europe. With an estimated population of 700,000 cranes worldwide, they are among the least threatened members of the crane family. Great news!

Common Crane is in the crane family Gruidae — Common Cranes by Gerard Gorman

We are likely to see Common Crane in 2023 on our Finland-Norway, Austria-Hungary, Romania-Bulgaria and Spain fall migration tours.

Finland & Norway Birding & Nature
June 3 – 15, 2023 | $6295 from Oulu w/Gerard Gorman
Join us in Finland and Norway as we explore the Scandinavian Arctic’s coastline and boreal forests at the height of spring nesting season.We look for lekking Ruff, Boreal Owl, Red-flanked Bluetail, Siberian Jay, Black Grouse, Western Capercaillie and so many more!

Birds, Nature & Culture in the Heart of Europe
June 19 – 30, 2023 | $3990 from Vienna w/Gerard Gorman
Get your Sound of Music on with a stroll through Austria’s alpine foothills, meadows and lakeshore before crossing into Hungary’s rolling limestone hills, plains and wet woodlands. We bird a thrilling variety of habitats on this 11-night tour, bookended by the cosmopolitan capitals of Vienna & Budapest.

Spain Birding & Nature
Sept. 3 — 15, 2023 | $5,490 from Malaga
This fall migration tour is centered Andalusia, whose Strait of Gibraltar is a natural bottleneck for migrant birds headed to Africa. A warm and wonderful place for a fall tour, its landscape is almost tropical, a mixture of palms, stone pines, and subtropical flowering trees. We make time to experience many cultural, architectural, and culinary delights of Spain!

Romania & Bulgaria: Black Sea Coast Migration
Sept. 15 — 25, 2023 | $3,390 from Bucharest w/Gerard Gorman
Timed for peak fall migration on this lesser-explored flyway, we divide our time between the gorgeous Black Sea Coast of two fascinating countries and bird Europe’s only steppe, among many other inland habitats including the wetlands around Bourgas and the broad-leaved woodpecker-rich forests of the Strandzha Hills.

Two Cranes Call the US Home: Sandhill & Whooping

Finally, circling back to the United States, we find two charismatic crane species, one with a thriving population and another endangered but considered in recovery mode.

Sandhill Crane is a member of the crane family, Gruidae — Incoming Sandhill Crane, Bryan Calk

The first, of course, is the Sandhill Crane, whose large and vocal flocks many of us have been privileged to experience flying overhead. Our guests in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas see them while they are overwintering and we have special spring tours to an important staging ground for Sandhills on Nebraska’s Platte River. In their nesting ranges, our Yellowstone National Park guests sometimes get to see young Sandhill Crane families, with doting parents taking their colts for a walk!

Sandhill Cranes are in the crane family Gruidae — Sandhill Crane family out for a walk in Yellowstone National Park by Hugh Simmons.

Whooping Crane, with an estimated population of just 849 birds, is listed as endangered by the IUCN but is one of just five species whose population is considered on the rise, thanks to tremendous conservation efforts. Many dedicated people and organizations have helped bring this bird back from the brink of extinction in 1941, when there were just 15 known birds.

Young Whoopers in migration training by Mandcrobertson via Creative Commons
Whooping Crane by Bryan Calk
Whooping Cranes by Delsa Anderl

Our Texas guests have their best chances to see Whooping Crane during winter tours there. Texas native and guide for our South Texas tours Bryan Calk said Mid-November to late-March is the sweet spot.

“I got them on all of my three winter tours, but only by the skin of my teeth on the first one in November, they were our boat captain’s first for the season, super lucky. The March tour will very likely get them too,” he wrote. Whoopers also occasionally turn up on our Platte River tours amidst the Sandhills, and we always feel fortunate to see them!

South Texas Birding & Nature
Dec. 2 —10, 2023 | $2,990 w/Bryan Calk
South Texas is one of the greatest birding destinations in the United States, and for good reason. Due to its proximity to the humid tropics of Mexico, the subtropical woodlands of the Rio Grande Valley boast over two dozen tropical bird species that spill across the border, from chachalacas to pauraques. Here, colorful Great Kiskadee and personable Green Jay mingle with temperate species and nowhere else in the United States.

How You Can Help Protect Cranes

Naturalist Journeys tours help fulfill the promise of ecotourism, demonstrating that protecting wild lands and wildlife is beneficial for local people. We also make contributions that aid conservation in the special places we visit. We currently contribute to the Rowe Audubon Sanctuary and The Crane Trust (of Nebraska). Other worthy organizations that are working to protect cranes worldwide include the International Crane Foundation.

Read more about crane conservation on the IUCN Crane Portal.

Europe

Birding Between Borders: Israel Birds, Nature & Culture

December 9, 2022 Naturalist Journeys Leave a comment

A Guest Blog From Guide Emeritus Woody Wheeler

Finally, after a two-year Covid delay, Lori and I were able to take the inaugural Naturalist Journeys: Israel Birds, Nature and Culture with good friends Bill and Denise.

Next Departure Israel Birds Nature & Culture is Nov. 2023

To maximize the opportunity, we added a few days before and after the tour to explore on our own. The combined experience provided an excellent overview of Israel’s natural, geographical, cultural, and historical wonders, which are abundant for a country approximately the size of New Jersey.

Israel desert birding by Woody Wheeler
Israel Rainbow by Woody Wheeler
Sunbird by Woody Wheeler

Few realize that Israel is an outstanding place for birds. Situated along the Mediterranean Sea between Eurasia to the north and Africa to the south, it is a major corridor for bird migration.

According to Colum McCann in his outstanding novel Apeirogon, “Israel is the world’s second busiest migratory superhighway: at least four hundred different species of birds torrent through, riding different levels in the sky.”

Eurasian Hoopoe by Woody Wheeler
Long-eared Owl by Woody Wheeler
Stonechat on the Borders of Israel & Jordan by Woody Wheeler

We found four “life birds” on our first day in Tel Aviv: Eurasian Hoopoe, White-spectacled Bulbul, Egyptian Goose and Graceful Prinia. On other walks in Tel Aviv, we browsed the extensive open market and the Bauhaus Architectural district. Tel Aviv is a vibrant city that blends the old with the new.

Lori and Denise at the Tel Aviv market by Woody Wheeler
Tel Aviv Market by Woody Wheeler

On day two, Lori arranged a private Israel bird tour to Caesarea and Haifa. We explored the Roman ruins and seaside retreat of King Herod, a man with a checkered past, who left behind iconic structures in Caesarea, Masada, and the Temple of the Mount. Our day concluded with a spectacular view of the port city of Haifa with the Bahai gardens in the foreground. Bahai is one of four major world religions that consider Israel a holy place. The other three are Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

Israel Birds Nature and Culture Tour from Naturalist Journeys — Photo Credit: Lori Cohen

That evening, we met our amiable group of 12 and received an overview of our upcoming tour: Israel Birds, Nature, and Culture. The tour route followed most of the country’s external borders. We often birded by barbed-wire fences marking the surrounding and sometimes hostile borders of the surrounding countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. We also birded in or next to former war zones, including the Golan Heights, Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Other birding spots included places restored after previously being drained to control malaria.

We skipped stones in the Sea of Galilee, watched wild Ibex roam and Griffon Vultures soar near the gravesite of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister. We observed thousands of Common Cranes migrating south into the Hula Valley near Lebanon, and floated in the Dead Sea – so relaxing and invigorating!

Over the 14-day span of this amazing tour, we saw 180 species of birds, including more than 100 “Life Birds” for Lori and me; 13 species of mammals, 13 species of reptiles and amphibians, 8 species of butterflies and a Giant African Mantis. Some of the bird species were in entirely new families for me, including four species of Sand Grouse, eight species of Wheatears, two Cisticolas, One Bulbul, two Reed Warblers, one Bustard, a Thick-knee, Hoopoe, and a Sunbird.

Nubian Ibex by Woody Wheeler
Sunbird by Woody Wheeler
Desert Wheatear by Woody Wheeler
Greater Hoopoe Lark by Woody Wheeler
Yellow Fan-Fingered Gecko by Woody Wheeler

Israel’s geology was a surprise highlight. Ein Avdat Canyon, Makhtesh Ramon Crater, The Great Rift Valley and red rock formations of the Arava Desert reminded us of landscapes in the American Southwest. Mt. Hermon with its 9,232-summit in Syria, and its western flanks playing host to Israel’s only ski area, is part of the famous Golan Heights. In contrast to towering Mt. Hermon and the Golan Heights, at 1400 feet below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth.

Jerusalem is a city like no other. Its sense of history, culture, and religious fervor resonates. The many who travel there from all over the world openly express their affection for this holy city.

Walking on the ramparts of the city’s historic wall was an ideal way to review the city’s complex history and enjoy expansive views of the past and present. Mark Twain once noted that Israel has more history and culture packed into a small area than any other place on earth. It also has world-class birding, natural history, geology, and as if all of this were not enough, outstanding food!

Israel book reccomendations: Apeirogon by Colum McCann; Birds of the Middle East by Abdulrahman Al-Sirhan, Jens Eriksen, and Richard Porter; Israel – a Concise History of a Nation Reborn by Daniel Gordis; The Lemon Tree – An Arab, a Jew, and the heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan.

