VENT Birding Tours: Photo Galleries
Panama's Canopy Tower 2008 Photo Gallery
Jun 15, 08
The Canal Zone was cooler and drier than I could remember it being on any previous trip, and the lack of rain was reflected in the vegetation. Many semi-deciduous trees had dropped their leaves, and a substantial dry leaf litter was in evidence everywhere we went. The dry conditions were also reflected in a general lack of bird vocalization, and dawn choruses from the Canopy Tower were a pale shadow of what I was used to. In spite of this, we managed to record 315 species in just six days of ...
Best of Brazil: Iguacu Falls Extension Photo Gallery
Jun 08, 08
Read about the Iguacu Falls Extension to our new Best of Brazil tour.
Eastern Venezuela 2008 Photo Gallery
Jun 03, 08
Our 2008 Eastern Venezuela tour began with a visit to El Avila National Park, where we had a good introduction to the avifauna of the Tropics, and enjoyed views of several tyrant-flycatchers, tanagers, and a few hummingbirds. The day after, we took a flight over the vast llanos (plains) and landed in Puerto Ordaz, a city located at the south side of the Orinoco. Here, we started a drive that took us across tropical and premontane grasslands, wetlands, and an impressive assortment of forest ty...
Venezuela: Hato Pinero 2008 Photo Gallery
Jun 02, 08
Unique to the continent, a third of Venezuela's territory is represented by a continuous set of flatlands, running from the mouth of the Orinoco River west, until it meets the Andes. Here, grasslands are dominant, although patches of tropical dry forest and gallery forest break up the homogeneous landscape. This region hosts large concentrations of birds, a viable population of wild cats, and capybaras (the largest rodent in the world) run freely. Welcome to the Llanos!Geographically, the...
Austin, Texas Birding and Nature Festival 2008 Photo Gallery
May 16, 08
The impetus for our first-ever Austin, Texas Birding and Nature Festival arose from the fact that never in its 32-year history had VENT held a tour or other event in its headquarters' city, Austin. With this thought in mind, we reached the conclusion that it was time we showed off our home turf! No better time exists than mid-April for discovering the diversity of Central Texas, with migrant and resident birds pouring through the region, roadsides peppered with wildflowers, and generally ...
Highlights of Brazil's Atlantic Forest Photo Gallery
May 12, 08
Read about our new Highlights of Brazil's Atlantic Forest tour.
Dominican Republic 2008 Photo Gallery
May 02, 08
Island biogeography has been a fascinating topic among naturalists and scientists for decades. Terms like geographic isolation, ice age, tectonic plates, and elevation are indeed forces that shaped what we see today in Hispaniolan avifauna: an incredible number of endemic bird species. From the beginning of our tour we were exposed to endemic birds, from the conspicuous Palmchat (endemic family!) to the diminutive todies. In fact, it seemed like there was a chance for a new endemic species ev...
Southeastern Brazil 2007 Part I Photo Gallery
Apr 14, 08
Once again, Southeastern Brazil Part I served up its usual share of exciting birding, producing over 400 species and a whopping 146 regional and/or Brazilian endemics.We started in Iguaçu, where, besides the spectacle of the world's greatest waterfalls, we were treated to exceptional views of the localized Russet-winged Spadebill, an impressive pair of Robust Woodpeckers, a lethargic Sharpbill, and an unusually cooperative pair of Mottled Owls. In between came close encounters and ...
Grand California 2007 Photo Gallery
Oct 30, 07
When Victor first asked my son Gary and me to start leading VENT's Grand California tour, we were faced with a great dilemma. Many of our state's 580 (Western Birds, Vol. 25, No. 1, 1994) accepted species (634 now) are seasonal visitors and the specialty resident birds are scattered everywhere. The two endemics at that time were California Condor and Yellow-billed Magpie, so the trip had to include both of their ranges. However, when the few remaining California Condors were trapped f...
Guyana and Suriname Photo Gallery
Oct 18, 07
Little-known and practically undiscovered by naturalists and birders, these two countries contain some of the finest and most extensive lowland tropical rainforests left anywhere on earth. We are proud to offer this newly designed trip—the Guianas in double shot—a dual trip that combines what we believe are the best regions of both countries. Almost ninety percent of Suriname (formerly Dutch Guiana) is covered with pristine lowland rainforest, which is home to a fascinating and di...
