VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS PRESENTS:

VENT’S 45TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 1976 – 2021

NOVEMBER 14–19, 2021

ROCKPORT & WHOOPING CRANES EXTENSION NOVEMBER 19–23, 2021

UPPER VALLEY EXTENSION NOVEMBER 19–21, 2021 © 2021

Green Jay © Erik Bruhnke

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In 2021, VENT turns 45! It has been a tremendous four-and-a-half decades in business, thanks to a superb office staff, many of the world’s most highly skilled tour leaders, and the support of wonderful and loyal clients. From our modest beginnings 45 years ago, VENT has been unwavering in its values: dedication to providing our travelers with the highest quality experiences in nature, taking care of our employees, and supporting conservation. It is for these reasons that VENT is widely regarded among the world’s finest nature tour companies, a distinction of which we are immensely proud.

To celebrate our anniversary, we are planning a big event in our home state of Texas, where it all began in 1976. The site we have chosen for this historic occasion is one of America's greatest birding and wildlife areas: the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Few other regions in the country offer such unequaled birding opportunities combined with easy accessibility to diverse locations. Our celebration will be based at the beautiful Casa De Palmas Hotel in the city of McAllen. We will have four fun-filled days to explore the varied regions of the Lower Rio Grande Valley in search of a host of Neotropical species not found outside the area.

Our 45th Anniversary Celebration is also a social event in which participants are treated to social hours, dinners, and presentations by distinguished speakers. Other attractions include an Artist’s Corner, featuring the works of several VENT leaders, book signings, and an optics table featuring Swarovski sport optics. There will be numerous opportunities to interact with VENT tour leaders and office staff, special guests, and other celebration participants.

In commemoration of the event, we will assemble an all-star team of tour leaders, bird and wildlife artists, nature writers, and guest speakers including Victor Emanuel, Barry Lyon, David Wolf, Mimi Wolf, Barry Zimmer, Kevin Zimmer, Michael O’Brien, Louise Zemaitis, Steve Hilty, Jeri Langham, Brian Gibbons, David Ascanio, Rick Wright, Brennan Mulrooney, Erik Bruhnke, Rafael Galvez, Willy Hutcheson, Shawneen Finnegan, David Irons, and other prominent personalities from the world of birding.

Expected to take part in this event are 112 participants, 17 tour leaders, and a number of special guests. The program will be structured to include field trips during the days and social hours, dinners, and presentations in the evenings.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley is a land of tremendous biodiversity and geographical variation. Field trips to a number of the region’s most important areas will operate daily. The field trip schedule will include four zones: 1) Brush country and oak woodlands of the King Ranch; 2) South Padre Island and coastal habitats; 3) Middle Valley preserves I; and 4) Middle Valley preserves II. Every participant will have a chance to experience every field trip, and, additionally, will spend time in the field with the majority of the tour leaders.

On most of the four full days of the Celebration, an evening social with cash bar will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will continue to 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and a keynote presentation. Our distinguished panel of speakers includes renowned tropical ornithologist and longtime VENT tour leader Dr. Steve Hilty; Dr. George Archibald, co-founder of the International Crane Foundation; and Victor Emanuel, President and CEO of Victor Emanuel Nature Tours.

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This anniversary celebration is a major milestone for VENT, marking 45 years of worldwide nature tours and conservation. It is guaranteed to be an exciting and successful event. Join us in McAllen in November 2021 and make new friends, renew old acquaintances, and help us celebrate our 45th birthday!

For those who would like to spend more time in South Texas, we will operate post-event extensions to the Rockport area on the central coast and the upper valley northwest of McAllen. Due to demand, we are offering two departures of our Rockport & Whooping Cranes Extensions, both operating November 19-23, while the Upper Valley Extension will operate November 19-21. Itineraries for the extensions will be published separately.

November 14, Day 1: Arrival in McAllen. Celebration participants should plan to arrive in McAllen today (airport code MFE). The Casa de Palmas Hotel offers complimentary airport shuttle service. Celebration registration will take place all day in the lobby of the hotel. An evening social hour with cash bar will begin at 5:30 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m., followed by an official event welcome.

NIGHT: Casa de Palmas, McAllen

November 15–18, Days 2–5: Field trips and evening presentations. The Lower Rio Grande Valley was chosen as the host site for this event because of its reputation as one of the country’s top areas for birding and wildlife. No other region of our country has as strong a Neotropical element as the Lower Rio Grande Valley. A wide variety of bird species found within our borders are restricted to southernmost Texas. Many of them are widespread, while others are local and occur only seasonally or in small numbers. Aside from the “Valley specialties,” the Lower Rio Grande Valley is also an outstanding destination for observing more widely occurring species of waterbirds and raptors. The Valley is on the Central Flyway, and November is still a time to observe southbound migrants and the arrival of winter resident species. Waterfowl, hawks, shorebirds, and songbirds are typically conspicuous at this time of the year. VENT’S 45th Anniversary Celebration: Page 4

There will be daily field trips to each of four designated zones, and all participants will have the opportunity to experience each zone.

NOTE: The following field trip descriptions provide a general overview of a given area and its associated birdlife. Participants should be aware that the daily agenda will remain flexible so your tour leaders can adjust for varying circumstances including, but not limited to, changing weather conditions, bird activity, unanticipated park closures, etc. While we intend to visit the areas as described, your tour leaders have the discretion to select alternative sites depending on local conditions.

FIELD TRIPS

Zone 1: King Ranch Departs 6:00 a.m.; returns by 4:00 p.m.

The ranchlands and rural country northeast of McAllen offer a sharp contrast to the more developed and agriculturalized tri-city area (McAllen, Harlingen, Brownsville) to the south. Featuring great expanses of mesquite woodland, oak mottes, and coastal grasses, this region provides exposure to birds and landscapes not found elsewhere. The centerpiece of this field trip is a visit to the famous King Ranch, a private property to which we have special access.

At over 800,000 acres, the immense King Ranch played a standout role in the economic and political development of Texas in the first half of the twentieth century. Founded in the decades before the Civil War by Captain Richard King, the ranch rose to prominence as a major land and cattle operation before expanding into agribusiness and oil leasing. Today the King Ranch is a fixture in Texas lore, an enduring symbol of the cowboy tradition and independent spirit of the Lone Star State.

The ranch is divided into four divisions, of which the Norias Division will be our destination. Here, the birding is typically excellent, and we will spend much of the day seeking regional specialty birds. Our top objective will be locating the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, a tropical species rarely seen in the United States outside the boundaries of this ranch. While the owl is elusive and somewhat scarce (and certainly not guaranteed), we will devote considerable effort to locating one. Aside from the owl, the ranch’s wild surroundings and abundance of other birds are of equal appeal. We will visit a number of sites through the morning hours and into the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl © Barry Zimmer afternoon, seeking White-tailed and Harris’s hawks, Crested Caracara, the gem-like Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed woodpeckers, Couch’s Kingbird, Vermilion Flycatcher, Green Jay, Long-billed Thrasher, Olive Sparrow, Hooded Oriole, and more. In addition, the very local Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet and Audubon’s Oriole might also be encountered. An added bonus will be a delicious “cowboy lunch” in the field.

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Field trip note: In February 2021, Texas was gripped by an unprecedented winter weather event, with record cold temperatures extending all the way to the border with Mexico. The effects on the state’s birdlife were not insignificant. Our sources at the King Ranch have told us that owls are being seen, but in lower numbers than before the weather event. For this reason, we gauge our chances of seeing the owl at about 60-40.

Zone 2: South Padre Island Departs 6:30 a.m.; returns by 4:30 p.m.

