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How To Choose A Birding Tour by Markus Lilje
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How to Choose a Birding Tour by Markus Lilje

Sometimes it is as much about the experience as it is about the birds.

There are so many birding tours out there to choose from that it can be totally overwhelming to figure out which one is right for you. Recently there have also been a number of countries and regions that have become more accessible, making the choice even tougher. Here we will take you through some of the factors that are often considered important and that could make a difference between having a great tour and going back for more, or being disappointed because it was not what you had expected. A lot of the parameters or details of a tour are already decided before the tour even starts and you can therefore be fairly sure that a tour is well suited to you or not.

Some of the first questions to ask yourself are as follows: why are you interested in taking part in birding tours; what do you want from them; and what do you feel is less important for you in terms of ultimate deciding factors? If you are mainly interested in increasing your lifelist, seeing a very large number of species and targeting endemics, you are likely to focus on a different range of tours than if you are mainly interested in experiencing a different country through birding, or if you are also interested in a combination of birds, mammals, scenery and culture. Keep in mind that tours often tend to attract people that have a similar aim, although there is always some discrepancy of course. Once you have a good grip on your own motivations there are many other variables that you should also consider.

On our tours we try to find as many species as possible on our particular routes, as long as it is reasonable (from a time and travel perspective) and the tour does not become too rushed in the process. This means that all our tours will have a variable degree of birding intensity, because there are different numbers of species that need to be found and variation of difficulty in finding those species. In Madagascar for example there are not a huge number of species, but many of them are very hard to find, meaning that much time and effort is often required to locate the birds we are searching for. We spend time looking for the species that are considered important, trying to limit the degree to which this negatively impacts upon the rest of the tour. This means that on most tours we find a good balance between seeing a large number of species, and still ensuring a certain level of comfort and enjoyment for the participants when this is possible.

Icebergs are an added attraction on cruises to polar regions.

Icebergs are an added attraction on cruises to polar regions.

Time of year can be a big issue as most people are not able to simply pack up their bags at any time, and most countries have a fairly defined period when the conditions are best suited to birding or travelling in general. We always attempt to pick the best time of year for getting the highest species total or the maximum number of endemic and special species, which is not necessarily when most species are in the area, but this also depends on climatic conditions for example. On some occasions it also makes sense to take advantage of low-season rates as tour costs can often be reduced without negatively impacting on the number of species we expect to find. Some countries should just not be visited at certain times of the year and we would even advise against it on private tours, while others, where the endemics are the important targets for instance, can be productive during a larger part of the year. Here are some examples of good areas to visit in different months: the Indian subcontinent, Colombia, Chile, Myanmar, South Africa, Antarctica and Ethiopia from November to February. February is also good for the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Morocco, while we mainly visit Cuba a little later on in March, since this is the best time for passage migrants. March and April are good for Cameroon and Bhutan, and our Ecuador and Philippines tours occupy this part of the calendar too. Our preferred time in East Africa is April and May in Kenya and Tanzania; towards the end of this time is when we also head into Eastern Europe and Mongolia. Uganda is best a little later towards June and July, which is when the season also begins in Papua New Guinea, and Spitsbergen is more navigable. Around August is great for Gabon, Sulawesi and Brazil, while the Namibia (including our Namibia, Okavango & Victoria Falls Overland Safaris) season begins around this time as well. September is great for much of South America, including Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. Moving into October, South Africa, Australia and Madagascar come into their most productive periods as we enter the austral summer again. Remember that this is just a brief indication and many areas are good during a variety of seasons and can be visited at other times as well.

One of the first things that is often looked at when deciding on a tour is its length and how well it fits in with any other plans that you may have. We often try to start a tour towards the end of a weekend, giving people time to reach the destination if they leave on a Friday evening or Saturday, thereby reducing the number of leave days required in order to do the tour. Most tours are also just less than 2 to 3 weeks long (with exceptions), depending on the destination, again allowing participants to arrive home on a weekend. Most of our guests prefer longer tours, as the cost and effort of distant travelling warrants this, rather than shorter tours that require proportionately relatively longer travel times. Additional options for those wanting to extend their experiences are our extensions, which are offered before and/or after many tours, targeting something different in a similar region that isn’t possible on the main tour; as well as making the most of the time and costs involved in travelling to distant destinations.

