Hello birding friends! We're halfway through summer, and the vanguard of the "fall" migrants has already started making its way south. In the next few weeks we'll really see an uptick of migration, and it won't be long before we get caught behind a school bus on our way out for a morning of birding.

As you're reading this, we have many clients enjoying tours in Brazil, Ecuador, Kenya, Arizona, and Peru, with others packing their bags for different tours in some of those same countries. In a few weeks, the Field Guides family will convene in Portal, Arizona, for our annual business meeting—a truly special gathering that we all look forward to.

In this month's email we have some ideas for getaways during the holiday season, an announcement about something new and exciting at Field Guides that many of you have been requesting, a small photo gallery of hummingbirds to gawk at, a couple of videos from recent tours, and all the regular features, including the Recent Photos Gallery. We have triplists from 19 recent tours, 16 updated itineraries, and a listing of upcoming tours that have space available.

Thanks to participant Sid England for the great shot of a Large-billed Tern he took during our most recent Rainforest & Savanna: Alta Floresta & the Northern Pantanal, Brazil tour, back in June. Our thanks also to participant Paul Beerman for this great shot below of I'iwi, one of the vulnerable Hawaiian honeycreepers. Paul got this shot during our most recent Hawaii trip.

We hope you'll enjoy perusing this emailing, and if something should catch your eye and you'd like to find out more, just contact our office and we'll help you get on your way.

It is hard to believe that holidays are already just a few months away. That means if you haven't gifted yourself a holiday-season getaway yet, there's no better time than the present to book one. Below are a few countries we'll be visiting in November and December. So join our guides, meet some new birding friends, and tend to a different sort of list. Thanks to guide Micah Riegner for the photo above of folks birding at Parque Metropolitano during last year's Gulf of California: Mexico's Rich Desert Coast tour.

MEXICO — We have two December tours across the border. One explores the islands, estuaries, and cactus forests around the Gulf of California's "Midriff Islands" near Kino Bay. The other spends Christmas week entirely around Oaxaca, searching for a couple dozen Mexican endemics, visiting ancient ruins, and experiencing the rich culture of the area.

BELIZE — We often bill this tour as a great introduction to neotropical birding (which it is!), but that might sell it a little short. Tinamous, potoos, sungrebes, motmots (including the Tody Motmot pictured), puffbirds, toucans, antbirds, woodcreepers, and manakins are a sampling of the birds we expect to find. We stay in only two lodges, visit ancient Mayan ruins, and see loads of birds—all in a relatively short trip over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Belize: Tropical Birding, Short and Sweet, Nov 21-29 with Marcelo Barreiros & local guide

CHILE — We survey the length and breadth of this spectacularly stunning country—truly unsurpassed when it comes to natural beauty. Penguins, condors, albatrosses, earthcreepers...just some of the birds we'll see. The habitats we find them in are similarly varied. The food is fantastic, the people friendly, and Chile has long been ahead of many South American countries for infrastructure and amenities. Thanksgiving in Chile with Willy has a great ring to it!

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO — Just a few miles off the coast of Venezuela is where you'll find this island nation, and with that comes South American species. This is another tour we describe as an introduction to a new world of birds. There are bellbirds, toucans, manakins, motmots, Oilbirds, antbirds, antthrushes, and many others (such as the Purple Honeycreeper here). The tour is mostly based at the newly renovated Asa Wright Nature Centre, a fantastic, comfortable ecolodge.

ECUADOR — Based primarily in the very comfortable San Isidro Lodge at about 6800 feet in the Andes, this is one of those tours that keeps you right where the birds are. This old hacienda is known for its hospitality and home-cooked meals. As for the birding, we expect about 40 hummingbirds, and even more flycatchers and tanagers—all of that is the backdrop for the other avian riches that await on this unforgettable holiday getaway.

URUGUAY — If the pace of a Birds & Wine tour seems like a good Thanksgiving holiday, this is a perfect vacation for you. Aside from the birds—of which there are plenty with more than 220 species seen on all previous departures—we'll drink red wine paired with traditional barbecue offerings, and whites paired with the catch from Uruguay's Atlantic coast.

PANAMA — We spend six nights at the Canopy Camp in remote Darien province—where we're treated to extremely comfortable quarters, outstanding food, and unsurpassed attention to a great birding experience. Birders with extensive Middle America birding experience along with the uninitiated will find this to be a rich and rewarding tour.

To sign up or for answers to any questions, please contact our office.

It is that time of year when you see hummingbird blurs zipping around your yard, or when you look out your window and there is a hummingbird at your feeder and it darts off before you can enjoy a good look. We figured we could put together a little set of photos of hummingbirds that we promise aren't going anywhere—you can gawk as long as you'd like. We also threw in some colorful flowers just to spice things up. We've got the hummers identified for you, but you are on your own for the flora! Thanks to guide Cory Gregory for this image of a Charming Hummingbird.

You've been asking for Field Guides paraphernalia, and we've heard you. Keep an eye on this space for exciting news about our new Field Guides store!

Just a short note about a few of our U.S. tours in the first few months of 2025. Midwinter and early spring are busy months for us internationally—especially to Central and South America, with 65% of our tours to those New World destinations. We do have three domestic tours in those months that might fly under the radar a bit. Each of these has at least two spaces available. Thanks to guide Doug Gochfeld for the Sandhill Crane above from a recent New Mexico tour.

South Texas Rarities, January 11-19 with Chris Benesh

New Mexico: Birding the Land of Enchantment, February 1-8 with Owen Hilchey

Hawaii, March 13-21 with Cory Gregory & Mandy Talpas

Please contact our office if you have any questions or would like to sign up!

Our first video is from one of our most recent Northern Arizona's Canyons & Condor tours, guided by John Coons & Micah Riegner (and recorded by Micah). It has a bunch of cool birds and a little of John talking about some neat encounters during the tour. Click here or on the Canyon Wren below to watch the video.

The second video is a highlights clip taken by guides Doug Gochfeld & Marcelo Barreiros of some of the birds seen during our most recent Jamaica tour, (viewed by clicking here or on the tody). We run this popular tour in spring and fall, with our next departure coming up November 16, guided by Cory Gregory. There is space available, so please contact our office if you have interest.

We have triplists from past tours linked below, each with some lovely images and some with video clips, and all with great annotations by our guides. Enjoy!

We carefully read each post-tour evaluation we receive from our participants, so that we can continue to offer the best possible birding experiences and service on Field Guides birding tours. Here are two representative recent comments. From all of us at Field Guides, our thanks for all your valuable feedback.

Ever wanted to ride a rice harvester? Often clients will comment that their favorite part of our Louisiana: Yellow Rails & Crawfish Tails tour is doing exactly that. This short tour is timed to coincide with the rice harvest, allowing us a unique opportunity to see rails from right in the middle of the habitat. Yellow Rail is a key target, but the tour also spends some time seeking out Southeastern specialties like Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman's Sparrow, and Brown-headed Nuthatch. Dan Lane & Sam Wilson are guiding this year, and the tour runs from October 31-November 4. For more information or to book a space, please contact our office.

NORTH AMERICA

To learn more about any of these tours or to claim a space, please contact our office.