hvbaskey Posted January 14, 2014 #76 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Well? I am home! what an AMAZING adventure!!! the bird guides (all four ports of call) were fantastic. FUN FUN FUN!!! All the names that I mentioned in previous posts were really great and would recommend any of them to anyone who loves birds! We had a very short time in Cabo San Lucas and in our 4 hours spent with Maria Elena Muriel of Birding Los Cabos - we managed to see over 35 birds. Really a fantastic trip! In Puerto Vallarta, our time for birding was short as well, as we arrived later (after lunch) and it is dark by ~ 6 -ish - but we managed to pull off ~ 40 or so bird species (some awesome ones at that!). In Costa Rica - WOW WOW WOW - Berny Sanchez was second to none. A young guide who is VERY knowledgeable and helpful. He was amazing!!! We saw ~ 75 species that included treks to Carara National Park and then Playa Hermosa. Really great experience with Berny! Panama was soooooooo beautiful. Our port was Colon and Gonzalo promptly picked us at as soon as we could get off the ship. BUSY traffic at Gatun Locks, so while we waited for ships to get through the locks, Gonzalo wasted no time in birding around them :) Over the course of the day, we saw ~ 80 (more/less) species. All my exact counts are in my diary books - but it gives you a general feel of what transpired. The half-day treks (4-hours) in Mexico yielded half the species as the full day tours (Costa Rica/Panama), but were equally as exciting and fun. All the guides were professionals and knew their respective areas. Our "Panama Canal" cruise turned out to be an amazing adventure and I put it down to having awesome treks with these four guides. Definitely the birding tours were the highlight of our cruise. The other two ports of call (Guatemala and Columbia), we did city tours (Antigua/Cartagena) and WOW - did we ever miss the our nature treks. We were spoiled just being the two of us with a birding guide. Fantastic, memorable, amazing! Heather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PABirder Posted January 15, 2014 #77 Share Posted January 15, 2014 hvbaskey, a list maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcin Posted January 16, 2014 #78 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Have you considered hiring a birding guide? We did that in Puerto Rico & Hawaii and had wonderful experiences. We are cruising in Hawaii in June and I was wondering which Islands you birded and if you might recommend a guide. Thanks, Cinda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob's Chickadee Posted January 16, 2014 #79 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Cinda, I booked 3 guides for birding while on my 2 week trip in Hawaii in 2010. 1. On the Big Island when the ship was in port at Hilo my husband and I reserved our day with Warren Costa of 'Native Guide Hawaii'. He picked us up at the port, provided a delicious lunch and showed us many interesting things including a lava tube and several endemic birds on a hike at a kipuka. 2. On Kauai we booked with Carl Berg, who also picked us up from the port, and I got to see many great birds. That day was very worthwhile. 3. I had a booking with Michael of Oahu Nature Tours when in Waikiki. His company does custom Birdwatching tours for small groups, and I was really looing forward to going birding with him. Unfortunately that day an earthquake offshore initiated a sunami warning and the trip was cancelled. I recommend you book people early so as avoid disappointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcin Posted January 17, 2014 #80 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Thank you for the information Rob's Chickaee. I'll let you know how it works out for me. Cinda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvbaskey Posted January 20, 2014 #81 Share Posted January 20, 2014 hvbaskey, a list maybe? Will start off with Mexico (as I still have to enter Costa Rica and Panama into eBird. Cabo San Lucas (with Guide, Maria Elena Muriel) http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16285938 Puerto Vallarta (with Guide, Alejandro Martinez) http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16286147 When I enter the other two ports, will share the lists Heather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvbaskey Posted January 20, 2014 #82 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Bird list from our Port of Call - Colon, Panama. We birded Gatun Locks, Gatun Spillway (Dam) and then the majority of the day in Achiote (San Lorenzo National Forest). eBird took all the entries, except 1 - it did not have the Western Slaty Antshrike in the database :( Gonzalo Horna was found via "birding pal" and he was really great! http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16446843 Heather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvbaskey Posted