VENT Birding Tours: Photo Galleries
Short West Mexico 2010 Photo Gallery
Feb 17, 10
From the cool pines and oaks above Provincia to the sun-baked beach in the hidden bay of Tehuamixtle, we birded a multitude of habitats ranging from beach and saltwater lagoons along the coast to thorn, broadleaf, pine oak forests with evergreen forest residing in just a small drainage above Provincia. Finding 250 species in six days was a lot of work, but we still had time to enjoy breaded oysters, grilled Dorado, guacamole, limonadas, dozens of shrimp, and tons of Bonnie's wonderful bre...
Winter Southern Arizona 2010 Photo Gallery
Feb 05, 10
Despite some of the most challenging weather that I have ever encountered on a tour, our recent Winter Southern Arizona tour was hugely successful. Normally this trip enjoys mild conditions, with warm, sunny skies. This year, however, a series of fronts brought us instead a steady dose of wind, rain, and even some snow. Our bird list did not reflect the weather situation, however. With four full days of birding based out of Tucson, we enjoyed a bounty of rarities, hard-to-find southwestern sp...
Winter New Mexico 2010 Photo Gallery
Feb 05, 10
Once again our Winter New Mexico tour was filled with wonderful highlights. Despite generally cold weather, caused by the massive Arctic front that gripped much of the nation in early January, the birds put on a show. Beginning in El Paso the first afternoon, we enjoyed the amazing spectacle of an estimated 8,000 Yellow-headed Blackbirds coming in to roost in one spot late in the evening. The ground, roofs, and trees were literally covered in black and yellow. The next day we scoured the rive...
Fall at Panama's Canopy Tower 2009 Photo Gallery
Jan 12, 10
Three hundred and sixty-nine thousand raptors in four hours! From the end of lunch until late in the afternoon, we watched as kettle after kettle circled overhead and streamed past the Canopy Tower. The official hawk counter tallied over 209,000 Swainson's; 100,000 Turkey Vultures; 59,000 Broad-wingeds; and a sprinkling of Mississippi Kites, Ospreys, and Peregrines in that span. One would need no other reason to visit Panama in October than to witness this incredible (in fact, indescribab...
North Carolina
Jan 08, 10
For more than 30 years VENT has operated tours to all regions of the United States. This year is special in that we will operate our first-ever tour based solely in the great state of North Carolina.Debuting May 29-June 5, 2010 our weeklong North Carolina tour will focus on specialty landbirds and waterbirds of the southeastern United States, with special emphasis on the pelagic birds that inhabit the Gulf Stream off the Outer Banks.In the Wilmington area, we'll search hardwood swamps and...
Polar Bears of Churchill 2009 Photo Gallery
Nov 16, 09
Without question, Churchill is THE premier site for observing and photographing polar bears. This area is more accessible than any of the other 18 circumpolar bear populations, and the bears themselves are more concentrated at this time of year. Looking back, now that I am home, and autumn leaves are falling, the entire polar bear and Churchill experience, to me, seems almost surreal. It was as if, in some sense, I were a time-traveler visiting another place at another time.Our group arrived ...
Barranca del Cobre 2009 Photo Gallery
Oct 30, 09
We began our 2009 Copper Canyon tour in the hot coastal town of Los Mochis. A Gray Hawk put in an appearance before we passed through the gate of Parque Sinaloa, where we got our first glimpse of the avifauna of Northwest Mexico. A mix of familiar northern and tropical species greeted us. Red-billed Pigeon, Black-throated Magpie-Jay, Streak-backed Oriole, Ruddy Ground-Dove, and Great Kiskadee were all easy to find. Our main quarry for the park was Mexican Parrotlet. We eventually found a nice...
Grand New Mexico 2009 Photo Gallery
Oct 07, 09
Our 2009 Grand New Mexico tour was a record-breaker, tallying an impressive 214 species of birds and besting the previous high count by 13. With its unique combination of west Texas/ southeastern Arizona specialty birds in the southern portion of the state and Colorado Rockies species in the north, the diversity is bound to be good; however, it is the quality of the birds seen that may be even more impressive. Many of the country's most difficult to find and sought after species are readi...
Spring in South Texas 2009 Photo Gallery
Oct 07, 09
The bluff at Santa Margarita Ranch is simply my favorite place in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Perched about 30 feet above water level, one can scan up and down river for a mile or so and view the nearby treetops from more or less eye level. Our group spent an entire morning at this spot with never a dull moment.From the second we arrived noisy Great Kiskadees squawked at us from a nearby hackberry. As it turned out, they were actively building a nest there, and we were able to watch the proc...
Alaska Mainland 2009
Oct 02, 09
It is always hard to decide which of the myriad highlights of a tour to write about. In the case of our recent Alaska Mainland tour this was especially true. The last evening I asked people to choose their three favorite birds of the tour, and the following highlights reflect their choices.Topping the list was the magnificent male Bluethroat in Nome. Against a backdrop of snow-covered peaks, this stunning little thrush displayed from two close willow tops. With the brilliant blue and orange b...