Birding, South America

Birding Paradise: 5 Colossal Country Checklists & 2 High-Density Hotspots

October 21, 2022 Naturalist Journeys Leave a comment

Colombia is widely acclaimed as a birding paradise, home to 1864 bird species, more than any country on Earth. Its species range from South America’s largest, Andean Condor, soaring on wings 11.5 feet from tip to tip, down to tiny Gorgeted Woodstar, a hummingbird whose stubby wings produce a slow, bumblebee-like flight.

Though geographically smaller than fellow South American countries Brazil and Peru, which also make the “top 5 birdiest countries” list, Colombia beats both out for birds because of its ‘location, location, location.’ Bridging southern Central America and South America proper, Colombia is home to species that live in both regions, and to a stunning 83 birds that live no place else, among them 17 endemic hummingbirds!

The Andes are one of several topographical features that add to the species density in this birding paradise.
Buffy Helmetcrest is one of 17 endemic hummingbirds in Colombia. Photo Credit: Xavier Munoz
Colombian topography by Milenioscuro via Creative Commons

Birding Paradise Rankings

Here is how the top 5 ‘birding paradise’ countries rank for total numbers of bird species according to Birdlife International.

Colombia, 1864
Peru, 1861
Brazil, 1816
Indonesia 1722
Ecuador, 1622

Bonus: Two High-Density Hotspots

Having a high number of species is one way to measure “birdiest,” but another is the number of bird species per square mile. Both Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica score in the top 10 for “birdiest countries” by this measure. Tours to both of these countries are so pleasurable because the birding is easy and relaxing, with the potential to see a large number of species without significant travel between spots.

Trinidad and Tobago, 389
Jamaica, 199

Parlatuvier Bay is part of the UNESCO biosphere reserve in Tobago. Photo Credit: Hugh Simmons
Trinidad Ecotourism and the Scarlet Ibis are synonymous. Photo Credit: Lester Nanan
Jamaican Tody by Steve Shunk.

One attribute shared by these ‘birding paradise’ countries is their tropical location. For most plant and animal species, biodiversity is dramatically higher at the equator than at the poles, though there are many competing theories about why this “latitudinal diversity gradient” exists.

All of the top 5 are also large countries. The reason we offer three tours to Colombia because it would be impossible to see all of its impressive birds all on just one trip!

Beyond their tropical ecology and sizeable landmass, each of these ‘birding paradise’ countries has unique geographic and climactic features that support its particular suite of birds.

In this four-part series, we will discuss those factors, digging into what makes each a unique and inviting birding destination. In Part 1 we explore Colombia, in Part 2, Peru and Brazil and Part 3, Indonesia and Ecuador. In Part 4 we discuss Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, “high-density hotspots” that offer easy island birding and an exotic suite of species.

Colombia’s Geographic Diversity

Bridging Central and South America, Colombia is a land of geographic extremes, beginning with northern and western borders defined by extensive coastlines along both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The country is divided north to south by the towering Andes Mountains, descending to savannas and Amazon lowlands in the heavily forested interior. For obvious reasons, birding Colombia is an adventure that invites one to visit and revisit, exploring each birdy area in turn!

Our guide of the year, David Mehlman, encouraged us to bring back birding and nature tours to Colombia, and his enthusiasm for and knowledge of the country places you in very good hands when visiting to this birding paradise. Dave helped us devise the following three routes, and we may well add more in the future!

Colombia Birds & Nature in the Coffee Region

Jan 23 – Feb. 3, 2023 | $5,390 w/guide Dave Mehlman & January 24 – February 2, 2024

This tour explores the famous “Eje Cafetero,” designated by UNESCO as being a World Heritage Landscape and a haven for both coffee drinkers and birds.

Colombia birding paradise comes with Panama food and drink! — Coffee cherries are beautiful! Naturalist Journeys stock

We have easy access to renowned birding areas such as Otún-Quimbaya Flora and Fauna Sanctuary near Santa Rosa (with its famous flocks of Red-ruffed Fruitcrow) and the Rio Blanco Nature Reserve just outside Manizales, with a bird list of over 500 species and a legendary feeding station for antipittas.

Red-ruffed Fruitcrow, Alejandro Bayer Tamayo via Wikimedia Commons
Brown-banded Antpitta, by Greg Smith.

We also include time at high elevations at the Los Nevados del Ruiz volcano, where we experience permanent snowfields just north of the equator! This unique area of the Central Andes above tree line, covered in a vegetation type called páramo, is the habitat for many rare, unique, and difficult-to-find species. We look here for Buffy Helmetcrest, Andean Siskin, Stout-billed Cinclodes, White-throated Spinetail, and Plumbeous Sierra-Finch.

Our hotel here has natural hot springs, which you are welcome to enjoy as a guest if you’re not distracted by the numerous iridescent hummingbirds to be found at the feeders just outside! We naturally sample local coffees, and enjoy a cultural field trip to a coffee farm, and even have one cooking class, learning to make the famous Colombian dish called sancocho.

Colombian Amazon

Aug. 6 – 16, 2023 | $TBD from Bogota w/guide Dave Mehlman

Colombia’s Amazon may be best described from a naturalist’s perspective, as remote, difficult to access, and relatively unexplored by birders until quite recently. This is a magical trip where two of Colombia’s best destinations for birding in the Amazonian ecosystems collide, including the incredible Orinoco basin forest surrounding Puerto Inírida and the gorgeous, mystical Guianan Shield.

Fiery Topaz by Hectonichus via Creative Commons
Giant River Otter. Photo Credit: Bernard DuPont via Creative Commons
Turquoise Tanager by Glenn Chambliss
Golden-crowned Spadebill by Hector Bottai via Creative Commons
Collared Puffbird by thibaudaronson via Creative Commons
Gould’s Jewelfront by Bill Bouton via Creative Commons
Brown-banded Antpitta, by Greg Smith.

In 2020, our tour operator acquired 200 hectares of land near Puerto Inírida to establish an environmental reserve. This reserve involves the indigenous communities for the conservation of the wildlife that occur there and we are excited to meet these communities who are so involved in a successful ecotourism project.

We may see more than 400 species of birds, some of them considered among the rarest in Colombia. In addition to the bountiful birds we encounter, we are also on the lookout for special mammals like Yellow-handed Titi monkey, Pink River Dolphin, Giant River Otter, and many more!

Colombia Birding and Nature in the Central Andes

Nov. 7 – 18, 2023 | TBD (2022 price was $4690 DBL / $4990 SGL w/guide Dave Mehlman

We explore the terrain of the Central Andes which contains a diverse mix of coffee and other agricultural plantations, natural habitat, small towns, and world-class nature reserves. The birding is excellent with numerous species easily seen as we hike trails and visit bird feeding stations for hummingbirds, tanagers, toucans, motmots, and many more!

This tour includes a break in the middle to explore and experience the legendary “paisa” culture which Medellin and its surrounding department of Antioquia are famous for. We also explore the valley of the Magdalena River, Colombia’s largest, in search of water birds and other species.

We hope to see unique bird species found in few other places such as Yellow-eared Parrot, Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, Red-bellied Grackle, Golden-headed Quetzal, and manakins, tanagers, and flycatchers too numerous to count!

Next Up in Birding Paradise Part 2: Peru and Brazil

Group birding Bosque Yanahuanca Jaen, Peru. Photo Credit: Peg Abbott

Europe

European Birds Can be showier than a Murmuration of Starlings

September 23, 2022 Naturalist Journeys Leave a comment

Perhaps we should blame the poets for European birds’ unfair reputation for being drab and nondescript. After all, Edgar Allen Poe chose the monochromatic Raven to quote, and Percy Shelley wrote ‘To a Skylark’, a “little brown job” if there ever was one.

_{Raven, xulescu_g via Creative Commons}

Skylark is one of the most common European birds seen by birders on Naturalist Journeys' guided nature tours in Europe — _{Raven, xulescu_g via Creative Commons}

Maybe these men never got out of the sooty city with a pair of binoculars, because their melancholy might have been lifted by considering a Western Capercaillie, peering at an Atlantic Puffin, or getting off their foggy islands altogether to glimpse a turquoise flash of European Roller, or the rainbow buzz of a European Bee-eater. Many European birds have both character and flash!

Atlantic Puffin by Charles Sharp via Wikimedia Commons

We asked our guides to share with us European birds that guests always love to see there, featuring upcoming tours where you may cross the pond for your own look!

One bird that made all of the lists is the uncommonly beautiful Common Kingfisher, which, true to its name, can be found on all of Naturalist Journeys’ European birding and nature tours. There are 114 species of kingfisher on the planet, and the single kingfishers in European birds column is truly a dazzler!

A Common Kingfisher is among the European birds that Naturalist Journeys' birding and nature tours may see while birding in Europe — A Common Kingfisher with a bite in Italy’s Po River. Photo Credit: Luca Casale via Creative Commons

Another special, water-loving bird widespread on our European birding and nature tours is the Eurasian Spoonbill.

The Eurasian Spoonbillis among the European birds that Naturalist Journeys' birding and nature tours may see while birding in Europe — Eurasian Spoonbill is a guest-favorite feature of many of our European tours. Photo Credit: René Pop

Guide: Gerard Gorman; Tour: Lesvos, Greece: Migration April 22 – 29, 2023

This unpack-once jewel of a tour on the Greek island of Lesvos is one of five guided by one of the most highly regarded birding guides in all of Europe, Gerard Gorman, the author of two birding guides to Europe and seven books about woodpeckers, his personal passion! Our most recent Lesvos, Greece guests added handsome Middle-spotted Woodpecker two times to their species list, along with show-stopping European Bee-Eaters, gregarious birds recorded every day of the tour.

