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What’s New at TB?

High Island (Texas)All of April 2012For the fifth consecutive year, TropicalBirding will be teaming up with theHouston Audubon Society (HAS) at thismigration hotspot to bring FREE dailyguided walks both in the sanctuarieson High Island, and also at the latestcoastal and inland waterbird hotpots.So if you wish to experience the thrillof migration birding for the first time,then shoot down to High Island, whereTropical Birding will be based for theentire month. Join guides such as IainCampbell, Sam Woods, Susan Myers,Scott Watson, and others as they treadthe boards of legendary sites. HAS BoyScout Woods is a magnet for migrantlandbirds, and HAS Smith Oaks is hometo High Island’s famous rookery, whichbecomes of hive of activity in April asmasses of spoonbills, herons, andegrets arrive to nest.

Florida’s Birding & Photo Fest (St. Augustine, Florida)25–29 April 2012Tropical Birding will be both guidingand presenting at North America’sforemost birding and photography fes-tival. Presentations will be on a varietyof topics, including introductions tounderstanding the whirlwind of springbird migration in North America, hum-mingbirds, and both shorebird andwarbler presentations which explain

basic identification issues and intro-duce some of the best locations to seethem them in the US. Many of the Trop-ical Birding team will be present, fromoffice staff such as Desirée D’Sylva(head of Asia and Africa operations),María Estela Corral (head of SouthAmerica and Australasia operations),Pablo Cervantes (Tandayapa BirdLodge manager and TB Photo Safarileader), and Cristina Campbell (long-suffering wife of Iain Campbell, and TBGeneral Manager), to TB guides such asIain Campbell, Keith Barnes, and ScottWatson.

New Tours Coming in 2013:Early in 2012 the TB team will get to-gether for the preparation of our 2013catalog, (available beginning in earlyspring 2012). The catalog is already inthe early stages of preparation,though, with new tours being plannedalready for Cambodia and Laos (thinkGiant Ibis and Mekong Wagtail), Vietnam (think Bar-bellied Pitta andGray-crowned Crocias), Tibet (thinkPink-tailed Bunting and Tibetan Eared-Pheasant), Southeast China (thinkCabot’s Tragopan and Spoon-billedSandpiper), the Philippines (endemicsgalore, including Palawan Peacock-Pheasant and Steere’s Pitta), Sulawesiand Halmahera (think Purple-beardedBee-eater and Wallace’s Standardwing),Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (thinkSevertzov’s Tit-Warbler and Pander’sGround Jay), and an exciting range ofnew cruises (see below).

TB’s 2013 Cruises: In 2013 we will be offering four differ-ent cruises for those who have caughtthe seabirding bug...

Antarctica, the Falklands, and SouthGeorgiaThis “classic” Antarctica cruise com-bines a visit to see the spectacularlandscapes, penguin colonies, andSnow Petrels of the Antarctic Peninsulawith side trips to the Falkland Islandsand South Georgia for local endemicbirds (Striated Caracara, Cobb’s Wren,and South Georgia Pipit), interestinghistorical sites (Shackleton’s grave), andyet more penguins (some quarter of amillion King Penguins on South Geor-gia, for instance!). The open seas of theSouthern Ocean will also offer somecool seabirds like Blue Petrel and thegiants of the albatrosses (Wanderingand Royal), along with a real chance ofwhales and dolphins in the fabledDrake Passage.PLEASE NOTE: This is also offered in2012 too (5 – 24 February).

The Galápagos of the SouthernOcean: the Subantarctic Islands ofAustralia and New Zealand This cruise offers an amazing pelagicexperience. Expect a wealth of petrelsand albatrosses, from the massive nest-ing Southern Royal Albatrosses to themassive concentrations of offshoreseabirds which may include 14 differ-ent kinds of albatross. Penguins arealso prevalent, with Royal, SnaresCrested, and King penguins headlininga stellar cast. PLEASE NOTE: This is also offered in2012 too, (10 – 21 December).

UPCOMING TB EVENTS

What’s Changed at TB?

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Extreme close-ups with albatrosses are the norm

in the Subantarctic Islands (Keith Barnes)


What’s New at TB?

Wrangel Island: Across the Top of WorldThis cruise into the Arctic will see uschasing after two of the most impres-sive mammals on our “Frozen Planet”.We’ll search ice floes for the bloatedbodies of Walrus, and along the way,hope to spot the Arctic’s top predator,the Polar Bear. We expect a myriad ofalcids, along with Snowy Owls, Em-peror Geese, and other fascinatingmammals like Gray Whales, Musk Ox,and Reindeer.

Western Pacific OdysseyThis extraordinary cruise combines rareseabirds such as Beck’s, Gould’s, Black-winged, and Tahiti petrels, and Short-tailed Albatross, with island visits forremote endemic landbirds, Kagu andCloven-feathered Dove on New Cale-donia, Rennell White-eye and Finsch’sPygmy-Parrot on Rennell, and Claret-breasted Fruit-Dove and Yellow-ventedMyzomela in the Solomons. The com-bination of visiting remote wildernessislands and searching for rare and localseabirds makes for an exciting experi-ence.

More TB Photo Safaris in 2013:This fast-growing subgenre has takenoff considerably since its launch, anddue to the growing demand we haveexpanded our core offering of set-de-parture photo safaris. In addition to ourregular Ecuador (Hummingbirds, Tan-agers, and Landscapes of the Andes),South Africa (Birds, Blooms, and BigGame), East Africa—Kenya and

Tanzania (Birds and Game Abound),Australia (Rosellas, Roos, and Emus:The Best of Australia Through YourLens), and Texas (Warblers, Waders,Waterbirds, and the Rio Grande) photosafaris, we are adding some new desti-nations for 2013...

Ecuador: The Amazon Macro Special.While photographing the birds of theAmazon can be challenging, you willstill walk away with plenty of birdshots. However, the real fun in theAmazon jungle is the myriad of butter-flies, frogs, and insects which providesendless, quality photo shoots for fansof macro photography.

Madagascar: An enticing combinationof macro photography (with a wealthof bizarre geckos and colorfulchameleons) along with photo shootsof strange endemic birds foundnowhere else and the ever-photogeniclemurs of the “red island”.

Japan: The Wintering Eagles andCranes of Hokkaido. Japan in winteris a spectacular sight to behold, withmassive Steller’s and White-tailed sea-eagles perched on ice floes and scenesof thousands of cranes crammed into asingle field of view. On top of that, thetour also visits staked out feeding

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Funky frogs make for excellent subjects on an Ecuador Amazon Photo Safari (Iain Campbell)

Madagascar offers not only strange endemic birds and lemurs, but a host of colorful chameleons for the

ideal photo safari (Iain Campbell)


What’s New at TB?

ponds for the massive Blakiston’s Fish-Owl, one of the largest and most pho-togenic owls on the planet.