The coastal plain of southernmost Texas is characterized by croplands, mudflats, open beaches and tidelands. This field trip will expose participants to a range of aquatic habitats found throughout the lower valley, centering on South Padre Island (SPI) and nearby environs. In spite of its reputation as a spring break mecca, SPI is a fantastic place for birding.

We’ll depart the hotel at 6:30 this morning as the trip out to South Padre takes about ninety minutes. We hope to begin with an early morning visit to a parrot roost in residential Harlingen, where Red-crowned Parrots are found. Early morning is the best time to be present, as the birds are becoming active but have not yet dispersed to outlying areas to feed for the day. Although not native, these birds are “countable” and should provide an interesting and colorful start to the day.

West of the community of Port Isabel, gateway to South Padre Island, we’ll stop at a designated viewing area where we’ll watch for Aplomado Falcon.

The beautiful Aplomado Falcon once occurred naturally amid the coastal prairie and scrubland of south Texas, but years of conversion of the native landscape eventually led to the extirpation of the species in Texas. Starting around twenty years ago, the Peregrine Fund and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service collaborated to reintroduce the falcon to its native range. Despite many ups and downs, the program is considered a success and the birds are established and increasing. We hope to spot one of the birds perched atop a yucca or perhaps a nearby power pole.

Reddish Egret © Greg Lasley

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Our exploration of South Padre will begin as soon as we reach the island. On the far side of the access causeway, a short drive to the south will put us in close proximity to an expansive mudflat studded with clumps of Black Mangrove. Shorebirds and wading birds will be our objective as we scan our surroundings for groups of wintering plovers, sandpipers, yellowlegs, dowitchers, herons, egrets, and ibis. Several miles to the north, both the South Padre Island Birding & Nature Center and the South Padre Island Convention Center are excellent locations to view a diversity of waterbirds of varying stripes. In particular, the SPI Birding & Nature Center is of high appeal, a beautiful facility featuring exhibits and a short boardwalk into a mangrove wetland. Here, tidal pools and mudflats offer sanctuary to a fine variety of birds that can be enjoyed at surprisingly close range. Among the many species we might encounter here are Mottled Duck, American White Pelican, Reddish Egret, Tricolored Hereon, Roseate Spoonbill, Piping and Semipalmated plovers, American Oystercatcher, American Avocet, Long- billed Curlew, and Black Skimmer.

The coastal mudflats at the South Padre Island Convention Center often host thousands of migrant shorebirds at this time of year, and sightings of several species of “ringed” plovers and an assortment of gulls and terns are virtually assured. Nearby, mangrove-lined wetlands hold a menagerie of Gulf Coast herons and egrets, and Clapper Rails. The convention center also serves as an important migrant trap, and if the weather has been favorable for putting down birds, we could luck into a few late moving Neotropical migrants. Often these migrants are seen in the small trees and bushes planted for their benefit, allowing excellent studies.

Time permitting, we may work the north section of the highway leading to the Port of Brownsville. Depending on tidal conditions, broad expanses of packed sand along the highway may host a variety of terns, with Gull- billed, Royal, Caspian, and Forster’s possible. Also possible in the flooded coastal salt pans are Long-billed Curlew, Whimbrel, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, and Stilt Sandpiper.

Field trip note: Tamaulipas Crow, a Mexican species, occurs irregularly in low numbers near the Port of Brownsville. Never to be expected, the appearance of this bird is always cause for excitement. Several birds have been present around the Brownsville landfill through the first months of 2021. Should the birds still be present in November, we will consider adjusting the day’s itinerary in an effort to see it. Please note that deviating to see this special bird will not be done at the expense of seeking other expected or hoped-for species.

Zone 3: Middle Valley I Departs 7:00 a.m.; returns by 4:00 p.m.

Amid the agricultural lands and urban environments that characterize much of the middle Valley, significant tracts of native thorn-scrub and riparian woodland remain. Each of these remnant habitats reflects the natural history heritage of southernmost Texas. Together they form the heart of a celebrated network of parks and preserves, some of which are part of the World Birding Center system. Our zone 3 and 4 field trips visit several of these sites, offering a window onto the past, allowing the visitor to imagine the entire Valley as it might have appeared in its native state, long ago.

The destination this morning will be either Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park or Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. These parks are two of the most famous birding locations in the Valley, offering specialty birds, waterfowl, shorebirds, and more. The determination of which site we’ll visit will not be made until right before the Celebration. Our decision will be guided by weather forecasts, water levels at each location, and anticipated productivity of the birding. We will have lunch at Anzalduas Country Park, which too offers opportunities for excellent birding.

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Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park: The center of the World Birding Center system, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park hosts the full assortment of resident Valley specialties and a variety of other birds. We may spend the greater part of a morning here watching the antics of Plain Chachalacas and marveling at the colors of Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Great Kiskadees, Green Jays, and Altamira Orioles, with these and other birds easy to observe at the park’s feeding stations. Bentsen is also one of the best places in the region to observe Clay-colored Thrush, a bird that exists in south Texas as an uncommon breeding species. Deep in the park is an elevated observation deck that allows for hawk watching and viewing of the resaca (oxbow lake) below. The deck is spacious and allows for unobstructed views of hawks and vultures from a variety of perspectives—from above, below, and at eye level—in addition Altamira Oriole © Erik Bruhnke to a variety of other birds. From our lofty position, we have chances for Sharp-shinned, Harris’s, and Gray hawks, White-tailed Kite, and other raptors, while the flooded resaca may yield a variety of waterfowl, shorebirds, American White Pelican, and Ringed and Green kingfishers.

Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge: Often called the “jewel of our national wildlife refuge system,” Santa Ana captures the spirit of South Texas birding as much as any single place could. Within the boundaries of the refuge sits a mosaic of habitats indicative of what early South Texas looked like. Dense, impenetrable brushland intermingles with cattail marshes, freshwater impoundments, and tropical hardwood forests. Perhaps more than any other single location in South Texas, Santa Ana exists as a bastion for native birds, plants, and animals. We will walk a number of the roads and trails that penetrate the native habitat searching for characteristic South Texas specialties such as White-tipped Dove, Plain Chachalaca, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Green Jay, and Olive Sparrow. The marshy ponds and lakes in the center of the refuge commonly host Least Grebe and Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. Green Kingfishers are often sighted sitting quietly amongst the reeds or on some bare branch, only inches above the surface of the water. Even Fulvous Whistling-Ducks and Ringed Kingfishers are present on occasion. A walk to Pintail Lake might produce a host of shorebirds, herons, and egrets. Great Kiskadee and Couch’s Kingbird can be Great Kiskadee © Greg Lasley common.

Anzalduas County Park: Anzalduas County Park is an excellent place for lunch and a bit of afternoon birding. This well-known hotspot is home to many Valley specialty species in addition to late migrants and winter residents alike. Unique to Anzalduas is a large grove of live oaks that shades an extensive picnic area. These trees sometimes harbor groups of warblers that may include Tropical Parula and Yellow-throated and Black-throated Green warblers. Less common residents like Gray Hawk and Clay-colored Thrush are also sighted here.

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Field trip note: Santa Ana and Bentsen offer distinctly different settings, but many of the same birds. In determining which of the two locations we’ll visit, one of the variables we’ll consider among many is our chances for observing Hook-billed Kite. This highly-sought tropical species is a rare and localized resident in South Texas and is seen regularly at both locations. From time to time, kites will appear more frequently in one location than the other. We will take any recent reports into account.

Zone 4: Middle Valley II Departs 7:30 a.m.; returns by 4:00 p.m.

The focus of this field trip is a day at the amazing Estero Llano Grande State Park, possibly the premier destination for birding in South Texas. Our visit to Llano Grande may continue into the afternoon, or for a change of scenery, we may visit the delightful Edinburg Scenic Wetlands on the north side of McAllen.

