Ventures Bird Watching & Natural History Tours

VENTURES
BirdingTours
Putting the fun back into Birding!
Bird Watching and Natural History Tours
P.O. Box 1095, Skyland, North Carolina 28776
Phone: 1.866.253.4247 Email: Travel@Birdventures.com

NEWS UPDATE!

Central Peru
Santa Eulalia, Junin, Carpish Pass & Bosque Unchog
July 31 - August 10, 2009

Central Peru offers spectacular scenery, a wide diversity of habitats, and some ultra rare birds, such as the Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, White-bellied Cinclodes, Junin Grebe and many more. Our Venture starts in Lima, where we spend the night before heading inland through the incredibly diverse Santa Eulalia Valey

towards Junin. From sea level we climb to over 4000 m as we search for some of Peru's rarest and enigmatic birds. From Junin where we take a boat trip to search for the endemic Junin Grebe, we continue to some of the country's most evocative birding spots- Carpish Pass, the Paty Trail and Bosque Unchog. These names are steeped in Peru's ornithological history due to the work of Ted Parker and the other researchers from Louisiana State University. Some of the birds here are legendary, such as Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager, Bay-vented Cotinga, Rufous-browed Hemispingus and Pardusco. We will spend several days in this very bird-rich area before returning to Huanuco. Join us for a journey into some of the most bird-rich places in Peru.

Welcome to the Ventures website. We have put together quite a varied selection of daytrips, weekend and longer Ventures both within North America and further afield. Take a look at our Calendar and you can find out more information on each of our upcoming birding and nature tours. You can enjoy watching warblers in the Carolinas, take a boat up the River Gambia, West Africa or enjoy watching seabirds on a pelagic trip off California. From the Danube Delta in Romania to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, we hope you can join us for one of our birding Ventures in the coming year.

If you click on the image to the left you will find a short video of Three-wattled Bellbird taken at Santa Elena Preserve in Costa Rica by Harvey Neal.

It is an .wmv movie and it is a large file so it may take a little time to download. HINT - it may be easier to "right click" on the bird, choose the "Save Target As", save it to your desktop and open it from there.

Ventures

Ventures started 15 years ago under the auspices of Foothills Equestrian Nature Center (FENCE), Tryon, NC. In the summer of 1998, Ventures, Inc. became an independent entity under the ownership of Simon Thompson.

As we are based in the Carolinas, we will continue to offer a wide range of popular day and weekend trip throughout the Carolinas, with a unique blend of birds, butterflies and wildflowers. Because of our experience in birding and tour organization, we are also able to offer a wide range of tours both within the United States and many other countries.

We hope you are tempted by the wide variety of trips we have to offer, and that you will join us on one or more Ventures in the coming year.

Calendars

Calendar At A Glance

2009/2010
For more information on the below Ventures, click here.
Dates	Venture	Status
May 16-24, 2009	Arizona
May 21-30, 2009	Ecuador Highlands
May 23, 2009	Blue Ridge Birding
May 26-31, 2009	St. Paul, Pribilofs	2 Spaces Left
May 31- June 15, 2009	Grand Alaska	4 Spaces Left
May 31 - June 10, 2009	San Isidro and Eastern Lowlands, Ecuador
June 10-14, 2009	Amazonian Extension, Ecuador
June 17, 2009	Roan Mountain
June 18, 2009	Roan Mountain
June 18-21, 2009	Asheville, NC
July 11, 2009	Butters and Dragons
Jul 31 - Aug 10, 2009	Central Peru
Aug 24 - Sept 4, 2009	Newfoundland and Labrador
Oct 4, 2009	Fall Migration, Jackson Park
Oct 5-16, 2009	Veracruz Hawkwatching
Oct 29 - Nov 12, 2009	Southern Argentina
Nov 21-29, 2009	Thanksgiving in Jamaica
Dec 11-18, 2009	Trinidad
Jan 15-18, 2010	Jekyll Island and Coastal GA
February 2010	Hawaii
March 12-21, 2010	Ecuador Highlands
April 9-25, 2010	Bhutan's Himalayan Kingdom for Pheasants, Babblers and Flycatchers!!
May 18 - June 1, 2010	Kazakhstan
July 2-10, 2010	Churchill, Manitoba
July 15-23, 2010	NW Peru 1
July 23-31, 2010	NW Peru 2
November 19-28, 2010	Caribbean Islands
Nov - Early Dec 2010	Madagascar
Dec 10-26, 2010	South Africa - Cape & Durban to J'burg
Dec 27, 2010 - Jan 6, 2011	Columbia

NOTE! These dates are provisional and subject to change! To be sent more information on any overnight Venture, or to register for a Day-Trip, please click here.

NOTE: Please confirm these dates by calling the Ventures office. Also contact us for additional information or to reserve a space on any Venture.

Who are we?

Originally from Suffolk, England, Simon has lived in North Carolina for over 10 years. He has lived in Lebanon, Kenya, Yemen, and Ghana, where his interest in birds and natural history began. In addition to traveling extensively in the United States, Simon spent six months in China studying the crane and bird of prey migration as a member of the British "China Crane Watch" expedition. As director and originator of Ventures Nature Travel program in Tryon, North Carolina, Simon has led many birding trips all over the world.