Taiwan: This Asian island was oncecalled Formosa, meaning beautiful.While the island is undoubtedly that,and offers landscape shots aplenty, it isa vastly underrated destination for birdphotography. A growing crop of keenTaiwanese photographers havechanged the “game” on the island,making formerly difficult species likemajestic Swinhoe’s and Mikado Pheas-ants straightforward and easy to pho-tograph by virtue of newly establishedfeeding stations. A host of other color-ful and striking endemic birds alsoawait, from the dashing Taiwan BlueMagpie to the friendly Flamecrest.

In addition to these completely newphoto safaris, we have modified ourBrazil Photo Safari to now include anirresistible search for the strikingJaguar, arguably the biggest draw inthe Brazilian Pantanal. The tour also of-fers a wealth of waterbirds for an unfor-gettable photo shoot.

Latest TB Developments

2012 Tour Updates

The following tours are running andstill have spaces available. Pleasecall the office on 1-800-348-5941 or1-409-515-0514 for further details,or e-mail María Estela and Desirée [email protected]

Sri Lanka: Ceylon Sojourn21 February–5 March 2012More than 30 endemics are on offer onthe “teardrop of India”. There’s a realchance to see them all, including suchthrillers as Red-faced Malkoha, CeylonMagpie, and Ceylon Junglefowl . . . notto mention the jewel-like Indian Pitta.

Eastern Ecuador: High Andes to Amazon25 February–10 March 2012Experience everything from the HighAndes with its soaring condors andbeautiful hillstars, down to the Amazonwith its antswarms, well-placed canopytowers, and bustling parrot licks.

Costa Rica: The Introtour10–20 February 2012 and 10–20 March 2012A great introduction to Neotropicalbirds, offering good lodges and a sub-stantial bird list packed with many ofthe families that define the region: col-orful tanagers, cryptic woodcreepers,glistening hummingbirds, and much,much more. This tour covers the bestof Costa Rica, from the high páramo allthe way down into the lowland rain-forests of La Selva and Carara.

Northeast India: Assam and Eaglenest13–28 March 2012Often referred to as “Bhutan on abudget”, this area is much more, offer-ing many of the most highly-desiredHimalayan birds, such as tragopans,myzornises, liocichlas, laughing-thrushes, cutias, and a host of localizedbabblers. An exciting extension offersgame viewing of rhinos and elephants.

Texas Photo Safari: Warblers, Waders, Waterbirds,and the Rio Grande31 March–9 AprilThis tour covers some impressive sitesfor photography. We beinn at a ranchnear the Rio Grande where roadrun-ners, caracaras, Green Jays, Pyrrhulox-ias, and thrashers all come well withinshooting range at special feeding sta-tions. The trip ends at migrationhotspots on the Upper Texas Coast, of-fering rookeries packed with spoon-bills and egrets, as well as irresistiblewarbler and shorebird shoots.

Tanzania: Birding Among the Beasts2–14 April 2012 This dramatic tour offers an eclecticcombination of big game and colorfulAfrican birds in full breeding regalia.The plains of the Serengeti and the im-pressive setting of Ngorongoro Craterwill provide some fantastic mammalwatching opportunities. The recentcalving of the Wildebeest on the plainswill draw in the top predators of thearea and give us a great shot at Chee-tahs, Lions, and hyenas coming in forthe promise of a kill. In addition to thebig game, rare and highly-desired birdslike Beesley’s Larks and Usambiro’s Bar-bets are also possible during this clas-sic African safari experience.

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Latest TB Developments

We could not resist adding this beast to our Brazil Photo Safaris for 2012 & 2013 (Iain Campbell)


What’s New at TB?

Colorado: Chasing Chickens fromPrairie to Mountaintop21–29 April 2012This tour of the Centennial State istimed for when grouse are at theirmost active and photogenic. Comicaldisplays of Greater and Lesser prairie-chickens, Greater and Gunnison sage-grouse, and Sharp-tailed Grouse will bethe focus on this tour, which coversboth the prairies and the mountains.The latter should yield flocks of rosy-finches and maybe even the whitestbird on the planet, the very approach-able White-tailed Ptarmigan, as it walksthrough the snow.

China: Sichuan and Tibetan Plateau 26 May–16 June 2012Sichuan boasts not only some of thebest food on any TB tour, but also themagnificent mountain scenery ofBalang Shan, a host of Chinese en-demics, and a number of flamboyantpheasants that are rightly prized assome of the greatest avian treasures inAsia.

Northwest Ecuador: In Search ofChocó Endemics

1–14 July 2012This is a very popular tour for world lis-ters and endemic hunters, as it visitsone of the most diverse and endemic-rich ecosystems in mainland SouthAmerica. If you have dreamed of Plate-billed Mountain-Toucans, Toucan Bar-bets, Tanager Finches, a bunch of coolendemic hummers, and Technicolortanagers, then this is the tour for you.

Brazil Photo Safari: Pantanal, Jaguars, and the Chapada5–15 August 2012This tour focuses on the largest wet-land on Earth: the vast and bird-packedPantanal, which abounds with largephotogenic species like Jabirus, Sun-bitterns, and Southern Screamers,along with the humungous HyacinthMacaw, the largest parrot in the world.Several nights are also dedicated tosearching for, and photographing, themightiest predator in Brazil, the Jaguar.

Brazil: Atlantic Forest Introtour13–20 October 2012This short introduction to the endemicrich region of the Atlantic rainforest of-fers a multitude of tanagers, cool

antbirds, and glistening humming-birds, many of which can only be foundin this special and rare habitat withinsoutheast Brazil.

Madagascar: The Eighth Continent1–17 November 2012The “Red Island” is like nowhere else:120 endemic bird species and 5 em-demic bird families. On top of that is amyriad of other otherworldly wildlife,from giant and colorful chameleons tocryptic geckos, and of course, the com-ical lemurs. This tour rightly appeals toall kinds of wildlife enthusiasts.

South Africa Photo Safari: Birds, Blooms, and Big Game1–19 November 2012South Africa is a stunning country thatoffers photographers amazing photoopportunities, from the spectacularblooming proteas of the Western Capeto the big game of Kruger NationalPark and the mindblowing landscapesof the Drakensberg. There will beplenty to fill numerous memory cardshere.