Peru, Manu 2007 Photo Gallery
Oct 03, 07
Some trips defy the odds, go beyond the expected, beyond imagination. I have led over twenty trips into the Manu region of Peru, and David Wolf, my co-leader, has been on almost a third of these with me, so you might think that the trip would be routine. It wasn't. It never was after Karen yelled, "There's a bear up there," as our bus rumbled around yet another curve in the narrow, rough, single lane mountain road that winds interminably down the steep verdant face of the An...
Bhutan 2007 Photo Gallery
Sep 14, 07
This was a very special tour, one of the very best I have ever had the pleasure of leading to Bhutan. In large part this success was due to a wonderful group of participants, my co-leader Dion Hobcroft, and our wonderful—no, change that, fantastic ground crew. I would like to thank you all for making the entire tour such a great experience.I consider myself very privileged to have traveled so often and so extensively throughout the Kingdom of Bhutan (1994 to the present). To have the op...
Summer Eastern Venezuela 2007 Photo Gallery
Aug 11, 07
Southeastern Venezuela has always been a mysterious place, no matter how much human penetration affects the forest and roadside habitats. When I visited this region for the first time, I counted as many as three vehicles per day, and the road conditions were so bad that moving 10 kilometers was considered a long distance.Nowadays, with Venezuela entering the Mercosur trade agreement, traffic has increased along the roads, but the forests behind them still bring one of the best birding experie...
Borneo 2007 Photo Gallery
Jul 30, 07
I sometimes have to pinch myself to realize just how fortunate I am to return each year to this extraordinary island. VENT's tour of Borneo is without doubt one of the finest natural history trips anywhere, not least because Borneo is one of the most exciting, vibrant, and biologically diverse places on our planet. The combination of still wondrously immense forests replete with a fabulous array of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates (oh, the butterflies!) serv...
Japan in Summer 2007 Photo Gallery
Jul 13, 07
Japan is my second home. I have lived and traveled in this remarkable country for over 20 years now and have loved every minute of it! It is impossible to visit Japan, for any reason whatsoever, without experiencing the unique and, for some at times, baffling culture of these surprisingly diverse islands. On a birding tour, where it is nearly always necessary to get off the beaten track, this is especially so. Every day brings a new discovery! This is without doubt the most comprehensive tour...
Grand Venezuela 2007 Photo Gallery
Mar 24, 07
A final dinner review of highlights and best birds or experiences of our trip revealed, as expected, a diverse array of comments, but there was almost unanimous support for one event—a defining moment, perhaps, of what nature travel in new and exotic lands brings to those who take the time to look. That moment was when a lovely pair of Pearl Kites came to sit and watch us (or so it seemed) in the desert. We have no inkling of what triggered their arrival or what thoughts, if any, fired ...
Venezuela: Hato Pinero New Year 2006 Photo Gallery
Feb 24, 07
For over a decade, I have wanted to co-lead a tour with David Ascanio, a wonderful individual who is regarded widely as Venezuela's premier birder and tour leader. Unexpected conflicts this year for both my usual co-leaders, Gary Langham and Shawn Hayes, made it possible to finally have David co-lead as I returned to Hato Piñero for my 20th VENT New Year's tour. David has led many tours to this ranch over the years so we had a wonderful opportunity to share our favorite destinations and our b...
Grand Australia Part I 2006 Photo Gallery
Oct 25, 06
As a born and bred Australian from way back—of dubious convict ancestry, no less—I sometimes forget what a brilliant place I live in! This is a very special tour that takes us to many of this country's finest wild places. Truly astonishing scenery accompanied by an array of colorful, remarkable, and unique birds, mammals, and reptiles ensure that this will be one of the most memorable and rewarding tours a birder can undertake. With over 350 endemic birds, a birding trip to Au...
Panama's Canopy Tower Photo Gallery
Oct 06, 06
For a birder searching for a next frontier, the joys of tropical birding are easily realized in Panama. Only hours from the States, this small Central American country meets all the important criteria for the traveling birder—outstanding birding, terrific accommodations, and modern services. The sister lodges, Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge, are, without question, the two most highly regarded eco-lodges in the country. Owned and operated by native Panamanian Raul Arias de Para, these two...