This gets us to another very important factor, namely cost. Of course, there is generally a range of tour operators offering tours to certain regions at widely varying prices. Things that can be easily overlooked however are factors such as the standard of accommodation used on tour, extra excursions such as boat rides, group size, how professional, experienced and specialized the guide is, and whether there are local guides or assistants on the tour that will assist with logistics and any language problems if these should surface. You might find a very cheap tour operator somewhere and then be disappointed to discover that you missed so many of the potential highlights because shortcuts were taken or the guide had limited birding knowledge, for example. Some destinations are also just more expensive than others, where again you would have to decide what you most want out of your trip. An important consideration when selecting a tour is potentially the number of tours that you might be able to do in the longer term. For example your recommended choice of an African tour would be different if your plans were to only visit Africa once compared to a birder who intends to make several visits to different parts of Africa over the course of their international birding time.

Something that goes along with the two previous factors is ease of travel to the tour starting point – more distant tours are usually more time-consuming and expensive to get to, while you may also need a day or two to recover from the jetlag if there is a significant time zone difference. In some cases it is possible to combine tours so that you can then take full advantage of being in that particular area; for example we offer a variety of back-to-back tours to the Indian subcontinent, Europe and the Caribbean that follow on from each other for this very purpose. This simultaneously reduces your travel costs and relative travel time to get from one particular tour to the next.

Some forms of transport are more traditional than others.

Some forms of transport are more traditional than others.

Some people have specific birds they would particularly like to see, or groups of birds or families they are really interested in ‘chasing’. Doing an entire tour for a single bird may not be worthwhile, but looking at the distribution of the species in question and seeing what else is available within the region often means that you are able to find a tour that combines a number of other interesting features as well, which would then make it an option more worthwhile for you to pursue.

How good are your birding skills? Some destinations, especially those that include visiting many forest sites, require a lot of patience, effort and skill if you expect to see most of the birds that are possible in the area. Some birders do struggle to pick up movement for example, making it very difficult for them in these tougher birding situations. Other destinations however offer more open habitats and/or more confiding birds, Ethiopia, Northern India and Kenya are examples of easier birding locations. Here the birding can be a lot less demanding and many people derive more pleasure and less frustration from such tours.

Short-legged Ground Roller is a bird that often requires much time and effort.

Short-legged Ground Roller is a bird that often requires much time and effort.

On some tours there are very few physical demands for participants, such as in East Africa, where much of the birding occurs in national parks, where you may not leave your vehicle due to potential danger from wild animals. If, however, you wish to look for Horned Guan in Guatemala, or Mount Cameroon Speirops in Cameroon, you would need to put in a great deal of effort to have a fair chance of seeing these particular birds. Long driving days can also be quite demanding physically, although this can often not be avoided on comprehensive birding tours where the object is to see as many of the region’s species or endemics.

Related to the above point is the intensity level of a tour, with some being very intense, including birding activities from predawn until dusk and often beyond, whereas others have several fairly relaxed days or breaks built in to the itinerary. Often some segments can be left out; for example, if you are not interested in taking part in a night walk, this can be a way to reduce the intensity of a tour, but many people are worried about missing special sightings and will try to minimize the experiences that they miss on any trip. Whether you sit down for every meal or take packed meals that you eat ‘on-the-fly’ can also heavily influence how much birding time is available every day. Since Rockjumper is the largest international birding tour company we are often able to offer tours with various levels of intensity to the same country. For instance, our shorter Highlights tours aim to provide a less intensive experience designed around less driving distances, comfortable lodges and more relaxed time in the field. Our Comprehensive tours are aimed at the keen birder and are usually slightly longer tours that aim for as many of the accessible endemics and as high a bird count as possible but still minimizing single night stays and allowing for some down time. At the other end of the scale, our Mega tours are designed for the hardcore birder and generally aim for record-breaking bird numbers, such as our Colombia Mega 1,000 Bird Tour, or every possible endemic. These tours are faster paced with long days in the field and regular one-night stops.

Comfort is also an important factor for many of our participants, and is a major deciding factor in the choice of a particular tour. On certain tours we can offer high quality accommodations and mostly smooth roads, such as in our home country South Africa and also in Thailand for example. However, this is most definitely not the case in many destinations, where conditions necessitate some unavoidable discomfort in order to seek our target species. The same can be said for meals; in India for example, where much of the food is spicy hot and fantastic if you enjoy that kind of cooking, but possibly a little monotonous (and fiery!) if you don’t. Many of the less developed countries often provide food that is not nearly as diverse as you may be used to, and this can sometimes be seen as rather problematic if you are a particularly fussy eater.