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Rufous-headed Ground-Roller: one of many endemic birds and animals on offer in Madagascar (Nick Athanas)


Tour Summaries

Malaysia: the Peninsula and Borneo(custom tour)September–October 2011Sam WoodsThis was a long customized tour cover-ing the very best sites on mainlandMalaysia and within the Malaysianstate of Sabah on the endemic-rich is-land of Borneo. Due to a combinationof sheer good fortune and the doggeddetermination of the couple whojoined me for this tour, we racked upnot only a good bird list (bolstered bya healthy number of Bornean en-demics), but also an extraordinarymammal list of more than 50 speciesduring this near month-long tour. The mainland section yielded some of

Southeast Asia’s most wanted birds,from the Malaysian Rail-Babbler,Banded Pitta, and Large Frogmouththat performed so well in the steamylowland jungle of Taman Negara, to theFire-tufted Barbet and Red-headedand Orange-breasted trogons thatposed for photos in the pleasantly coolhighlands of Fraser’s Hill (one of my all-time favorite birding destinations). Thecoastal mangroves and woods aroundKuala Selangor will be remembered forthe bold and striking Barred Eagle-Owl,seen day-roosting in the area, and forthe fact that I had somehow forgottento bring my camera!Moving onto Borneo, we were quick topick up one of its most wanted and

enigmatic birds, the Bornean Bristle-head, a group of which showed wellfrom the magnificent canopy walkwayin Sepilok, and appropriately was lo-cated from the “Bristlehead Tower”. Themost impressive setting of the tourcame in Borneo Rainforest Lodge, setwithin the lush lowland dipterocarpforest of the Danum Valley Conserva-tion Area. We were treated to not onlythe wonderful comfort of this impres-sive lodge, but also to a star-studdedcast of both birds and mammals, in-cluding a male Blue-headed Pitta, astunning Blue-banded Pitta thatshowed “at the death” thanks to thecanny work of our lodge guide, a braceof endemic wren-babblers, and the

Recent Updates From the Field

OK, the birds were truly amazing in Borneo, but this Clouded Leopard was simply unbeatable! (Sam Woods)

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Tour Summaries

regular troop of Crested Firebacks pa-trolling the lodge grounds daily. Ar-guably, this visit may be bestremembered for the memorable mam-mals, like the far-from-small BorneanPygmy-Elephant that blocked the roadon the way in, to the bug-eyed WesternTarsier seen on our first glorious night,to the daily sightings of Borneo’s mostfamous primate, the “Old Man of theForest”, the Orangutan. But the bestsighting of all was of a bold CloudedLeopard that we watched sleepingpeacefully, between bouts of keepingan eye on us, for almost two hours onemorning near the lodge. Lastly, we visited the endemic-richslopes of Mount Kinabalu, which pro-duced a healthy batch of birds includ-ing the strikingly beautiful Whitehead’sTrogon and the much-desired KinabaluFriendly Warbler. A foray downslope tothe rafflesia center of Tambunan led useventually to the striking Whitehead’sSpiderhunter, which we watched ex-tensively as it foraged in some scarlet-colored canopy blooms. We also hadrepeated looks at the often elusiveBornean Barbet. An impressive list of over 400 birdspecies included 7 trogons, 8 pittas, 9kingfishers, 7 hornbills, 21 woodpeck-ers, 5 broadbills, and over 40 babblers.This will be a Malaysia tour that I willnot forget in a very long time!

Our next Borneo tour is running 24 June - 9 July2012; demand is so high forthis mammal & endemic-packed tour next year, wemight even lay on a seconddeparture

Sam’s standout bird from the Borneo tour was this ultra-confiding Oriental Bay Owl (Sam Woods)

Fact: Black-and-crimson Pitta is the easiest of the endemic pittas in Borneo (Sam Woods)


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Tour Summaries

Australia’s Top End: Victoria River to Kakadu,and Eastern Australia: from Top toBottomOctober–November 2011Nick LesebergOctober is always a big month for Trop-ical Birding in Australia, and this yearwas no different. With a short Top Endtour followed straight up by our 19-dayEastern Australia set-departure, it wasa long month, and luckily the birds de-livered. We recorded 208 species onthe Top End trip, and 434 on the East-ern Australia trip, with a combinedtotal of nearly 500 species. That is wellover half of the species possible in Aus-tralia, and close to 70% of the speciesthat you could reasonably expect torecord in Australia, so it’s fair to say wedid well!Our Top End trip started in Darwin,with plenty of common species likeRainbow Lorikeet, Radjah Shelduck,and Magpie Goose, as well as the mon-soon forest specialties such as Red-headed Honeyeater, Large-tailed

Nightjar, and Australian Yellow White-eye. Moving south to Kakadu we founda large party of the exquisite Hooded

Parrot near Pine Creek, then over twodays in Kakadu picked up most of thespecialties including Chestnut-quilledRock-Pigeon, Banded Fruit-Dove, Sand-stone Shrike-Thrush, White-lined Hon-eyeater, and a pair of stunningRainbow Pittas. Our morning cruise onthe Yellow Water billabong was typi-cally outstanding, with Black Bitternand Little Kingfisher the highlights.From Kakadu we pushed southwestinto the dry savannas and sandstoneescarpments of the Victoria River re-gion for a fantastic couple of days. Thebirds kept on coming, with ninespecies of finch in one day: Crimson,Long-tailed, Masked, Double-barred,Star, and the gorgeous Gouldian Finch,plus Chestnut-breasted, Yellow-rumped, and Pictorella (rare) munias.The final highlight of our time in thesouthwest Top End was perhaps thehighlight of the trip: one of the world’srarest raptors, a Red Goshawk, stand-ing guard over a fluffy chick. Moving over to Eastern Australia, ourluck held during the week out ofCairns, with a long and distinguishedlist of amazing birds. Golden Bower-

This female Southern Cassowary lingered at close quarters for some time near Cairns


This male Golden Bowerbird was observed tending to his bower in Queensland

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bird, Southern Cassowary, Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher, Superb,Wompoo and Rose-crowned fruit-doves, Victoria’s Riflebird, PiedMonarch, and Black-throated Finchwere just a few of the birds we pickedup as we birded the rainforests, wood-lands, and wetlands of north-eastQueensland.Leaving Cairns we went south to Bris-bane for a couple of days in the tem-perate rainforests of southeastQueensland. As usual, we were greetedby gaudy Regent Bowerbirds andCrimson Rosellas on arrival, and overthe next couple of days managed to doquite well, picking up a displaying Par-adise Riflebird, Australian Logrunners,and Rose Robins during the day, whileone night we tracked down the eeriegobbling of a Marbled Frogmouth.While at Lamington we also had jaw-dropping views of what was latervoted bird of the trip, an unbelievablyobliging Noisy Pitta, which perched upand gave us walk-away ‘scope views.From Brisbane we flew to Sydney forthe “high-octane” section of our trip, anintense six days of birding throughoutNew South Wales. Starting in the Royal

