December 2015 Newsletter

A Swallow-tailed Manakin, one of many special NEW TOURS: on our new tour to Minas Ecuador, , Gerais in Brazil and Hungary

RECENT TOURS: Ethiopia, Goa, Brazil Photo, Chile, and Sichuan

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We hope you have a 3003 peaceful Christmas and some wonderful birding in 2016 www.sunbirdtours.co.uk Email: [email protected] Sunbird, 26B The Market Square. Potton, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2NP Tel: 01767 262522 Ecuador: Amazon Lowlands 23 February - 3 March 2016. This new tour is based almost NEW TOURSentirely at Sani Lodge. Owned, managed and operated by the indigenous Kichwa community, Sani is a comfortable place to base an Amazon birding tour, with wonderful meals, private bungalows, and excellent service. One special feature is a sturdy steel 150-foot high canopy tower, easily accessible by stairs, which supplies a brilliant dimension to Amazonian birdwatching, providing the chance to observe many rarely seen canopy species, such as Purplish , and a wide array of canopy tanagers and flycatchers.

Sani Lodge is situated on an oxbow lake in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, and located two and a half hours by boat down the Napo River from the Amazonian town of Coca. It is the perfect place to get away from it all and enjoy some really first class birding.

Hoatzin and Zigzag Heron, just two of many classic Amazon species seen on the tour.

The Amazonian lowlands of eastern Ecuador harbour one of the most diverse avian assemblages in the world, comparable to parts of eastern and southeastern in both richness and beauty.

Nearly 600 species of birds are known from this single locality, including five species of macaw, 10 puffbirds, seven toucans and more than 40 species of antbirds. From the lodge it is possible to see classic Amazonian species like Hoatzin, White-throated Toucan, Red-bellied Macaw, Masked Crimson Tanager, and Black-fronted Nunbird, all The tour can be taken on its own or in conjunction common, and with only a short canoe ride the rare and with Ecuador: East Slope of the Andes 15 - 22 local become possible, including species like Zigzag February, which in turn can be preceeded by Heron, Black-banded Owl, White-lored Antpitta, Orange- Ecuador: Mindo and the Northwest Andes 6 - 14 eyed Flycatcher, Orange-crowned Manakin, and the February, to make one fantastic birding extravaganza. extremely local Cocha Antshrike. Hungary Photographic Tour: 1 - 10 June 2016

Hungary is incredibly rich in habitats that have all but disappeared from the rest of Europe, and as such has much to offer the visiting photographer. Surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, Hungary lies within the huge Carpathian Basin, with an amazing variety of habitats ranging from wet meadows, alkaline marshes and steppes, to extensive oak, beech, and evergreen woodlands, limestone slopes, and volcanic hills.

Hungary is a great place to get some wonderful photographs of some star birds, such as Red-footed Falcons. This female was photographed by leader Stuart Elsom in Kiskunsag National Park.

This two-centre tour encompasses these two very different habitats. The Kiskunsag, where magnificent Great Bustards still roam across the steppe and the huge wide-open skies are the domain of much sought-after raptors such as Saker, Long-legged Buzzard, and White-tailed Eagle. Mid-tour we move from those photogenic grasslands of the Kiskunsag to experience a dramatic change when we turn our attention to the stunning foothills of the Carpathian mountains and the Bükk National Park along the border with Slovakia.

This quiet landscape of low hills, forested slopes, beautiful valleys, and meandering rivers is dotted with smallholdings, villages and fine castles which combine to create unforgettable images of peace and tranquility. Here we can find some very special birds, including the massive Eastern Imperial Eagle, Ural and possibly even Eagle Owls, up to nine species of woodpecker, and a host of passerines including Collared Flycatcher and Hawfinch. The low intensity agricultural methods still in use have a dramatic effect on the landscape and we will be presented with a succession of photographic opportunities created by flower-filled meadows, marvellous scenery and fascinating local culture.

