Erik Forsyth – Maleo

My most exciting bird over the last quarter was my recent sighting of Maleo at Tambun, North Sulawesi. The park was established to help protect the breeding grounds of the terrestrial-dwelling Maleo, a unique member of the megapodes. I arrived in the park in the late afternoon after a six-hour journey; and with help from the local ranger and caretaker of the park, Max, we proceeded along the trails quietly and scanned carefully for my target. Several forest birds were seen, including Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Black-billed Koel, Brahminy Kite, Sulawesi Serpent Eagle and a smart White-faced Cuckoo-Dove. Walking towards a hide area, Max suddenly said that he could see two Maleos near the hide; but as quick as I had looked, the birds had vanished. Max said that the birds arrive at the nest mounds from 16:30 in the afternoon, and so we climbed into the hide overlooking an open area in the forest and waited. At around 16:30, I noticed the unmistakeable shape of a megapode, 60 yards away through some trees. It took a few tantalizing seconds, which seemed forever – as the bird had disappeared behind a large tree. I needn’t have worried, as soon the bird re-appeared and I had good clear views of a male bird. Not before long, a second male appeared and I fired off a few pics. A huge relief swept over me, as you always fear it may not be your day. The following morning, I returned at 06:30am. Approaching the breeding grounds, 2 males could be seen, and a pair was noticed investigating a nest mound. To crown it off, a fifth bird was seen flying up into a tree in the forest! I need not have worried.

Maleo by Erik Forsyth

Capuchinbird by Forrest Rowland

Forrest Rowland – Capuchinbird

The bird I most hope to see assigned its own family is undoubtedly the Capuchinbird. This bizarre, bald, behemoth member of the Cotingid family is unlike anything else on earth! Uttering its rolling growling cow-like calls, these huge balls of feather can be surprisingly hard to spot, as they sedately glean fruit and hide in the sub-canopy of Guianan Shield rainforests. We were lucky enough to have unparalleled views of this weird, yet attractive, species on our recent tour to the heart of Amazonian Brazil, out of Manaus. By far my number-one pick for Top recent sighting, and voted #1 bird of the tour by participants.

Gareth Robbins – African Spotted Creeper

I had seen an African Spotted Creeper in Angola a few years back. Unfortunately, it was a quick sighting, and I was not able to get a photo of the bird either! I recently came back from a visit to the eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe, where my luck changed when I was birding in Miombo woodland outside the town of Mutare. I had visited a few other reliable Miombo spots earlier on the trip but, unfortunately had not manage to find any bird parties, which is what one looks for when birding in the Miombo habitat. This all changed when I arrived in the middle of one! I was looking at Miombo Rock Thrush, Southern Hyliota and Miombo Double-collared Sunbirds at the same time, when suddenly, a spotted bird flew right past me at eye level. I knew instantly what bird it was, and managed to get a few photos of an African Spotted Creeper catching an unsuspecting spider on the side of a tree.

African Spotted Creeper by Gareth Robbins

Pale Chanting Goshawk & Cape Cobra by Jeremy Exelby

Jeremy Exelby – Pale Chanting Goshawk & a Cape Cobra

We all really enjoyed our recent visit to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the recently-completed Cape Wild Flowers: Birding and Big Game tour. Northern Black & Red-crested Korhaans showed off, a family group of Lion parked off for the whole day in the dry Aoub River bed and we lost count of the number of owls seen, both during the day and on the night drive.

Top ranking must go, however, to the encounter between a juvenile Pale Chanting Goshawk and a Cape Cobra. The bird was apparently more filled with curiosity than lethal intent, but the snake took the challenge seriously by raising and spreading its hood. Not long after, the cobra slowly slithered away, leaving the bird to find a more manageable meal.

Rich Lindie – Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise

My top recent sighting, for a change, is of a species I have already seen several times before. What’s more, is it’s not at all uncommon in the right habitats. Where it more than makes up for it, of course, is that it’s a bird-of-paradise – and a quintessential one at that – replete with spectacular plumes used for nothing more than impressing the opposite sex, and a dance to match. But the main reason my most-recent sighting of this species hit the top of my list is that, for the first time in my life, I got to enjoy several hours just watching and photographing a few of these wonderful birds, all in the company of my wife – for whom it was a first experience with any bird-of-paradise!

Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise by Rich Lindie

Heaviside’s Dolphins by Wayne Jones

Wayne Jones – Heaviside’s Dolphin

At the tail end of a private western South Africa tour, we visited Port Nolloth and Alexander Bay in the far north-western corner of the country. We had successfully located our two main targets for the day – Barlow’s and Cape Long-billed Larks, and were driving past the beach at Port Nolloth when we spotted a small, dark shape leap out of the waves. It wasn’t long before we spotted blunt triangular fins breaching just beyond the breakers, identifying the creatures as Heaviside’s Dolphin, endemic to the west coast of Southern Africa. We watched these beauties jumping, playing and surfing in the break – just meters from shore! After half an hour or so, we had to move on – not that the dolphins minded; they just carried on frolicking! It was a delightful experience and one of the highlights of the trip.

Heinz Ortmann – Short-legged Ground Roller

My most recent top sighting was not a lifer, but nevertheless a top bird. The Ground Rollers are a family of birds comprising five species that are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Four of the species are found in the country’s rainforests; whilst the fifth is found in the dry spiny forest of the south-west. On our recent Madagascar Highlights I tour, we were fortunate enough to have great views and photograph the much sought-after Short-legged Ground Roller, one of the species found in the rainforests of this amazing and biodiverse hotspot. This specific sighting was all the more impressive, as during the winter months, when this tour took place, these rainforest dwellers do not call often and are much more difficult to find as a result. Needless to say, our fantastic local guide found this gem and it made it as one of the top sightings of the entire tour!

Short-legged Ground Roller by Heinz Ortmann

African River Martin by Markus Lilje

Glen Valentine – African River Martin

The African River Martin is undoubtedly one of Africa’s least-known and most mysterious birds. This “Holy Grail” of African birds breeds along the Congo and Ubangi Rivers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and on sandy beaches along the southern Gabonese coastline, migrating over the extensive lowland rainforests of Gabon between these two breeding localities.

Until recently, this species had a near-mythical status, and had been seen by very few people, but is now known to be a regular visitor to certain parts of the spectacular Loango National Park in southern coastal Gabon. The species is currently placed in a sub-family of swallows known as the river martins – where it is one of only two members of this unique sub-family, the other being the White-eyed River Martin of south-east Asia that is now almost certainly extinct.

On a recent tour to Gabon and the Loango National Park, my group of intrepid birders were very fortunate to encounter around twenty of these strange swallows that performed extremely well in flight overhead, and at eye-level as they skimmed low over the water right in front of our boat.

Seeing such a rare and special bird as the African River Martin is a magical experience and is without a doubt one of my 2017 birding highlights.

Bonus Sighting: Clayton Burne – Knysna Warbler

Birding my local patch a few weeks ago turned up a major area rarity, two vocalizing Knysna Warblers! This species naturally occurs in dense, low vegetation, usually along watercourses of the southern Western Cape and Eastern Cape – and this was roughly 200km out of range for an apparently sedentary species. Endemic to South Africa, there may only be only a few thousand of these Vulnerable species left. Identifying the species by call was the easy part; but typical of the Bradypterus genus, the Knysna Warbler is a highly cryptic species that rarely shows itself, never mind for cameras. Needless to say, getting good views and a decent record shot was far more than expected!

Knysna Warbler by Clayton Burne

Brazil – Birds & Wildlife of the Pantanal & Cerrado I 2017
By Dušan Brinkhuizen

Our classic Birds & Wildlife of the Pantanal & Cerrado I adventure of July 2017 was a trip of a lifetime. The number of spectacular birds, mammals and other wildlife seen on this trip was simply overwhelming. And not to forget the fantastic scenery available in all the different habitats that we traversed.

