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March 2016Newsletter

A magnificent Black-billed Capercaillie - traditionally a tough bird to see but on Paul Holt’s new autumn tour to Northern China you stand a great chance of getting views like this. And with a supporting cast of Baikal Teal, Baer’s Pochard, a host of northern owls and Brown Eared Pheasant, this promises to be a little gem of a tour. Details of this and a new Photo tour to Peru inside.

NEW TOURS

FORTHCOMING TOURSIndia - the Northwest

RECENT TOURSGhanaSouth AfricaArizona & UtahMexico: Colima and Jalisco

LATE AVAILABILITY

Paul has added another exciting destination to his already comprehensive list of tours in his adopted home of China. This will explore a small part of China’s fantastic and isolated northern Nei Mongol region and is at a time when many of its key species are most easily seen. We begin on the outskirts of Beijing where Mandarin and Falcated Ducks, Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpeckers,

Naumann’s Thrushes, the recently split Beijing Babbler, Chinese Blackbirds, and Silver-throated Bushtits await, while the list of buntings includes Meadow, Godlewski’s, Pine, Yellow-throated, Rustic, Pallas’s Reed, and possibly even Japanese Reed. There will be plenty of wildfowl here, possibly including Lesser White-fronted Goose and lots of ducks with good numbers of Baikal Teal. Relict Gull is also possible, as is that most charismatic of waders, Ibisbill.

Flying north to the mighty Nei Mongol province, we spend four days exploring extensive tracts of larch forest. It is here that perhaps the star of the show lives – the famously elusive Black-billed Capercaillie and we’ll devote plenty of time to finding this smart gamebird, with Hazel Grouse and Black Grouse providing some distraction. The supporting cast will include a host of owls, including the powerful Great Grey Owl, Northern-hawk Owl and possibly both Ural and Tengmalm’s Owls. Other species here include Lesser Spotted, White-backed, Eurasian Three-toed, and Black Woodpeckers, Siberian Jay, Pine Grosbeak, Azure Tit, Asian Rosy Finch and both Long-tailed and Pallas’s Rosefinches. Raccoon-dog and possibly even Lynx are also on the cards.

Returning to Beijing we’ll visit a recently discovered site for that rarest of ducks, Baer’s Pochard, before heading out to visit an historic monastery nestled in some wooded hills where the normally shy Brown Eared Pheasant can be remarkably tame and where we are guaranteed great views.

By visiting these regions in the autumn we are avoiding the harsh depths of winter but we can expect cold, clear and dry conditions - this will be one to wrap up for but as long as we are well prepared we’ll be in for a treat. There are no lengthy or arduous walks and we’ll never be far from our vehicles.

Paul will be ably assisted as usual by Wang Qingyu. A full list and a detailed day by day itinerary can be found on our website or obtained from the Sunbird office on request.

Northern China: The forests of Chinese Mongolia16 - 29 October 2016 with Paul Holt

NEW TOURS

Below: Baer’s Pochard and Brown Eared Pheasant - two more important species we’ll see on the tour. Photos Zhang Weimin, Paul Holt, and Cun Zhang.

Great Grey Owls can be numerous in the forests of Northern China in the autumn.

Peru - Hummingbirds Galore: A new Photo Tour: 24 November - 6/9 December with Stuart Elsom

With a staggering array of dazzlingly colourful birds, Peru is a natural destination for a Photographic Tour. And amongst the myriad of species to be found there, it is the hummingbirds that perhaps attract the most attention.. This is easy to see why - the rich variety of colour, shapes and sizes exhibited by these avian sprites is guaranteed to captivate anyone interested in wildlife.

Perhaps the easiest way to see and photograph these hyperactive birds is when they come to feed, and luckily for us, the lodges we stay at are all equipped with a range of feeders aimed at attracting them. Before we head off on our ‘hummingbird safari’ we’ll spend a day on the coast close to Lima where we’ll have the chance to photograph beautiful Inca Terns along with a variety of other coastal species. We then spend the next 13 days at three different lodges where we’ll have plenty of time to concentrate of obtaining stunning images of hummingbirds and other colourful birds that pose for the cameras. At the end of the tour there will be a short extension to the high Andes to photograph that most engimatic of waders, the Diademed Sandpiper-Plover.

Our Photographic tours are designed for both beginners and more experienced photographers alike. They run to a more flexible itinerary than one of our straightforward birdwatching tours, and rather than just trying to obtain quick snaps of a long list of species we’ll concentrate on obtaining great quality photographs of the wildlife we encounter, which may mean we often spend long periods with just a few subjects. The tour will include evening optional sessions on photographic techniques or image critique workshops and throughout the tour Stuart Elsom will be on hand to help with any technical queries you may have.

Other Photographic tours coming up in the near future include a tour to Honduras and a stay at the wonderful Pico Bonitos lodge. The dates for this are 10 - 18 February 2017 and full details will appear soon.

The feeders at the various lodges we use attract a variety of hummingbirds, such as this smart Chestnut-breasted Coronet. Photo Stuart Elsom.

