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Catch up on the latest news from Victor Emanuel Nature Tours by reading the latest VENTflash.
VENTflash #137
Victor Emanuel: February 02, 2012
Dear friends, Waved Albatross Pair — Photo: Greg LasleyThis summer VENT will again operate a birding and natural history cruise to the magical Galapagos Islands, July 5-17, 2012. Featuring the most comprehensive itinerary we've ever offered, participants will have a chance to see all the endemic birds of these islands. Our trip includes visits to all the major islands, and 10 nights aboard one of the best ships that cruise these waters, the 40-passenger Isabela II. The fee for this ...
Colombia: The Santa Marta Getaway
Steve Hilty: February 01, 2012
Colombia is rapidly becoming a "must see" destination, as most areas within this beautiful country can now be safely visited by birders. This fact has not been lost on the birding community, which is now flooding numerous tiny reserves, as well as national parks, and pressing into new uncharted sites. The Santa Marta Mountains are well-known for the large number of endemic birds that occur there, and quite a few of them can be seen even in a short visit.The stars aligned well for us...
Galapagos Islands Cruise aboard Isabela II
Paul Greenfield: January 26, 2012
Cruising the Galapagos Islands is a wonderful and fulfilling experience that really defies an adequate description. Each participant brings his or her own expectations to this weeklong journey, and every encounter and interaction with an iguana, lizard, tortoise, sea turtle, fish, whale, bird, or sea lion builds a very personalized bank of memories. This was Charles Darwin's laboratory where he witnessed clues to what would become his Origin of the Species, a work that would change foreve...
Galapagos Cruise: Tandayapa Pre-trip
Paul Greenfield: January 26, 2012
The "pint-sized" South American country of Ecuador is by no means a "little" nation when it comes to biodiversity. On the contrary, Ecuador can (for example) proudly boast of holding over twice as many bird species as the entire continent of North America, even though it is some 87 times smaller! So in preparation for VENT's November Galapagos Islands Cruise, we offered a two-day visit to the species-rich northwestern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes as an opportunity to...
Winter New Mexico
Barry Zimmer: January 21, 2012
We arrived at a small ponding area on the north side of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in mid-afternoon to find roughly 2,000 white geese bathing and resting within a short distance of the parking area. We were able to walk out within 30 feet of some of the birds and had marvelous side by side comparisons of Snow Geese and the diminutive Ross's Geese. Small groups of Sandhill Cranes kept gliding in overhead, rattling and trumpeting as they sailed into the marsh. Suddenly all t...
Mexico: Oaxaca Christmas
Héctor Gómez de Silva: January 20, 2012
The city of Oaxaca (pronounced "Wa-Haca") is like a hub for birders in this birdiest state of Mexico. Different ecosystems are to be found to the north, east, west, and south of the city. Consequently, a few hundred bird species, many of them endemic to Mexico (or even to just a small part of the country), are readily encountered in short to moderate length day-trips from the city. The city is also one of the most culturally interesting parts of Mexico, and Christmas is one of the m...
Belize: Chan Chich New Year
Bob Sundstrom: January 18, 2012
The Chan Chich New Year tour is hard to beat as a holiday nature experience. A short half-hour flight from Belize City, Chan Chich offers the top notch amenities of one of the premier jungle lodges in the world, combined with superb tropical birding on 200,000 acres of private holdings. This year's tour at Chan Chich will be fondly remembered.On a tour with plenty of highlights, one especially comes vividly to mind. While much of the birding we do at Chan Chich takes place on trails leadi...
VENTflash #136
Victor Emanuel: January 17, 2012
SNOWY OWL WEEKENDS WITH DENVER HOLTJanuary 28–February 1, 2012February 4–8, 2012Across much of the northern part of the country Snowy Owls are being seen in record numbers. Stories about this Snowy Owl invasion have been broadcast on NPR (National Public Radio) and have appeared in many newspapers. Since one of our leaders, Denver Holt, is one of the top Snowy Owl experts in the world, we decided to offer two Snowy Owl Weekend tours to offer an opportunity to see these magnificent...
Ecuador: The Northwestern Andean Slopes
Paul Greenfield: January 16, 2012
Ecuador's northwestern region offers some of the very best birding to be found anywhere on Earth! In a compact week, set within a compact "area of operations"—staying at only one lodge—with excellent opportunities to see a great diversity of bird species under superb viewing conditions at relatively short distances from "home," we are able to sample a variety of habitats in four different life-zones. And that's exactly what we did! This is hummingbird h...
Ecuador: Tinalandia Pre-trip
Paul Greenfield: January 16, 2012
This year's Tinalandia Pre-trip proved, yet again, to be the perfect complement to our Northwestern Andean Slopes tour. With an unhurried and relatively relaxed but birdy itinerary, we were able to ease ourselves into the complex world of Neotropical birding and begin to experience the tremendous biodiversity that this pint-sized country of Ecuador has to offer. Many of the species we recorded were not seen on the main tour, and many others were actually seen better. There is a well-...