European Bee-Eaters are found on many tours, and always a guest favorite! Photo Credit: Gerard Gorman
Middle-Spotted Woodpecker, Frank Vassen via Wikimedia Commons
Woodchat Shrike, Ani Sarkisyan via Wikimedia Commons
Collared Pratincole, Greg Smith
Little Owl by Len Worthington

Other guest favorite birds of this tour included Collared Pratincole, Woodchat Shrike and Little Owl. (Little Owl is believed to be the source of the disinformation that owls are highly intelligent, as Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom, often carried one on her shoulder.)

Guide: Carlos Sanchez; Tour: Spain Birding and Nature, April 24 – May 7, 2023

Spain is strategically situated on one of Europe’s two principal flyways, and this spring migration tour gives great looks at many of the continent’s birds, including Spanish residents, migratory birds that breed in Spain and even northern European species that wintered in Africa and are headed home to pair up and nest.

Asked to share a few guest favorites, Carlos kindly gave us examples from the various legs of the tour:

“European Roller and Great Bustard are always favorites in the steppes (Caceres).”

Great Bustard. Gerard Gorman
European Roller by David Grabovac via Wikimedia Commons

“Eurasian Hoopoe and Eurasian Golden Oriole are also always big hits with groups, and they are fortunately quite widespread across our route.”

Eurasian Hoopoe has an exotic profile and a LOT of character. Alexandr Frolov, via Wikimedia Commons
Eurasian Golden Oriole is a guest favorite. Paco Gómez via Wikimedia Commons

“Other guest favorites include Egyptian Vulture and Spanish (Imperial) Eagle at Monfrague, Iberian Magpie in the dehesas.
White-throated Dipper on clear streams in the Gredos.”

Egyptian Vulture, Carlos Delgado via Wikimedia Commons
Iberian Magpie, José Prego via Creative Commons
Imperial Eagle, by Gerard Gorman
White-throated Dipper Ron Knight via Creative Commons

Guide: Chris Harbard; Tour: Ireland & Scotland Discovery May 17 – June 2, 2023

This fantastic cruise around the coastline and islands of Ireland and Scotland visits the very best of the British Isles with opportunities to see internationally important seabird colonies, and a wide range of other British and Irish birds as well as other wonderful wildlife. Seabirds don’t tend to be especially colorful, with the exception of Atlantic Puffin, which we hope to see in large numbers. Many are quite striking though, including Northern Gannet, Common Murre and Red-Billed Chough.

An Atlantic Puffin strikes a pose. Photo Credit: Gerard Gorman
Common Murre by Peg Abbott
Red-billed Chough by Dibyendu Ash via Creative Commons
Northern Gannet by Hobbyfotowiki via Creative Commons

Your guide for this tour, Chris Harbard, is a well-known British ornithologist who spent 24 years working with the world’s largest bird conservation organization, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Guide: Dave Mehlman; Tour: Iceland Birding and Nature June 13 – 27, 2023

No bird, however striking, will be able to compete with the gorgeous landscape of Iceland, including geysers, grand waterfalls, wildflowers, glaciers, mountains and seacoasts. Bird counts aren’t high here, but there are some great ones, including Atlantic Puffin, Red-throated Loon, Rock Ptarmigan, Eurasian Golden Plover and Red-Necked Phalarope.

Red-throated Loon by Don Faulkner via Creative Commons
Rock Ptarmigan males hold onto their white winter feathers longer to use as breeding plumage. Photo Credit: Jan Frode-Haugseth via Creative Commons
European Golden Plover by Ómar Runólfsson via Creative Commons
Female Red-necked Phalarope swimming and feeding by Greg Smith
White Wagtail. Naturalist Journeys’ Stock
An Atlantic Puffin strikes a pose. Photo Credit: Gerard Gorman

Guide: Gerard Gorman; Tour: Finland – Norway: Birding & Nature June 13 – 15, 2023

Finland and Norway and the next listed tour, share some of the same remarkable birds that migrate along the East Atlantic Flyway. Here are some that will be in both places mid-June, and below find a gallery of those particular to our Austria-Hungary tour. Our guests were delighted with our inaugural tour to Finland-Norway last year, and these birds were among their favorites to land on the species list. The Ruff is only seen on our Finland-Norway tour. The Capercaillie is also seen on our Scottish Highlands and Islands tours, next departure June 9– 21 (and yes, that Scottish Highlands tour features Atlantic Puffin. Who doesn’t love a puffin?)

Fighting Great Crested Grebes by Greg Smith
Bluethroat, by Gerard Gorman
Ruff, Gerard Gorman
Capercaille peeking above the tall grass. Photo Credit Olli Laminsalo via Creative Commons

Guide: Gerard Gorman; Tour: Austria–Hungary: Birds, Nature and Culture in the Heart of Europe June 19 – 30, 2023

Our route here takes us from Vienna to Budapest, visiting the many different and wonderful birding habitats in between, and accordingly there is a significant amount of culture on this tour. We also highlight the region’s other wildlife, plants, interesting heritage livestock breeds, and fine historic architecture. We enjoy local foods and even visit an old winery in Hungary! Many of the iconic European species can be seen on this tour. These three guest favorites are only seen on this tour: Red-crested Pochard, Common Cuckoo, and Red-footed Falcon.

Red-crested Pochard, Sandy Sorkin
Common Cuckoo, Vogelartinfo via Wikimedia Commons
Red-footed Falcon, Martin Mecnarowski via Wikimedia Commons
Eurasian Skylark, Daniel Pettersson via Wikimedia Commons

Guide: Gerard Gorman; Tour: Romania & Bulgaria: Black Sea Coast Migration Sept. 15 – 24, 2023

This wonderful fall migration tour offers chances to see many of the Eastern European species already mentioned, along with these client favorites that may also be seen on our Austria-Hungary tour: Hawfinch, Black Woodpecker, White-tailed Eagle, Northern Lapwing.

Handsome Hawfinch is unmistakable and unforgettable. Photo Credit Gerard Gorman
Black Woodpecker, taken by Gerard Gorman, who finds ALL the woodpeckers on this tour.
Northern Lapwing by Andreas Trepte via Creative Commons
White-tailed Eagle by Jari Peltomki via Wikimedia Commons
Common Cuckoo, Vogelartinfo via Wikimedia Commons

Guide: Gerard Gorman; Tour: Portugal: Fabulous Birding and Culture Oct. 8 – 19, 2023

Like Spain, Portugal is situated on the East Atlantic flyway, the bird superhighway connecting Scandanavia and West Africa. Many of the birds already mentioned may be seen on this fabulous tour. Dapper Red-legged Partridge and endemic Sardinian Warbler are two of many great reasons to sign onto this culturally rich tour.

Sardinan Warbler by Andreas Trepte via Creative Commons
Red-legged Partridge is a very stylish game bird. Photo Credit René Pop

Family Feature

Charismatic Kingfishers are Beloved BirdS – Just ask a Kookaburra!

September 9, 2022 Naturalist Journeys Leave a comment

Kingfishers are among the most charismatic and distinctive of all the bird families, with large heads and long pointed bills that contrast with their shortish legs and stubby tails. Even beginning US birders can confidently identify the brush-crested red-white-and-blue Belted Kingfisher, whose in-flight, rattling, streamside call is as unmistakable as it is thrilling.

The Belted Kingfisher is ubiquitous in North America in streamside habitats. Photo Credit: Peg Abbott
Green Kingfisher is at the top of its range in Texas and Arizona. Photo Credit: Tom Dove
RInged Kingfisher is the largest American kingfisher, twice the size of Belted Kingfisher.. Photo Credit: Ted Beedy

Belted Kingfisher is widespread in North America and may be seen on most of our Mainland US and Alaska tours. Our Southeast Arizona and Texas tours may see two more species, at the top of their North American ranges: Ringed Kingfisher and Green Kingfisher, who, like the Belted Kingfisher, perch and hunt along streams and rivers for their namesake lunch.

Like many kingfisher species, Green Kingfisher digs long tunnel burrows into stream banks, often rising in height before dropping down to their nests. Tunnel kingfisher nests often become quite befouled, perhaps because taking out the refuse would be such a long trip!

US birders traveling abroad are sometimes surprised to learn there are kingfishers who don’t eat fish at all! There are 114 species of kingfishers, and while they have similar forms, they are diverse and widespread.

Rufous-bellied Kookaburra is a Tree Kingfisher. Photo Credit: Greg Miles via Creative Commons.

Tree Kingfishers, sometimes called Wood Kingfishers, live in drier forests where insects and other small prey make up much of their diet. Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea’s charismatic kookaburras are examples of tree kingfishers, which predominate in Asia. The kookaburras are the largest of the kingfishers, ranging from 11 to 17 inches in length.