Estero Llano Grande State Park: Situated nearby to the hotel, Estero Llano Grande is both a state park and one of the World Birding Center sites, offering an exceptional mix of classic Valley birds, waterbirds and songbirds. Following its establishment, about fifteen years ago, this site has emerged as the most exciting birding destination in the Valley. A system of flooded impoundments creates ideal feeding and roosting conditions for myriad birds associated with water. In fact, the viewing platform right at the visitor center is not to be missed! As evidence, we should enjoy stunning views of Anhinga, Neotropic Cormorant, Least Grebe, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Green Kingfisher © Michael O'Brien herons and egrets, ibises and spoonbills, Green and Belted kingfishers, and many others. The surrounding woodlands offer superb opportunities to view South Texas specialty birds such as Plain Chachalaca, White-tipped Dove, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Great Kiskadee, Couch’s and Tropical kingbirds, Green Jay, Long-billed Thrasher, Clay-colored Thrush, and Olive Sparrow. Frequently, a “stakeout” Common Pauraque is readily viewable by one of the trail sides. Adjacent to the main part of the park is its “Subtropical” section, a former R.V. park in the process of reclamation. Here, native trees and shrubs mix with ornamental plantings, creating a smorgasbord at times for insectivorous and frugivorous birds. Summer Tanager, Altamira and Hooded orioles, Nashville and Black-throated Gray warblers, and Painted and Indigo bunting all occur here at one time or another in November. Rarer species that turn up here from time to time include Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet and Tropical Parula.

Time permitting, we may depart Llano Grande early and head for the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, located 20 minutes north of our hotel.

Edinburg Scenic Wetlands: Located a few minutes north of McAllen, Edinburg Scenic Wetlands is a 40-acre site featuring wetlands, butterfly gardens, and a first-rate visitor center. Another of the World Birding Center satellites, the wetlands offer close encounters with nature in an otherwise urban setting, a delightful place that caters to local residents and visiting nature enthusiasts alike. A large tree-fringed lake is the park’s centerpiece, VENT’S 45th Anniversary Celebration: Page 9 and a great place to see water-associated bird species at close range. On any given day, birds such as Least and Pied-billed grebes, Neotropic and Double-crested cormorants, Anhinga, Ringed and Green kingfishers, Great Kiskadee, and Couch’s Kingbird may be seen with relative ease. Enhancing the scene, a couple of viewing platforms offer spacious viewing conditions.

Field trip note: Barring adverse weather conditions, it is a certainty that we will spend the duration of the morning at the main section of Estero Llano Grande. After lunch at the park, we will check the Subtropical section for evidence of songbirds. In some years, this area is hopping with birds, while nearly devoid in other years. Our afternoon plans will depend in part on the productivity of the birding here. Edinburg Scenic Wetlands is an appealing alternative should we desire.

NIGHTS: Casa de Palmas, McAllen

November 19, Day 6: Departure for Home. Participants may depart McAllen at any time today for flights home. The hotel shuttle provides complimentary service to the airport.

CELEBRATION SIZE: This event will be limited to 112 participants.

TOUR LEADERS: Victor Emanuel, Barry Lyon, Barry Zimmer, Kevin Zimmer, Michael O’Brien, Louise Zemaitis, Steve Hilty, Jeri Langham, Brian Gibbons, David Ascanio, Rick Wright, Brennan Mulrooney, Erik Bruhnke, Rafael Galvez, Willy Hutcheson, Shawneen Finnegan, and Dave Irons.

Victor Emanuel started birding in Texas 72 years ago at the age of eight. His travels have taken him to all the continents, with his areas of concentration being Texas, Arizona, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. He is the founder and compiler for 50 years of the record-breaking Freeport Christmas Bird Count and served a term as president of the Texas Ornithological Society. Birds and natural history have been a major focus throughout his life. He derives great pleasure from seeing and hearing birds, and sharing with others these avian sights and sounds, both the common ones and the more unusual ones. He initiated the first birding camps for young people and considers that one of his greatest achievements. Victor holds a B.A. in zoology and botany from the University of Texas and an M.A. in government from Harvard. In 1993, he was the recipient of the Roger Tory Peterson Excellence in Birding Award, given by the Houston Audubon Society in recognition of a lifetime of dedication to careful observation, education, and addition to the body of avian knowledge. In 2004, he received the Roger Tory Peterson Award from the American Birding Association, and the Arthur A. Allen Award from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. He is a past board member of the Nature Conservancy of Texas, the National Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In May 2017, the University of Texas Press published his memoir, One More Warbler, A Life with Birds.

Barry Lyon’s passion for the outdoors and birding has its roots in his childhood in southern California. During his teenage years, he attended several VENT/ABA youth birding camps, which ultimately led to his future involvement with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. He holds a B.A. from the University of Arizona at Tucson where he studied history and political science, with an emphasis on environment and development politics. Barry joined the VENT team as a tour leader in 1995 and embarked on a travel-based career that has taken him to an array of worldwide destinations. He has lived in Austin, Texas since 2004 when he joined our office staff as an assistant to company president Victor Emanuel. In 2014 he was named Chief Operating Officer (COO), reflecting his increased experience and responsibilities. VENT’S 45th Anniversary Celebration: Page 10

These days, his work is geared primarily toward the company’s business side and management, although he continues to lead a few tours annually. Barry’s background and his knowledge of natural history have provided him with a strong interest in conservation. He is a former board member and past president of Travis Audubon Society, which emphasizes conservation through birding and outdoor education for children. Barry resides in South Austin with his wife, Brooke Smith.

Barry Zimmer has been birding since the age of eight. His main areas of expertise lie in North and Central America, but his travels have taken him throughout much of the world, including such exotic locales as Japan, Russia, Madagascar, Africa, and New Zealand. Barry is a longtime member of the New Mexico Bird Records Committee, and served on the Texas Bird Records Committee for 12 years. He has coauthored three books: Birds of the Trans-Pecos, A Birder's Guide to the Rio Grande Valley, and Birds and Birdfinding in the El Paso Area. Barry has a keen interest in nature photography, having captured over 1,600 species of birds on film. His other interests include sports (a diehard Red Sox fan), cooking, and movies. He received his degree in psychology at the University of Texas in El Paso. Barry resides in El Paso with his wife, Yvonne, and their daughter, Alexandra.

Kevin Zimmer has authored three books and numerous papers dealing with field identification and bird-finding in North America. His book, Birding in the American West: A Handbook, deals with finding and identifying birds in the western United States. Living in Alaska contributed to his affection for the Far North, where he has anchored VENT’s tour program since 1986. For the past 25+ years he has concentrated his attention on the Neotropics, particularly on Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. He has directed VENT’s Brazil program since 1991. In the past decade, he has rekindled a love affair with the birds and wildlife of Africa, an interest that began as a young boy (watching Marlin Perkins on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom), but which blossomed with his first trip to Kenya in 1987 and leading several tours there through 1998. Following his return to Africa after a hiatus of more than a decade, his yearly tours to Africa have taken him to Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Kevin has a PhD in biology (research emphasis in Avian Evolutionary Ecology) from New Mexico State University, and is a Research Associate of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, an elective member of the American Ornithologists’ Society (AOS), and a member of the A.O.S. South American Classification Committee (SACC). He formerly served two terms on the American Birding Association (ABA) Check-list Committee, and is a regular contributor to Cornell’s Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds. He has authored numerous technical papers on the taxonomy, distribution, and behavior of Neotropical birds, particularly those of the Amazon Basin. In 2003 he completed (with co-author Mort Isler) the major chapter on the Thamnophilidae (antbirds) for the prestigious Handbook of Birds of the World series. In 2006, he and Curtis Marantz coauthored a six-CD compilation of Bird Voices of Alta Floresta and Southeastern Amazonian Brazil (produced by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds) that represents the most comprehensive set of commercially available bird recordings for any part of the Amazon Basin. He and Andrew Whittaker are currently at work on a comprehensive field guide to the birds of Brazil, to be published by Princeton University Press. Kevin lives in Atascadero, California with his wife, Susan. Their daughter, Marina, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT). She and her husband, Ryan, and their children, Brinn and Clayton, are now living in Napa, California.

