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1 2016 Year in Review Sam Woods/Tropical Birding Tours

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1 2016 Year in Review Sam Woods/Tropical Birding Tours 2016 Year in Review Sam Woods/Tropical Birding Tours (British, living in Quito Ecuador) [email protected] (All Photos were taken by Sam Woods during this year, and are indicated in RED). The year largely featured birds seen while on tour, guiding for Tropical Birding, save for some short, personal trips, (like Yellowstone). I managed to cover 5 continents, 10 countries, and was lucky to get over 1900 birds in doing so, while not aiming for a number! My avian year opened with back-to-back Asian tours… Starting with Sri Lanka in January, on the former “Ceylon”, all island endemics were seen, (34 species), with highlights being exceptional views of the trickiest endemic, Sri Lanka Thrush, a recent split; and a day-roosting, bright ginger Serendib Scops-Owl. Among the non-endemics, a particularly confiding White-naped Woodpecker stood out, as did my very first Sloth Bear! Sri Lanka Thrush Sinharaja, SRI LANKA (January) In February I was fortunate to visit Japan for the first time, covering the main islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, and Kyushu, and also the tiny island of Myakejima while undergoing a short pelagic, which featured the much wanted Short-tailed Albatross. Wintertime Japan is about big and spectacular birds, and my personal highlights were seeing of the largest owls on Earth - Blakiston’s Fish-Owl fishing at night; watching hundreds of Steller’s Sea-Eagles in Rausu Harbour; and an incredible day bookended by vagrants - ghostly white Siberian Crane at the start, and a male Scaly-breasted Merganser at the end. Cranes were an overall memory of Japan, with 6 species seen, including both the regal Red-crowned Crane, and less predictably beautiful White-naped Crane. 1 Blakiston’s Fish-Owl Rausu, Hokkaido, JAPAN (February) March was bookended by a Costa Rica tour at the start, and Jamaica at the end. The former always provides extremely rewarding birding, with an Agami Heron, two Three-wattled Bellbirds, a glowing Turquoise Cotinga, an Ocellated Antbird attending an antswarm, and the usual Resplendent Quetzals and Scarlet Macaws providing the headlines. Red-billed Streamertail Blue Mountains, JAMAICA (March) In Jamaica, a small island with high endemism, all 29 endemics were seen, including regular Jamaican Todies and Red-billed Streamertails, and a memorable close-up of a Jamaican Owl being less expected. 2 Northern Saw-whet Owl Whitefish Point, Michigan (April) April and May was migration time in the USA, where I covered High Island (Texas), Whitefish and Tawas Points (Michigan), and Magee Marsh (Ohio) during a six-week spell. Warblers were the obvious story, with 38 species seen, including a self-found Connecticut Warbler at Magee, and Golden-winged, Blue-winged and Kirtland’s Warblers on their Michigan breeding grounds. Whitefish added boreal birds like Northern Saw-whet Owl, Evening Grosbeak, and displaying Spruce Grouse. Kirtland’s Warbler near Tawas Point, Michigan USA (May) 3 Spruce Grouse Whitefish Point, Michigan USA (April) June-July was time for a return to Asia, this time to Malaysian Borneo. 5 pittas were seen, including Blue-banded, Blue- headed and Bornean Banded Pittas; among 40+ endemics, which co-starred Whitehead’s Trogon, Spiderhunter and Broadbill, and Bornean Bristlehead. Three frogmouths in three nights at Danum was unexpected too (Gould’s Frogmouth, left). The mammals also flowed in Borneo, with the gremlin-like Western Tarsier, Leopard Cat, Bornean Pigmy Elephants, and a handful of Bornean Orang-utans. August saw a return to the UK and some brief Spanish birding too, with Black-bellied Sandgrouse the highlight at the latter. 4 In September I led tours in Ecuador, (my current home); where the Andes brought plentiful birds, including Rufous-bellied Seedsnipe, Andean Cock-of-the-rock, Velvet-purple Coronet, Giant and Plain-backed Antpittas, Foothill and Rufescent Screech- Owls, and White-capped Tanager. Andean Cock-of-the-rock Paz de Aves, ECUADOR (September) October saw a return to the USA, with a visit to Yellowstone National Park, where my bird of the year featured alongside myriad mammals wandering the park, Great Grey Owl (below). 5 Southern Cassowary Etty Bay, AUSTRALIA (November) November was time for Australia, with Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania covered and held avian highlights like prowling Southern Cassowary, male Golden Bowerbird, several Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfishers, day-roosting Lesser and Greater Sooty Owls, Superb and Albert’s Lyrebirds, Hooded Plover, the rare Regent Honeyeater, and Pink Robin. 6 Pink Robin Bruny Island, Tasmania, AUSTRALIA (November) - page before Regent Honeyeater Capertee NP, New South Wales AUSTRALIA (November) December was time for a return to South America and Ecuador, with several short birding periods bringing in late additions to my year list (tipping it beyond 1900 species), like Andean Condor and Giant Hummingbird during a trip to see a Spectacled Bear; and New Year’s Eve was spent in the Amazon, where an Agami Heron greeted us (but wasn’t new-below), though Black-capped Donacobius and Hoatzin were additions, just before the alcohol began to take over! 7 Some other photos from 2016 I… White-naped Woodpecker Tissa & Sloth Bear Yala, both SRI LANKA (January) 8 Some other photos from 2016 II… Siberian Crane Komatsu, JAPAN (February) Scaly-sided Merganser, Kanazawa JAPAN (February) 9 Some other photos from 2016 III… Baikal Teal Tokyo, JAPAN (February) White-naped Crane Arasaki, JAPAN (February) 10 Some other photos from 2016 IV… Jamaican Owl Port Antonio, JAMAICA (March) Blue-winged Warbler Michigan, USA (May) 11 Some other photos from 2016 V… Western Tarsier & Leopard Cat Danum Valley, BORNEO (June) 12 Some other photos from 2016 VI… Crimson Finch Queensland & Hooded Plover Tasmania, AUSTRALIA (November) 13 .
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