National Park, right on the doorstep ofSydney, we scored point-blank views ofthe immense Yellow-tailed Black-Cock-atoo and one of Australia’s mostwanted birds, Superb Lyrebird. Theycall Australia the land of parrots, and aswe moved west into the drier inlandwe started to see why. We picked upEastern Rosella, Pink Cockatoo, Red-rumped Parrot, Blue Bonnet, Budgeri-gar, and Turquoise Parrot on our way toa trip total of 28 species of parrots andcockatoos.We braved hot and windy conditionsto bird the mallee at Round Hill, findinga small party of that little blue jewel ofthe inland, Splendid Fairywren, beforeheading south to Griffith for PaintedHoneyeater. We then continued to Hay,where we joined Phil Maher for ourPlains-wanderer tour; not only did wefind both a male and female of thisenigmatic species, but we also pickedup Inland Dotterel, Banded Lapwing,and, amazingly, Australian Painted-snipe, one of Australia’s rarest and mostdifficult birds.Our tour finished with a flourish as wemoved on to Tasmania for the last twodays. The weather which to this point

had been kind turned a little nasty. Webattled rain and wind, but we still man-aged to get all of Tasmania’s breedingendemics plus a host of other birdswhich are more easily seen on this is-land. Pink Robin, Hooded Plover, CapeBarren Goose, Little Penguin, and acouple of albatross species were ofnote.And so my long but exciting monthcame to an end. It was a fantastic fourweeks and a trip I’d love to repeat nextyear. The weather conditions this yearwhich ensured good breeding seasonsacross the country are forecast to con-tinue, so if you are thinking about a tripto Australia, 2012 might be the year todo it!

Tour Summaries


Our next tours of Australiaare running 6 - 14 October2012 (Top End) & 15 Oct - 2Nov 2012 (Eastern). If youwant to get over half ofAustralia's birds in under amonth then come join us!

Rainbow Bee-eater is a common bird in Australia and guaranteed on our tour of the east

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Tour Summaries

Namibia and Botswana (custom tour)November 2011Christian BoixIt was on the slopes of MountCameroon (in West Africa), whilst cling-ing to his stave and after clenchingCameroon Olive Pigeon, MountCameroon Speirops, and half a dozenMountain Saw-wings, that a plan washatched for the next trip to be some-where sunnier, flatter, but similarly ex-citing. Biased as I am on my choice ofbirding destinations, a year later Igreeted a group in Windhoek, Namibia. Among the many memorable birds ofthe trip I highlight the raucous covey ofOrange River Francolins that took aheart-wrenching hour to track down;the industrious Cape Penduline Titsnest-building at Avis dam; the excite-ment of finding not one, but thirty-sixBurchell’s Coursers, eight Ludwig’s Bus-tards, several Dune Larks, and a SouthAfrican Cliff Swallow in Sossusvlei; and

the rewarding find of a pair of HereroChats at Spitzkopp, in the same terri-tory I “twitched” my first one 20 yearsago. Every gorgeous White-tailedShrike, Crimson-breasted Shrike ,andan old favorite, Monteiro’s Hornbill,were also much appreciated. Further highlights include every mo-ment spent photographing a family ofBlack-faced Babblers feeding theiryoungsters near Grootfontei, and thesunset ballet display of a pair of skim-mers along the Kavango River. Acolony of Southern Carmine Bee-eaterstaking to the air was hard to beat, aswas the deafening sound of 5,000Open-billed Storks calling and soaringabove our heads. An elegant pair ofWattled Cranes was seen at Mahango,as was a flock of 23 Blue Cranes atEtosha. Other memorable moments in-cluded nailing down the near-mythicalSouza’s Shrike, nearly capsizing ourboat in the excitement as a small groupof Angola Swallows flitted overhead,

and finding a hulking Pel’s Fishing-Owlday-roosting. Etosha and its still-flooded pan held afeast of shorebirds, waterbirds, terns,gulls ,and flamingos that dwarfed anyprevious experience I can recall ofgathered waterbirds anywhere in myworldly travels. Words cannot describethe numbers we witnessed, and fromtheir midst we found a few scarcitiessuch as Gull-billed Tern, a late record ofthe rare Black-winged Pratincole,hordes of African Painted Snipe, severalGreen Sandpipers, and a LesserGallinule. The final count tallied a handsome 430species in 18 days, racking up all butone of the possible endemics and de-livering 70% of the extravagant targetson the group’s tough wish list. How-ever, arguably the best part of this tripwas not the birds, but the remarkableenvironments in which we foundthem. These included the toweringsand dunes at Sossusvlei, the magnifi-

Namibia offers more than just a set of cool mammals & birds; scenery and strange animals like this Palmatogecko may feature too (Christian Boix)


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Tour Summaries

Recent Updates From the Fieldcent Spitzkoppe Inselberg and ErongoCrater, the rich, diverse, and vibrantEtosha Pan, teak woodlands, and pa-pyrus-rimmed channels in the Oka-vango Delta of Botswana. Each of thesehabitats and environments held aunique allure and brought with it pe-culiar species, all of which combinedfor a truly memorable trip with amaz-ing landscapes, rare birds, and indeli-ble memories.

Our next Namibia & Botswanatour is scheduled for 8 - 23 September 2012

The scenery in Namibia is one of the great appeals of this southern African country (Christian Boix)

Dune Lark occurs within some of Africa’s most spectacular desert settings in Namibia (Christian Boix)

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Tour Summaries

Madagascar: the Eighth ContinentNovember 2011Scott WatsonIf you are the type of birder who cravesendemics, then Madagascar is whereyou want to be. About half of the birdsyou see on this Indian Ocean Island canbe found nowhere else (about 115species). On top of that there are 6 en-demic bird families to keep the familylisters happy. This set departure tour(one of two TB ran this year) did not in-clude the northwest and the HemetVanga extension, but we were highlysuccessful in the areas we covered.From the hustle and bustle of birdingaround Tana, we moved south into the“other-worldly” spiny forest. Those in-terested in unique plants and animalswere in awe here. One morning wefound the seldom-seen Lesser Hedge-hog Tenrec, followed by the impressiveLong-tailed Ground-Roller. These wereboth found just after we saw the weirdSubdesert Mesite. Not only are all thespecies endemic, but they are eachmembers of endemic families. There

are few places in the world where youcan see endemic families of both birdsand mammals in quick succession. From the spiny forest we travelledcross-country through deciduous tran-sitional forest surrounded by impres-sive sandstone rock formations, andinto the lush mountainous rainforestsof the east, where Madagascar Pygmy-Kingfishers buzzed by our heads andBrown Mesites lurked in the depths.

