BIRDING in GUYANA October 1 – 10, 2010 with Elissa Landre, Mass Audubon Naturalist & Ron Allilock, Local Guide and Naturalist
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Birding in Guyana ~ Oct. 1 – 10, 2010 BIRDING IN GUYANA October 1 – 10, 2010 With Elissa Landre, Mass Audubon Naturalist & Ron Allilock, Local guide and Naturalist Kaieteur Falls,by E. Landre Where the Caribbean meets South America on its North Atlantic coast, Guyana, Land of Many Waters, is home to Jaguars, Harpy Eagles, Giant Armadillo, and Arapaima, the largest freshwater fish in the world. More than 800 species of birds inhabit the virgin rainforests, the gallery forests and the tepui plateaus including Guianan Cock-of- the-Rock, Toco Toucans, and the endemic Blood-colored Woodpecker. The only English-speaking country in South America is rich in nature and culture, a mix of Amerindian, East Indian, Caribbean and European, with a colorful mélange of foods and customs combining them all. Our tour will give you a wonderful sampling of ornithological treasures as we travel from the coastal plain, to the sandbelt forest, then on to the seemingly limitless forests of the interior and the Rupununi Savannah along the Brazilian border. It includes travel on a number of small watercourses and two great rivers, the Demerara and the Essequibo, as well as a visit to Kaieteur Falls, surely among the world’s most imposing scenic wonders. Mass Audubon’s naturalist, Elissa Landre, toured the natural hotspots with Ron Allicock, our local guide, in 2007. Ron interned with MassAudubon in the summer of 2008. Both are eager to share their knowledge and love of Guyana with our travelers. This trip is for birders who have experience and enthusiasm for exploring new and undeveloped places. Travel with the Massachusetts Audubon Society 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 800-289-9504 Birding in Guyana ~ Oct. 1 – 10, 2010 Guyana Tour ~ Terms and Conditions PRICE: $4,500 per person, double occupancy, Single Supplement: $ 500 Singles are limited. Notes on Accommodation : Single supplement is subject to availability. Single supplement covers Cara Lodge, Iwokrama River Lodge, Karanambu Ranch and Rock View Lodge. Surama does not charge a single supplement but will give a single room if available. Price Includes: All accommodations and meals, as listed All transportation within Guyana, including in-country flights All excursions, park fees, VAT and activities described Tips for Local guides Trip preparation notes and Bird checklists Medical Evacuation coverage Price Excludes: International airfare Passport and visa fees; Trip cancellation insurance; Airport taxes; departure taxes; excess baggage charges; Items of a personal nature, including alcoholic beverages, laundry and telephone calls; other items not specifically mentioned as included. ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: A valid U.S. passport is required for U.S. citizens to enter and depart Guyana. On arrival, Guyanese Immigration normally grants U.S. visitors a stay of thirty days. U.S. citizens traveling to Guyana should ensure that their passports have at least six months of remaining validity. RESERVATIONS, APPLICATIONS, DEPOSITS: Early reservations are required to ensure your place on this trip. All reservations must be accompanied by a completed reservation form and a $500 deposit. In the case of questionable health, we reserve the right to require a physician’s certification to affirm you are capable of the activities. You will receive a final invoice prior to departure with final payment due on June 25, 2010, 95 days prior to departure. Final Payment must be by check. RATES: All forms and fares are accurate at the time of publication September 2009, but are subject to change at any time prior to departure. It is our policy to only pass on the actual amount of any increases in airfares or land costs such as those increases due to the devaluation of the dollar. A price increase may be called for if the group falls below the minimum of 6. The maximum number of participants is approximately 10. FLIGHTS: Travelers are responsible for arranging their own international flights to Georgetown, Guyana. There are direct flights (on Delta) from New York City. We will send you suggested flights, including the flight details of our Mass Audubon leader, once we have reached our minimum group size of 6. You may book your flights on-line, with a travel agent, or directly with an airline. Please be aware that most tickets are non-refundable, therefore you should not book your flight arrangements until you have checked with us to be sure the tour has the minimum number of travelers. CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS: All cancellations must be done in writing and are effective upon receipt in the Massachusetts Audubon Travel Office. Cancellations received up to 91 days prior to departure will be refunded all money less a $250 per person service fee. For cancellations between 90 and 61 days prior to