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Michael O’Brien is a freelance artist, author, and environmental consultant living in Cape May, New Jersey. He has a passionate interest in bird vocalizations and field identification, and a serious addiction to migration and nocturnal birding. His travels have taken him throughout North and Central America and beyond. At home in Cape May, Michael serves as an Associate Naturalist with Cape May Bird Observatory for whom he conducts numerous workshops, and, for many years, conducted a fall songbird migration count. He is co-author of The Shorebird Guide, Flight Calls of Migratory Birds, and America’s 100 Most Wanted Birds, and is primary author of Larkwire, an online and handheld application for learning bird sounds. His illustrations have been widely published in books and field guides, including the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America and the new Peterson field guides. Michael also has an intense interest in butterflies, leads several “Birds & Butterflies” tours with his wife, Louise Zemaitis, and is coordinator of the Cape May Butterfly Count.

Louise Zemaitis is an artist and naturalist living in Cape May, New Jersey where she is a popular field trip leader teaching birding workshops as an Associate Naturalist with New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory. She also enjoys leading birding groups and lecturing at birding festivals and is known for her enthusiasm for all natural history subjects. Louise and her husband, Michael O’Brien, have been guiding young birders at birding events and conferences for many years. In addition to leading, Louise is field coordinator of the Monarch Monitoring Project in Cape May, served as compiler of the Cape May Christmas Bird Count for over 20 years, and owns Swallowtail Studio at West End Garage in Cape May. An honors graduate of Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, she enjoys working as a freelance artist and her illustrations have been widely published. Her proudest accomplishment has been the raising of her two sons, Bradley, a biologist and artist, and Alec, a philosopher and musician.

Steve Hilty is the senior author of A Guide to the Birds of Colombia, and author of Birds of Venezuela, both by Princeton University Press, as well as the popular Birds of Tropical America, A watcher's introduction to behavior, breeding and diversity. He has also written a number of scientific papers on birds and plants, has described two species of birds new to science in Venezuela, and another, with a team of scientists, in Colombia. He also wrote the text and species accounts for the tanager family for the acclaimed Handbook of Birds of the World, published by Lynx Press in Barcelona. In a departure from ornithology, Steve also wrote Dirt, Sweat, and Diesel: A Family Farm in the 21st Century, a book focusing on a Midwestern farm family. However, he returned to birds with his recent (2021) Birds of Colombia, published by Lynx Editions of Barcelona, Spain. Steve holds a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Arizona and has worked at the Arid Lands Department at the University of Arizona, and as a broker with Merrill Lynch. He is currently a research associate in ornithology at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute. Since 1983 he has also worked for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, guiding trips throughout North and South America, and co-leading trips to India, the Orient, and Australasian regions. With more than four decades of experience in South America and a wide range of natural history interests, he brings a unique breadth of expertise to his Neotropical tours. At night he often turns his binoculars towards the skies for stargazing. Steve lives in Kansas City with his wife, Beverly. They have two daughters.

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Jeri M. Langham has a Ph.D. in plant ecology from Washington State University, and after 38 years as a professor of biological sciences at California State University in Sacramento, retired in May 2008. He received the first Outstanding Teacher Award from the newly formed College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 1997; the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Science Educational Equity and Minority Organization of Science Students organizations in 2005; and his University’s third annual Lifetime Achievement Award for Community Service in 2006. Jeri has ardently birded all over North America, as well as Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Kenya, Borneo, South Africa, Cuba, and Australia. Born and raised in Venezuela, he speaks fluent Spanish. Known for his enthusiasm and boundless energy, Jeri thoroughly enjoys searching for birds and sharing them with others. His passion for teaching and his natural teaching abilities soon become apparent as his tour participants enjoy learning more about the biological world around them. Jeri is a former member of the California Bird Records Committee. He is a Founding Director and the Fundraising Director for the Neotropical Grassland Conservancy.

Brian Gibbons grew up in suburban Dallas where he began exploring the wild world in local creeks and parks. Chasing butterflies and any animal that was unfortunate enough to cross paths with the Gibbons boys occupied his childhood. A wooden bird feeder kit sparked a flame that was stoked by a gift of the Golden Guide and family camping trips to Texas state parks. Thirty years ago Brian attended two VENT camps for young birders. Birds are now his primary interest, but all things wild continue to captivate him. After college, Brian undertook a variety of field biology research jobs that have taken him to the Caribbean, the Bering Sea, and the land of the midnight sun, arctic Alaska. He enjoys working with kids, hoping to spark environmental awareness through birds. For many years Brian’s field research has involved bird banding. His most amazing recoveries were a female Wilson’s Warbler that had been banded in Alaska and was captured by Brian in Colorado, and a Sooty Tern that perished after a hurricane on the Texas coast; it had plied the Gulf of Mexico and the oceans of the world for 24 years. Brian’s recreational bird-seeking has taken him to Machu Picchu in Peru, the Great Wall in China, the plains of East Africa, and the Himalayas in Nepal. Brian leads birding trips in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, South Africa, and Europe. As well as being a fanatical birder, he loves capturing birds with photography. He lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife, Lacrecia Johnson, and their son, Grayson.

David Ascanio, a Venezuelan birder and naturalist, has spent 35 years guiding birding tours throughout his native country, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, the Orinoco and Amazon river basins, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, the Guianas, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles, Cuba, Chile, and Panama. He is especially interested in bird vocalizations and has a private library containing voices of more than 70% of all the birds of Venezuela. David combines superb birding skills with an astonishing command of bird vocalizations. He has published a book for children about bird songs and has coauthored the descriptions of two new species, the Rio Orinoco Spinetail and the Delta Amacuro Softtail. David has also published various manuscripts about the birds of the llanos (plains), the Orinoco River island species, and the pan- tepui endemic species for which he has become an authority. He is the first author of the Field Guide to the Birds of Venezuela (2017). David is an excellent communicator, has a great sense of humor, and is tireless in helping others find birds and wildlife. These traits have made him one of the most popular naturalists/guides in the Neotropics.

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Rick Wright is a widely published author and sought-after lecturer and field trip leader. A native of southeast Nebraska, Rick studied French, German, Philosophy, and Life Sciences at the University of Nebraska before making a detour to Harvard Law School. He took the Ph.D. in German Languages and Literatures at Princeton University in 1990, then spent a dozen years as an academic, holding successive appointments as Assistant Professor of German at the University of Illinois, Reader in Art and Archaeology at Princeton University, and Associate Professor of Medieval Studies at Fordham University. His numerous scholarly publications include two books on the Latin animal literature of the later Middle Ages. Among Rick's recent books are the ABA Field Guide to Birds of New Jersey and the ABA Field Guide to Birds of Arizona; his Peterson Reference Guide to American Sparrows was published in 2019. He is also the co- author with Sanford Sorkin of Watching Birds in Montclair and Watching Birds in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Especially interested in the history and culture of birding, he is hard at work on a study of hummingbird collecting in France from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. In his spare time, he teaches Latin courses online for the Paideia Institute. Rick lives with his family, Alison Beringer and Avril Huang, and their black lab, Quetzal, in northern New Jersey, where he offers private birding tours to the marshes, woodlands, and ocean beaches.

