We begin this month's gallery in Iceland, loaded with fantastic breeding shorebirds, among which Black-tailed Godwit is one the most beautiful. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
One day's checklist session in Iceland at Hotel Budir had this magnificent scene going on outside. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
Our group voted Atlantic Puffin the bird of the tour, and we had fantastic views! Photo by participant Roger Hux.
From this very cool angle, there's no need to keep wondering why they call them Razorbills! Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
The spectacular Latrabjarg cliffs, dwarfing the person on top and with myriad seabirds nestled in the nooks and crannies below. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
At the time of our visit, female Common Eiders with ducklings were a regular sight. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
We encountered numerous Parasitic Jaegers during our Iceland travels. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
Cousins Leslie and Ellen at Nykurtjorn on our Iceland tour...a beautiful setting for a family pic. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
A handsome skein of Graylag Geese, photographed by guide Eric Hynes.
Iceland's not a huge country, but our itinerary is greatly simplified by one internal time-saving flight. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
A Northern Wheatear is perfectly patterned for its setting. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
Parasitic Jaegers are master aerialists. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
Harlequin Duck was second only to Atlantic Puffin in the voting for favorite bird of the Iceland tour--and with stunning drakes, no wonder! (Photo by guide Eric Hynes)
If you're used to seeing fulmars over water, this Iceland image is a bit unusual! Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
A lovely setting for a portrait of Common Redshank, photographed by guide Eric Hynes.
From a redshank image we move to an Ivory Gull portrait and our Spitsbergen & Svalbard cruise to Arctic Norway with guide John Coons, where participant Michael Martin made this image.
There are few tours where the ship's GPS can read this kind of high latitude! Photo by guide John Coons.
One of the high-latitude rewards is Polar Bear, and this magnificent creature came very close to our ship. Photo by participant Michael Martin.
Another mammalian highlight of this tour is seeing Walrus, with groups often loafing on a beach. Photo by participant Michael Martin.
A Barnacle Goose pair with just-hatched goslings. Photo by participant Michael Martin.
A male Red Phalarope, duller than the female, nevertheless adds a splash of color to the Spitsbergen landscape. Photo by participant Michael Martin.
This Red-throated Loon in full propulsion was having an altercation with a Common Eider as our group watched. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.
A sculpted blue iceberg, the color a result of the heavily compressed ice's crystalline structure. Photo by participant Michael Martin.
A strikingly patterned Arctic Fox gives a yawn as it passes close to our group. Photo by participant Michael Martin.
From the arctic to the tropics: we move to our Peru's Magnetic North tour with guides Jesse Fagan and Dan Lane, who photographed this lovely male Rufous-crested Coquette hummer.
This itinerary visits some fabulous montane habitat, as you can see in Dan's photo here, and the area is rich with specialty birds.
Among these are the fantastic Long-whiskered Owlet, which we saw so well this trip...
...and the magnificently adorned Marvelous Spatuletail, whose tail wires and tips are hard to photograph against this background! Photo by guide Dan Lane.
It's hard to get enough of spatuletails, so here's a photo from one of the feeders, with those two crazy spatules splayed out widely, by particpant Max Rodel.
Our group spotted numerous other hummer species as well, including this tiny White-belllied Woodstar. Photo by participant Max Rodel.
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