The range of habitats covered ensuredthat we found most of the island’s en-demics, and this year was no excep-tion. We were highly successful infinding and seeing members of the sixendemic families including; all fiveground-rollers, two species of mesite,Cuckoo-roller, three asity species, 18vangas, and 10 of the Malagasy war-blers. I must also mention the ninecoua species, each of which gave in-credible views. But this tour was muchmore than birds. Add the 20 species oflemurs we found, from the diminutiveMouse-Lemurs to the huge, wailing In-dris of Perinet, and things becameeven more interesting. Tack on the 25species of reptiles we saw, fromchameleons to leaf-tailed geckos, andwe got to truly appreciate the other-worldy nature of Madagascar.Throughout the tour we travelled byplane, bus, 4×4, boat, zebu cart, andpousse pousse, all in the pursuit of get-ting into the right place to see the is-land’s incredible wildlife. Madagascar istruly a different world, and one youhave to see to believe.

Our next lemur, chame-leon, and bird-loaded tourof Madagascar is schedu-led for 1-17 November2012

One of the most distinctive members of an endemic Malagasy family: Sickle-billed Vanga (Scott Watson)


Verreaux’s Sifaka; just one of the approachable lemurs in Madagascar (Scott Watson)

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Tour Summaries

Northwest Ecuador: in Search of Chocó EndemicsNovember 2011Andrés VásquezThis trip is one of the best birding ex-periences possible in Ecuador, as itcombines the well-developed birdingareas easily reached from TandayapaBird Lodge with the wild birding of thepristine Chocó lowland forest pro-tected by the Playa de Oro community.No less impressive was the birding onoffer in two newly discovered spots inthe region (Chical Road and La UniónRoad), which were also key to us accu-mulating a substantial number of en-demics. One of the well-traveledparticipants said, “I've been on severalbirding trips to tropical countries, butthis was the best trip to date!”The trip itself is a circuit that starts andends in Quito, visiting some of themost remote and wild places of north-west Ecuador with the target of findingnot only the more reachable Chocó en-demics that we can get in the Tan-dayapa area, but also some of therarest of the endemics and other spe-cialties that occur only in the more re-mote pristine lowland tropical forests,

now confined to the coastal provinceof Esmeraldas. This area is also home toan enigmatic species, the Sapayoa, abig target of this trip which we gotwith ease. The species is highly desiredbeing the only member of a familywhich apparently has its closest rela-tives in the Broadbills of the old world.We did this circuit in twelve days, bird-ing over six well marked ecosystemscorresponding to different altitudinalbelts, each one with its own set of spe-cial birds to target. As a summary, weregistered a grand total of 476 speciesand 59 different families. This included53 Chocó Endemics, with 19 of theseseen in one exceptional day of birdingat Mashpi! Highlights and favorites of the trip in-cluded the aforementioned Sapayoa,plus Five-colored, Orange-fronted, andToucan barbets; Ocellated, Spotted, Bi-colored, and Stub-tailed antbirds;Chocó Toucan; Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan; Purplish-mantled, Scarlet-and-white, Golden-chested, Moss-backed,Blue-whiskered, Lemon-spectacled,and Glistening-green tanagers; Yellow-green and Dusky bush-tanagers; Red-billed and Brown-billed scythebills;Tooth-billed, Blue-chested, and Violet-bellied hummingbirds; Velvet-purple

Coronet; Guayaquil, Scarlet-backed,Lita, Chocó, Cinnamon, and Crimson-bellied Woodpeckers; eight species ofantpitta seen well; great views andphotos of the enigmatic OcellatedTapaculo; and a photogenic Yellow-col-lared Chlorophonia. Apart from that we had some wonder-ful experiences like riding a canoe onthe Santiago River through pictur-esque villages, watching local peoplebathing in the river, and enjoying viewsof crystal-clear waterfalls droppingfrom steep, forested banks falling dra-matically into the main river. We can-not forget either the breathtakinglandscapes we found on the the shoresof the Pacific Ocean or on the majesticslopes of the Andes. This trip had it all!!

Our next endemic-fueledtour of Northwest Ecuadorwill run 1 - 14 July 2012

Normally a bugger to photograph, this

Yellow-collared Chlorophonia broke the mould

(Andrés Vásquez)


The scarce and local Moss-backed Tanager showed well at Mashpi (Andrés Vásquez)

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Tour Summaries

Galápagos Endemics CruiseNovember 2011Sam WoodsEvery year it becomes harder andharder to know whether the ParqueNacional will grant us the itinerary webirders desire. Well, this year we weregranted almost all of what we re-quested, which allowed us to success-fully chase after every endemic in theGalápagos and visit nine different is-lands during the cruise. We also used anew ship, the luxurious Reina Silvia,which was a roaring success:. It wascomfortable and equipped with afriendly and adaptable crew thatcatered to our every need. Among the 14 endemic finches wasthe rare and critically endangeredMangrove Finch that sadly now num-bers less than 100 birds. Other en-demic highlights included thereclusive Galápagos Rail and anotherrarity, the Floreana Mockingbird, whichis now found on just two tiny islets off“mainland” Floreana, giving it one ofthe smallest ranges of any bird onEarth.

However, it is not just the endemicsthat make these islands special. Every-one, rightly, brings a camera on thiscruise, and these worked overtime asthey were filled with images of display-ing male Magnificent Frigatebirdslooking every bit magnificent as theypuffed out their vivid scarlet throatsacs in display. Cameras were also keptbusy with the dapper Swallow-tailedGull and its rare cousin, the Lava Gull.

Red-billed Tropicbirds glided effort-lessly overhead and dared us to shootthem, while we had to shuffle aroundthe Blue-footed and Nazca boobiesthat use the path to nest on. But ofcourse it is not only the birds thatheadline on the Galápagos, as the ar-chipelago also boasts abundant ma-rine life and a fascinating reptilianfauna. The stars on these islands in-cluded enormous Galápagos Giant Tor-

The most beautiful gull in the world? Swallow-tailed Gull (Sam Woods)

A classic Galápagos sunset, with a Galápagos Penguin also admiring the view (Sam Woods)

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Tour Summaries

toises that grazed unconcernedly infront of us, colorful piles of MarineIguanas that carpeted some of therocky shores, and the Technicolor LandIguanas that lay motionless in the lateafternoon.Many of the group had not experi-enced snorkeling before and got theirfirst taste in the rich and cool watersthat surround the Galápagos. We weretreated to harmless sharks, groups ofrays, a mass of tame turtles, and a myr-iad of colorful tropical fish. A friendlyand mischievous Galápagos Sea Lionshadowed Kathleen for a while duringone snorkeling session that alsoyielded more than twenty turtles foreach of us, and penguins werewatched scything gracefully throughthe water underneath us. And whocould forget being surrounded by alarge gathering of Bryde’s Whales thatregularly came to the surface to blowlarge funnels of water into the air—orthe late afternoon performance by a

huge Sperm Whale that fluked in frontof us! Highlight were many and varied,ranging from fish to birds to mammalsto reptiles, and almost all of them werecaptured on film, as the Galápagosprovide rare photo opportunities, likefew other places on Earth.

