Recent Photos Gallery - January 2020

Happy New Year, all! Let's start the new decade with fresh eyes and a singular, stunning vista: the Sossusvlei Dunes of Namibia. It might look like a screensaver photograph, but it's a great place to bird, too, as our group discovered on our Namibia & Botswana tour with guide Terry Stevenson (who snapped this photo). Join us in the safari jeep for a vicarious spin around earth, our first for the year 2020!

As veterans of South African birding know (especially those who have looked for Red Lark on the red Koa Dunes), a lack of trees doesn't mean the birds are easy to find! Fortunately, this pretty Dune Lark at Sossusvlei didn't play hard to get. And another was resting in the shade of the vehicle after the group's hour-long search on foot! (Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.)

These vocalizing Rueppell's Bustards at Sossusvlei also managed to blend well with their environment. Classed in genus Heterotetrax with Little Brown and Karoo bustards, Rueppell's are found only in Angola and Namibia (this subspecies, fitzsimonsi, is endemic to Namibia). (This photo and the series following by guide Terry Stevenson.)

The Tropic of Capricorn bisects Namibia and its two great deserts: the coastal Namib Desert (here) and the interior Kalahari Desert. "Namib" simply means "vast place" in Khoekhoegowab, a local language, and "kalahari" is from the Tswana word "kgalagadi," meaning "waterless place." The ability of the Quiver Tree to survive in an almost waterless landscape is remarkable. Near the site of this photo, the group lucked into the scarce Gray's Lark!

A night at the remote Erongo Wilderness Lodge provides an excellent chance to see the localized Hartlaub's Francolin, which lives among the granite formations (kopjes) of the the Erongo Mountains. The francolins call early in the morning here, in case one's alarm clock isn't working. This habitat also hosts Rosy-faced Lovebird, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Sabota Lark, the lovely Green-winged Pytilia, and the rare Herero Chat (which came through well!).

Another abundant inhabitant of the kopjes in these mountains is Rock Hyrax (distant relative of elephants), a favorite of Verreaux's Eagles. Other fancy mammals here are Kirk’s Dikdik and the odd Dassie Rat, the only member of the family Petromuridae. At night, Freckled Nightjars sometimes hunt the edges of the rock formations.

On the Namibia & Botswana tour, we travel by specialized safari 4x4 vehicles with pop-up tops for viewing and photography ...

....by small safari boat on the Okavango River and delta ...

...by a chartered airplane, to reach some truly wonderful places ...

...all arranged so that we can spend more time roughing it in the field! This plein-air lunch with elephants was a memorable way to ease into safari mode at Macatoo Camp, Botswana, in the heart of the Okavango.

At Macatoo, the African Bush Elephants are accustomed to the presence of people. To sit with them as they conduct their lives is the privilege of a lifetime. White Rhinoceros here was an unexpected bonus.

Lions roam the Okavango around Macatoo Camp as well, and observing them at close quarters requires the protection of a safari vehicle.

But this Lion had no difficulty settling in for a snooze quite near the group.

By contrast, this Leopard, resting and panting in the shade of a giant termite mound, kept a close watch on the group.

Local guide and driver Tarry Butcher did a remarkable job helping Terry with the up-to-the-minute bird spots, bringing in beauties like this Ross's Turaco day after day. In fact, this bird near Kapako, on the border with Angola, represents only the second record of the species for Namibia! (Photo by guide Tarry Butcher.)

A widespread species of the Old World but rather scarce in Namibia and uncommon in Botswana, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater breeds from Morocco to Kazakhstan and India. This one posed perfectly for a portrait. (Photo by guide Tarry Butcher.)

Tarry also managed a great photo of a full-tailed male African Paradise-Flycatcher, this one of subspecies plumbeiceps ('leaden-headed')...

... and this fine Martial Eagle, a widespread but vulnerable species that is Africa's largest eagle.

In addition to more widespread African species, the group connected well with more regional endemics, such as these Monteiro's Hornbills, a species found only in Namibia and adjacent southwestern Angola. (Photo by guide Tarry Butcher.)

Around Etosha National Park in Namibia, the water holes are famous for congregations of many species of mammal, including Black Rhinoceros. Our group managed to see five here, among many other highlights. (Photo by guide Tarry Butcher.)

For the first time, our group stayed at Drotsky's Cabins, right on the Cubango River in Botswana. This location is just a few miles south of the famous Caprivi Strip, a narrow finger of Namibia that extends eastward, giving Namibia access to the Zambezi River and terminating where Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana all meet. (This photo and the next two by guide Terry Stevenson.)

Drotsky's turned out to be a wonderful choice of accommodations. With the help of a local boatman, the group quickly saw two roosting Pel's Fishing-Owls, one of the Okavango's iconic birds.

The sometimes-tricky African Skimmer also made an appearance on that morning's boat trip...

...as did the ultra-shy White-backed Night-Heron! All three big specialties of the river by 9:20 a.m.! That must be some kind of record. (Photo by participant George Sims.)

A bird of open acacia forests, its range centered on Botswana, Rufous-cheeked Nightjar was cooperative in the cool evenings. (Photo by guide Tarry Butcher.)

We leave Africa with a beautiful Okavango sunset by Terry Stevenson. In 2020, Field Guides' fantastic Joe Grosel will be guiding this itinerary. We can't wait to see the images!

And we awake in a Netherlands forest on a brisk December morning, on the Holland: Dutch Masters & Waterfowl Spectacle tour with guides Godfried Schreur and Jay VanderGaast. (Photo by participant Mary Deutsche.)