Scott was born and raised in the mountains of southern Appalachia, specifically the coal fields of West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. After 21 years in the United States Air Force, he retired in 1991.

The Asheville area has been his and Irene's home since 1992. Scott attended UNC-Asheville, earning a degree in biology in 1997. His studies focused on the flora, fauna, and natural history of the southern Appalachians.

For the last six years Scott has been a walk leader for UNC-Asheville's annual Wildflower Pilgrimage, also leading wildlife and wildflower walks at the Western North Carolina Nature Center and serving as First Vice President of the Friends of the Nature Center. He is a frequent guest host on Saturdays morning radio's "Nature News" which can be heard on Asheville's WISE 1310 AM and Hendersonville's WTZQ 1600 AM. and presents slide programs for civic and social groups in the area.

Tyler grew up near Wichita, Kansas where he started birding at age 10. He has traveled to eleven countries in search of birds. Leaving home at age 17 he traveled by thumb and Greyhound bus from Texas to Alaska to Quebec with binoculars in hand. He has worked as a bird guide in Costa Rica, Ecuador, and the United States. In addition to birding he has a scientific interest in birds and has worked on various ornithological research projects including raptor banding in Duluth, counting raptors in the Berkshire Hills, monitoring wintering neotropical migrants in Cuba, and monitoring migrants on Korea's offshore islands in the Yellow Sea. He is currently working towards a degree in Zoology. The best thing I enjoy about being a bird guide is that my lifelist is reset with every client and finding a 'lifer' for them is as enjoyable as seeing it the first time for me as well.

Gordon was born in Manchester, Northern England and has been a birder for over 20 years in Britain and Europe. He now lives in Cornwall in the far South West of England, where he works in his spare time with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds leading local trips and working on such projects as helping to protect the newly established Choughs. He has also been involved with the annual Migration count and survey on Raptors and Storks over the Straits of Gibraltar. Although he has been birding in Africa, Asia and North America, Gordon's real passion is for Swallows and Bee-eaters and loves birding in the Mediterranean . He enjoys leading birdtrips and meeting people with the same interest.

Bob has been an active field Birder for 30 years. Originally coming from NJ, he became very familiar with all arenas of birding from interior woodlands to coastal. Bob has done numerous Breeding Bird surveys for NJ Audubon, State of NJ and the Federal Government. Bob also participated in the NJ World Series of Birding on a State and County level. Since coming to Western NC., 5 years ago, Bob has continued to be involved in Bird Surveys and has been a leader of numerous Field Birding trips in Western North Carolina. He is always a popular field trip leader because of his acute hearing and knowledge of bird songs.

Mark Welford is originally from Bedford, England and has lived in the US for the past 25 years. He is married to Terry and lives in Statesboro, GA, where he is the Associate Professor in the Department of Geology and Geography at Georgia Southern University, Mark also studied in Illinois, Idaho and England, and as well as teaching, he spends time researching Geo-dynamics, Biogeography and Ecology of Tropical Montane Environments, Tropical Conservation and Geographic Education. He has also coordinated several squares for the Georgia Breeding Bird Atlas, participated in Operation Raleigh, done bird-banding in the US and South America and many other diverse projects. Mark has traveled to and birded in many countries in both eastern and western Europe including Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. He also has extensive birding experience in South America and has spent a lot of time in Ecuador and Peru, where tour leading has been part of his repertoire. Mark has led or co-led the following Ventures: Coastal Georgia (co-led 2005); Western Ecuador (co-led 2006; led 2007); Romania (co-led 2006); Southern Ecuador (co-led 2008), and NW Ecuador and the Choco (led 2008)..

Marilyn Westphal is a native of the mid-west, but has been living in North Carolina since 1992. She is an environmental scientist studying stream, river, and lake water quality for the Environmental Quality Institute at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. She caught the birding bug about 15 years ago and has been an avid birder ever since. She is currently the president of the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society in Asheville, North Carolina and is coordinating the mountain section site descriptions for a new bird guide for North Carolina for the Carolina Bird Club. She is also working on an information guide on the birds of the southern Appalachians for the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society.

Originally from Liverpool, England, Andy has lived in Tallahassee, Florida with his wife Julie for over 3 years. After leaving high school in 1988 he joined the British Royal Navy and sailed under the seven seas in a Submarine! A career change was inevitable and after leaving the service he was selected to join the National Trusts apprentice ranger program and went to Bicton College in Devon to study Environmental Conservation. After graduating in 1999 he went onto work as a research assistant for the R.S.P.B and then as the assistant bander at Dungeness Bird Observatory for3 years. In 2003 he worked as the seawatch counter at Cape May Bird Observatory and later went onto band shorebirds there in 2005. Andy is also an Environmental Consultant, an avid photographer and travel writer. His travels have taken him to many places including much of Western Europe& the Mediterranean Islands, Canary Islands, South Africa, New Mexico and Arizona.

NEWS UPDATE!

Ventures

Calendars

Calendar At A Glance

For more information on the below Ventures, click here.

NOTE! These dates are provisional and subject to change! To be sent more information on any overnight Venture, or to register for a Day-Trip, please click here.

Who are we?

Contact Information

Last modified: April 28, 2009

Copyright 2009 Ventures, Inc.