We started off in remote Amazonia, with the pristine jungle of Cristalino all around us. Our stay at this top-notch birding lodge was amazing both qualitatively and quantitatively, as we observed many species, including plenty of rare ones! The myriad of trails into pristine terrafirme forest produced exciting encounters, with species like Dark-winged Trumpeter, Cryptic Forest Falcon, Paradise Jacamar, Uniform Woodcreeper, Razor-billed Curassow, Amazonian Umbrellabird, Red-headed Manakin, Bare-eyed Antbird and Alta Floresta Antpitta. The trail up to the rocky outcrops with semi-deciduous forest was superb in terms of rare birds, with sightings of Spotted Puffbird, Zimmer’s Tody-tyrant, Natterer’s Slaty Antshrike, Southern White-fringed Antwren and a pair of Fiery-tailed Awlbill to boot! The two fantastic canopy towers surely completed our Amazon birding experience, with many canopy specialties seen at close range, including Brown-banded Puffbird, White-browed Hawk, Pompadour and Spangled Cotingas, White-browed Purpletuft, Kawall’s Amazon, Crimson-bellied Parakeet, White-bellied and Red-fan Parrots, Tooth-billed Wren, Red-necked and Ringed Woodpeckers, Black-girdled Barbet, Yellow-shouldered Grosbeak, Black-bellied Cuckoo and many colorful tanagers, toucans, aracari’s and no less than five species of macaw!

Dark-winged Trumpeter by Holger Teichmann

Blue Finch by Holger Teichmann

White-fronted Woodpecker by Holger Teichmann

Coal-crested Finch by Dušan Brinkhuizen

Southwest Pacific Islands 2017
By Rich Lindie

This year’s tour of the Southwest Pacific islands proved, yet again, that not only is the region a must for any global birder, with almost 80 regional endemics seen in less than three weeks, but that it is also rapidly becoming a relatively hassle-free destination to travel through. Indeed, any itinerary to the region is still very much at the mercy of local flight schedules; and the speed at which things move, at times, is nothing if not unhurried, but the once notoriously unreliable flights seem a thing of the past, while all other services and facilities continue to improve. That said, the very charm of many of the islands is the underdevelopment of many areas, and we enjoyed relatively very little company while birding away from resorts and urban areas. Beautiful marine areas together with some wonderful forest and mountain scenery did their part to ensure a very varied and interesting tour, too!

Kicking off the tour in New Caledonia, we rapidly filled our lists with local and regional endemics, including the star bird of the tour for many, the incomparable Kagu. With seemingly more and more interest in family-collecting among world birders, tours to New Caledonia seldom fail to attract sign-ups as a result of this now very easy bird, several pairs of which have become habituated, thanks to a highly-successful recovery program within Blue River National Park. Alongside the Kagu, other highlights on Grand Terre included superlative views of Horned Parakeet, Cloven-feathered Dove, Goliath Imperial Pigeon, New Caledonian Crow, Red-throated Parrotfinch, Yellow-bellied Flyrobin and New Caledonian Cuckooshrike; while a short trip to Lifou Island yielded great views of both Large and Small Lifou White-eyes.

New Caledonia itself is also a fascinating sight, mixing a little of very typical Pacific culture and pace with all things French and modern. The latter, of course, being very evident as we moved progressively eastward through the Pacific.

The next stop in our adventure was Vanuatu, where a significant change of pace was the order of the day in many respects. For starters, we found ourselves lodging in blissful seclusion, on the shores of a very tranquil stretch of beach. Indeed, some of us watched a Dugong from the resort restaurant on one of our days there! We also enjoyed what would be the first of many relaxing afternoons off as a result of flight schedules, and some very easy birding throughout parts of the tour. On the easy birding side, we racked up all of the expected endemics on just our first morning in the country, including the truly DELIGHTFUL Buff-bellied Monarch and Vanuatu Kingfisher; whilst the second morning saw us securing great views of the final species – Vanuatu Megapode!

Making a few stops along the way, the third leg of our journey saw us birding three of the major islands within the archipelago of Fiji. There too, we enjoyed some lovely accommodations and some pretty easy birding, though a few tricky species did provide us with enough challenges to keep us occupied and on our toes. Starting on Taveuni, we were especially pleased to find that the Orange Fruit Doves appear to have returned to the main birding sites, after a recent tropical storm was apparently to blame for a lack of any sightings on last year’s tour. On top of multiple sightings of the dove, we also enjoyed great views of Fiji Goshawk, Yellow-billed Honeyeater, Maroon Shining Parrot, Fiji Whistler, Pacific Kingfisher and Azure-crested Flycatcher, among many other great birds.