Our next scheduled cruisethrough the islands will beon 8 - 17 November 2012,although we can organizepackages at any time foryou

The tameness of the birds in the Galápagos is not exaggerted! (Sam Woods)

A Magnificent Frigatebird displays his most magnificent feature (Sam Woods)

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Tour Summaries

Our next tour of Chilewill be 3 - 16 November2012

Chile: Atacama to Tierra del FuegoNovember 2011Andrew SpencerChile is a long country, a very longcountry. Our 2011 tour visited the top,the bottom, and a goodly portion ofeverything in between. And whileChile doesn’t have a lot of birds, it doeshave many quality ones, and we foundnearly all our targets in all the parts ofthe country we visited.Starting in Santiago, we spent our firstfew days within a few hours drive ofthe capital. An absolutely superbpelagic off of the port town of Quin-tero highlights the beginning of thetour, with ocean-going giants such asNorthern Royal Albatross filling thesame field of view as the elegantly pat-terned Cape Petrel and rare WestlandPetrel. From there we headed up intothe highlands for one of the mostsought-after Chilean species, simplyknown to many birders as the “DSP”(Diademed Sandpiper-Plover). Andagain we found success, with spectac-ular looks at this little Andean gem.Leaving Chile’s biggest city behind, webegan to work our way progressivelyfurther south, into more humid habitat.Stops near Talca gave us the dapperSpectacled Duck and the charismaticRufous-legged Owl, along with a goodhelping of huge and wonderful tapac-

ulos. A visit to the Araucaria forests ofNahuelbuta produced Des Murs’s Wire-tail at point-blank range, a rare White-throated Hawk, and even moreamazing tapaculo species. And a shorttrip to Chiloé produced excellent en-counters with Magellanic Penguinsand hordes of wintering HudsonianGodwits.Flying south from Puerto Montt, wenext visited the Land of Fire, Tierra del

Fuego, where King Penguin vied withthe odd Magellanic Plover and thedrop-dead-gorgeous Black-throatedFinch for position of trip highlight. Thescenery at Torres del Paine, justlyworld-famous, tore our attention awayfrom the birds for a while, but evenhere we had our share of avian high-lights, headlined by the very local andrare Austral Rail.Leaving the southland behind, wecrossed the entire country and spentour last few days in the extreme northof Chile. This brought an entirely differ-ent suite of habitats and birds, surelytopped by the very local and endan-gered Chilean Woodstar. A good doseof spectacular Andean scenery andrare birds such as Puna Rhea andTamarugo Conebill rounded out thenorth, and the tour to this amazingcountry.

Torres del Paine is said to have the best scenery in South America; judge for yourself (Andrew Spencer)

A star bird, and monotypic family, from Chile: Magellanic Plover (Andrew Spencer)

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Subantarctic Islands:the Ultimate PelagicNovember 2011Keith BarnesThis is undoubtedly the finest seabird-ing trip on Earth. The statistics simplydon’t lie! The Subantarctic Islands,sandwiched between the great whitecontinent of Antarctica and NewZealand and Australia, have an identityall of their own, and they are packed tothe rafters with penguins, albatrosses,and petrels, as well as several endemiclandbirds and fascinating marinemammals. I was lucky enough to ven-ture there on the remarkable boat, theSpirit of Enderby, for Tropical Birding’sinaugural experience of this remark-able wilderness area. This trip is not really about numbers. Itis about amazing wilderness experi-ences. However, here are some impres-sive numbers regardless. We talliedsome 44 species of tubenoses, includ-ing all 14 possible forms of albatross,

and 24 species of shearwater, petrel,and prion, as well as nine penguins and10 shags! We also saw three Taiko’s Pe-trels and the critically endangered Ma-genta Petrel (one of six Pterodromas

on the trip), that is estimated to num-ber 150 odd individuals. In terms of en-demics, we also did exceptionally well,with 15 local seabirds and penguins,six endemic shags, and 20 landbird and

Southern Royal Albatrosses breed in these Subantarctic Islands (Keith Barnes)

An immaculate King Penguin grooms its perfect plumage (Keith Barnes)

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Tour Summaries



shorebird taxa restricted to these re-mote islands. In addition, these iso-lated archipelagos are a nexus forthreatened birds, and we saw some 45species from BirdLife International’sRed Data List. That is a serious qualityselection of birds. But like I said, thistrip is not about numbers but aboutexperiences. Our day on Enderby Island will godown as one of the most memorablewildlife experiences in my life. This wasour first experience of life on a Sub-antarctic Island. The Hooker’s Sea Lionsmarauding along the beach were su-perb, and along with views of themouse-like Subantarctic Snipe and

nesting Giant Petrels made for a phe-nomenal first day on the islands. Macquarie Island revealed thousandsof King Penguins packed together,their chicks begging from them whilethey craned their necks skywards in anuptial display. A mixed party of GiantPetrels dismembering a seal pup car-cass, blood forming crimson hoodsover their heads, was equally impres-sive. Gentoo Penguins waddling pastgiant, proboscis-endowed SouthernElephant Seals, and the high pipingcalls of Light-mantled Sooty Alba-trosses flying in a parallel display flightagainst the high cliffs, hanging like

pterodactyls, and eyeing us with theirSiamese-cat faces, are all memoriesthat are never to be forgotten. Campbell Island also yielded two life-time experiences with the samespecies. At first we thought that aSouthern Royal Albatross, floating onthe windless lagoon, was waterlogged,but further investigation revealed thatit was being eaten alive, from under-neath, by a sea lion. The drama playedout over a 10-minute spell as the ma-rauding seal returned for renewed at-tacks. The albatross clacked its billhelplessly before succumbing to one,final, massive hit from the seal. As thisis the primary breeding area for this al-batross species, we also enjoyed a fab-ulous few hours watching pairscourting, spreading their wings, point-ing their bills skyward, and bill-clackingbefore canoodling and nibbling eachothers’ necks in a very intimate and ro-mantic scene. Seeing Campbell IslandTeal, a critically endangered duck seenby fewer than 200 people was simplyamazing. The huge colonies of breeding Salvin’sAlbatrosses on the Bounties, and strik-ing Chatham Albatrosses on the Pyra-mid were awe-inspiring, as were thespectacular colonies of breeding Erect-crested and Snares penguins. Our timeon the Chathams was also spent chas-ing endemic shorebirds like the scarcebut spectacular Shore Plover andChatham Island Oystercatcher. Phenomenal photo opportunitiesabounded, and frequently one just hadto be strict and stop yourself fromshooting so as not to “guild the lily”.Most birds on land were ridiculouslyapproachable, and those seen at seawere equally photogenic, often com-ing within an arm’s length of the ship.With good reason, these remote is-lands are called the “Galápagos of theSouthern Ocean”, though if anything,with the sheer variety of opportunities,they eclipse that description. Thosepaying attention on deck while sailingbetween the islands were also treated

Snares Crested Penguins are just one of many local species on offer on this cruise (Keith Barnes)

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Tour Summaries



to an impressive cetacean show, as wesaw six species including Fin and Gray’sBeaked whales. These types of trips are often describedin a clichéd way as “once in a lifetime”.The problem is that once you go onone your desire to go back is strongerthan it was before you went initially.