Brennan Mulrooney was born and raised in San Diego, California. Growing up, his heart and mind were captured by the ocean. He split his summer days between helping out behind the scenes at southern California’s leading aquarium and working on sport fishing vessels off the coast. As a wildlife and fisheries biology major at UC Davis, he developed his fascination with birds and love of birding while taking a required ornithology course. After graduating from UC Davis, Brennan traveled throughout the United States working on widespread ornithological field studies. His work took him from the mountains of northern California to the Salton Sea in southern California, and from Cape May, New Jersey to Key Largo, Florida. After a six-year stay in the Florida Keys, Brennan returned home to San Diego where he currently lives with his wife Brynne, their son Declan, and daughter Saoirse. Participants often comment that Brennan’s sharp eyes, sharper wit, and easygoing attitude make it a pleasure to bird with him.

Erik Bruhnke has loved birds since he was a child looking at chickadees. In 2008 he graduated from Northland College in Wisconsin with a Natural Resources degree. Erik taught field ornithology at Northland College for three semesters. Between 2009 and 2014, he spent his summers conducting field research focused on breeding bird transects in Upper Michigan, point counts for a breeding bird atlas in Minnesota and Wisconsin’s Northwoods, vegetation and breeding bird surveys throughout wind farms in North Dakota’s prairie potholes, and cavity-nesting surveys in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. A devoted raptor nerd, he is drawn to hawkwatches. He worked as an interpreter for six seasons at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth, Minnesota; counted migrating raptors at the Corpus Christi HawkWatch in Texas in 2015; and was the 2016, 2017, and 2018 hawk counter at the Cape May Hawkwatch in New Jersey. Erik’s wildlife photography has won national awards, and he’s written for the American Birding Association’s Birder’s Guide, BirdWatching magazine, and Bird Watcher’s Digest. When not leading birding tours, Erik often leads field trips and speaks at birding festivals. He also enjoys hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, and just being out in the snow. In his free time he loves to cook and bake.

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Rafael Galvez has been birding and illustrating birds since childhood, a dual passion that developed when his family moved from Peru to South Florida. Always with a sketchpad in hand, he has traveled throughout the U.S., Latin America, and Eurasia in pursuit of birds. He served several years as a board member of the BirdLife International affiliate in the Republic of Georgia, developing educational and conservation programs. He gained knowledge of the Caucasus region while directing a series of records and documentary shorts on the ancient chants of the Georgian nation. During that period he also produced retrospective books and catalogs on the works of Russian realist painters. He has combined his love of art, education, and birds while collaborating in several publications, including a field guide to Raptors and Owls of Georgia (Caucasus), which he illustrated and coauthored. After working with raptor research along the Black Sea, he returned to South Florida to spearhead a new phase for the Florida Keys Hawkwatch migration monitoring project, where he has participated as director. As chair of citizen science and IBA monitoring at Tropical Audubon Society in Miami, he has reached out to underserved communities by providing opportunities for the greater appreciation of birds and Florida habitats. Currently, he lives in Homestead, spends much time in the Everglades, serves on the Florida Ornithological Society’s Records Committee, and is on the Leica Sport Optics Pro Staff. He loves sharing his passion for birds with audiences of all ages, and has been a guide and teacher for over 15 years. You can find some of his latest sketches and articles about painting in the field at his blog, GalvezBirds.com.

Willy Hutcheson began birding in the South Carolina Lowcountry at age six. As a teenager, he attended VENT’s Camp Chiricahua for two years, where he discovered that there were indeed other adolescents in the world who shared his all-consuming obsession with birds. After obtaining one Master’s Degree in Conservation Biology and another in teaching science, he began a career in education. For the last decade, he has taught Biology and Environmental Science at a boarding school in Concord, Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife and two teenage sons. In the summers, Willy escapes with his family to Great Wass Island in downeast Maine and enjoys hiking, sailing, kayaking, and birding the maritime boreal ecosystem.

A native of Palo Alto, California, Shawneen Finnegan began birding in the early 1980s. She hasn’t done much else since. After leaving California, she lived in Cape May, then Tucson, and for the past 14 years, Portland, Oregon. In a previous life she led and later managed tours for WINGS. Shawneen is an accomplished artist. For 24 years she managed the BirdArea database used by BirdBase and AviSys. She is a field trip leader, eBird reviewer, and speaker, and has taught workshops about bird identification, how to draw birds, and more. Shawneen and her husband, Dave Irons, share their passion for birds.

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Dave Irons started birding at age six and became fully hooked by age 17, when he connected with other teenage birders. More than a half century later his curiosity about vagrancy, biogeography, the finer points of field ID, and seeking opportunities to pass forward what he has learned continue to drive his passion. Dave is a past member of Oregon’s Bird Records Committee (OBRC) and was a regional editor for North American Birds for more than a decade. His ABA Field Guide to the Birds of Oregon was published in the Fall of 2018. In his home state Dave has organized classes and led field trips for numerous organizations and festivals, including the American Birding Association, the Oregon Birding Association, Lane County Audubon Society, and the Audubon Society of Portland. In 2011 he became a leader at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival and, aside from the COVID hiatus in 2020, he has been back every year since.

FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS: The fee for the 45th Anniversary Celebration is $3095 per person in double occupancy from McAllen, Texas. This includes all meals from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 6, accommodations as stated in the itinerary, ground transportation during the tour, gratuities, and guide services provided by the tour leaders. It does not include airfare from your home to McAllen and return, airport departure taxes, alcoholic beverages, special gratuities, phone calls, laundry, or items of a personal nature.

The single supplement for this tour is $350. You will be charged a single supplement if you desire single accommodations.

REGISTRATION & DEPOSIT: To register for this event, please contact the VENT office. The deposit for this tour is $500 per person. If you prefer to pay your deposit using a credit card, the deposit must be made with MasterCard or Visa at the time of registration. If you would like to pay your deposit by check, money order, or bank transfer, your tour space will be held for 10 days to allow time for the VENT office to receive your deposit and completed registration form. The VENT registration form (available from the VENT office or by download at https://ventbird.com) should be completed, signed, and returned to the VENT office.

PAYMENTS: All tour payments may be made by credit card (MasterCard or Visa), check, money order, or bank transfer (contact the VENT office for bank transfer information). These include initial deposits, second deposits, interim payments, final balances, special arrangements, etc. Full payment of the tour fee is due 150 days (June 17, 2021) prior to the tour departure date.

CANCELLATION & REFUNDS:

Cancellation by Participant: Refunds, if any, for any cancellation by a participant are made according to the following schedule: If participant cancels 180 days or more before the tour departure date, a cancellation fee of $500 per person will be charged unless the deposit is transferred to a new registration for another VENT tour that will operate within the next 12 months, in which case the cancellation fee will be $100 per person. If cancellation is made between 179 and 151 days before departure date, the deposit is not refundable, but any payments covering the balance of the tour fee will be refunded. If cancellation is made fewer than 150 days before departure date, no refund is available. This policy and fee schedule also applies to pre- and post-tour extensions. For participants’ protection, we strongly recommend the purchase of travel insurance that covers trip cancellation/interruption.

If participant cancels: Participant’s refund will be: 180 days or more before departure date Participant’s deposit minus $250* 179 to 151 days before departure date No refund of the deposit, but any payments on the balance of the tour fee will be refunded 150 days or less before departure date No refund available VENT’S 45th Anniversary Celebration: Page 16

*Unless the deposit is transferred to a new registration for another VENT tour that will operate within the next 12 months, in which case the cancellation fee will be $100 per person. To qualify, cancellation must occur 180 days or more before departure date; deposit transfers must be made at the time of cancellation; and one transfer per deposit.

Cancellation by VENT: If VENT cancels a tour prior to departure without cause or good reason, VENT will provide the participant a full refund, which will constitute full settlement to the participant.