Western India: Gujarat and the Rann of Kutch 20 November - 4 December 2016. If you are looking for somewhere that little bit different to visit, and yet somewhere that has some great birds and exciting mammals, then our tour to Western India is for you. With a wonderful coastline, the deserts of the Rann of Kutch, Gir Forest and extensive grasslands, the state of Gujarat is ornithologically one of the sub-

continent’s richest and yet least known areas. Our tour will take us first to the National Park at Velavadar. Created to protect the handsome antelope the Blackbuck at a time when it was critically endangered, the extensive grasslands are also famous for hosting the largest harrier roost in the world with up to 3000 birds - a mixture of Montagu’s, Pallid, and Western Marsh Harriers.

We then travel to the famous Gir Forest, home of the Asiatic Lion. We’ll encounter these magnificent animals along with an array of new birds, perhaps including Spotted Sandgrouse, Indian Black Ibis, Crested Hawk-eagle, Rock Bush-quail, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, and Tawny-bellied Babbler.

FORTHCOMING TOURS

Turning our attention to the coast of the Arabian Gulf, we should get superb views of Crab Plover, along with both Lesser and Greater Sand Plovers, Terek and Broad-billed Sandpipers, Great Black-headed and Heuglin’s Gulls, as well as Lesser Crested Terns and Western Reef-herons. Moving inland we hope to find Demoiselle Cranes and Laggar Falcons before reaching a drier region that is a wintering area for Grey Hypocolius. The endemic White-naped Tit is also here, along with a few rare Great Indian Bustards, White-browed (or Stoliczka’s) Bushchat, White-bellied Minivet, and with luck we should be able to find a Sykes’s Nightjar roosting near our guest house.

The wonderfully named Little Rann of Kutch is our next destination. Home to India’s last remaining Asiatic Wild Ass, which we’re virtually guaranteed to see, it is also the haunt of Macqueen’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Hoopoe Lark, and Asian Desert Warbler. A few critically endangered Sociable Plovers winter here where they can often be found in the company of the gorgeous Indian Courser. Full details including a bird list can be found on our website.

For those with a sense of adventure, Gujarat offers a true wildlife experience and one that perfectly complements our other Indian tours. Your leader is Paul Holt who had led a staggering number of birding tours on the Indian Sub-continent - around 70 at the last count!

Sykes’s Nightjar, one of several regional specialities we hope to encounter.

The endemic White-naped Tit. Photo by Kannan AS.

Kakum and Ankasa had already given us a whole suite of highlights - Akun and Fraser’s Eagle Owls, Dwarf Bittern, Congo Serpent Eagle, African Finfoot, White-spotted Flufftail, Rock Pratincole, Hartlaub’s Duck, White-bellied and Chocolate-backed Kingfishers, Rosy and Black Bee-eaters, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Sharpe’s Apalis, Red-cheeked Wattle-eye and numerous greenbuls, bulbuls, weavers, barbets, tinkerbirds, sunbirds and woodpeckers - not to mention the experience of the canopy walkway. As usual we camped in Ankasa which gave us the advantage of being on site at dawn. In addition we enjoyed great views of a couple of Yellow-headed Picathartes - the whole experience as magical as we expected.

Heading north to the drier surrounds of Mole National Park we were rewarded with fantastic birding, seeing nearly 100 species around our hotel before lunch! Highlights came thick and fast and ranged from Forbe’s Plovers and Martial Eagle to Golden-tailed Woodpecker and Black-faced Firefinch. Although not in the same league as the other game parks of Africa, there can be few places in the world where you can get so close to African Elephants, and watching these animals interact at close quarters will long remain in the memory. Back in the forest Blue-moustached Bee-eater and Long-tailed Hawk were two of the highlights. We saw them both well and the latter not only gave a fly-by but then perched for ages in the open. We had equally good views of Afep Pigeon and then glimpses of Black Dwarf Hornbill and Narina’s

RECENT TOURS

Ghana - November 2015

The amazing forest and canopy walkway at Kakum. Photo Yann Kolbeinsson.

One of the undoubted highlights of this year’s trip was in Ankasa when our local guide Victor tracked down Nkulengu Rail, a species that very few groups have seen. Within minutes of him dashing off into the forest having heard a call, we were watching not one, but two Nkulengu Rails and Victor was beaming from ear to ear, as was another tour group from South Africa that we put onto the bird.

Trogon. We ended the trip this year with an evening and following morning at Shai Hills. The colourful Mocking (White-crowned) Cliff Chat was seen almost immediately and followed by amazing views of Plain, Black-shouldered and Long-tailed Nightjars, joining the Standard-winged Nightjar we had seen at Mole. The last morning gave us just enough time for Double-toothed Barbet, Gabar Goshawk and Puvel’s Illadopsis before a visit to the lagoon and the hoped for Black Herons - a fitting way to end yet another great tour to this wonderful country that was filled with birds from start to finish. And once again everywhere we went we were met by friendly faces and were supported by a superb ground crew, a fantasic driver and an extremely competent local guide.

The dates for the 2016 tour are 9 - 23 November with James Lidster and Victor Owusu leading. At the time of writing there are a couple of places left.

Congo Serpent Eagle photographed on the 2015 tour. James Lidster.