New Zealand Highlights
Dion Hobcroft: January 15, 2012
New Zealand certainly lived up to its great expectations of stunning scenery, special bird life, tasty food, and wonderfully friendly people. It was a great trip!We commenced in Auckland, convening at the airport and making a short drive to the Salty Dog Inn at Snell's Beach. After lunch we headed to Pakiri where we were soon admiring New Zealand Dotterels with tiny chicks, and then enjoyed a superb view of a Fairy Tern. This was followed by a Buff-banded Rail that decided to take a bath ...
VENTflash #135, Continued
Victor Emanuel: January 12, 2012
VENTflash #135, Continued - Due to it's length, VENTflash #135 has been split into two parts: ALASKA IN 2012—DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE! BIRDING ACROSS AMERICA BY TRAIN: SPACE AVAILABLE LATE WINTER & EARLY SPRING TOURS WITH SPACES AVAILABLE CLOSING THOUGHTS ALASKA IN 2012—DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE!Perhaps more than any other destination, Alaska conjures images of wild, unspoiled wilderness. It is, as the saying goes, "The Last Frontier," a place whose extraordinary sce...
VENTflash #135
Victor Emanuel: January 11, 2012
Dear friends,I enjoy seeing common local birds such as Cardinals, Blue Jays and Red-bellied Woodpeckers immensely, but I also enjoy the occasional chase to see a rare bird. I am a selective chaser. I like chasing rare birds that are not too far from home and that have a special allure. Since I am so fond of tropical birds, I especially enjoy seeing vagrants from the south that turn up in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Sometimes we are fortunate to find our own rarities. ...
VENTflash #134
Victor Emanuel: January 09, 2012
Dear friends, Yesterday's New York Times Travel Section contains an article entitled The 45 Places To Go in 2012. The first destination listed is Panama. "Go for the canal. Stay for everything else."Two spaces remain available on VENT's late January/early February Panama tours. I can't recommend them highly enough. My good friends Paul and Lucia Woodruff just returned from our New Year at Panama's Canopy Tower tour. Lucia sent me an email the day they returned to Aus...
California Central Coast: An Introductory Birding Tour
Kevin Zimmer: January 06, 2012
Early December proved to be the ideal time for the return of our California Central Coast tour. We enjoyed four beautifully sunny days of birding amid the varied habitats of San Luis Obispo County, and, in the process, saw 13 species of mammals and over 160 species of birds. Wrentit, Montana de Oro State Park, California, December 7, 2011— Photo: Kevin Zimmer Our first day afield was spent mostly around the estuary of Morro Bay, one of the most important sites for ...
VENTflash #133
Victor Emanuel: January 04, 2012
Dear Friends, I have been interested in the history and culture of ancient Greece since I was a teenager. In recent years, VENT has operated two trips to Greece, programs rich in history, culture, and nature. I rank those trips among the best travel experiences of my life.I am thrilled that VENT is returning to Greece this spring for another Birds and History cruise, this time to the islands of Crete and Santorini. For this special journey, May 20-29, 2012, we have chartered the peerless Sea ...
Southeastern Brazil Part III
Andrew Whittaker: December 21, 2011
Espírito Santo once again dished up its own special blend of montane and lowland Atlantic Forest endemics to round out our Southeast Brazil Trilogy in fine fashion. This was the breakout year for the new-and-improved version of our long-running and perennially popular Southeast Brazil Tour. Heeding the calls for shorter tours, while striving to provide a thorough survey of Brazil's Atlantic Forest, one of the world's true hotspots of endemism and biodiversity, demanded some cha...
Kenya Birds & Wildlife
David Wolf: December 16, 2011
Almost every November for the last thirty years has found me in Kenya, but it still amazes me how different each safari has been. Upon arrival this year we found that the "short rains" had begun almost a month earlier than expected, and that the land had quickly started to rejuvenate from the drought earlier in the year, turning emerald-green and bountiful. The birds had responded too, many of them changing into brilliant plumage and beginning a new breeding season with bursts of so...
VENTflash #132
Victor Emanuel: December 15, 2011
Dear friends, One of the most special memories for any birder or naturalist is his first trip to the Tropics. I grew up in Houston, Texas. When I was ten years old I joined the Outdoor Nature Club. At one of the club events I met two wonderful men, Joe Heiser and Armand Yramategui. I was fortunate that both became my mentors.Blue-crowned Motmot — Photo: David Tipling/Canopy TowerIn December 1955 Armand invited Carl Aiken and me to go to Mexico with him to participate in t...
VENTflash #131
Victor Emanuel: December 12, 2011
Dear friends, In the spirit of the holiday season, VENT is offering two wonderful opportunities to give yourself, a friend, or family member the gift of birds for Christmas!In this issue:VENT'S FIRST CHRISTMAS SALEHOLIDAY GIFT CERTIFICATES NOW AVAILABLEVENT'S FIRST CHRISTMAS SALEVENT is holding its first-ever Christmas sale! For a limited time, December 12-22, 2011, we are offering 25% discounts off two spaces on a select set of 2012 tours. These spaces are offered on a first-come bas...