January 21, 2014 #83 Share Posted January 21, 2014 (edited) [quote name=hvbaskey;41366728 Puerto Vallarta (with Guide' date=' Alejandro Martinez) http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S16286147 Heather[/quote] One of my favourites from Puerto Vallarta: http://ponyshots.smugmug.com/Travel/Panama-Canal-Cruise-2013/Puerto-Vallarta/i-82nJWGz/0/L/DSC_0971_2-L.jpg Heather Edited January 21, 2014 by hvbaskey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcin Posted February 2, 2014 #84 Share Posted February 2, 2014 I'm back to Jamaica in 2 wks and have hired Wendy Lee again to bird Cockpit Country. She tells me there are two of us on the Independence booked with her that day. So, Bruce if you are out there lurking, I'll see you on the 12th. Cinda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbirch Posted February 14, 2014 #85 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Birding through the Panama Canal – Azamara Quest, Jan 5-17, 2014. Miami to San Jose, CR Stayed overnight at the Hampton Inn a couple miles from the airport, and up early for the vultures, kestrel ,starlings, Blue Jay, grackle, Mourning Dv, Ring Billed Gull in the field behind the hotel. Laughing/Ringbill/Herringl gulls off the ship, Royal Tern, Double crested and Neotropic Cormorants both, soaring Black Vultures. Nothing across the water, until we got about 30 miles offshore from Cartagena, when the Brown and Masked Boobies started riding the air currents around the ship and diving on injured /stunned fish. Cartagena: hook a ride on one of the shuttles to the visitor center behind the Duty Free at the end of the dock, or walk it – a good quarter mile on the hot concrete. There is a couple of acres of woods behind, a beer stand out front for when you get dehydrated birding, and internet access – 5 bucks for 2 hours. The woods had 3kinds of parrots, grackles, some kind of chicken sized Tinnamou?, brown throated parakeet flock, keel-billed toucans, Macaws, some kind of sparrow sized bird I never got a good look at, a flock of flamingos with a Double Stripe Thickknee hanging around. Last time I had a spotted Woodpecker pair to watch. There’s a cage of off limits birds – this time a Ring necked Pheasant, a few Black bellied Whistling Ducks, more thickknees, and a great orange bird that I forget…. Bring a couple of rolls from breakfast to use for bait – they put out some fruit for the toucans and parrots. Peer under the bushes. Develop a rhythm – go through the woods slowly, have a 2 dollar beer in a shady chair facing your bait, then repeat. A couple of hours of this, and you’ll be good. Down by the water, you’ll generally see mangrove swallows and some swifts. Panama Canal: both vultures and Frigate Birds, Brown Pelicans, some parakeets, Great tail grackles, half a dozen swallows (Mangrove, Purple Martins, Gray, Rough winged). Snowy Egret, great blue heron, Black crowned night heron, little blue heron, 8 white pelicans soaring over Gatun Lake, some kind of medium hawk hovering, a yellow head Caracara, and a lot of pigeons with not one single dove in there. Saw all of these hanging over the rail (veranda room). In Panama City: another Yell Caracara, social flycatcher, boat bill flycatcher, tropical kingbird, reddish egret, both pelicans, frigates soaring, both vultures, grackles, Laughing Gulls. Had some King Vultures last time…. Golfrito: not bad birding. Up early and got flycatchers and swallows off the balcony, a couple of egrets, one lonely flyby of a big Ringed Kingfisher, and the usual grackles and doves. Walked down to the end of the pier, through the fence, and up the road a hundred yards to a two tracks going to the left down to a creek. The creek had Black Vultures and another Yell Caracara picking up scraps. I scared up a Bare necked Tiger Heron next to the road at a distance of 15 feet, had a variated Seedeater perched on the fence, and was passed several times by Cherie’s Tanagers flying around. Heard several birds in the bushes, but no luck pishing, etc. Quepos: tour of Manuel Antonio Park with knowledgeable guides. Saw the camo frogs, a hummingbird nest with 2 young, a Buff-Throated Saltator, a Pygmy Kingfisher near the pond, then when we were having a little snack, I looked up and a Hoffman’s Woodpecker landed on a dead palm stump. Not bad…. All the official guides are college grads and pretty good – the official tours will bring a spotting scope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Lundby Posted August 27, 2014 #86 Share Posted August 27, 2014 (edited) My husband and I are going to St. Martin for a week in October and are wondering if anyone knows of a birding guide who would be willing to bird with us for a day? Thanks to anyone who can give us suggestions. Connie Edited August 27, 2014 by Ann Lundby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agru Posted August 27, 2014 #87 