If VENT cancels or delays a tour or any portion of a tour as a result of any Force Majeure event, VENT will use its reasonable best efforts to refund any payments on the balance of the tour fee to participant; provided that, VENT will have no obligation to provide a participant with a refund and will not be liable or responsible to a participant, nor be deemed to have defaulted under or breached any applicable agreement, for any failure or delay in fulfilling or performing any term of such agreement. A “Force Majeure” event means any act beyond VENT’s control, including, without limitation, the following: (a) acts of God; (b) flood, fire, earthquake, hurricane, epidemic, pandemic or explosion; (c) war, invasion, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), terrorist threats or acts, riot or other civil unrest; (d) government order, law or actions; (e) embargoes or blockades; (f) national or regional emergency; (g) strikes, labor stoppages, labor slowdowns or other industrial disturbances; (h) shortage of adequate power or transportation facilities; and (i) any other similar events or circumstances beyond the control of VENT.

This VENT Cancellation & Refunds policy does not apply to air tickets purchased through VENT or to any special arrangements, such as additional hotel nights, that fall outside of the services described in the tour itinerary.

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours is not a participant in the California Travel Consumer Restitution Fund. California law requires certain sellers of travel to have a trust account or bond. This business has a bond issued by Travelers in the amount of $50,000. CST #2014998-50.

FUEL AND FUEL SURCHARGES: In the uncertain, often volatile oil market of late, it is difficult – if not impossible – to predict fuel costs over the long term, and more specifically, at the time of operation of this departure. Our prices are based upon the prevailing fuel rates at the time of itinerary publication. While we will do everything possible to maintain our prices, if the fuel rates increase significantly, it may be necessary to institute a fuel surcharge.

TRAVEL INSURANCE: To safeguard against losses due to illness, accident, or other unforeseen circumstances, we strongly recommend the purchase of travel insurance as soon as possible after making a deposit. VENT has partnered with Redpoint Travel Protection as our preferred travel insurance provider. Through Redpoint, we recommend their Ripcord plan. Designed for all types of travelers, Ripcord is among the most comprehensive travel protection programs available.

Critical benefits of Ripcord include a completely integrated program with a single contact for emergency services, travel assistance, and insurance claims; medical evacuation and rescue services from your point of injury or illness to your hospital of choice; comprehensive travel insurance for trip cancellation/interruption, primary medical expense coverage, and much more. Optional expanded insurance coverage is available and includes items such as security evacuation coverage in case of a natural disaster or other security events, waiver for pre- existing medical conditions exclusion, and a “Cancel for Any Reason” benefit. Ripcord is available to U.S. and non-U.S. residents.*

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For a price quote, or to purchase travel insurance, please visit: ripcordtravelprotection.com/ventbird; or click the Ripcord logo on our website (click Help and Trip Insurance); or call +1-415-481-0600. Pricing is based on age, trip cost, trip length, and level of coverage.

*To be eligible for the pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver and the optional Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) upgrade, you must purchase your policy within 14 days of making your tour deposit. The CFAR benefit provides reimbursement for 75% of covered costs, and increases the policy premium by approximately 50%. Policies may be purchased either for the full value of the tour fee at the time of deposit or in segments as individual tour payments are made (deposit, mid-payment, final balance, additional arrangements, etc.). The “pay as you go” approach reduces up-front expense and ensures that the amount paid toward your full policy premium is in proportion to the amount paid toward the full tour fee. If you choose to “pay as you go,” you must cover each deposit or payment within 14 days in order to maintain the CFAR benefit. Please refer to the policy for a full description of coverage.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): The coronavirus pandemic has brought uncertainty for many people currently holding travel insurance policies or who are considering future travel and purchasing such insurance. Redpoint has added a Coronavirus FAQ page to its website that addresses questions and concerns regarding its travel insurance and the impact of COVID-19. We strongly recommend that you visit the page for an overview of topics such as policy coverage and limitations, policy modifications, cancellation, refunds, and more. Among the most important points: 1) Trip cancellation solely for concern or fear of travel associated with COVID-19 is not covered; 2) Should you request cancellation of your policy, a full refund of your premium is available only under a limited set of conditions; and 3) Should you request cancellation, you may be eligible to receive a pro-rated refund of the unused portion of your premium or a travel insurance credit. Travel insurance credit (“Premium Credit”) is for the value of the policy purchased and may be applied to future policies. Premium Credits have no expiration dates. Rules and regulations apply.

Please visit the Coronavirus FAQ page at the following link: https://redpointtravelprotection.com/covid_19_faq/

Additionally, as countries begin opening up for travel, many are instituting an array of COVID-19 entry requirements, including mandates to purchase travel insurance covering medical expenses due to COVID-19 Illness and accommodation in case of quarantine. Ripcord’s comprehensive travel insurance plans are designed to satisfy the various country-specific travel insurance entry requirements. Those who purchase a Ripcord policy will receive a “letter of confirmation” that affirms that the policy satisfies such requirements.

AIR INFORMATION: Victor Emanuel Travel is a full-service travel agency and wholly owned subsidiary of Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT). Victor Emanuel Travel will be happy to make any domestic or international air travel arrangements from your home and return. Please feel free to call the VENT office to confirm your air arrangements.

BAGGAGE: As your trip to Texas is a short one, please refrain from bringing excessive amounts of baggage. Please limit your luggage to one medium-sized bag and one carry-on per person.

The airlines now strictly enforce baggage regulations. Excess baggage charges, which can be substantial, are the personal responsibility of each participant. As a precaution against lost luggage, we suggest that you pack a change of clothes, toiletries, medications, important travel documents, optics, and any other essential items in your carry-on bag.

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Due to ever-changing circumstances in the government’s attempts to improve airport security we recommend that you check the websites of your airline and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for the most updated information regarding checked baggage and carry-on items: http://www.tsa.gov/.

CLOTHING: For this short trip to South Texas, lightweight field clothing is the norm. November generally is still a warm time of the year, with mild morning and warm days. Short-sleeve shirts and shorts are acceptable, but you should definitely bring one or two pairs of long pants. Many people prefer field-type clothing consisting of shirts (long- and short-sleeve) and pants made of lightweight but durable clothing with ventilated seems and zippered sections. Lightweight pants and long-sleeve shirts are ideal for woods birding, where some mosquitoes are typical. Dull colors or earth tones are preferable. Field clothing, such as that made by Columbia, Ex Officio, and REI is available at a variety of outdoor and sporting goods stores. We recommend Insect-Shield shirts and pants. In the event of a cold front, which is certainly possible by mid-November, conditions can change dramatically in a short amount of time. A cold front can bring overcast conditions accompanied by wind, rain, and plunging temperatures. So, while bringing lightweight field clothing is a safe bet, you should also pack an item or two of warm outerwear and a water-repellent parka or jacket. A hat for protection from the sun is essential. Wide- brimmed hats are preferable, but even a baseball cap will provide better sun protection than no hat at all. You may wish to bring along swimwear as the hotel does have a swimming pool.

Dinner each night will be in a large banquet hall, followed by a guest speaker’s address. We emphasize that while the 45th Anniversary Celebration is an important event, participants are not expected to bring fancy apparel or semi-formal wear. Field clothing or casual wear is acceptable for the evening programs, but a smart-casual attire is certainly appropriate for those who prefer a dressier appearance. For men, this means slacks or khakis, open- collar shirt, and sport coats; for women, casual dresses or skirts/slacks, and blouses.

FOOTWEAR: A light hiking boot or trail shoe will be appropriate for all outings. Athletic shoes are acceptable but will not keep your feet dry and can become soiled from muddy conditions. A good walking shoe (such as an athletic shoe), may be preferred when not in the field, such as the evening social hour and dinners.

LAUNDRY: Given the short length of this program, we recommend packing enough clothing to get you through the trip without your having to resort to using hotel laundry service. That said, the Casa de Palmas offers laundry service for a fee Monday through Friday with same-day delivery.