This is without doubt one of the mostincredible trips to one of the most re-markable of Earth’s dwindling wilder-ness areas. In collaboration with the Heritage Ex-peditions team, Tropical Birding will beoffering several trips through this re-gion beginning in 2012. Booking with

Tropical Birding will not cost you a centmore than booking directly with Her-itage, and there are bunch of advan-tages to the former, including gettingyour own dedicated guide if the tourreaches eight participants, and also en-joying the pre- and post-tour optionswe offer.

This is one of the best albatross cruises in the world; all 14 forms are possible! This is a Buller’s (Keith Barnes)

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Our next seabird-packedcruise of the Subantarc-tic Islands is scheduledfor 10 - 21 December2012

Tour Summaries

Close views of Royal Albatrosses are guaranteed (Will Carter)



Chicken Wings,with a difference...

Tales from the Office

Head of Tropical Birding’s Asia & Africa operations, Desiree D’Sylva gives us something completelydifferent: a fusion recipefor coffee chicken wingsthat betrays her upbringing in India...

page 20

What to do:

• Put the chicken wings into a bowl,and season with salt, pepper, 1 T. ofthe curry powder, all of the soy sauce,and 2 of the 3 crushed garlic cloves.Mix these ingredients together andset aside.

• Heat the olive oil in a non-stick fryingpan, and sauté the chicken until gol-den brown.

• In a different bowl, mix the coffeewith the balsamic vinegar, tomatopaste, brown sugar, 2 T. of curry pow-der, a crushed garlic clove, and 2 cupsof water.

• Add this mixture into the chicken inthe frying pan and lower the heat tosimmer. Once the sauce has thickenedand reduced in the pan, test to see if itneeds any further salt and pepper,then eat. As we say in Ecuador: Buenprovecho (i.e., bon appétit)!

Chicken Wings in BBQ Coffee Curry Sauce

What you need:

6–8 chicken wings3 cloves crushed garlic3 tablespoons soy sauce3 tablespoons curry powder3 tablespoons brown sugar1 cup brewed coffee 2 cups water1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar1 teaspoon tomato paste1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oilSalt and pepper for seasoning the chicken1 nonstick frying pan


DANUM VALLEY, Borneo

Where We Like to Go Birding

Susan Myers, author ofthe Princeton FieldGuide, Birds of Borneo,takes us to her favoriteplace to bird...

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I wish I had a couple of dollars for everytime I’ve been asked where my favoriteplace is. Of course, it’s an impossiblequestion to answer. For starters, I have-n’t been everywhere. But, I have beenalmost everywhere in Asia. I stillhaven’t been to Pakistan, Bangladesh,or North Korea, but hey, I think I can sa-fely say I know this incredible continentbetter than most. Wouldn’t mind goingto Bangladesh to look for Tigers in theSundabarns or even to that part of Pa-kistan in the western Himalayas that’sperfectly safe and incredibly beautiful. . . but I digress. So, yes, there’s no doubt it’s an impos-sible question to answer, but it’s stillfun to ponder. I’m quite sure it’s some-thing a lot of travelling birders givesome thought to from time to time.First of all I have to narrow it down—I

love travelling and birding in so manyplaces. Japan is a very special place forme. It’s my second home. The scenery,wildlife, and culture are all amazingand endlessly fascinating. I know Japanlike the back of my hand. It’s very be-autiful in so many ways and the birdlifeis, unexpectedly to many first time vi-sitors, truly outstanding. Sri Lanka isanother of my favorite places. In myopinion it is a much underrated desti-nation that should be on everyone’s“must visit” list. The endemic birds areamazing, and the wildlife in general isvery accessible and exotic—all thiswith the backdrop of a truly beautifulculture and country. Then there are theHimalayas. I don’t care whether we’retalking about India, Nepal, Bhutan, oreven northern Burma: go see the Hi-malayas. I insist! They’ll take your bre-

ath away. I also have a long and abi-ding affection for Vietnam. It’s hard tosay why I feel the way I do about thisamazing country; it’s just a very specialplace in a complex way that’s hard toput my finger on. And then there’s In-donesia, one of the most incredibly di-verse, exciting, and, at times,frustrating places on earth with surelythe friendliest, most hospitable peopleon the planet. But time to get to thepoint. If I’m forced to say the one placeI would choose as my favorite, I alwayscome back to Borneo.

Danum is a paradise for pittas, with 4 endemic species occurring, including Blue-headed Pitta (Susan Myers)




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The island of Borneo is actually splitamong three countries. There are thetwo Malaysian states of Sarawak andSabah, the four Indonesian provincesof Kalimantan, and Brunei (officially,the Nation of Brunei, the Abode ofPeace). Brunei is one of the wealthiestcountries in the world, but it is tiny. Al-though they are doing a good job ofconserving their forests, there isn’t a lotthere to attract keen birders and listers.Kalimantan takes up by far the largestpart of this huge island, but Indonesiais a poor country, and the infrastruc-ture for visitors is not terribly sophisti-cated, although it is improving all thetime. Malaysia is one of the wealthiestcountries in Southeast Asia, with an ex-cellent infrastructure that visitors tothis very pleasant country can take fulladvantage of. On top of all these fac-tors, the great majority of Borneo’s en-demic and specialty birds areconcentrated in the north, in the stateof Sabah. With some of the world’smost beautiful rainforests that housesome of the most exotic wildlife you’ll