Our New Zealand guests often see Sacred Kingfisher, which mostly eats invertebrates, crustaceans, and the occasional lizard throughout its wide range in Australasia. Sacred Kingfisher is also seen by our Papua New Guinea guests, but it has a LOT of kingfisher company there. It was just one of eleven kingfishers our guests saw on their last tour there:

Azure, Brown-headed Paradise, Buff-breasted Paradise, Common Paradise, Hook-billed, Little Paradise, Sacred, Shovel-billed and Variable Dwarf Kingfishers, along with Blue-winged and Rufous-winged Kookaburra. You’ll notice some of these have longer tails, more beneficial rudders in the air than they would be in the water.

Kingfishers of Papua New Guinea

Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher by J.J. Harrison via Creative Commons
Spangled Kookaburra by Doug Janson via Creative Commons
Brown-headed Paradise Kingfisher by Marksharper1 via Creative Commons
Common Paradise Kingfisher by Francesco Veroni via Creative Commons
Hook-billed Kingfisher by Francesco Veroni via Creative Commons
Blue-winged Kookaburra by Greg Schechter via Creative Commons

Spangled Kookaburra is another species we may see on our Aug. 2 – 15, 2023 birding and nature tour to Papua New Guinea. That trip deserves its ‘Bucket List Birding’ title not just for its impressive suite of kingfishers, but for all the opportunity to see showy bird of paradise and bowerbirds, whose dramatic mating displays are a staple of David Attenborough-esque documentaries about bird behavior.

As one of its national symbols, the kookaburra is most commonly identified with Australia. Guests on our Queensland’s Wet Tropics birding and nature tour Aug. 13 – 22, 2023 there may see Laughing Kookaburra, whose eponymous call is a staple of soundtracks to movies set ‘Down Under’.

Laughing Kookaburra is a national symbol of Australia. Calistemon, via Creative Commons — Laughing Kookaburra looks amused. Photo Credit: Calistemon via Creative Commons

We may also see Blue-winged Kookaburra, which live in groups of up to a dozen individuals in open savannah and tea-tree swamps. Blue-winged Kookaburra is a “cooperative breeder,” meaning a nesting pair may get some help from other birds in its group with feeding and rearing young.

Kingfishers are Colorful Characters

Bright colors and striking patterns are hallmarks of kingfishers, exemplified by uncommonly beautiful Common Kingfisher, widespread in Eurasia and North Africa.

Common Kinfishers can be seen on many of Naturalist Journeys' European tours. — Common Kingfishers can be see on many of our European tours. Photo Credit: Tom Dove

This is always a WOW bird in the binoculars for our guests in Spain, one of whom described it as “an iridescent blue jewel.” Our next Spain trip, the very popular spring migration trip with guide Carlos Sanchez April 24 – May 7, is an excellent opportunity to look for Common Kingfisher, along with all the Africa-wintering European species moving through in great numbers at this time.

Another incredibly colorful kingfisher is the Malachite Kingfisher, which has been seen on all of our Africa tours, as it is widespread across the continent. One of the most irridescent of kingfishers, the Malachite’s shine, like a hummingbird’s glowing gorget, is the result of intricate feather structures called melanasomes rather than pigmentation in the feather itself, which accounts for their flash.

Africa is Kingfisher Heaven

Africa is a fabulous place to see kingfishers! Our most recent tour group to Tanzania saw seven kingfisher species, including one of the smallest, at less than five inches, the African Pygmy Kingfisher. Our next Tanzania Birding and Wildlife Safari is Jan. 30 to Feb. 11, 2023.

African Pygmy Kingfisher by Tom Dove — Tiny African Pygmy Kingfisher is less than 5 inches long. Photo Credit: Tom Dove

Our most recent trip to Botswana also saw a half-dozen kingfisher species, including Half-collared, Brown-hooded and Striped Kingfishers working the Chobe River, one of several water sources we visit on safari to encounter concentrations of wildlife, including lions, elephants, antelope and, of course, kingfishers!

Half-collared Kingfisher. Photo Credit: Grancesco Veronesi via Creative Commons
Striped Kingfishers were seen on both our most recent Tanzania and Botswana tours! Photo Credit: Peg Abbott
Brown-hooded Kingfisher by Derek Keats via Creative Commons.

Kingfishers are Ancient

Dating back 40 million years in the fossil record, kingfishers share the suborder Alcidines with the Central America’s todys, who share their stubby tails, and motmots, who took tailfeathers in an entirely different direction. Having a short tail is especially helpful for kingfishers that dive underwater, helping them turn and maneuver with less resistance.

Tody Motmot in Belize by Peg Abbott.
Trinidad Motmot. Photo Credit: Bob Hill

Catch, Kill, THEN Eat

Rather than risk indigestion, kingfishers won’t immediately eat fish that are still wriggling, especially large ones. They will instead either hold its prey until it suffocates or actively kill a fish by bashing it against a tree trunk or rock, as shown in this “Scoop of the Day” mini documentary about the Stork-Billed Kingfisher:

Kingfishers are Also Abundant in Asia

We have chances to see six or more kingfishers fishing in India, during a single cruise of the Sundarbans region on our March 10 – 23 Grand India Tigers & Glorious Birds tour: Stork-billed, Brown, Little Pied, Black-capped, Common, and Collared Kingfisher. The Peacock is India’s national bird, but its best-selling beer is Kingfisher!

Stork-billed Kingfisher can be seen on our India tours. Photo Credit: Dibyendu Ash via Creative Commons
Black-capped Kingfisher by Lakshmi Sharath via Creative Commons

Just north of India, the richly forested Kingdom of Bhutan is home to nine kingfisher species! We are taking an inaugural trip to Bhutan April 10 to 23: Biodiverse Bhutan: Birds, Mammals and Beyond. With luck we will see some of them darting into the many rivers that descend from Himalayan peaks, carving forested valleys.

pied Kingfisher by Annishaikh1990 via Creative Commons — Pied Kingfisher by Annishaikh1990 via Creative Commons

Kingfishers of Japan, Indonesia and Thailand

Among its many wetland species, in Japan we have chances to see up to 7 species and in Thailand, a full dozen. But there is no better Naturalist Journeys tour to see kingfishers than our Sept. 11 – 27, 2023 tour to Indonesia. In fact, you may add as many kingfishers to your life list as any other bird family. More than 50 kingfisher species can be found in Indonesia, including 16 endemics. Just wow!

Sulawesi Dwarf Kingfisher by Ariefrahman via Creative Commons
Great-billed Kingfisher by A.S. Kono via Creative Commons
Javan Kingfisher by Lip Kee Yap via Creative Commons

Bird Behavior, Family Feature

Owling is One of the Most Rewarding Reasons to Stay Up Late

August 12, 2022 Naturalist Journeys Leave a comment

Whoo Doesn’t Love an Owl?

Owling, aka owl-watching, is one of many family-based birding specialties, on par with hawk-watching, hummingbirding and kingfishering.

OK, we made up the term kingfishering, but the family Alcedinidae, the kingfishers, is another of the most beloved and “collected” in birding, and the subject of our NEXT blog.

But back to the Strigiformes and owling: the often dimly lit, (and let’s face it, frequently futile) search for nocturnal raptors whoo have captured the imagination (and cut into the sleep) of many an avid birder on vacation or birding tour.

True & Barn Owls: Strigidae & Tytonidae

Heart-shaped faces ID the Tytonidae, or Barn Owls, including this Lesser Sooty Owl found on our Australia: Queensland’s Wet Tropics tour. Photo Credit: JJ Harrison
A member of the “true owl” family Strigidae usually has a round head, like this Burrowing Owl, normally too hunkered down for such a clear shot as this one, by Senior Guide Greg Smith.

Our Queensland’s Wet Tropics Tour, Aug. 13 – 23, 2023, offers chances to see both the Lesser Sooty Owl and Rufous Owl.

Owls and Owling are Everywhere!

Ranging from 5 to 28 inches in length, owls are found on every continent save Antarctica and for millennia have been inspiring myths and legends of awe, fear and admiration.

Since most owls are either nocturnal or crepuscular, an owling trip is typically launched near dusk, a shot in the dark in more ways than one. Owl unpredictability is one thing that makes owling so satisfying when we do get see them. An owl sighting always feels as though fortune has smiled.

A cooperative Elf Owl is a marvelous thing on a Big Bend, TX tour. Photo Credit: Dave Mehlman

Here’s how guide Hugh Simmons narrated one Elf Owling foray in Texas’s Davis State Park:

“From recent negative reports, our chances of success didn’t seem high, but we managed to be in the right place at exactly the right time and were rewarded by brief views of two owls as they flew out from their daytime roost in a woodpecker hole in a wooden utility post – a very satisfactory end to the day!”

An Elf Owl photographed in Portal, Arizona, by Bettina Arrigoni, licensed through Wikimedia Commons.

We go searching for owls on every one of the six continents they inhabit, and they are always a guest favorite when we do manage to see them. Owls often have large faces, stocky bodies and soft feathers to help muffle their predatory flights. Let’s examine some of the owl characteristics that make them special, traits that can vary widely from species to species and place to place.

Are Owls Super Smart? Or Is It Just the Big Eyes & Glasses?

While there are MANY things to love about owls, their Western reputation for being super-intelligent is probably not deserved.

Spectacled Owl are among the night residents we see in Panama birding — Spectacled Owl. Photo Credit: Jerome Foster.

So while the large, tropical Spectacled Owl we frequently see on our Belize, Mexico and Central American tours may look like it just came back from the library, as a group, owls are considered to have below average intelligence. As fierce and mighty hunters, they more closely match up with their reputations among many Native American tribes as harbingers and bringers of death. Maybe the widespread availability of Owl Cams has influenced our opinion, but reducing owls to a caricature of killing machines seems a bit harsh!