One of our less comfortable modes of transport.

One of our less comfortable modes of transport.

Whilst discussing difficult tours, we do advise our tour participants to do the toughest tours first. One is more likely to enjoy tours that are physically demanding or require rugged travelling and camping when you have higher physical fitness and mobility levels. We consider Cameroon, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and Angola as some of these countries that potential tour participants should consider doing sooner rather than later in the birding careers. At the same time we also advise birders to prioritize destinations where the natural environment is being degraded at a rapid rate and birds becoming more endangered. For instance the Philippines, Madagascar and parts of Indonesia should all be very high on an international birder’s priority list as sadly these countries are rapidly losing their endemic biodiversity.

While our tours obviously target mainly birds and we attempt to see as many as we can, there are always numerous other attractions that we would never ignore – and these often significantly add to your travel experience and may even be amongst the top tour highlights. The obvious secondary target on most tours is seeing the area’s mammals, be it in Africa’s big game reserves where this could hardly be avoided, or searching for Tiger and Indian Rhino in India, Jaguar and Giant Anteater in Brazil, or many smaller and less well-known species in other parts of the world. On our India tour we also spend time at the fabled Taj Mahal in Agra, while in Bhutan visiting a few of the spectacular Dzongs (Buddhist temple-fortresses) is a highlight for many of our guests. Egypt’s incredible archaeological sites obviously form a significant component of our tour through this ancient land, and have been a huge attraction for millennia. During travel days in particular there are often ample opportunities to to experience some of the local culture, although there may be times when we specifically target this aspect of travelling.

Cultural attractions are an added bonus on some tours.

Cultural attractions are an added bonus on some tours.

Many people enjoy the challenge of bird and wildlife photography, which can also be pursued on all of our tours. One thing that must be borne in mind however is that Rockjumper’s tours are intended primarily at finding and seeing the birds, rather than photographing them. Once we have found a species we will therefore stay around for the amount of time required for the group to adequately view and enjoy the bird. Photographers are welcome to use this opportunity to take images, and if done in a respectful way this can be a great enhancement to any tour, but only if the other participants (and the birds!) are not disturbed. Some tours are much better suited for bird photography than others, with open country destinations (eg South Africa, much of Northern India, Tanzania, Namibia and Brazil’s Pantanal for example) offering far more photographic opportunities than forest areas and countries where birds are still hunted (Papua New Guinea and the Philippines for example), thereby allowing a closer approach.

Another factor that people either seek out or try to avoid is a tour where you may experience a sense of adventure and discovery – be it due to uncertainties with weather, or getting to places where few other birders have ever visited. Some countries certainly offer this, such as Angola and remote areas of Indonesia, where ours tours have made significant discoveries and conditions can also be challenging. Papua New Guinea has a number of sites where you really feel like you are the only humans in that particular patch of remote forest, while a tour to Antarctica and South Georgia certainly visits some really remote places. Many countries do offer the necessary comforts that make our tours there seem less adventurous, where we stay closer to standard tourist routes such some of our tours to South or East Africa or Europe, although even here we get to experience off-the-beaten-track areas, which are just another aspect of the general birding experience.

Each tour leaders are is different and has his style of structuring the tour, and different styles will work better with some personalities than with others. This can certainly have an impact on your tour, although experienced leaders will have the necessary know-how to deal with most personalities and situations. Sometimes it can be a good idea to see what experiences other birders have had travelling with a certain leader, though this could never be considered totally reliable. Although every company has a certain idea of how they run a tour in general, there is no way of making every tour the same, even if run within certain parameters. Seeing how different guides and tour leaders bird can actually be a great way of improving your own birding skills. Every tour leader also has certain interests you may have in common which would affect your enjoyment of a tour; they might be particularly interested in mammals, photography or certain bird families for example, or might be up-to-date with recent taxonomical changes or scientific publications that could make your tour more educational and memorable.