Sunbird Photographic Tours are also suitable for non-photographers or for those who prefer a more relaxed pace and less rigid itinerary. The tour will include some evening sessions on photographic techniques or reviewing the images captured during the day, which are of course optional. If you have any queries about any aspect of our Photographic Tours please contact the Sunbird Office. Brazil: Minas Gerais October 2017 One to plan for, this new tour with Fabrice Schmitt leading promises to be a popular one. It will take you to wonderful cerrado areas such as Canastra National Park, Caraça Sanctuary and Serra do Cipo where the birding will be amazing. We’ll have a great chance of seeing the extremely endangered Brazilian Merganser, the stunning Swallow-tailed Cotinga and Helmeted Manakin, the cute Cock-tailed Tyrant and Grey-backed Tachuri, the very localised Cipo Canastero and superb hummingbirds such as Hyacinth Visorbearer and Horned Sunbeam, among many others. In addition we can almost guarantee the charismatic Giant Anteater in the Serra da Canastra and Maned Wolf coming to a feeding station at Caraça.

Because we are visiting mostly open to semi-open habitats, the birding will be very easy and quite unique with a number of restricted- range and cerrado specialities, such as this Serra Antwren (pictured).

It is fitting with a country as rich and varied as Ethiopia - Ethiopia that our recent tour there came up with so many November 2015 highlights. These included the endemics, with around 80 Yellow-fronted Parrots at the wonderful Bishangari RECENT TOURS Lodge where we spent two nights. Also on the list were some species not always encountered such as Allen’s Gallinule (with chicks), Lesser Jacana, Black-faced Fire- finch, Foxy Cisticola, and Red-billed Pytilia. The group’s encounter with Ethiopian Wolves high on the Sanetti Plateau was also memorable with sightings of nine individuals, including one actively hunting Giant Root Rats close to the tour vehicle. You can find a full list of all the birds and mammals seen on our website. Next year’s tour will be Sunbird’s 21st to this fascinating country and the dates are 25 October - 12 November with Steve Rooke and Merid Gabremichael leading as usual.

Above, one of around 80 Yellow-fronted Parrots at Bishangari, a Black-faced Firefinch in the Jemma valley and one of nine Ethiopian Wolves seen on the Sanetti Plateau. Photo Peter Wilton India, Goa - November 2015 One of the great things about our tour to Goa is being able to spend 14 consecutive nights at the same very comfortable hotel. From this base the group explored a variety of coastal and inland sites, notching up an impressive list of birds. This included 7 species of kingfisher, of which Black-capped Kingfisher (inset) was the most popular. Coastal sites gave us Small Pratincoles, Great Black-headed, Brown-headed and Slender-billed Gulls, Greater and Lesser Crested Terns, and a great selection of waders including Terek Sandpiper and Greater and Lesser Sandplovers. Away from the coast highlights at Bondla this year included up to six Sri Lankan Frogmouths on two dates, Flame-throated Bulbuls, a Speckled Piculet, a pair of White- bellied Blue Flycatchers and a very close Large-billed Leaf Warbler. We also saw, and perhaps in this case more importantly heard, several hypnotic Malabar Whistling Thrushes, and this productive location also turned up Brown Wood-owls, Indian Blue Robin, Malabar Trogons, two Indian Pittas, no less than three Black Eagles and several gorgeous Heart-spotted Woodpeckers. Elswhere there were Asian Fairy Bluebirds, Malabar Parakeets, more hornbills than you could shake a stick at, a fine Malabar Barbet, and a stunning male Amur Falcon and an equally smart Red-necked Falcon - the list goes on and on. Somehow we also found time to visit the Western Reef Herons are a ancient Hindu temple at Tambdi Surla, the former Portuguese common sight around the coast. fort at Tiracol and to explore parts of old Goa.

If you have never been birding on the Indian sub-Continent before, Goa is the perfect introduction, and it is also the perfect tour if you want to take time out from the birding. Our next tour runs from 5 - 20 November 2016 with Paul Holt leading as usual.

Some images from our recent tour - a collection of Lesser Crested Terns and Brown- hooded Gulls on the coast, a Black-capped Kingfisher, and our comfortable hotel Brazil Photographic Tours: Serra dos Tucanos and The Pantanal - September 2015 Perhaps the best way to sum up the success of this year’s back-to-back Photo tours to Brazil is to just show a few of the images brought back by tour participant Rob Rackliffe. Left - a pair of Black-capped Donacobius, Jaguar and below, Hyacinth Macaws.