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Ann, http://www.birdingpal.org/StMaartenMartin.htm Here's a start. Couldn't find more -- but there is one birdingpal (volunteer) contact who might be able to either take you out him/herself, or tell you about other resources available on the island. Cheers! April Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Lundby Posted August 28, 2014 #88 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Ann, http://www.birdingpal.org/StMaartenMartin.htm Here's a start. Couldn't find more -- but there is one birdingpal (volunteer) contact who might be able to either take you out him/herself, or tell you about other resources available on the island. Cheers! April Thanks April, we'll follow up on this right away. Connie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gidewey52 Posted February 26, 2015 #89 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Let's try to keep this thread alive . . . it's a real good resource for specific islands. I just kind of walk around on the private and other islands while The Bride gets a lounger in the shade with a Corona and a book! So far have been to the following with some of the highlights: Princess Cay - Black-Faced Grassquit (M), Bahama Woodstar, Comomn-Ground Dove Cococay - Bananaquit, Black-Faced Grassquit (F), Common-Ground Dove, hundreds of Laughing Gulls Maya Cay (excursion from Roatan) - White-Crowned Pigeon St. John's (excursion from St. Thomas USVI) - Zenadia Dove, Pearly-Eyed Thrasher I am cruising to Cococay again in March 2015, Labadee in October 2015, and Hawaii in April 2016. Thanks - Jerry Manassas VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PABirder Posted February 27, 2015 #90 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Gidewey52, you made me pull my diary out for St. John (USVI) - back in 2006, I saw bananaquits, black-necked stilts, white-cheeked pintails, ground doves, brown boobies, frigatebirds, and several Antillean crested and green-throated Carib hummingbirds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gidewey52 Posted February 27, 2015 #91 Share Posted February 27, 2015 PABirder: Looks like I need to get back to St. John! Good finds . . . I'll let you know what I see on Cococay and Blue Lagoon Island (Nassau) in April. Jerry Manassas VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob's Chickadee Posted February 28, 2015 #92 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Hi, My day at the beach in Labadee Haiti in March 2012 produced 11 species, the following bird sightings: Brown Pelican Red-tailed Hawk White-winged Dove Gray Kingbird Black-whiskered Vireo Cave Swallow Northern Mockingbird Palmchat (Endemic to Hispaniola) Bananaquit House Sparrow and Village Weaver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gidewey52 Posted February 28, 2015 #93 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Rob: Thanks . . . That would be about six lifers for me! Looking forward to October - my first time there. Jerry Manassas VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gidewey52 Posted April 7, 2015 #94 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Returned from our RCCL cruise on Enchantment of the Seas. Went to Cococay (RCI's private Island) and to Blue Lagoon Island on our stop at Nassau. Cococay I took a two-hour walk on the Nature Trail. Weather was great - sunny and not too hot. I have pictures of everything except the Bananaquit, Hummingbird and Mockingbird. There were also a couple of other species that flew by and hid in the bushes. Too fast to get an ID. Indian Peafowl Prairie Warbler Laughing Gull Blackfaced Grassquit Palm Warbler Eurasian Collared-Dove Bananaquit Great Egret Green Heron Northern Harrier UNK Hummingbird (flew by me pretty fast) UNK Mockingbird (heard but couldn't locate in tree) Blue Lagoon Island I just wandered around for about an hour. They have a boardwalk that wraps around the lagoon/beach and goes to an un-improved part of the island (woods), but they had it closed off. I spoke with a worker and he said that they closed it off because of possible liability issues. It is a bit remote and they were afraid that someone could get hurt and nobody would know. Oh well. He said that they have counted 13 or 18 (can't remember exactly what he said) species on the island - some woodpeckers, hummingbirds, etc., that would be found in the wooded area that was closed off. Ruddy Turnstone (all over the place - fun to watch) Common Ground Dove Laughing Gull Ring-Billed Gull Had a good time - the Indian Peafowl, and Ruddy Turnstone are lifers for me. On to Labadee, Falmouth and Georgetown in October! Jerry Manassas VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcin Posted April 13, 2015 #95 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Well, I did something I never thought I would do. I joined a 'Carefree Birding cruise' with Ken & Linda on the Equinox last