Group size is a tough one to quantify because of all the various factors involved. Obviously the smaller the group the better your contact will be with the tour leader, and the more likely it is that your needs will be taken into account to a greater degree. Smaller group sizes do come at a financial cost however. Larger groups also mean that you would be more likely to find other participants in the group that you get along well with – many lasting friendships have been formed when like-minded people meet on birding adventures. There are also more eyes and ears to find what you are searching with bigger groups. A large group in a forest however can be frustrating as people in the back might miss some of the shyer species, although with a good rotation system on trails no single person should miss too many species that are only glimpsed. Rockjumper specifies beforehand the maximum group size which varies from 6 to 12 participants but we also have a policy of sending a second leader if the group size exceeds 8. This is often very popular as the second leader can also then assist at the back of the group or even split the group under certain situations as well as take care of logistics if these become time-consuming, as they can be in countries like Papua New Guinea where a single leader could be kept away from the group for extended periods.

Sometimes it is as much about the experience as it is about the birds.

Sometimes it is as much about the experience as it is about the birds.

No-one will ever see every single bird species but it is well within the realms of possibility to see a representative of each of the approximately 240 bird families. This goal is becoming very popular with international birders, allowing them to sample the great diversity of the world’s birds. If this becomes your birding aim, then tours have to be carefully planned to maximize the number of new bird families with the minimum number of trips. Some monotypic families in particular only occur on specific islands, so tours to New Caledonia, Sulawesi, Borneo and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) would be necessary, and larger islands like Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and New Zealand each harbor several endemic families.

These are just some of the main considerations when selecting a tour. Finally we’d also like to point out a possible solution if you feel that you cannot find a scheduled birding tour that meets your requirements, and this is private or customized tours. Private tours are the simplest way for you to control many of the factors mentioned above, as you can then decide within reason exactly how you would like the tour to run. The participants can decide if they want to change the structure of an existing tour, the length, and time of year, as well as the group size and intensity of the tour to suit their specific requirements as much as possible. This is a very popular option and one that can often be offered at a lower rate than our standard tour costs provided other factors remain similar.

Some of the above aspects may be very important for some people and irrelevant for others. To get ideas of which tours would be best suited to you and your specific interest/s and style of birding, it is often best to talk to previous tour participants and/or guides that have experienced the destinations themselves. Rockjumper’s friendly office staff would also be happy to provide advice and answer an questions that you might have. Previous trip reports are also a very useful reference tool in this regard; and, of course, some good general research on the Internet is always a good idea.

We hope this helps to clarify some of the many considerations involved in selecting your particular birding tour of choice. We wish you all the best in picking your perfect tours in future and look forward to birding with you at some time, wherever in the world this may be!


Bird of the Year 2014
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Bird of the Year 2014

Kingfisher, Lilac - RLf (2)

Every year our tour leaders are fortunate to enjoy thousands of birds in a hundred countries across the globe, and we thought we’d take the opportunity to share their top bird highlights for 2014 with you as recorded in their own words.

Adam Riley

2014 has been pretty much a stay at home year for me with less than 10 lifers (compared to an average of around 500 a year for the past 10 years!) After much contemplation, my bird of the year is a local species which I have seen many times before, but enjoyed superb encounters with this year. My choice is the Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture. This spectacular montane vulture reminds me more of a giant falcon as it cleaves the air on long wings. Besides being an impressive bird, it’s always found in breath-taking montane wildernesses which adds to thrill of finding this sought-after bird, despite its wide range through most of the major mountain chains of Africa, Europe and Asia. This year I spent 2 days at the Giant’s Castle Lammergeier hide in the Natal Drakensberg of central South Africa. We had up to 10 Lammergeiers in constant attendance around the hide and I was lucky enough to catch this dramatic moment when an adult bird decided to teach a youngster some manners.

Vulture, Bearded Giant's Castle SA AR v2

Lammergeier or Bearded Vulture by Adam Riley

Clayton Burne

2014 has been a rather hectic birding adventure. With a year list about to cross 3000 involving visits to 22 countries and every continent barring Antarctica, keeping on top of my Top 10 would take some effort. Apparently I must now pick just 1! The year started in Guatemala with a few sightings of Horned Guan, most of the Greater Antilles Endemics followed soon afterwards, mammal migration in east Africa, more than 20 Birds of Paradise in Papua New Guinea, piles of Endemics on the Indonesian archipelago of Sulawesi, staggering western Cape Endemics in South Africa, the Critically Endangered White-winged Nightjar in Paraguay, another span of Endemics in Colombia…

All said and done, I had already attached my Bird of the Year sticker to the rare and localised Gold-ringed Tanager of Colombia, until a few days ago that is. For those that know me, no bird family gets me quite excited as the Antpittas do. With 15 species seen in the last 10 days (4 in a day at Rio Blanco, Colombia and 5 in a matter of hours in Ecuador), I’m rather spoilt for choice. However, there is a clear winner. The glorious Giant Antpitta, a bird I have tried to find on numerous occasions without much luck, finally gave way near Mindo, Ecuador last week. The largest of all Antpittas, it is found only in Colombia and Ecuador where it is considered both rare and enigmatic.