Our pelagic off the Cape of Good Hope always provides a great end to our tour, and 2015 was no exception with calm seas and a trawling trawler followed by a huge stream of birds. White-chinned and Pintado Petrels were everywhere and mingled amongst them were Wilson’s Storm Petrels tap-dancing their way over the waves, Great Shearwater, Southern and Northern Giant Petrels, a few Sabine’s Gulls, and of course the albatrosses: Shy and Black-browed were abundant but the sightings of both Atlantic and Indian Ocean Yellow-nosed Albatrosses were exceptional.

South Africa - September 2015

Before all that we had watched a Cheetah lazing in the shade amongst the red dunes of the Kalahari and hordes of Burchell’s and Namaqua Sandgrouse at their waterhole along with Violet-eared Waxbills and Red-headed Finches. On the Orange River we found Crested Barbet, Striped Kingfisher, South African Cliff Swallows, and Orange River White Eye among others. Amidst the stark beauty of Bushmanland there were some outstanding looks at Sclater’s Larks, and else-where we found Karoo Long-billed Lark, lots of Spike-heeled Larks, Sabota Lark, Thick-billed Lark, and Grey-backed and Black-eared Sparrow Larks. We located both Karoo Korhaan and Ludwig’s Bustards out in the countryside and the elusive Red Lark performed beautifully for us. Elsewhere there were some stunning wildflowers in Namaqualand, Black Harriers hunting over the fynbos, Chestnut-banded Plovers scurrying around the edge of saltpans, Cape Rockjumpers and Ground Woodpeckers posing for us, Cape Sugarbirds sitting on Proteas, Cape Batis in the wonderful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and Allen’s Gallinule amongst masses of Greater and Lesser Flamingos and a variety of ducks at the famous Strandfontien wetland. The 2016 tour runs from 3 to 18 September with Steve Rooke leading.

Some images from the 2015 tour (Clockwise from the right): Chestnut-banded Plover, Ground Woodpecker, an expanse of wild flowers in Namaqualand, and Cape Batis. All photos Steve Rooke.

The Indian Ocean Yellow-nosed Albatross seen on our pelagic

Mexico: Colima and Jalisco - February 2016. It all began with a neighbourhood walk from our hotel, which gave us a taste of how bird-filled this region is, and ended with the sound of crashing surf as diving Brown Pelicans and Heermann’s Gulls fed off the beach outside our rooms. In between, the many highlights ranged from stunning Red Warblers and Mountain Trogons in beautiful, temperate pine-fir forest to Citreoline Trogons and the very local Balsas Screech-Owl in tropical thorn forest; from migrant Black-throated Gray Warblers and Painted Buntings to resident Happy Wrens and Black-chested Sparrows; from eye-burning Orange-breasted Buntings and Flame-colored Tanagers to subtle Dwarf Vireos and Zone-tailed Hawks; from ‘frozen’ Aztec Thrushes to dashing little Bat Falcons; from confiding Gray Silkies and grunting Elegant Trogons to explosive Banded Quail; and from a very impressive, blowing volcano to Mexican back roads, great food (chiles en nogada, camarones, etc.) and friendly people everywhere. You can join Steve Howell on next year’s tour from 28 January to 5 February 2017.

Arizona & Utah - September 2015. An amazing 2,091 miles and 200 species were logged on our 2015 Arizona and Utah adventure. This tour is designed to capture both the indescribable beauty of a vast region as well as its varied and abundant wildlife. With major destinations like the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park we were exposed to over two billion years of geologic history. As luck would have it 10 California Condors graced the skies for us this year, reminding everyone why they are the masters of the ‘Big Sky’ country. The world-famous Monument Valley’s buttes and mesas stood silently and majestic as we watched the

sun set amongst these Western icons. Not to be overshadowed by the famous parks were places like Arizona’s White Mountains where we were able to unwind, relax and enjoy a few days of

blissful birding isolation before ending our tour in the steamy saguaro-studded landscape of the Sonoran desert. The dates for the 2016 tour are 6 - 18 September.

The wonderful Monument Valley, and below two gems from the tour, Black-throated Sparrow and Canyon Wren. Photos Gary Rosenberg and Will Russell.

Two Mexican endemics from the tour, (left) Red Warbler and below the wonderfully named Happy Wren.

Photos Steve Howell.

Visit our website www.sunbirdtours.co.uk for full details of all the tours covered here

Late Availability - we have spaces on the following tours at the time of writing

Georgia - Autumn Migration: 26 August - 3 September with Paul French

Israel: 1 - 11 April with Paul French Georgia: 24 April - 2 May with Paul French

Netherlands in Spring: 11 - 15 May with James Lidster

Japan: 15 - 28 May with Susan Myers

Hungary Photo Tour: 1 - 10 June with Stuart Elsom

Galapagos Islands: 17 - 27 June with Rich Hoyer

Peru - Northwest: 25 June - 6 July with Fabrice Schmitt & Rich Hoyer

Sunbird group in Mongolia

Tristam’s Grackle

Levant Sparrowhawk

Bluethroat

Okinawa Rail Waved Albatross

Red-footed Falcon

Great Rosefinch

Sword-billed Hummingbird