On Kadavu, all of the local specials put up no fight at all – except for a Whistling Fruit Dove, which waited until the eleventh hour to put in an appearance – whilst a combination of a few birding outings on Viti Levu produced sightings of such goodies as Golden Fruit Dove, Masked Shining Parrot, Collared Lory, Many-colored Fruit Dove, Fiji Woodswallow, Giant Honeyeater and Fiji Parrotfinch, among several other sought-after species. Needless to say, some of the best food we ate on the tour was also consumed in Fiji, whilst we definitely enjoyed the most happy-hours there!

Our final stop, Samoa, was the shortest of all but by no means less productive than any of the others. For a change of scenery, literally, we found ourselves lodging in the clouds, overlooking some lovely scenery, replete with soaring White-tailed Tropicbirds and White Terns visible from our balconies, whilst birding forays around the island bagged us such sought-after species as Mao, Blue-crowned Lorikeet, Flat-billed Kingfisher, Samoan Starling and Red-headed Parrotfinch.

Kagu by Rich Lindie

Buff-bellied Monarch by David Hoddinott

Golden Fruit Dove by Rich Lindie

Fiji Parrotfinch by Rich Lindie

Alaska 2017
By Forrest Rowland

Nowhere in North America conjures visions of wilderness, vastness, and adventure like Alaska does. The 1.3 human inhabitants per square mile population density is evidence enough of just how wild a place like Alaska still is, especially since 70% of that tiny population lives in Anchorage. Our suite of tours through Alaska this year kicked off in one of the most remote areas of the whole state – Nome. Here we saw our first of more than 20 grizzly bears encountered, had excitingly close encounters with Musk Oxen and Reindeer, as well as locating all of our target bird species, with a healthy dose of surprizes thrown in. Best of the best of Nome were Ross’s and Slaty-backed Gulls, Arctic Loon, Emperor Goose, flight displays by Bristle-thighed Curlew, Lesser Sand Plover, Ruff, Grey-tailed Tattler, Red-necked Stint, Eastern Yellow and White Wagtails, several displaying Bluethroats, Northern Wheatear, and Gyrfalcon every single day we were there!

Our next destination was the volcanic Pribilof Islands, located well offshore, deep in the Bering Sea, where we were greeted by millions of nesting seabirds! We spent much of our time simply ogling and delighting in the antics of the myriad of cliff-nesting birds that congregate here to breed each year. Crested, Parakeet, and Least Auklets, Red-faced Cormorants, and the stunning Red-legged Kittiwake are among the more endearing of the species that we enjoyed. Of course, for North American birders, the possibility of Asian vagrants is a big draw to St Paul. We struck it big in this department, indeed! White-tailed Eagle, Black-headed Gull, Common Snipe, Olive-backed Pipit, many Hawfinch, and the biggest mega rarity of the tour – Marsh Sandpiper. The scenery, wildflowers, and fascinating Seal colonies make any visit to the Pribilofs unforgettable.

White Wagtail by Forrest Rowland

Bluethroat by Forrest Rowland

Parakeet Auklet by Forrest Rowland

The main tour to Denali and the Kenai Peninsula was the most successful to date. So many wonderful experiences were had that I can’t possibly recap them all, from nesting Black-backed and Three-toed Woodpeckers, displaying Smith’s Longspurs, Spruce Grouse, and all three species of Ptarmigan, to Grizzly Bear sows with cubs right on the road. The spectacular Alaska range was the backdrop for a great number of these fabulous experiences along the Denali Highway; while the glacier-calved fjords of the Kenai Peninsula will always recall seeing 7 Pacific Humpback Whales in one day off Resurrection Bay! Ancient and Marbled Murrelets, Black Oystercatcher, and feeders covered in Pine Grosbeak and Red Crossbills near Seward were a few of the highlights. Sea Otters always top the mammal list by virtue of just how undeniably cute they are.

We ended our Alaskan adventure at the northernmost continental point in North America, Utqiavik (Barrow). This bleak, tundra landscape comes alive in Summer to host some of the Arctic’s most iconic species. Snowy Owl is always high on people’s wishlist, and we were treated to 5 individuals! This was an especially good year for these majestic white birds. It was also a good year for Eiders. King, Spectacled, and Steller’s Eiders all showed amazingly well for us, offering great photo ops, to boot! It was a great way to wrap up a wonderful time in the true wilds of America.