The Wise Owl Myth, Explained

Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, reputedly carried a Little Owl on her shoulder, which she said helped her see in the dark and into blind spots, and that association may be how owls came to symbolize wisdom.

Athena and her “Little Owl,” she said helped her to see better. Photo Credit: The MET via Wikimedia Commons.

(Fittingly, we saw Little Owl in Lesvos, Greece on our most recent tour there with guide Gerard Gorman. For your own chance to see Little Owl in its homeland of legend, our Lesvos, Greece: Migration! tour returns in April of 2023.) Photo Credit: Len Worthington via Creative Commons.

Athena’s story checks out in that owls have superior low-light vision and hearing. But if you’re looking for the smartest of birds, those are the social ones, like the corvids and parrots, according to researchers. Frequent interactions may have honed social birds’ wits and enlarged their brains. Corvids also benefit from having “long childhoods,” continuing to live with their parents “in training” for up to four years!

Owls are Loners for Life

Meanwhile, owlets are born helpless and dependent, yet not long after they fledge, just weeks or months later, begin leading solitary lives.

This Spectacled Owlet is unmistakably a juvenile with its plumage! Photo Credit: Rhian Springett via Wikimedia Commons

While many people know that a gathering of owls is called a ‘parliament,’ they are such a lonesome and territorial species that it’s hard to imagine when the term might ever be needed in conversation.

Owls are Hunting Machines

Specialized hunters with massive eyes and highly developed and calibrated ears, owls devote almost two-thirds of their brain’s modest volume to the tasks of seeing and hearing, notes WorldBirds.com, leaving little capacity for learning new things.

Some Owls are Smarter Than Others

Nevertheless, some species do exhibit clever and creative feeding strategies, including the Burrowing Owl, often spotted on our Texas, Arizona and Oregon’s Woodpecker Wonderland tours. They routinely set out bait for their insect prey, including bits of fresh cow pies. When a dung beetle comes by attracted by the smell of lunch, they get eaten, University of Florida researchers say.

Owl Calls: Hoots, Hisses, and Who Cooks for You?

Another ingenious adaptation of the Burrowing Owl is its ability to mimic a rattlesnake’s rattle. The Burrowing Owl exhibits this rattly hiss in states like Arizona and Texas, where it competes for burrows with rattlers, desert tortoises and rodents like kangaroo rats and ground squirrels. Rather than excavating their own homes, Burrowing Owl prefers to steal and defend a burrow, and their snake-y vocal imitations help them do that.

For a more quintessential “hooting” call, the Great Horned Owl is the go-to soundtrack for moviemakers hoping to evoke a night in the woods. Widely distributed in North and South America, we frequently see this lovely owl in Arizona and Brazil, where our next tour to the Pantanal is Oct. 11–21, 2022. There are resident Great Horned Owls at one of our favorite accommodations in the world, the Casa de San Pedro B&B, where we stay on our Southeast Arizona Sky Island Fall Sampler Nov. 3 – 10, 2022.

Great Horned Owl taken on our Brazil’s Pantanal trip by Don Cooper.

One of the most iconic and unmistakable owl calls is “who cooks for you?,” which is what the Barred Owl seems to be saying. A North American owl, we often see Barred Owl on our Oregon and Texas tours. Though they hunt at night, they are more active during the day than many other owl species.

Horned, Long-eared and Short-eared: Not Really Ears!

The feather tufts sported by the Horned, Long-Eared and Short-Eared Owl are often mistaken for ears, though they are not even in the vicinity of their true ears. These articulated tufts on the tops of owls’ heads are believed to be part signaling device, part camouflage. Scientists have observed that Short-eared Owls, which we often see on our Journey to the Galapagos cruise (next departure with space Jan. 15 – 27, 2023), tend to be found in more open areas, like grasslands and near the ocean. Longer-tufted owls, like the Long-eared Owl, which we have chances to see on our Nov. 5 – 11 California Birding and Wine tour, tend to live in forests, where a more exaggerated profile may be needed to distinguish them from denser surrounding foliage.

Owling is a family-specific type of birding — Short-eared Owl by Howard Topoff.

Real Owl Ears are Hidden, Sometimes Offset and Always Amazing!

If someone who is observant is said to be hawkeyed, someone with keen hearing should be called owl-eared, because owls have BOTH the best low-light vision and hearing of any bird. The flat, disc-like faces are part of its hearing toolkit, directing sound to its true ears, which can be found behind the eyes and beneath their feathers. Many owls have ears that are offset, which they use to triangulate which direction a sound is coming from.

What the Color of Owl Eyes Tells Us

Besides being extremely large and cylindrically shaped so as to best capture light, owl eyes come in a variety of striking colors. The color of an owl’s eye is connected to what time of day they are hunting. The darkest of eyes denotes a night-time hunter, orange eyed-owls tend to be crepuscular —hunting at dusk or dawn — and those with yellow eyes are the diurnal, daytime owls.

To give just one example, yellow-eyed Snowy Owls are daylight hunters. Their soft white feathers provide camouflage and sound-o-flage, helping them sneak up on their prey in broad daylight. Even their feet are covered with feathers, soft slippers to help muffle the incoming threat of sharp talons. We hope to see Snowy Owl on our Alaska tours and our Washington Winter Birding tour, next departure Jan. 20 – 28, 2023.

Snowy Owl feathers even cover their feet to help muffle the sound of their approach. Males and older birds may be all white, while females have more brown mottling. Photo Credit: Greg Smith

Largest, Smallest, and Not-That-Quiet

Because they are exceptions, not only in their huge and small size, we’ve saved for last the largest and smallest owls, which share the unusual trait of being uncharacteristically noisy.

The Great Gray Owl is the longest of owl species, averaging up to 28 inches in length. Anyone who has seen this majestic owl, like our Yellowstone National Park guests often do, comes away with a sense of wonder (and some great photos, too! No telephoto needed with a bird this large.)

Great Gray Owl taken on our Yellowstone National Park tour by guest Gary Stone.

But the endangered Blakiston’s Fish-Owl is considered the world’s largest owl, because it us much more massive, with females weighing up to 10 pounds, and because its wingspan, which can surpass 6 feet, is the largest of any owl. We have great opportunities to see this highly range-restricted bird on our Jan 9 – 23, 2023 Japan Birding and Nature tour, along with Red-Crowed Crane and Japanese Snow Monkey. Since Blakiston’s Fish-Owl’s prey is underwater, being silent isn’t as important, which helps explain why their feathers aren’t as soft and downy as owls that hunt mammals.

At the other end of the spectrum, the smallest and arguably the cutest of all owls is the Elf Owl, which is always a treat for our guests on Texas Big Bend & Hill Country tours as well as our Southeast Arizona tours. Standing about 5 inches tall and roosting in tiny stolen cavities, the Elf Owl is very active and very noisy around dusk, when its persistent peeping offers helpful clues to bird guides trying to find them!

Elf Owl are among the birds and animals we may see on our Arizona birding and nature tours. — Elf Owls are cavity nesters, offering them protection from the chill of desert nights. Photo Credit: Woody Wheeler

Elf Owls do have soft feathers on the leading edge of their wings, so they can be quiet when they want to. Though they are desert dwellers, they prefer riparian habitats.

Uganda and Tanzania are very Owly

We have not yet mentioned Africa, which would be a terrible oversight, because the continent has some wonderful owl species. Our Uganda and Tanzania tours in particular are great places to see owls, including Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl which can be seen on both! Our next Uganda tour with space available is Grand Uganda: Fabulous Birds and Mammals, July 15 – 31, 2023. Our next Tanzania Wildlife and Birding Safari tour is Jan. 30 – Feb. 11, 2023.

Butterflies, Central America

Honduras Bird and Butterfly Guide Author Robert Gallardo Knows Beautiful Flying Things

July 29, 2022 Naturalist Journeys Leave a comment

He is your double expert guide for Texas Birds & Butterflies Nov. 1 – 9

To say that Robert Gallardo is doing something unprecedented on his little piece of bird-and-butterfly-guide paradise in Emerald Valley, Honduras would be to use the singular when the plural is what’s called for.

Crowning a series of recent triumphs, Robert expects sometime this year to publish with his partner Olivia The Butterflies of Honduras, a volume that represents many firsts in itself. Among those firsts are several new species Robert had a hand in identifying in the past few years, including one he named this year after his mother, Eleanor’s Emesis: a bright orange metalmark with merlot and iron spots.

Emesis Eleanorae, in the journal Tropical Lepidoptera Research.
Named for Robert’s mother, Eleanor Gallardo.

Robert said he suspected immediately that it was an undiscovered species, and is only one of a handful of people in Central America with enough knowledge to be that confident. He’s on the leading edge of a growing but still exclusive group of naturalists who can claim the title of ‘butterfly guide,’ which is just like being a bird guide, only much, MUCH harder!

Bird and Butterfly guide Robert Gallardo withpartner Olivia — Robert and Olivia Gallardo. The couple lives in Emerald Valley where they protect 50 acres of rich mid-elevation rainforest and are working to install a nature center with their Pro Nature Honduras Foundation.