departure, all deposits will not be refunded. There are no refunds for cancellations 60 days or less from departure. We strongly urge all travelers to purchase trip cancellation insurance. You will be sent information from the Massachusetts Audubon Society upon receipt of your deposit. Travel with the Massachusetts Audubon Society 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 800-289-9504 Birding in Guyana ~ Oct. 1 – 10, 2010 DAY-TO-DAY ITINERARY Oct 1 Arrive in Guyana and transfer to Georgetown. Lunch at a local restaurant. Welcome dinner at Cara Lodge. Overnight at Cara Lodge. LD Oct 2 This morning, after an early breakfast, we will see dawn rise over the extensive and beautiful Botanic Garden, where, if we are lucky, the trip’s first ornithological highlight will be the Blood-colored Woodpecker, an astonishingly colorful Veniliornis found only in the Guianas and even there almost wholly limited to the narrow coastal plain. The gardens host Snail Kite, Gray Hawk, Pearl Kite, Carib Grackle, Red-bellied Macaw, Red- shouldered Macaw, Orange-winged and Yellow-crowned Parrot and the Festive Parrot. We will walk on trails in the back of the gardens and may see Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Boat-billed Flycatcher, Black-crested Antshrike, Short- tailed Swift, Ruddy Ground Dove, Grayish Saltator, Silver-beaked Tanager, Buff-breasted Wren, Piratic and Ashy- headed Greenlet. After we have our fill of the garden, we will fly to Kaieteur Falls which was first seen by a European on April 29, 1870 and is situated in the heart of Guyana on the Potaro River, a tributary of the Essequibo. The water of Kaieteur, one of the world’s natural wonders, flows over a sandstone conglomerate tableland into a deep gorge - a drop of 822 feet or 5 times the height of Niagara Falls. There are no other falls in the world with the magnitude of the sheer drop at Kaieteur. Amerindian legend of the Patamona tribe has it that Kai, one of the tribe’s chiefs (after whom the falls is named), committed self sacrifice by canoeing himself over the falls. It was believed this would encourage the Great Spirit Makonaima to save the tribe from being destroyed by the savage Caribishi. Kaieteur supports a unique micro environment with Tank Bromeliads, the largest in the world, in which the tiny Golden frog spends its entire life and the rarely seen Guiana Cock- of-the- rock nesting close by. The lucky visitor may also see the famous flights of the Kaieteur Swifts or Makonaima Birds which nest under the vast shelf of rock carved by the centuries of water, hidden behind the eternal curtain of falling water. Our flight then continues across the rainforest and savannah to the airstrip at Fairview Village. We will have a short trip by road and then by boat along the Essequibo River to the Iwokrama River Lodge. After we check in we will bird along the Screaming Piha Trail near the Field Station, home to Bronzy Jacamar, Chestnut & Waved Woodpecker, Amazonian Antshrike, Gray Antbird, and Strong-billed Woodcreeper. We may also see Gray-winged Trumpeter, Black-tailed, White-tailed, Violaceous and Collared Trogons, Plain-brown, Wedge-billed, White- chinned, Buff-throated, Chestnut-rumped and Barred Woodcreepers. As the day ends we will look for Ladder-tailed Nightjar; Great and Common Potoo and the rarer Rufous Potoo and White-winged Potoo. Overnight at the Iwokrama River Lodge. BLD Oct. 3 We will have another early start and, before breakfast, embark on the Essequibo and circumnavigate Indian House Island giving us a chance for dawn song on the river including five species of Tinamou, Marbled Wood-Quail, Band-rumped Swift, White-banded and Black-collared Swallows, and Guianan Streaked-Antwren before returning to the Field Station for breakfast. After breakfast, we set out by boat for half an hour or less to the foot of Turtle Mountain. Along the way, we will look for Harpy Eagle, Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, King Vulture, Gray-headed, Double-toothed and Plumbeous Kites and Black-faced Hawk. Here we explore the trails for a few hours first visiting Turtle Ponds where anis, herons and Green and Rufous Kingfisher hunt. Travel with the Massachusetts Audubon Society 208 South Great Road, Lincoln, MA 01773 800-289-9504 Birding in Guyana ~ Oct. 1 – 10, 2010 We continue our hike to an elevation of 900 feet for a view of the forest canopy below, looking for Green Aracari, White Bellbird or a fly-by of one of five types of Eagles. The trails may reveal Little Chachalaca, Marail Guan, Black Curassow, Squirrel and Black-bellied Cuckoos, Eastern Long-tailed and Reddish Hermits, Blue-crowned Motmot, Guianan White-necked Puffbird, Collared Puffbird, Pygmy, Todd’s, Spot-tailed, White-flanked, Gray, Long-winged, Rufous-bellied, and Brown-bellied Antwrens, White-lored Tyrannulet and Helmeted Pygmy-Tyrant. As we return to the lodge, we will hopefully spot Caica, Blue-headed, Blue-cheeked and Mealy Parrots, Cocoi Heron, Bat Falcon, Lined Forest-Falcon and Pied Lapwing.