The new Holland tour takes in the major museums and uses most mornings to appreciate the abundant green spaces, full of birds, all over the capital region. The Dutch environmental consciousness translates into careful attention to forest structure, and they preserve older, senescent trees that have cavities for wildlife, like this sleepy Tawny Owl. (Photo by participant Mary Deutsche.)

Vermeer's "Girl with Pearl Earring" is a fine way to brighten an afternoon! Godfried and Jay contend that the luminosity of the paintings of Rembrandt and Vermeer only comes through when one is face to face with the paintings themselves. (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

The mornings' birding took the group to wetlands as well as woodlands. As a lowland country dominated by waterways, the Netherlands throng with waterfowl in winter, as well as other species that require wetlands such as Bearded Tit, Great Bittern, and White-tailed Eagle. (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

The spectacle of huge flocks of geese, here Barnacle Geese, draws birders from all over Europe to the Amsterdam area, where the chances of finding a rare species among the hordes are good. (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

Bingo! Here is a digiscoped image of a somewhat distant but nevertheless gorgeous Red-breasted Goose, a species that usually winters farther east and south, on the coastal plain west of the Black Sea. It was a lifer for all! (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

Red-crested Pochard is an uncommon bird in northern Europe, so the group was pleased to see this one and six more at the southern end of the Gouwzee in Amsterdam, along with Graylag, Greater White-fronted, and Barnacle geese, and assorted ducks--Eurasian Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Smew, and Common Merganser (Goosander), among others. (Photo by participant Mary Deutsche.)

The captivating little island of Marken made a nice place for birding and lunch. It's now accessible by causeway from Amsterdam, a boon for tourism (as the "free tasting" sign on the local cheese shop hints), and it's a great place to watch for waterfowl and other birds in the Markenmeer, which opens to the North Sea. (Photo by participant Mary Deutsche.)

And lunch service at Marken was superb! (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

On the island of Texel, another beloved birding spot, a new modern-style blind for birders has been built by the government. Fancy! (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

Holland is a place where the ultramodern and the historical seem harmoniously balanced. Over 1200 historic windmills, those icons of the Dutch landscape, survive to this day. Some still function, thanks to teams of volunteers who help maintain them. Gristmills grind grains, while polder mills maintain water levels in a specific area. (Photo by participant Mary Deutsche.)

And for waterbirds, water levels mean (almost) everything! Not so long ago quite an uncommon sight in the Netherlands, Eurasian Spoonbill has been making a comeback, thanks to careful environmental planning and preservation. (Photo by participant Mary Deutsche.)

A highlight of the tour was an immersion in the paintings of Vincent van Gogh at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, here his sombre interior "De Aardappeleters" ("The Potato Eaters"), which depicts peasant life of the day--edgy subject matter for art of the 1880s. (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

And here his vivid "Cafe Terrace at Night," at the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo. Though van Gogh suffered terribly in his life, he was recognized as one of the most important modern painters soon after his death in 1890. (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

Guided tours through the Rijksmuseum and three other museums visited many paintings we might have forgotten from art appreciation classes, such as Paulus Potter's "De jonge stier" ("The Young Bull") of 1647, here at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. This life-size rendering of an animal considered unworthy of such art was rather revolutionary for its day. (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

And just down the hall, Rembrandt's "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp" (1632) captured an even bolder subject, the public dissection of the body of a criminal. Art historians consider it one of his earliest masterpieces. (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

And here, the happy crew with Godfried and Jay outside the Mauritshuis, after adding some "lifer" artwork to their lists. What a fun way to spend a week! (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)

Crimson-mantled Woodpecker: this Andean species is a show-stopper wherever it occurs, from Venezuela to Peru. This bird was one of many seen well on our Holiday at San Isidro, Ecuador tour with guide Mitch Lysinger. In fact, this bird was in his garden at San Isidro! (Photo by participant Lance Runion.)

San Isidro is known for its charming setting, its rich east-slope Andean avifauna, its hospitable proprietors (Mitch and his wife Carmen), and its delicious food (Carmen has her own cooking show!). Birders enjoy all of these, but even non-birders come to see the great variety of hummingbirds, like these Chestnut-breasted Coronets, right in the garden. (Photo by participant Lance Runion.)

Green-backed Hillstar is mostly an Ecuadorian bird, though its range extends a bit into Colombia and Peru as well. It's one of three-dozen hummingbird species on this tour, from the tiny, bee-like White-bellied Woodstar to the world's largest, Giant Hummingbird. (Photo by participant Lance Runion.)

Long-tailed Sylph is another visitor to the yard, right outside the cabins, in fact! The male's long tail does make one think of a "sylph" (mythical forest sprite) when one whizzes by in flight. (Photo by participant Lance Runion.)

And the same is true of Wire-crested Thorntails here, especially during the male's courtship display, when he fans the graduated tail and those white shafts in the steel-blue tail feathers (just visible here) really pop out! (Photo by participant Lance Runion.)

Some of the garden's hummers are more subtly plumaged, but at least they are helpfully named--like this Buff-tailed Coronet, a relative of the Chestnut-breasted...

...or this Bronzy Inca, which really is bronzy. This species has a fairly narrow elevational range and has lost a fair amount of its habitat to deforestation, but it is able to feed in disturbed habitats as well, where its long bill is especially good for probing flowers of Fuchsia, Bomarea, Cavendishia, Centropogon, and Heliconia. (Photos by participant Lance Runion.)