CLIMATE & WEATHER: South Texas in middle November is generally pleasant, with warm days and mild nights. A typical day begins with mornings in the upper 60s/low 70s, and then warms into the 80s in the afternoon. Because South Texas is at a relatively low latitude, summer heat can persist deep into the autumn, in which case we could experience hot days with daytime highs in the 90s. At the other end of the scale, cold fronts are entirely possible, which could herald wind, rain, and daytime highs in the 50s or even the 40s. Overall, warm, dry days are the anticipated, but participants should be prepared for unseasonable heat and/or cooler temperatures and rain.

CONDITIONS:

Hotel: All nights will be spent at a single location, the Casa de Palmas, Trademark Collection by Wyndham. It is a full-service hotel located 2.5 miles from McAllen International Airport. Among the many services offered by the hotel are: full-service bar, free airport shuttle service, spacious non-smoking rooms, pool, room service, gym, and business center. Each non-smoking guest room features a flat-screen HDTV, mini-refrigerator, coffee maker, desk, ironing amenities, and hair dryer.

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Celebration Program: The Celebration includes four days of field trips, evening social hour (including Artist’s Corner and Optics Table), nightly dinners, and keynote presentations (on three out of four nights). The schedule that follows is representative of the entire program. Please note that daily field trip departure and return times will vary according to destination, but will fall within a general time frame.

• Breakfast: Each morning a buffet breakfast will be available prior to our departure. • Field trip departure/return times: Field trip departure times range 6:00 a.m.–7:30 a.m. All return times but one are listed as 4:00 p.m.; the field trip to South Padre Island includes a 4:30 return time. This does not mean that all field trips will return to the hotel at the stated return times, but rather that the trips will return no later than the stated return times. • Lunch: The hotel will provide high quality box lunches every day. • Evening Social: Each evening, a social hour will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will last until the start of dinner. A cash bar will be available during this time. • Dinner: Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. except for Day 3 when it begins at 7:00 p.m. • Presentations: A presentation will be held following dinner on all nights except Day 3 and will begin at approximately 7:15 p.m. Each address will be 45-60 minutes in duration.

Field Trip Information: The Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas offers some of the finest birding in North America. Within the region, VENT has identified four zones of importance to which field trips will be scheduled: the King Ranch, South Padre Island, and two parts of the middle valley (Middle Valley I and Middle Valley II). There will be four days of field trips over the course of the celebration; every participant has the opportunity to experience each region and to spend time in the field with at least half of the tour leaders. Travel will be aboard 15-passenger vans for all field trips. Four vans will depart each day for each region, although not all vans will necessarily follow the same route. Of the four vans per destination, two or three will hold eight participants while one or two will hold seven. Prior to the start of the event, participants will be assigned mostly at random to one of eight groups of travelers. Each group will be given a bird name. Participants will remain with the group to which they are assigned through the duration of the event. While we are aware that some of our travelers have favorite tour leaders, we are not able to grant requests to be placed in specific groups that will be paired with a specific tour leader. Before the event, you will receive a field trip information form that allows you identify other event participants with whom you would like to travel on the field trips (friends, spouses, companions). We will do our best to satisfy your requests.

Chiggers, ticks, and mosquitoes are present in South Texas and can be a problem. It is always recommended that participants carry insect repellent and take appropriate steps to prevent against insect bites and stings, such as tucking pant legs into socks while out of the vans.

Bottled water, cold drinks, and snacks will be provided at all times. Participants will be given boxed lunches for each field trip day.

EQUIPMENT: One of the most important aspects of having an enjoyable travel experience is being prepared with proper equipment. The following items will come in handy during your trip to Texas: • Backpack – good for carrying extra clothing, field guides, supplies, and optical equipment during all land excursions • Notebooks and pens • Travel alarm clock • Polarized sunglasses with good UV protection • Sunscreen, lip balm, skin lotions • Insect repellent • Personal toiletries VENT’S 45th Anniversary Celebration: Page 20

• Cameras, lenses, memory cards, and extra batteries • Collapsible walking stick – a highly recommended item for those who have trouble walking • Tissue packs

BINOCULARS & SPOTTING SCOPES:

Binoculars – We strongly recommend good binoculars of at least 7x35, 8x42, 10x40, or 10x42 magnification. We recommend that you do NOT bring mini-binoculars of any kind. Some people like “minis” because they are small and lightweight; but they have an extremely small field of view and very poor light gathering power. Trying to find a bird in your binoculars using minis is like trying to read a book through a keyhole. You will be very frustrated, and even if you do manage to get the bird in your binoculars before it flies, you will have a poor view. You will find that 7x35 or 8x42 binoculars are compact and light enough.

Spotting Scopes – Your tour leaders will have scopes available for group use throughout the event, but if you have one and wish to bring it, please feel free to do so. Our local operator also has a limited number of scopes available for rental.

INTERNET SERVICE: Free Wi-Fi is available at the Casa de Palmas Hotel.

TIME: Texas operates on Central Standard Time (CST) in mid-November (Daylight Savings Time ends on November 14, immediately prior to the start of the event).

HEALTH: VENT follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for standard travel precautions, which includes vaccination against a variety of preventable diseases. Among these Routine Vaccinations are measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, poliovirus vaccine (boosters for adult travelers), and Varicella (Chickenpox). You should also be up-to-date with Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B vaccinations.

If you are taking personal medication, prescription or over-the-counter, be sure to bring an ample supply that will allow you to get through the tour safely. Please consult your physician as necessary. Remember to pack all medication in your carry-on baggage, preferably in original containers or packaging. As airline baggage restrictions can change without warning, please check with your airline for procedures for packing medication.

Sun Exposure – The sun’s ultraviolet rays are dangerous under prolonged exposure (sometimes only a matter of minutes). Anytime you are outdoors you will want to protect your skin, including your lips, eyes, nose, and ears. A severe sunburn is potentially very painful and will affect your level of enjoyment. Always protect yourself when outdoors and be sure to bring an ample supply of high SPF sunscreen and lip balm. We strongly recommend the use of ultra-violet blocking, polarized sunglasses. Note that south Texas in late February and early March is generally warmer than most other parts of the country, and participants should expect a couple of days with the potential for high sun exposure.

Biting Insects – Mosquitoes and chiggers are found in south Texas but are not expected to present a problem. Mosquitos can be encountered anywhere, particularly if there has been a lot of rain, while chiggers are found in grassy areas. Insect repellent will be provided, but for extra care we suggest bringing a stick-type repellent for your face and hands. We also recommend the usual precautions of wearing pants and long-sleeved shirts at all times when in the field, and avoid walking or standing in areas of grass.

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Chiggers can be avoided by following these procedures: • Avoid walking, or standing in particular, in areas dominated by grass. These areas are where one is most likely to encounter chiggers. • Tuck your pants into your socks to avoid direct skin-to-grass contact. Chiggers can find their way through clothing, but this is a standard and effective prevention technique commonly employed by many. • Apply insect repellent, such as “Cutters” to your body from the waist down BEFORE putting on your clothing. • Spray your pants and socks with a spray repellent such as “Cutters” or “Off.” Repellants with high concentrations of DEET (70-100%) are most effective. You do not need to apply these to you skin, only to clothing. (Be careful as DEET will damage plastics and lens coatings). Repel Permanone is an odorless aerosol insecticide that offers perhaps the best defense against chiggers. It is available at various outdoor stores and can easily be found online. It should only be applied to clothes and allowed to dry before you dress. Never apply Permanone directly to the skin. Permethrin is known to be a highly toxic chemical to insects. It is the active ingredient in Permanone, but is present in a small amount (0.5%). • Powdered sulfur applied to waist, bottoms of pants, sock and boots is also effective at repelling chiggers. However, be warned that clothes will retain the sulfur odor for several washings. • Shower at the end of each day in the field. Use a washcloth to vigorously rub your legs, feet, and ankles.