March. James Currie was along with his cameraman Jeff filming episodes for his Nikon Birding Adventures which is on Destination America channel. He also was the Enrichment Speaker. We hit 6 ports and 6 birding sites. It is not your usual birding group. There were 18 of us and we birded: Cartegena on a private ranch, Colon on the old US Fort with Carlos Bethancourt from Canopy Towers, Puerto Limon rural area with local guide; Queen Elizabeth Botanical Park, Grand Cayman; Cozumel; and Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize. It was a blast and I may do it again someday. Cinda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvbaskey Posted June 23, 2015 #96 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Well, I did something I never thought I would do. I joined a 'Carefree Birding cruise' with Ken & Linda on the Equinox last March. James Currie was along with his cameraman Jeff filming episodes for his Nikon Birding Adventures which is on Destination America channel. He also was the Enrichment Speaker. We hit 6 ports and 6 birding sites. It is not your usual birding group. There were 18 of us and we birded: Cartegena on a private ranch, Colon on the old US Fort with Carlos Bethancourt from Canopy Towers, Puerto Limon rural area with local guide; Queen Elizabeth Botanical Park, Grand Cayman; Cozumel; and Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize. It was a blast and I may do it again someday. Cinda Hi Cinda - what is a carefree birding cruise? were the tours pre-arranged, how did you get your group together? pre-cruise? I did the Panama Canal (see earlier threads) and birded 4 ports, but we did it on our own, as we could not find any birders on the roll call :( Heather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smooth_sailin Posted June 23, 2015 #97 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Well, I did something I never thought I would do. I joined a 'Carefree Birding cruise' with Ken & Linda on the Equinox last March. James Currie was along with his cameraman Jeff filming episodes for his Nikon Birding Adventures which is on Destination America channel. He also was the Enrichment Speaker. We hit 6 ports and 6 birding sites. It is not your usual birding group. There were 18 of us and we birded: Cartegena on a private ranch, Colon on the old US Fort with Carlos Bethancourt from Canopy Towers, Puerto Limon rural area with local guide; Queen Elizabeth Botanical Park, Grand Cayman; Cozumel; and Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize. It was a blast and I may do it again someday. Cinda This is a GREAT idea. Not everyone wants a hard-core birding experience, but what birder wouldn't want to look for birds in a new, exotic place? And have deck buddies looking for boobies (the feathered kind)? I will be checking this out for sure. If anyone else participates in one of these trips, I hope they will also share. Thanks, Dena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcin Posted June 24, 2015 #98 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Hi Cinda - what is a carefree birding cruise?.... we could not find any birders on the roll call :(Heather Carefree Birding is a company (2 very personable individuals/ Ken & Linda) that arrange birding groups on different cruises. Google them. They have a website. I have always made my own arrangements, so this was definitely different for me. James Currie from "Nikon Birding Adventures" was the lead in our group of 18. Each port had a local guide prearranged. Ken & Linda are a blast. This is a GREAT idea. Thanks, Dena That's what gave Ken the idea. There is a whole write up about it on their website. I had heard about it from a couple that I birded with in Jamaica. Also Kevin Karlson was leading a birding group @ Galveston (TX) Featherfest and he mentioned that he lead some of these trips for Ken & Linda, so I checked it out. Happy birding everyone, Cinda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvbaskey Posted June 24, 2015 #99 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Thanks Cinda for the information :) So far, we have just arranged our own birding via birding pal.org (a very useful site) and/or Trip Advisor. We are off to the Eastern Med in 3 weeks time and post-cruise, we have arranged to Bird Tuscany, Italy (woot woot!). We are tentatively booked for the Southern Caribbean (B2B) for the Holidays 2015 and will definitely be booking some birding trips (likely through birding pal), as our Panama Canal trip was absolutely amazing birding 4 ports (out of 6). Heather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hvbaskey Posted June 24, 2015 #100 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Thanks April, we'll follow up on this right away. Connie Connie, did you reach a guide for St. Maarten? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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