Giant Antpitta by Clayton Burne

Giant Antpitta by Clayton Burne

Forrest Rowland

I chose the Hypocolius for a few reasons. Firstly, it exemplifies the growing popularity of birders’ quests to see all of the World’s Bird Families. This monotypic species can only feasibly be seen in a very few places on Earth, all of which are in remote, fascinating places. Secondly, this year’s search for the Hypocolius took us out across the famed Empty Quarter of the Sultanate of Oman, a vast, stark expanse punctuated only by the occasional steep, rocky wadi. We found our bird, getting several fantastic views (and some utterly amazing photos from participants) at the remote oasis of Mudday. The Hypocolius winters amidst the dense stand of date palms and thick acacia scrub which surrounds this historic oasis, where the journey to reach the bird is as exhilarating and unique as the bird is itself.

Grey Hypocolius by Forrest Rowland

Grey Hypocolius by Forrest Rowland

Wayne Jones

My bird of 2014 was not a lifer for me, but the quality of sightings I had made this species immediately leap to mind. The Pel’s Fishing Owl is a notoriously tricky, secretive and sought-after bird on the African continent. I had good daytime sightings on three NBZ (Namibia-Botswana-Zambia) tours that I led this year, a tour for which we have a 100% success rate when it comes to this fantastic owl. But it was two separate sightings of birds hunting at night on a customised private tour to Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park that really stuck in my head. They allowed close approach, and it was wonderful to experience these huge ginger owls in such a different manner.

Pel's Fishing Owl by Wayne Jones

Pel’s Fishing Owl by Wayne Jones

Markus Lilje

After much back and forth with serious contenders including Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, Papuan Logrunner and Shovel-billed Kingfisher among others I finally had to go with Dwarf Cassowary. This must be one of the world’s least known and seen large birds and is endemic to foothills and mountains of Papua New Guinea, where populations around most population centres have been hunted to extinction. Managing to find the bird for the first time on 29 tours for Rockjumper and then getting great views for everyone in the group and even photos was fantastic. For me it was also one of a number of families that was new on my second outing to this incredible island. The individual we saw was standing on the edge of a trail in Varirata National Park near Port Moresby, where it incredibly stayed for the panic stricken moments that all guides know between first finding an absolutely MEGA species and the moment when everyone laid eyes on it. After watching it for a few moments, the bird seemed to dissolve back into the forest where we didn’t find it again. Papua New Guinea has so many top birds and so many of them are hard to find, that it was really no surprise to have bird of the year come from this island for me for consecutive years. I look forward to what the New Year has to offer!

Dwarf Cassowary by Markus Lilje

Dwarf Cassowary by Markus Lilje

Rich Lindie

Like every year before, this year has been filled with personal birding highlights and, like every year before, choosing one above the rest has not been an easy task. I had brief views of Invisible Rail and that has to count as a contender but with no photos and such brief views, I had to exclude it. Satanic Nightjar has the kind of name and history that make it a worthy contender but not quite enough to shoot to top spot for me. Having been to the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Sulawesi and parts of Africa the list of potentials remains high but two families did stand out. Being a collector of owls and kingfishers, I decided to select my bird of the year from one of these families. One or two great owls shot onto the list but, after looking at the kingfishers, I realized I have seen over half of the world’s kingfishers during the course of this year alone! Picking my top bird thereafter wasn’t hard and Lilac-cheeked Kingfisher takes pride of place in my hall of fame. Pack your bags and head to Sulawesi, the Philippines or Papua New Guinea now; there are enough endemic kingfishers to blow your mind!