Quietly fluttering anywhere from ground-hugging flowers to the sky-scraping canopy, butterflies can be quite tiny and hard to locate, which is the first step to identification.

“Once you get your eyes trained to see hummingbirds, the next step is butterflies,” he said. “When you can spot butterflies half an inch across from 100 feet away, then hummingbirds are easy.”

Our Texas Birds and Butterflies guests will enjoy his tips for finding and identifying both kinds of beautiful flying things! Co-guiding this trip is Bryan Calk, a Texas native and a splendid photographer. This is one of the most exciting and well-matched guide pairings all year long.

Texas Birds and Butterflies with guides Robert Gallardo & Bryan Calk

Texas Birds & Butterflies, Guides Robert Gallardo and Bryan Calk

Nov. 1 – 9 | $2,890 from Corpus Christi

Arrive early for Texas Butterfly Festival Oct. 29 – Nov. 1 or stay on for the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival Nov. 9 – 13!

“Butterflies are a lot harder than birds,” Robert said, noting that in Honduras there are twice as many butterflies as birds — and they don’t vocalize to help you narrow the identification down.

“It’s like trying to ID the Empidonax flycatchers, multiplied by ten, and only a tenth the size,” he said. “That’s why there are very few specialists in the entire region.”

Butterflying Etiquette

It is a good idea to scan butterflies as quickly as possible for identifying marks, partly because they may fly away, but there’s also a chance a bird or another insect will swoop in and turn it into lunch.

“We’ve seen birds, jumping spiders, and robber flies catch butterflies we are watching,” Robert said. “It’s fun, it’s part of the butterflying experience.”

There is more collecting of specimens in butterflying than there is in modern birding, Robert said, especially when they may be needed to help identify a new species.

The fact that Robert, Olivia and four of their own friends have in the past year discovered and named new butterflies has something to do with how fervent and devoted they are to wandering these wild forests, with a light net and a light heart.

But it also speaks to an environment of less investment in conservation and cataloging of species in Honduras than, say, Costa Rica, which is a darling of international funders who perceive its government as more stable and protective of its environment, Robert said. As a result, there haven’t been as many scientists looking here, so there are more discoveries left to find.

Our butterfly guide for Mexico Monarch Migration is Dave Mehlman

Go to: Mexico Butterflies & Birds w/guide Dave Mehlman Feb. 12 – 19

Born in California, Robert came to Honduras on a Peace Corps mission in 1993, bringing a freshly printed degree from Humboldt State in Natural Resources Planning. When his three-year Peace Corps tour ended, Robert decided to stay on and make his home there. Teaching himself the local flora and fauna, he has become Honduras’s most celebrated expert on both birds and butterflies.

Bird and Butterfly guide Robert Gallardo as a child — Robert’s California boyhood.

Continuing his long list of “firsts,” Robert and Olivia’s Butterflies of Honduras is the first butterfly guide to catalog the more-than-1250 species found there, and the first butterfly guide of its kind to use only images taken within the country rather than bringing in pictures from neighboring countries where they are also seen.

It is also an ambitious butterfly guide in that it is more than pictures and names – every species has a text description and notes. Contemporary butterfly guides written about Costa Rica, for example, only include some of the six butterfly families, omitting the tricky ‘hairstreaks’ and ‘skippers’, which live in the harder-to-observe canopy.

“There is nothing out there like this,” Robert said of his and Olivia’s butterfly guide. “It was quite an undertaking,” he added with a laugh.

butterfly guide and bird guide author Robert Gallardo has Honduras Covered! — His Birds of Honduras has been published in English and Spanish!

Their Foundation Pro-Nature Honduras is currently attempting to raise the $17,500 it will take to do a limited first printing, through the non-profit auspices of The Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation. The expectation is that it will be printed some time this year. Robert used the same fundraising model to produce the Birds of Honduras.

And the butterfly book isn’t even Robert and Olivia’s most ambitious iron in the fire. They are also in the process of developing a 50-acre property in Emerald Valley as a tourist-friendly research center that will double as a center of education and training for ecotourism operators.

Bird and Butterfly guide Robert Gallardo receiving an award — Robert at the Birds of Honduras book launch.

They will offer several butterfly photography tours this year, including one specializing in rare crepuscular (dusk and dawn) butterflies.

Annual Butterfly Festival Expands in 2023

Their Honduran Butterfly Conservation Tour (formerly the Emerald Valley Butterfly Festival) is another “first” as the only one of its kind in Latin America. The upcoming Jan. 5 – 11, 2023 festival will be the fourth annual, and it will be supercharged this year, with teams of international experts flying in to lead festival-goers in exploring Honduras’ Lake Yojoa region, home to some 1,000 butterfly species!

“Quite the big achievement taking into consideration that Costa Rica has not ever been able to pull one off,” Robert said.

One by one as funds are available, they are building upscale cabins that will comfortably house tourists, researchers and students. They’ve already brought enough power to the site to develop a small village.

“Our mission is to promote sustainable tourism and nature tourism, show the people how to sustainably use this finite resource we have been given,” Robert said. “We want to be an example.”

Creature Feature: 6 Butterfly Family Portraits

Learn below about the six butterfly families: The Swallowtails (Family Papilionidae); Brush-Footed Butterflies (Family Nymphalidae); Whites and Sulphurs (Family Pieridae); Gossamer-Winged Butterflies (Family Lycaenidae); and Skippers (Family Hesperiidae). Photos by Robert Gallardo; info gleaned from ThoughtCo.com, and quotes also attributed to ThoughtCo.com

butterfly guide shows this one as Anastrus meliboea — Anastrus meliboea. Photo Credit: Robert Gallardo

Skippers

Named for their quick, skipping flight, Skippers are different than most butterfly species in that they have robust thoraxes, which make them resemble moths. Their antennae are also hooked at the end, rather than clubbed. Skippers tend toward drab browns or grays, with white or orange markings.

The butterfly guide says this one is a Anteros micon — Anteros micon. Photo Credit Robert Gallardo

Metalmarks

A tropical butterfly, they are rare in the US, and are named for the metallic markings on their wings.

butterfly guide says this one is arcas cypria — Arcas cypria. Photo Credit: Robert Gallardo

Gossamer-winged Butterflies

Small, quick and tricky, this group includes the hairstreaks, blues, and coppers. Hairstreaks live mainly in the tropics, while blues and coppers can be found most often throughout the temperate zones. Small with sheer wings often colorfully streaked.

butterfly guide says this one is Catastica nimbice — Catastica nimbice. Photo Credit: Robert Gallardo

Whites and Sulphurs

Small to medium white and yellow butterflies, often with orange or black markings. They have three pairs of walking legs, unlike the brush-foots, which have shortened front legs. “Most whites and sulphurs have limited ranges, living only where legumes or cruciferous plants grow.”

butterfly guide says this one is Callicore texa — Callicore texa. Photo Credit: Robert Gallardo

Brush-Footed Butterflies

“The brush-footed butterflies comprise the largest family of butterflies, with some 6,000 species described worldwide and just over 200 species in North America. Many members of this family appear to have just two pairs of legs. Take a closer look, however, and you will see the first pair is there, but reduced in size. Brush-foots use these small legs to taste their food. Many of our most common butterflies belong to this group: monarchs and other milkweed butterflies, crescents, checkerspots, peacocks, commas, longwings, admirals, emperors, satyrs, morphos, and others.”

butterfly guide says this one is Neographium thyastes — Neographium thyastes. Photo Credit: Robert Gallardo

Swallowtails

Medium to large butterflies with a large tail-like appendage make up this showy group. “Not all members of the family Papilionidae have this feature. Swallowtails also boast wing colors and patterns that make species identification fairly easy. Though about 600 Papilionidae species live worldwide, less than 40 inhabit North America.”

Guide Profiles

Naturalist Journeys Guide of the Year, 2021 – 2022 is Dave Mehlman

July 15, 2022 Naturalist Journeys Leave a comment

We are pleased to recognize the outstanding talents and above-and-beyond contributions to our company over the last year. David Mehlman has inspired clients on many wonderful outings! He reminds us of just why we work hard in the office — it’s FUN to empower great guides to do what they do best.

Through this most challenging pandemic year+ we are thrilled to help people connect with nature and discover the wonders of our world firsthand. In keeping with our focus on birding and wildlife, the award year runs from spring to spring.

For this inaugural, annual award, Dave is the clear winner! He has received the first pick of tours for the next season, and a $2000 grant for continued learning and enrichment. Congratulations Dave.

Dave (second from right) with guests on the Laguna Meadows Trail in Big Bend. Photo Credit: Naturalist Journeys Stock.

Meet Dave Mehlman

Dave is a naturalist with interests in birds, migration, ecosystems and natural disturbances, plants, and gardening. He holds a PhD from the University of New Mexico. Dave worked for The Nature Conservancy for 25+ years as Director of its Migratory Bird Program. He has published several dozen papers in scientific and popular journals.

How Do We Pick a Guide of the Year?

Fifteen criteria were used to select the Naturalist Journeys Guide of the Year. David was repeatedly strong in each area, from knowledge to demonstrated leadership skills under pressure (In addition to Covid affecting meals and various logistics, he coped with fires closing Big Bend National Park for two days and another fire closing half of the hiking trail at Isle Royale National Park, after rough lake winds delayed their ferry!)