Smith’s Longspur by Forrest Rowland

Spruce Grouse by Forrest Rowland

King Eider by Forrest Rowland

Golden Pheasant by Glen Valentine

China – Sichuan & Yunnan 2017
By Glen Valentine

The provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan offer some of the very best birding in all of China and, quite simply, all of Asia! Our 2017 comprehensive Sichuan birding tour and pre-tour extension of Yunnan was as previous years’ trips: a mammoth success!

The birding and photography is simply superb, and this epic birding adventure takes in some of Asia’s most beautiful and pristine temperate forests and awe-inspiring landscapes.

This mostly wild and untouched part of China is undoubtedly the pheasant capital of the world, and we were delighted to encounter a staggering seventeen representatives of this handsome and classically Asian family; that included Snow Partridge, Tibetan Snowcock, Chinese Grouse, Verreaux’s Monal-Partridge, Mountain Bamboo Partridge, Temminck’s Tragopan, Chinese Monal, Blue Eared and White Eared Pheasants, the sensational Lady Amherst’s Pheasant and the outrageous Golden Pheasant!

Pere David’s (Sichuan Wood) Owl by Rich Lindie

Pzrevalski’s Finch (Pinktail) by Rich Lindie

Beautiful Sibia by Rich Lindie

Highlights of Africa Private Tour 2017
By Wayne Jones

After offering this trip for a couple of years with (surprisingly!) no takers, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the tour this year, albeit in private form. The tour spanned four countries, with the option of a fifth – if the South African extension had gone ahead.

We began our exploration of Africa in northern Tanzania, arguably the world’s safari capital. First stop was the incredible Ngorongoro Crater, where we enjoyed views of Kori Bustard, Rosy-throated Longclaw, Quailfinch, Golden Jackal and Black Rhino. Next up was the Serengeti, where we’d timed our trip to coincide with the famous wildebeest migration. Along with thousands of Common Wildebeest we saw large numbers of other big game, such as African Buffalo, African Elephant, Thompson’s and Grant’s Gazelles, Hartebeest, Spotted Hyena and Leopard. We even witnessed a large pride of Lions hunting some flustered wildebeest. They were unsuccessful, but it was fascinating to observe the strategizing between the cats. We also checked off Serengeti specials like Grey-crested Helmetshrike, Grey-breasted Spurfowl, Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill and Karamoja Apalis.

Ngorongoro Landscape by Wayne Jones

Lioness by Wayne Jones

Wildebeest Migration by Wayne Jones

Grey-breasted Spurfowl by Wayne Jones

From Tanzania, we flew to Uganda, which has one of the richest bird lists on the continent. African Hobby, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Great Blue Turaco and Grey Parrot were just some of the terrific birds seen in the middle of Entebbe! One of our first activities in Uganda was to explore the swamps lining the mighty Lake Victoria. It wasn’t long before we found our main quarry – a splendid Shoebill. The eye-poppingly bright Papyrus Gonolek was another delight, along with an array of waterbirds. Moving away from the shores of the great lake, we ventured into the western and south-western corners of the country. Kibale Forest Reserve and the legendary Bwindi Impenetrable Forest held many avian treasures, among them the diminutive Chestnut Wattle-eye, Fraser’s Rufous Thrush, Black-billed Turaco, Luhder’s Bushshrike, Equatorial Akalat and a male Bar-tailed Trogon. The undoubted birding highlight, though, was a stunning pair of Green-breasted Pittas, which we admired for almost ten minutes as they calmly went about their business. Uganda also has an incredibly high primate diversity, and we had sensational encounters with the two most sought-after species: Chimpanzee and Eastern Gorilla.

After spending the bulk of our time in Uganda, we wound down our African odyssey along the banks of the broad Zambezi River, where some were fortunate to see African Finfoot and Spot-necked Otter. In and around the town of Livingstone, we found Dickinson’s Kestrel, Long-toed Lapwing and African Pygmy Goose, and the guests tracked White Rhino on foot in Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park. Of course, no expedition to this part of the world is complete without a visit to the incredible Victoria Falls, which we viewed from both the Zambian and the wetter Zimbabwean sides.

Shoebill by Wayne Jones

Equatorial Akalat by Wayne Jones

Chimpanzee by Wayne Jones