Lilac-cheeked Kingfisher by Rich Lindie

Lilac-cheeked Kingfisher by Rich Lindie

Keith Valentine

This year has been a rather quiet one for me personally from a touring perspective however from a family point of view it has been extremely rewarding with the birth of my second son, Ethan. A trip to nearby Malawi was the outstanding highlight of the year’s tours for me. This magical African country is a fantastic destination regardless of your African experience as a birder, being both excellent for first time visitors to the continent and having enough unique specials to keep the hardened world lister completely satisfied. We had a superb time and any one of Thyolo Alethe, White-winged Apalis, Bohm’s Bee-eater, Sharpe’s Akalat, Babbling Starling, Stierling’s Woodpecker or the rare Lesser Seedcracker could easily have taken top honours as my bird of the year. In the end however it went to a species that is particularly uncommon in Malawi and one that I had missed on a couple of earlier trips to the country over ten years ago. The bird in question is Scarlet-tufted Sunbird, a species that had now become one of my most wanted on the African continent. It is also an extremely localised species throughout its range so it was a really great moment when we had knockout views of a male and female on one the highest view points on the stunning Nyika Plateau in far northern Malawi.

Scarlet-tufted Sunbird by Keith Valentine

Scarlet-tufted Sunbird by Keith Valentine

David Hoddinott

My bird of the year is Flores Scops Owl, Otus alfredi. This species is endemic to the Island of Flores in the Lesser Sundas, Indonesia. Flores Scops Owl was discovered in 1896 and then not seen again until its rediscovery in 1994. It is currently considered endangered (less than 2500 individuals), due to continuing habitat loss and occurs only within a very small range.

Owls seem to captivate many birders and I am certainly one of those who get immense joy in seeing these fabulous birds. This particular species is very small and quite stunning and there is also a certain amount of myth about it due to such few sightings since its discovery, lack of data and elusiveness. On our Rockjumper tour in 2013 we heard this species very close by on numerous occasions without seeing it, it was like a ghost. We spent a great deal of time both during the evenings and very early hours of the morning searching for this highly elusive species without success. This happened yet again in 2014 where on numerous occasions we were unfortunate not to locate the species having heard it just a few metres away. It wasn’t until our final effort with a great deal of patience and persistence on our last evening on Flores that we all finally got to see this beauty. What a cracker!

image1

Flores Scops Owl by David Hoddinott

Erik Forsyth

The Pied Thrush, which I saw at Victoria Botanical Gardens, Nuwer Eliya, Sri Lanka in late December was an early Xmas present and would compete highly for number one spot as I am fond of the Zoothera family as they are high on my wanted list.

Other fabulous sightings during the year included crippling looks at Oriental Bay Owl in Taman Negara, Malaysia and also at Sepilok in Borneo, Blue-headed Pitta- an electric coloured male in the Danum Valley, Malaysia, Reddish Scops Owl at Taman Negara and then there was a lucky find in Cairns of my first Rufous Owl found roosting, 5m off the ground and in the open. The amazing encounter with a Giant Pitta in the Danum Valley that showed on several occasions… and we know how difficult and elusive pittas can be! , and then there was the fabulous close looks at a male Crested Partridge (with his red mohican) watched for 10 minutes calling alongside the forest edge…..man this is a tough choice! I particularly enjoy owls and so would have to go with Rufous Owl as my Best Bird for 2014.

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Rufous Owl by Erik Forsyth

Glen Valentine

The decision as to my top bird for 2015 was a particularly tough one with candidates including Blyth’s Tragopan, Malaysian Peacock-Pheasant, Grauer’s Broadbill, Friedmann’s Lark, Fire-fronted Serin, Helmet Vanga and the recently discovered Cambodian Tailorbird but I eventually settled on a species that is particularly localized, rare and critically endangered: the magnificent Giant Ibis.

Once fairly widespread across South-East Asia, it is now restricted to remnant marshy and grassy glades within broad-leaved deciduous forest in northern Cambodia and southern Laos. The current world population is estimated at around 100 pairs with fewer than 500 individuals remaining and has quickly become one of the world’s most desired birds to see.

In December I found myself leading a comprehensive tour around Cambodia and neighbouring Vietnam. While up in the Tmatboey area in extreme northern Cambodia we began our quest to find Giant Ibis. Waking up in the early hours of the morning, well before dawn, we headed out in our 4×4 vehicles along narrow, rutted tracks that wound their way through beautiful, fairly pristine broad-leaved, dipterocarp forest. Eventually we arrived at an area where we parked the vehicles and continued on foot. Stumbling along the tiny tracks, indistinct footpaths and eventually through waist-high grass in the dark with our headlamps and moonshine being our only visibility, we finally arrived at a potential roost for this legendary species. However, no ibis were present that morning and feeling a little disheartened we birded our way back to the 4×4’s. However, luck was on our side later in the morning when the front vehicle flushed a large shape from next to the road. The bird alighted on a nearby tree and revealed itself as a stunning adult Giant Ibis. What an incredible experience, which made the morning’s effort totally worthwhile and the sighting even more memorable.”