By following these methods, you should be able to avoid all chigger bites, as well as tick bites. If, however, you are bitten by chiggers anyway, you can reduce or eliminate the symptoms by applying benzocaine or hydrocortisone creams, calamine lotion, After Bite, or any number of anti-itch products.

COVID-19: The world has been in the grip of a pandemic since early 2020, a result of the uncontrolled spread of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the illness COVID-19. COVID-19 is transmitted through person- to-person contact, almost always through inhaling respiratory aerosols or droplets exuded from an infected person. Common signs of COVID-19 illness include fever or chills, fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, loss of taste or smell, and more. Based on what is known about the disease, COVID-19 is far more serious than seasonal flu. Few places in the world have been unaffected. The impact on travel has been substantial, as demonstrated by the fact that VENT did not operate a tour between late March 2020 and late April 2021. The development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in the United States, has allowed VENT to return to tour operations. We emphasize that our number one priority is the health and safety of our customers and employees. With this in mind, VENT instituted a COVID-19 vaccination requirement. All tour participants and tour leaders must be fully vaccinated in order to travel with us while we are still in a declared public health emergency. In accordance with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), full vaccination is defined as an individual being 14 days beyond having received the required amount of vaccine for reaching full immunity to the degree specific vaccines confer. In the United States, so far, this means either the two-shot sequence for the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Proof of vaccination must be provided to our office at least one week before the start of the tour and kept with you while on the tour. Because the world is a very different place than it was before the pandemic, we’ve made a number of important adjustments to our processes to ensure that our tours can operate as safely as possible. Please visit the Coronavirus Travel Update page of our website https://ventbird.com/covid-19, where you may view our COVID-19 Protocols for VENT Tours document, which details the guidance VENT will follow in the operation of its tours in the time of pandemic. Our decision and policy are firmly rooted in the latest CDC guidance regarding recommendations for avoiding COVID-19. As we move forward, VENT will continue to follow the latest information from the CDC and will update our policy accordingly. Please visit the CDC website for the most up to date information about COVID-19 and associated guidance for proper health and hygiene: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

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In addition to your physician, a good source of general health information for travelers is the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. The CDC operates a 24-hour recorded Travelers’ Information Line 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) or you can check their website at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel. Canadian citizens should check the website of the Public Health Agency of Canada: www.canada.ca/en/public- health.html (click on Travel Health).

SUGGESTED READING: A number of traditional booksellers and online stores list excellent inventories of field guides and other natural history resources that will help prepare you for this tour. We recommend www.amazon.com which has a wide selection; www.buteobooks.com and www.nhbs.com which specialize in ornithology and natural history books; and www.abebooks.com for out-of-print and hard-to-find titles.

Birds: Each of the following resources is as an excellent option for bird identification. Dunn, Jon L. & Jonathan Alderfer (Editors). National Geographic Society Field Guide to the Birds of North America. National Geographic. 2017 (seventh edition). Sibley, David Allen. The Sibley Guide to Birds. National Audubon Society. Alfred E. Knopf Publishing, 2014 (second edition). Sibley, David Allen. The Sibley Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America. National Audubon Society. Alfred A. Knopf, 2016 (second edition). This is the slimmed down version of the larger Sibley guide and features only the birds of Eastern North America rather than the whole continent.

Mammals: Kays, Roland W. and Don E. Wilson. Mammals of North America. Princeton University Press: Princeton and Oxford, 2009 (second edition).

Apps & Online Resources: eBird. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Among the largest and most successful citizen science projects in existence, eBird is an essential tool in promoting bird study and conservation. Among a range of benefits, eBird allows users to keep a variety of lists in a single application. When taxonomic splits are incorporated, lists are automatically updated. Additionally, trip leaders can share daily lists, so one only need accept a shared list and it will upload to your files! Highly recommended.

Merlin Bird ID. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Merlin is an app designed as a birding coach for beginning and intermediate bird watchers. Excellent for use in the field, Merlin asks the observer a series of questions regarding his or her bird sighting, including date and location, and color, size, and behavior of a bird. Merlin then processes the viewer’s responses to present a shortlist of possible identifications, from which the user can choose the likely bird. Species profiles include a brief physical description, photographs, and sound samples. The Photo ID feature allows anyone with a camera to snap a photo and obtain a list of suggestions. Although still in development, Merlin’s Sound ID feature will allow identification of birds through audible recognition. To use Merlin, download the app, followed by the appropriate regional “pack.” For this trip, please download the pack for U.S. and Canada: Continental and/or Texas and Oklahoma. Highly recommended.

TIPPING: Tipping (restaurants, porters, drivers, local guides) is included on VENT-organized tours. However, if you feel your VENT leader or any local guides have given you exceptional service, it is entirely appropriate to tip. We emphasize that such tips are not expected and are entirely optional.

RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT: Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, Inc., a Texas corporation, and/or its agents (together, “VENT”) act only as agents for the participant in regard to travel, whether by railroad, motorcar, motorcoach, boat, or airplane and assume no liability for injury, damage, loss, accident, delay, or irregularity which may be occasioned either by reason of defect in any vehicle or for any reason whatsoever, or through the VENT’S 45th Anniversary Celebration: Page 23 acts or default of any company or person engaged in conveying the participant or in carrying out the arrangements of the tour. VENT accepts no responsibility for losses or additional expenses due to delay or changes in airfare or other services, sickness, weather, strike, war, quarantine, terrorism, or other causes. All such losses or expenses will be borne by the participant, as tour rates only provide for arrangements for the time stated.

VENT reserves the right (i) to substitute hotels of similar category, or the best reasonable substitution available under the circumstances, for those indicated and (ii) to make any changes in the itinerary that are deemed necessary by VENT or which are caused by third party transportation schedules (i.e. railroad, motorcar, motorcoach, boat, airplane, etc.).

VENT reserves the right to substitute leaders or guides on any tour. Where VENT, in its sole discretion, determines such substitution is necessary, it will notify tour participants.

VENT reserves the right to cancel any tour prior to departure with or without cause or good reason. See the VENT Cancellation & Refunds policy set forth above.

Tour prices are based on tariffs and exchange rates in effect on June 10, 2021 and are subject to adjustment in the event of any change thereto.

VENT reserves the right to decline any participant’s Registration Form and/or refuse to allow any participant to participate in a tour as VENT deems reasonably necessary, in its sole discretion. VENT also reserves the right to remove any tour participant from any portion of a tour as VENT deems necessary, in its sole discretion, reasons for such removal include but are not limited to, medical needs, injury, illness, inability to meet physical demands of a tour, personality conflict or situations in which such removal is otherwise in the best interest of the tour, the tour group and/or such participant. A participant may also voluntarily depart from a tour. If a participant is removed from a tour or voluntarily departs from a tour, such participant will be responsible for any expenses associated with such removal or departure, including but not limited to, transportation, lodging, airfare and meals, and VENT will have no obligation to refund or reimburse any such removed or departed participant for any tour payments or deposits previously paid by such participant.

Baggage is carried at the participant’s risk entirely. No airline company, its employees, agents and/or affiliates (the “Airline”) is to be held responsible for any act, omission, or event during the time participants are not on board the Airline’s aircraft. The participant ticket in use by any Airline, when issued, will constitute the sole contract between the Airline and the purchaser of the tickets and/or the participant. The services of any I.A.T.A.N. carrier may be used for VENT tours, and transportation within the United States may be provided by any member carrier of the Airlines Reporting Corporation.

VR:20211114 Rev: 06/07/21 – BL PNP: 06/07/21 – GL P: 06/10/21 – GL