There are many "must do" birding areas of North America, such as Southeastern Arizona, Southern California, Maine, South Texas, the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and so on. We offer at least 2 of these standard tours every year, as well as continuing to look and add new and maybe unfamiliar destinations, such as Newfoundland and Labrador, North Dakota and West Virginia.
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February 21 - 29, 2012
with Andy Wraithmell
We are all familiar with the Everglades and South Florida, but this tour is designed to explore the real Florida; the Florida of wide open prairies, temperate swamps and piney woodlands.
Spring Migration on the Gulf Coast April 20 - 25, 2012
with Simon Thompson
In the spring, bad weather can make the journey across the Gulf of Mexico a difficult one for migrating birds. Many will not survive. Those that do are likely to land on the first piece of terra firma they reach, often in large numbers, in order to eat, drink, rest, and gain strength for the continuing trip north. What is bad for the birds can be good for the birder, and Dauphin Island, a barrier island at the entrance to Alabama's Mobile Bay, is among the best places on the Gulf Coast to experience one of these "fallouts". Even without "fallout," Dauphin Island, with its variety of accessible bird habitats, such as the renowned Shell Mounds and the 160-acre Audubon Sanctuary, is generally considered to be an outstanding spring migration
hot spot.
Graham County, Western N.C. April 28- May 4, 2012
with Simon Thompson
At the edge of the Smoky Mountains, high up in Santeetlah Gap at an elevation of almost 2,900 feet in the Nantahala National Forest, nestles the rustic and picturesque Snowbird Mountain Lodge. From the lodge there is an ever-changing panoramic view of the Snowbird Mountain range, Lake Santeetlah, and the homes and fields of the Snowbird Indians in the valley below. Two miles from the lodge is the 3,800-acre Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, a wonderland of centuries-old hemlocks and tulip poplars, basswoods, beeches, oaks and flowering dogwoods, mosses, ferns and wildflowers -- a remnant of America's virgin wilderness and a fitting memorial to the poet who penned "Trees". The wildflowers will be blooming and the birds will be singing, including the trilling "snowbird" (Dark-eyed Junco) nesting at its mountain breeding ground. Join us in welcoming spring back to the mountains of western North Carolina.
Kirtland's Connecticut & Mourning Warblers
June 9 - 15, 2012
with Simon Thompson
One of the many highlights of this trip will be an early morning tour into the jack-pine forest to see Kirtland's Warbler in a known nesting area. Afterwards we will travel north to the Upper Pennisula, visiting Seney National Wildlife Refuge & Whitefish Point, and seeking nesting warblersand other birds and wildflowers of the boreal forest.
Puffins, Boreal Birds & Spectacular Scenery
July 13-21, 2012
with Simon Thompson
Maine is wonderful to visit in the summer for its cool climate and fine scenery, and has long been a popular vacation destination. It also happens to be an outstanding birding destination, offering a variety of habitats, which offer quite different birding opportunities from one another. Our venture will begin in Portland, where we will explore the waders and water birds of Scarborough Marsh. From there we go to Maine's fabled coast, where we will visit Acadia National Park and then head "down east" to investigate some specialized habitats -- the boreal forest and blueberry barrens of easternmost Maine.