Dave with an award from Partners in Flight, a conservation organization that advances full life-cycle conservation of landbirds in the Americas.

He topped the charts for preparedness, going over each detail with our office meticulously. He mentored new guides and is always timely on sending the office Trip Reports and Species Lists after each tour. He assisted our office with preparation of tour materials when staff numbers were low.

Dave Brought Back Columbia

David brought Colombia back into our calendar with three new routes in the coming year, helping us chart a partnership with a new operator.

He brought real joy to some of our favorite lodges in Belize with a private trip we did for the New Mexico Ornithological Society, and he revived a tour from our past, New Mexico Nature and Culture, adding his special southwestern expertise, as he is based in Albuquerque. Always willing to learn and explore, Dave pioneered time on the Apostle Islands on our Great Lakes series of tours. He posted great live-time social media from his tours.

And he has many repeat clients! Two trips are coming right up and there is still space for YOU.

Veracruz, Mexico: River of Raptors & More

Oct. 15 – 26, 2022 | $ 4290 with Dave Mehlman

Hawks a-plenty riding the thermals on their way to parts south hug the coastline of Mexico, and Veracruz has a LOT of coastline. Photo Credit: Dave Mehlman

Veracruz is the site of the largest hawk migration on the planet, with up to 1,000,000 hawks and other passerines riding the thermals in a “River of Raptors” on their way to parts south. We see a spectacular range of other birds here as well, thanks to the dramatic topography that rises from Gulf Coast beaches to rainforest and then cloud forest. We bird them all!

Our guests will enjoy several cultural experiences along with spectacular birding, exploring archeological and cultural areas like the Totonac sites of Cempoala and Quiahuiztlan and the ruins of Hernan Cortez’ first house in the new world, a tour of the renowned Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa, with its extensive collection of pre-colonial Mexican artifacts; and a visit to a shade-grown coffee plantation.

New Mexico Nature & Culture

Dec. 4 – 11, 2022 | $ 2690 with Dave Mehlman

Bosque del Apache with migrants. Photo Credit: Bryan Calk

New Mexico is an amazing place: for birds, for sunsets, for iconic Southwest landscapes, plants and animals, for vibrant Pueblo culture and the chance to find unique artistic gifts! That combination makes this New Mexico: Nature and Culture tour the perfect place to spend the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The winter solstice has great significance to Pueblo cultures, and our home bases in Albuquerque and Taos have special events to celebrate this festive time of year. This is also perhaps the best time of the year to avoid crowds eager to bird the varied habitats of Bandelier National Monument and Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. We stay at top-rate accommodations full of charm, visit outstanding geological and archeological sites, national monuments, historic trading posts, and modern galleries. Our feedback was fantastic from our inaugural trip last year, which Dave helped to design! You’ll love it.

Dave Mehlman’s “Top Choice” 2023 Trips

January

Colombia: Birding & Nature in the Central Andes, Los Colores & Balandu Jan. 23 – Feb. 3

February

Mexico Butterflies and Birds February 12-19

New Mexico Nature and Culture dates and price TBD

March

Guyana: Unspoiled Wilderness March 19-31

April

Western Panama: Tranquilo Bay April 9-16

Texas’ Big Bend Birding and Wildlife April 24 – May 1

May

Birding Canyon Country: Zion, Bryce Canyon & Grand Canyon National Parks, Southwest Parks May 7-15

June

Iceland June 13-22

When the Guide of the Year picks a trip, that is a great inside travel tip! These are all fabulous trips.

Asia

Let Asia Amaze You

June 30, 2022 Naturalist Journeys Leave a comment

Marvel at Japanese Snow Monkeys and Red-crowned Cranes on this Japan Birding and Nature Tour

Cranes have long been considered a symbol of good fortune in Japan, and not just the famous dancing Red-crowned Cranes that, along with this island nation’s charismatic hot-spring-loving Snow Monkeys, helped to inspire our Winter 2023 Japan Birding and Nature Tour Jan. 9 – 22.

Dancing Red-crowned Cranes and Japanese Snow Monkeys are highlights of Naturalist Journeys' Japan Birding and Nature Tour — Red-crowned Cranes and Japanese Snow Monkeys are the centerpieces of this Japan Birding and Nature tour. Photo Credit: Alastair-Rae, via Creative Commons

Red-crowned Cranes and Japanese Snow Monkeys are the centerpieces of this Japan Birding and Nature tour — *Japanese Snow Monkeys are the Northernmost non-human primates in the world. Photo Credit: Snow Monkey, 猿蔵, via Creative Commons*

As every Japanese school child knows, the meticulous labor of folding 1000 origami paper cranes is said to grant the folder one heartfelt wish. So how did cranes become a symbol for good luck and so deeply ingrained in the Japanese imagination?

origami red-crowned cranes — Origami Cranes. Photo Credit: The Original CTBTO Photostream via Creative Commons.

It all starts with the Japanese climate, which is in a word, wet, with average annual precipitation nearly double the world average. Monsoons, typhoons and heavy winter snowfalls contribute moisture to marshy alluvial plains, ecologically rich wetlands reinforced by the widespread planting of rice fields. All combined, it is tremendously beneficial habitat for cranes and other waterfowl.

Rice fields add to available wetland for crane habitat. Photo Credit: At-by-At by Creative Commons
While wintering cranes tend to forage variously, in family groups, pairs, and singly, they roost in larger groups with unrelated cranes. Cranes, swans and deer near Otowa-bashi bridge, Setsuri-gawa River, Hokkaidō, Japan. Photo Credit: Julie Edgley via Creative Commons

We expect to see many species of crane on this tour, including the Siberian population of Sandhill Crane, a species well-loved by US birdwatchers. We will see many White-naped and Hooded Cranes, which make up the majority of the 15,000 cranes that overwinter in Japan.

Demoiselle Crane. Photo Credit: Ken Billington.
Siberian Cranes by Bernard Dupont via Wikimedia Commons
Hooded Cranes. Photo Credit: Francesco Veronesi, via Creative Commons
White-Naped Crane. Photo Credit: Alastair Rae via Creative Commons

But we also hope to see Common, Siberian and Demoiselle Cranes at the Crane Observation Centre in Izumi, along with many other attractive water birds peeking out from the waving reeds, including Reed, Rustic, Chestnut-eared and Ochre-rumped Buntings. If we are both lucky and good, we may spot a flock of Chinese Penduline-tit, handsome masked songbirds found cavorting with groups of Reed Bunting.

Reed Bunting. Photo Credit: Ken Billington via Creative Commons
Chinese Penduline-Tit. Photo Credit: Jerry Gunner via Creative Commons

But the show-stoppers and the trip-inspirers are without question the Red-crowned Cranes, which we travel to see in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of the Japanese archipelago. Once endangered but now common, we promise great looks at these impressive and dramatic birds.

Red-crowned Cranes with Juvenile. Photo Credit: Yamaguchi Yoshiaki via Creative Commons
Red-crowned Crane display. Photo Credit: Matthias Kabel via Creative Commons.
Red-crowned Cranes overwinter in Japan. Photo Credit: Isiwal via Creative Commons

Red-Crowned Cranes may stand more than 5 feet tall, with 8-plus feet wide wingspans, which helps explain why they loom so large in the cultural imagination, a dominant recurring symbol in Japanese, Chinese and Korean painting, sculpture and ceramics. In addition to good luck, Red-crowned Cranes symbolize longevity and fidelity. It is said that they live 1,000 years and mate for life, though only half of this conventional wisdom is verifiable.

Red-crowned Cranes are on Japanese money.
Red-crowned Cranes are on Japanese money. Photo in public domain from Emperor Huizong of Song
Baekja Ceramic. Photo Credit: Taman Renyah via Wikimedia Commons
The Beijing Palace Museum is home to this work of Bamboo and Cranes. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

By visiting in the winter rather than the nesting season, we get the best of both worlds. They would be territorial and thus spread out during breeding, but congregate more gregariously during the time of our visit. Fortunately for us, the Red-crowned Crane’s ostentatious dance display is not confined to the breeding season and happens year-round to reinforce pair bonding. So, we may have the opportunity to witness Red-crowned Cranes’ mirrored dancing, which is normally preceded by a series of mutual calls, heads tipped back with bills towards the sky.

There are other treasures to be had in Hokkaido; other species who brave the wintry cold, including the largest species of owl, Blakiston’s Fish Owl, with larger females topping out at around 10 pounds! If we are very fortunate indeed, we may see Blakiston’s feeding in a neighboring pond or river as we enjoy a nighttime outdoor soak in the thermal waters at our onsen, a traditional hot springs resort.

Blakiston’s Fish Owl. Photo Credit: Takashi Muramatsu via Creative Commons.
Arctic Loon. Carley, Curtis via Wikimedia Commons
Copper Pheasant would be quite a feather in our caps…this bird is reclusive! Photo Credit: KKPCW via Wikimedia Commons
Japanese Serow. Photo Credit: Alpsdrake via Wikimedia Commons
Blakiston’s Fish Owl. Photo Credit: Koichi via Wikimedia Commons
Moungain Hawk-Eagle. Photo Credit: Mike Prince via Wikimedia Commons

Moving from the marshy lowlands to the Japanese Alps, we find the other centerpiece of this Japanese Birding and Nature tour: Japanese Snow Monkeys, the northernmost non-human primate population in the world.