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Giant Ibis by Glen Valentine

David Erterius

My bird of the year isn’t one of those ”mind-boggling ones” to be found in the tropics, but still has some kind of aura around it, at least for me and many Palearctic birders. To have seen this bird on its breeding grounds in the high altitude heart of Mongolia, a very remote and seldom-visited place, was an especially utopian event.

The bird in question: White-throated Bush Chat (Saxicola insignis), also known as Hodgson’s Bush Chat, which I was very fortunate to see along with my group during Rockjumper’s inaugural Mongolia Tour in early June last year.

Here’s the story:
On arrival at the magical Khukh Lake in Mongolia’s central Khangay Mountains, truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited, we were welcomed by friendly local nomads who were the only people for miles around! The only way to reach the specific breeding area was by foot, so our trek started off the following day just after dawn. We left our base camp and ascended slowly across a rather steep mountain slope. We couldn’t have asked for better weather as the sky was blue with very little cloud, and there was almost no wind! As we got higher, the scenery just got better and better and we found other interesting species as we went along, including Altai Snowcock, Güldenstädt’s Redstart, Altai Accentor and Asian Rosy Finch. After a very scenic field lunch on the summit of the mountain at 3.200 metres, we descended slowly towards a vast alpine plateau, with tussocks and scattered tiny scrub … and there it was! At the base of a south-facing slope, this smart male was posing nicely for us, and after a while his female made a short appearance as well – target in the bag, and cheers all round!

As for the image, not the greatest by any length and more of a record shot than anything, but I think it nicely captures the magic of this most memorable moment with a super rare species that I have long wanted to see!

White-throated Bush Chat by David Erterius 1

White-throated Bush Chat by David Erterius

Chris Sharpe

My ‘Bird of 2014′ perplexes me more than it will my readers. I should explain that my favourite birds are generally undemonstrative or cryptic species, birds that make themselves known more by way of their haunting songs than by jumping into plain view sporting garishly colourful plumage: owls, nightjars, and especially antpittas are those that make up my most cherished armchair recollections. So when I review the year 2014, I am surprised to see a large, showy bird clamouring for attention. Admittedly, it is a cotinga, and a little-known one at that, which at least satisfies my penchant for enigmatic species. However, hardly mimetic (in fact, alarmingly colourful), what persuades me to accept its candidature is not its showy colour, but the whole circumstances of the encounter (yes, only one in 2014). As a scarce and poorly-known near endemic to the Guiana Shield, it was one of our main target birds; indeed, the top bird for one of the participants on our Guyana trip, a leading world lister. Secondly, the fact that we had such extraordinarily close and prolonged views, allowing me to ensure that everyone had obtained a satisfying study, fumble for my decidedly non-professional camera and still manage to capture the accompanying portrait when it reappeared in a low Cecropia tree alongside our vehicle. But what really clinches its claim to ‘Bird of the Year’ is the fact that as it hopped from tree to tree this giant cotinga was vigorously mobbed by small passerines, belying the fact that it has only recently been found to eat fruit at all: the thought of this blood-coloured beast gobbling down the contents of a Palm Tanager nest is too gruesome to pass up!

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Crimson fruitcrow by Chris Sharpe

Rob Williams

In 2015 I was fortunate to bird on 3 continents and see over 2,000 species including a good number of lifers. I led Rockjumper Tours to Northern Peru and Colombia. We saw great birds on both tours and some fantastic long-awaited lifers including Scarlet-banded Barbet in Peru and Blue-wattled Currasow in Colombia. My bird of the year is the Pale-billed Antpitta. Although not a lifer, I was fortunate enough to have a really good look at this fantastic bird. I love Antpittas and seeing 3 Pale-billed Antpittas, two adults and a juvenile, bouncing around us in the bamboo-dominated forest understory was amazing. One of the adults landed on a slightly exposed log and I managed to get a picture of this rare endemic.