The dates for the 2016 Brazil Photo tours are: Serra dos Tucanos - 17 - 24 September and Pantanal 22 - 30 September Chile - October 2015 Covering a huge span of latitude, this trip always impresses with its contrasts. From a colony of stately King Penguins to majestic Andean Condors soaring over the snow-capped Andes; from albatrosses in the Humboldt Current to Diademed Sand- piper-Plovers mating on an Andean bofedal; from the iconic Magellanic Woodpecker in impressive southern beech to buzzing Magellanic Diving-Petrels as we crossed the Straits of Magellan; from shady bamboo thickets ringing with the songs of tapaulcos to wide-open Andean vistas with hanging glaciers and snow-capped volcanoes; from cryptic Magellanic Plovers on stony lakeshores to the bold patterns of four species of sheldgeese in one afternoon; from the iconic beauty of Inca Terns to roadside Moustached Turcas and the burning brilliance of male Vermilion Flycatchers; and from the maniacal hooting of a Rufous-legged Owl in a cold, still to a Darwin’s Rhea laying an egg as we watched, the 2015 tour to Chile proved to be a resounding success. The 2016 tour runs from 1 to 17 November with Fabrice Schmitt and Steve Howell leading.

Birding at Lake Chungara Sichuan - May 2015

The amazing Rufous-headed Robin was a clear winner for ‘ of the Tour’ on this year’s visit to Sichuan. This year’s tour was exceptional for many reasons. It was a remarkable tour for game birds with an amazing 13 species seen! These included Snow Partridge,Tibetan Snowcock, a remarkably confiding pair of Tibetan Partridges, some Chestnut-throated Partridges, a family party of Chinese Bamboo Partridge that posed right out in the open for us all to admire, Blood Pheasants galore, Temminck’s Tragopans, a cooperative male Koklass Pheasant, no less than five (three resplendent males and two females) Chinese Monals, several White Eared and a party of four Blue Eared Pheasants, umpteen Lady Amherst’s Pheasants and a couple of Chinese Grouse.

The view from Balangshan Pass

Other highlights included 100 Black-necked Cranes, up to 12 Firethroats, vivid cobalt Grandalas, some rarely encountered laughingthrushes such as Snowy-cheeked, Barred, Giant and Red-winged, a selection of 7 Parrotbills including Great, Spectacled, and the localised Grey-hooded, Slaty Buntings, Sichuan Treecreeper - one of China’s most recently described endemics, Chinese and Przewalsky’s Nuthatch, 10 species of Rosefinch, 3 species of Snowfinch, and an array ofPhyllosopus warblers (13 in all) including Smoky, Yellow-streaked, Chinese Leaf and Emei Leaf Warblers. Besides the birds there were some stunning and very photogenic wildflowers, and a scattering of mammals, including a lone Wolf. And we cannot avoid mentioning the really stunning, and at times breath-taking scenery. Paul Holt and Wang Qingyu will be returning to Sichuan to lead our 2016 tour. The dates are 29 May - 18 June and at the time of writing there are just a few places left.

Above, a dainty Przewalsky’s Nuthatch and left, the beautiful Pearl Shoal waterfall in Jiuzhaigou National Park Late Availability - The following tours all have spaces available at the time of writing * In-country dates

NEW ZEALAND: 8 - 28 February*

THAILAND The Northwest: 10 - 23 February* THAILAND The South: 23 February - 7 March*

ECUADOR Mindo and the Northwest Andes: 6 - 14 February* Black and Yellow Broadbill, Thailand ECUADOR East Slope of the Andes: 15 - 22 February* ECUADOR Amazon Lowlands: 23 February - 3 March*

PUERTO RICO: 27 February - 4 March* DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: 4 - 12 March* JAMAICA: 12 - 19 March*

MOROCCO: 2 - 12 March

CUBA: 3 - 15 March Bee Hummingbird, Cuba

ESTONIA in Winter: 4 - 7 March*

CHINA Yunnan: 5 - 20 March

THE NETHERLANDS in Winter: 16 - 20 March*

PANAMA Canopy Tower in Spring: 26 March - 1/6 April* Red-tailed Laughingthrush, Yunnan

ISRAEL: 1 - 11 April

MOROCCO: 2 - 12 April

HONDURAS: 3 - 12 April*

White-collared Manakin, Honduras

VisitA Sunbird our groupwebsite on the www.sunbirdtours.co.uk October 2015 tour to Namibia for full details of all the tours covered here