ever see, it’s not hard to see why Sabahattracts so many birders. Sabah alsohas many diverse habitats for such asmall area: there are peat swamp fo-rests, montane forests, coastal plainsand wetlands, swamp forests andbroad sweeping rivers, and, most im-portantly, some of the largest remai-ning stands of primary lowlandrainforest in Asia. So if Borneo is my favorite place to leadtours, where is my favorite place withinBorneo? Without hesitation, my answeris Danum Valley. And the really goodnews is that not only is it one of thebest places to go birding in all of Asia,but right smack in the middle of this re-mote and fabulous area is one of thebest lodges in Asia. It’s a win-win situa-tion! Danum Valley Conservation Area is ahuge area in the east of Sabah, compri-sing one of the largest areas of primaryforest in all of Southeast Asia. It’s a 438-square-kilometer core-area, located inthe middle of a 10,000-square-kilome-ter, one-hundred-year logging conces-

sion that was granted to the YayasanSabah Foundation in 1966. Part of thisagreement was that the Danum ValleyConservation Area, along with severalother areas (notably the Maliau Basinand Imbak Valley), be left untouched.This explains why this area is so special. Just getting to Danum is part of thefun. From the former pirate town ofLahad Datu (which still has somethingof a frontier town atmosphere), youdrive around two hours through rich,selectively logged forest to the edge ofthe conservation area. There’s alwaysthe chance of some exciting encoun-ters en route. I’ve seen elephants fairlyoften, the occasional Orangutan, andspectacular hornbills and raptors onthis journey. The delightful (and luxu-rious) Borneo Rainforest Lodge, loca-ted on the southern edge of theconservation area, was built in 1994and recently refurbished. After thelong drive through the wilderness overrough roads it appears like an oasis inthe forest! But that’s the beauty of thisplace. You are surrounded by pristine

Danum is fantastic for nature lovers in general, with many cool mammals, bugs, reptiles, and amphibians, like this Wallace’s Flying Frog (Susan Myers)




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rainforest as far as the eye can see. A fo-rest full of the promise of exciting dis-coveries.The forest here is one of the tallest andoldest rainforests in the world. Thespectacular emergent Koompassiatrees, known as Mengaris in Borneo,can grow to 88 meters (289 feet) high!The floral diversity is truly astounding,and the wildlife follows suit. Over 120species of mammal have been recor-ded here, including ten species of pri-mate. Around the lodge we regularlysee Orangutan, Bornean Gibbon, RedLeaf Monkey, Bornean Pygmy Ele-phant, Bearded Pig, Leopard Cat,Mouse Deer, Sambar, Red Giant FlyingSquirrel, Colugo, Western Tarsier, and,on very lucky occasions, the incredibleClouded Leopard. Nightly drives by thelodge staff always hold the promise ofsomething super exciting—perhaps aBay Cat or a Malaysian Sun Bear. Then

there is the amazing diversity of repti-les, amphibians, and insects. But of course, it is mainly the bird lifewe are interested in. Of Borneo’s 635bird species, over 340 have been recor-ded in Danum Valley. Of course, mostof Borneo’s endemics are found in themountains, so a visit to Mount Kina-balu is a must. But for pure excitement,Danum Valley is hard to beat. Evenaround the lodge itself the birdlife isplentiful. At times there’s so muchgoing on it seems like you don’t evenhave to leave the veranda. When I wasthere recently I was amazed to see asmall flock of Pygmy White-eyes, oneof the scarcest Bornean endemics, flyinto a small flowering tree right in frontof us as we were having lunch! Whenflowering, the bushes in the gardensattract a plethora of sunbirds and fabu-lous spiderhunters, offering greatphoto opportunities. There’s also a

gang of magnificent Crested Firebacksthat frequently patrols the gardens, re-gularly roaming under the raised cot-tages and boardwalks. Borneo is famous for its gliding critters:Wallace’s Flying Frog, Paradise TreeSnake, the Draco flying lizards, Kuhl’sFlying Gecko, Red Giant and Thomas’flying squirrels, and the weird Colugo.These are all seen regularly in DanumValley. An excellent network of trails radiatesout from the lodge and allows us to ex-plore the many microhabitats in the su-rrounding forest. There’s a raisedboardwalk, the Nature Trail, runningfrom the front of the lodge, and abunch of exotically named trails: Horn-bill, Sapa Bebandil, Coffin Cliff, and Ja-cuzzi. The last one leads to a beautifulnatural swimming pool deep in the fo-rest. All the trails are worth exploring,and there’s a chance for somethingspecial on every one of them. Explo-ring forest trails is always quieter andcan be a frustrating activity at times,but the forest is full of treasures waitingto be discovered. The dark recesses ofthe forest are the best places to look forpittas, including the endemic Blue-he-aded and Black-and-crimson pittas, aswell as partridges and pheasants. In-deed, if your timing is right, the jaw-dropping Great Argus (a massivepheasant, the male of which boasts atail of more than a meter long!), can besurprisingly confiding when attendingits display grounds deep within the fo-rest. Forest kingfishers, like Banded andRufous-collared, and a slew of gem-likeAsian flycatchers may also be found byworking the lodge trails. Still, the most exciting birding and wil-dlife viewing is often to be found rightalong the entrance road to the lodge.This narrow dirt road leads from themain road to the lodge for about a mileor so. The lodge is located in the foo-thills of the valley, so the road undula-tes somewhat, but the walking is easy,and the viewing is excellent. We oftenencounter some really special birdsalong here including up to eight spe-

Borneo’s most famous resident, Orangutan. Danum is one of the best places to get it (Sam Woods)




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cies of hornbill—the Rhinoceros andHelmeted hornbills being particularstandouts in this truly outstandinggroup; a number of exciting woodpec-ker species including my favorite, theenormous Great Slaty; and maybesome of the striking malkohas—agroup of fancy cuckoos similar to thesquirrel-cuckoos of the New World. Ac-tually, almost anything is possiblealong the road here. If you are luckyenough to find a fruiting tree, youcould be in for a treat. A number ofspecies of barbet, including Red-crow-ned, Yellow-throated, Gold-whiskered,and Blue-eared are all possible; indeed,barbet calls are omnipresent throug-hout the rainforests of Borneo. Feedingalong with the barbets are often horn-bills, gibbons, or even the “Old Man ofthe Forest”, the Orangutan. Lastly, thereis the impressive canopy walkway,which leads through the tree tops forover 300 meters, allowing you to getgreat views of some of the canopydwellers. This vantage point is usuallythe best chance to find one of Borneo’smost enigmatic birds, the bizarre Bor-nean Bristlehead (a member of a mo-notypic family). So, in a nutshell, I love Danum Valleybecause I’ve had so many memorableexperiences there with some of my fa-vorite animals, in my all-time favoritehabitat: the incredible Asian rainforest.

Moustached Hawk-Cuckoo,one of many scarce Asian birds that Danum offers (Susan Myers)

Tropical Birding will beleading multiple trips toBorneo in 2012, with thenext (24 June - 9 July) filling fast

what’s new at tb? · endless, quality photo shoots for fans of macro photography. madagascar: an...

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