Jaguar on the Rio Cuiaba, Brazil
Aug 28, 09
If one had to summarize our 2009 Best of Brazil tour in a single word, that word would be “Jaguar”! Jaguar was definitely a primary target as we set out on our first boat trip along the Rio Cuiabá out of Porto Jofre, southern terminus of the famed Transpantaneira (or Trans-Pantanal Highway). But you don’t really find jaguars—they find you. The largest and most mysterious of New World cats picks his spots, and we can only hope to be in the right place at the righ...
Winter New Mexico 2009 Photo Gallery
Jul 09, 09
We stood on the dike of a large water impoundment at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, gazing out at a sea of white formed by a huge flock of geese. It seemed that every square inch of the pond was covered with birds (an estimated 24,000 were on the refuge) and some of them were literally 10–15 feet away. We had superb side by side comparisons of Snow and Ross's geese, and the photographic opportunities were unsurpassed. Sandhill Cranes began arriving at the pond as we sto...
Venezuela, Casa Maria & Hato Pinero: A Relaxed and Easy Tour
Jun 20, 09
In northern Venezuela lies a range of mountains running parallel to the coast. These mountains, known as the coastal cordillera, host one of the richest cloud forests in the world, with various life zones from sea level up to 6,000 feet. Our destination, to explore this rich ecosystem, was Casa Maria, a small lodge contiguous to one of the largest tracts of recovered cloud forest in Venezuela: The Palmichal Reserve. Two days were devoted to an area rich in tanagers, hummingbirds, flycatchers,...
Colorado Grouse I 2009 Photo Gallery
Jun 04, 09
From the alpine tundra at Loveland Pass to the riparian woodlands in Cottonwood canyon, we traversed Colorado seeking grouse, from a high elevation of 12,000 feet to a low of 3,500 feet in southeast Colorado, where we found the Rufous-crowned Sparrow. We got off to a great start with a fine, albeit distant display of 35 Gunnison Sage-Grouse. Our circumnavigation of Colorado had begun. Poncha Springs was busy with birds delayed by the snowstorm. Western Bluebirds, Clark's Nutcrackers, Red-...
The Dominican Republic 2009 Photo Gallery
May 21, 09
The green-blue waters of the Caribbean Sea host many islands, some small and others large. The Greater Antilles—Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Puerto Rico—are certainly the most diverse and bird-rich in this region.Our Dominican Republic tour started in Santo Domingo where the Palmchat, the Black-crowned Palm-Tanager, the Hispaniolan Parakeet, and the Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo welcomed tour participants to a trip with low bird diversity, but rich in ...
El Triunfo 2009 Photo Gallery
Apr 24, 09
Not that I have ever missed it, but every year I worry. Will this be the year I fail to find one of the strangest, most charismatic birds on earth? Of course, there is more to this tour than just the Horned Guan. Two-thousand-foot-deep Sumidero Canyon, for example, with its White-lored Gnatcatchers, Canivet's Emeralds, and the highly local Belted Flycatcher. Or the cloud forests of El Triunfo, their brooding groves of oaks and tree ferns echoing with the calls of Resplendent Quetzals and ...
Northern Tanzania 2009 Photo Gallery
Apr 06, 09
This was my 18th tour to Northern Tanzania and, as every year, it certainly lived up to expectations and left me eager for my next safari in this magical, well-organized, friendly, and stable African paradise. I am so lucky to be able to visit annually and get to know the country so well, seeing the subtle differences from year to year.This year, with the rains slow in coming, we experienced much drier weather than usual. This meant that the vast calving wildebeest herds were more scattered a...
Antarctica, South Georgia & The Falkland Islands 2009 Photo Gallery
Mar 05, 09
The Antarctic is a region of superlatives. Vast, wild, and utterly beautiful, the White Continent, as it is also known, hosts some of the world's most sensational wildlife spectacles. Over the last 20 years, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours has brought hundreds of travelers to the Southern Ocean to partake in the experiences that make a trip to Antarctica so unforgettable. The advantage of traveling with VENT is that we pick the best ships and the best itineraries to ensure our guests the most...
Indonesia: Sulawesi & Halmahera Photo Gallery
Feb 02, 09
Indonesia is one of the most exciting birding destinations in the world with thousands of islands and hundreds of endemic birds. Nearly a third of the birds of Sulawesi and Halmahera are endemic! VENT leader Susan Myers scouted the area late last year in preparation for our forthcoming tour to this fascinating, birdy, and friendly country. Susan will be leading tours to various destinations in Indonesia, including Sulawesi and Halmahera, in 2010. She speaks the Indonesian language and ha...
The Best of Vietnam 2008 Photo Gallery
Jan 28, 09
This comprehensive tour of Vietnam is designed to cover a variety of habitats, thus allowing us to observe a range of the fascinating and unique Indochinese avifauna and other wildlife. The forests of Vietnam have been severely depleted since the end of the war, and, in fact, are still being heavily exploited, so the birding here can be a challenge at times! That said, I have noticed so much improvement in the last few years it is quite heartening. This year, although we had some bad weather ...