If you are asking yourself ‘What are monkeys doing living in the snow?’ sometimes it seems this troupe of macaques are asking themselves the same thing as they huddle together for warmth in snowy treetops, and park themselves over naturally occurring thermal vents on the forest floor. Their third method of staying warm has led to the most iconic photos of the Snow Monkey troupe: soaking in the hot springs that villagers of Jigokudani constructed especially for them.

Macaque onsen. Photo Credit: Asteiner via Creative Commons
Japanese Macaque. Public domain photo via Wikimedia Commons.

On our one-mile hike to take in the Japanese Snow Monkey’s antics, we may see Coal, Varied, Willow, and Japanese Tits, Goldcrest, and Eurasian Siskin. We also take in Zenkoji Temple, one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in Japan, on this leg of the tour. Japanese architecture and cuisine are delightful sidelights to the productive birding and nature we will find in Japan, with the Red-crowned Crane and Japanese Snow Monkey viewing taking center stage.

Varied tit at Tennōji Park in Osaka, January 2016.
Japanese Tit by Alpsdake via Creative Commons
Goldcrest by Alpsdake via Creative Commons.

Your guide for this tour is Bryan Shirley, who lived for three years in Japan in his early 20s and fell in love with its nature and culture. He has been returning to bird and to guide ever since. To learn more about this 15-day, 14-night Japan Birding and Nature tour Jan. 9 – 22, 2023, email us at travel@naturalistjourneys.com or call us at 866-900-1146.

Bird Behavior, Birding, Migration

World Migratory Bird Day: 5 Trips for the Ultimate Migration Experience

May 14, 2022 Naturalist Journeys Leave a comment

World Migratory Bird Day is a global campaign dedicated to introducing the public to migratory birds and ways to conserve them. This year’s goal is to reduce the impact of light pollution on migratory birds. To commemorate this day, here is a list of 5 Naturalist Journeys guided nature tours where you’ll surely find migrating birds.

Maine’s Monhegan Island

September 9 – 16, 2022 & September 17 – 24, 2022

Experience the joy of fall migration from Maine’s beloved Monhegan Island, a natural migration hotspot! Migrating birds flying south can get off track and find themselves at dawn out at sea. Once they correct, the almost two-mile-long island is a magnet, a patch of green where they can land for food and shelter.

This privately-owned island welcomes birders to enjoy its 350 acres of trails protected by a local conservation organization.

Notable Species: American Redstart, Northern Parula, Swainson’s Thrush, and over 25 species of warbler!

American Redstart
Northern Parula
Swainson’s Thrush
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler

South Texas: Fall Migration!

October 9 – 16, 2022

As one of the greatest birding destinations in the United States, South Texas boasts over two dozen tropical bird species that spill across the border. During our October tour, we arrive at the height of the fall migration of raptors and other neotropical species.

Notable Species: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Harris’ Hawk, Hooded Warbler

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
Harris’ Hawk (Delsa Anderl)
Hooded Warbler

Portugal: Fabulous Birding & Culture

October 12 – 24, 2022

Fall migration in Portugal runs from August into early November and our timing on this birding tour is perfect for arriving waders, waterbirds, and raptors. Enjoy refreshing temperatures, stunning cultural sites, delicious meals, and a wide array of coastal species.

Algarve, Portugal is a notable stop on this trip and is a region rich in protected wetland areas and migrating birds. and is situated on a major fly-way for migrants from Africa. Birding stops here will include the complex network of canals, saline flats and salt pans of the Castro Marim Nature Reserve and the Tavira area of Ria Formosa Natural Park.

Notable Species: Black Stork, Griffin Vulture, Spotted Flycatcher, Great-spotted Cuckoo

Black Stork
Griffin Vulture
Spotted Flycatcher
Great-spotted Cuckoo

Veracruz, Mexico: River of Raptors & More

October 15 – 26, 2022

Our exciting Mexico birding tour to Veracruz, known as the migration crossroads of the Americas, explores the intersection of diverse biological realms, and sites of historical encounters between peoples of the old and new worlds. Not only will you get the chance to explore the world-renowned Veracruz River of Raptors, the largest hawk migration site on the planet, but you’ll find yourself at a major migration pathway for passerines, butterflies, and dragonflies.

Each fall, Veracruz hosts 4-6 million migrating raptors on their way to their winter dwellings. This includes 200,000 Mississippi Kites, which is nearly the entire world population!

Notable Species: Broad-winged Hawk, Mississippi Kite, Cooper’s Hawk, Black Vulture

Black Vulture
Broad-winged Hawk
Mississippi Kite

Platte River Cranes

March 12 – 18, 2023 & March 19 – 25, 2023

Each year, half a million Sandhill Cranes descend upon Nebraska’s Platte River. By March, nearly 80% of the world’s population crowds a 150-mile stretch of the river, creating a migration spectacle that is simply mind-boggling to witness. This is the largest gathering of cranes anywhere in the world!

As the state of Nebraska proudly claims, “Some people regard Nebraska as a place you cross on the way to a more interesting place. About a million sandhill cranes disagree.”

Notable Species: Sandhill Crane, Snow Goose, Bufflehead (Winter Resident), Northern Shoveler (Winter Resident)

Sandhill Cranes
Snow Geese
Northern Shovelers
Buffleheads
Migrating Sandhill Cranes

To find out more about WMBD’s mission and how you can positively influence the lives of thousands of migratinging birds, visit their website:

Home

Discover 13 Cranes on 5 Continents with Naturalist Journeys in 2023

Birds in the Crane Family are Large and Loud

Cranes Can Dance When They Want To

Cranes in Profile

Crane Habitat (and Most Cranes) are Threatened

Cranes of Japan – Three Likely, Six Possible Species

Cranes of Australia: Two Possible Species, Sarus and Brolga

Bhutan: Migratory Black-necked Crane is Possible

Africa, A Great Continent for Cranes: Four of Six Possible Species on Tours in South Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Botswana

Wattled Cranes: South Africa & Botswana tours

Africa Tours with Crane Family Chances:

Common Crane: Possible in Africa, Much More Likely on Europe and Israel Tours

Two Cranes Call the US Home: Sandhill & Whooping

How You Can Help Protect Cranes

A Guest Blog From Guide Emeritus Woody Wheeler

Birding Paradise Rankings

Bonus: Two High-Density Hotspots

Colombia’s Geographic Diversity

Colombia Birds & Nature in the Coffee Region

Colombian Amazon

Colombia Birding and Nature in the Central Andes

Next Up in Birding Paradise Part 2: Peru and Brazil

Guide: Gerard Gorman; Tour: Lesvos, Greece: Migration April 22 – 29, 2023

Guide: Carlos Sanchez; Tour: Spain Birding and Nature, April 24 – May 7, 2023

Guide: Chris Harbard; Tour: Ireland & Scotland Discovery May 17 – June 2, 2023

Guide: Dave Mehlman; Tour: Iceland Birding and Nature June 13 – 27, 2023

Guide: Gerard Gorman; Tour: Finland – Norway: Birding & Nature June 13 – 15, 2023

Guide: Gerard Gorman; Tour: Austria–Hungary: Birds, Nature and Culture in the Heart of Europe June 19 – 30, 2023

Guide: Gerard Gorman; Tour: Romania & Bulgaria: Black Sea Coast Migration Sept. 15 – 24, 2023

Guide: Gerard Gorman; Tour: Portugal: Fabulous Birding and Culture Oct. 8 – 19, 2023

Kingfishers of Papua New Guinea

Africa is Kingfisher Heaven

Kingfishers are Ancient

Kingfishers are Also Abundant in Asia

Kingfishers of Japan, Indonesia and Thailand

Whoo Doesn’t Love an Owl?

True & Barn Owls: Strigidae & Tytonidae

Owls and Owling are Everywhere!

The Wise Owl Myth, Explained

Owls are Loners for Life

Owls are Hunting Machines

Some Owls are Smarter Than Others

Owl Calls: Hoots, Hisses, and Who Cooks for You?

Horned, Long-eared and Short-eared: Not Really Ears!

Real Owl Ears are Hidden, Sometimes Offset and Always Amazing!

What the Color of Owl Eyes Tells Us

Largest, Smallest, and Not-That-Quiet

Uganda and Tanzania are very Owly

He is your double expert guide for Texas Birds & Butterflies Nov. 1 – 9

Butterflying Etiquette

Annual Butterfly Festival Expands in 2023

Creature Feature: 6 Butterfly Family Portraits

Skippers

Metalmarks

Gossamer-winged Butterflies

Whites and Sulphurs

Brush-Footed Butterflies

Swallowtails

Meet Dave Mehlman

How Do We Pick a Guide of the Year?

Dave Brought Back Columbia

Dave Mehlman’s “Top Choice” 2023 Trips

Marvel at Japanese Snow Monkeys and Red-crowned Cranes on this Japan Birding and Nature Tour

Maine’s Monhegan Island

September 9 – 16, 2022 & September 17 – 24, 2022

South Texas: Fall Migration!

October 9 – 16, 2022

Portugal: Fabulous Birding & Culture

October 12 – 24, 2022

Veracruz, Mexico: River of Raptors & More

October 15 – 26, 2022

Platte River Cranes

March 12 – 18, 2023 & March 19 – 25, 2023

Our Adventures in Nature, Birding, and Ecotourism www.naturalistjourneys.com