New Tour to China in November 2016

Yet another new tour has just been posted on our website and this one is something a little different. This time we will visit some excellent birding sites in China that are all easily accessible and hold an enviable list of mouth-watering species. A good number of the potential species we hope to see are not available on other ZOOTHERA tours and you have to see them in winter. With direct flights from UK to Shanghai it really is an easy place to get to and Shanghai Pudong International Airport is also easily reached from major airports in Europe and USA as well. The vast Yangcheng Nature Reserve and Poyang Lake are home to 6 species of crane: White-naped, Hooded, Red-crowned, Siberian, Common and sometimes Sandhill. And then there is also Baikal Teal, Baer's Pochard, Falcated Duck, Oriental Stork, Swan Goose, plus multitudes of other wildfowl. 

We will also visit Wuyuan for the much-wanted Scaly-sided Merganser, and visit the Minjiang Estuary for Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Black-faced Spoonbill. There's also a great selection of wintering passerines such as Northern Red-flanked Bluetail, Dusky Thrush, Naumann's Thrush, Pale Thrush, Siberian Thrush, Yellow-browed Bunting, Pallas's Reed Bunting and others. And i'm personally hoping for a Japanese Robin..!

Follow this link to see the tour itinerary: http://www.zootherabirding.com/page_3208813.html

Baikal Teal - a real stunner!

Hooded Crane

Red-crowned Crane

Scaly-sided Merganser

Chinese Grosbeak is a stunner too!

Grey-sided Scimitar-babbler at Fuzhou Forest Park

Real wild Mandarin Ducks

Oriental Stork

More Red-crowned Cranes

Even more Red-crowned Cranes

The endemic Reed Parrotbill

Going to need a large slice of luck to see Short-tailed Parrotbill

Silver Pheasant at Fuzhou

Its always a delight to see Spoonies...

New Tour - Cambodia & Malaysia 2016

Another new and exciting tour has just been posted to our website, this one to Cambodia in search of Giant and White-shouldered Ibis, Milky Stork, White-winged Wood Duck, Chestnut-headed Partridge, Bengal Florican, Oriental Plover, Manchurian Reed Warbler, Mekong Wagtail, Cambodian Tailorbird and much more!

We will be staying in some remote areas and visiting Angkor Wat, Tmatboey, Okoki and Bokor. There's also an optional extension to Fraser's Hill in Malaysia for a different set of birds including Malayan Whistling-Thrush, Blue Nuthatch, Malayan Laughingthrush and others.

Just follow this link for the tour itinerary: http://www.zootherabirding.com/page_3197360.html

Banded Broadbill

Bengal Florican

On the way to look for Milky Stork

Great Hornbill

Watching floricans

This is part of the Okoki Jungle Camp.

The above photo shows part of Okoki Jungle Camp where we will stay for 2 nights. There's Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, Bar-bellied Pitta, Green Peafowl, Blyth's Frogmouth, Oriental Bay Owl and other species out in those forests. Although we don't expect to see possibly any ( ! ) of those species, they are there. Let's hope White-winged Wood Duck behaves!

You can see more photos at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/94771517@N07/sets/72157649622614680/

New Tour - Borneo September 2015

We have recently added a new tour to Borneo for 2015. Following a request from some of our regular customers this tour will take place in September visiting Mount Kinabalu, Sepilok, Kinabatangan River and finishing at Danum Valley with 4 nights at the fabulous Borneo Rainforest Lodge.

Tour highlights could include such delights as Red-breasted Partridge, Great Argus, Storm's Stork, Whitehead's Trogon, Black-crowned Pitta, Everett's Thrush, Bare-headed Laughingthrush and Orang-Utan amongst others. Our tour this year also saw Bornean Ground-Cuckoo and Giant Pitta as well....!

Click here for tour itinerary: http://www.zootherabirding.com/page_2478758.html

Black-crowned Pitta at Danum Valley

A young Orang-Utan at Danum Valley

Ethiopia - The End

Our last morning’s birding in fabulous Ethiopia saw us back in Awash NP where we had a few hours before returning to Addis Ababa. 

Gillett's Lark

Highlights here included great views of a Gillett’s Lark singing from the top of an acacia, Grassland Pipit, Turkestan & Masked Shrikes and our final new bird was a stunningly beautiful Green-winged Pytilia – thanks to Christine. Other species noted included Bateleur, Buff-crested Bustard, the Hartlaub’s Bustard again, and a pair of close Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse amongst others.

Buff-crested Bustard

Hartlaub's Bustard

Hartlaub's Bustard

 

Hartlaub's Bustard

The drive back to Addis Ababa wasn’t too painful and along a new freeway we passed flocks of Common Cranes, some White Storks, a field full of Abdim’s Storks, and even a Great Spotted Cuckoo flew over. So that was it, and we arrived at our hotel at 4.30pm and enjoyed a relaxing evening after a hectic yet bird-filled tour before flying back home the following day.

Arabian Delights

Shortly after sunrise we were on the Aledeghe Plain and watching the first of 5 Arabian Bustards feeding quietly right out in this vast open wilderness, and with some careful positioning form our drivers we got ahead of one bird and it just kept walking towards us until only about 30 metres away! Probably the highlight was seeing one of these much-wanted bustards with a Northern Carmine Bee-eater riding on its back – an extraordinary sighting and my personal highlight of the whole tour. 

Arabian Bustard

We were able to drive the cars closer and had amazing views once again and were able to observe them for quite some time. Many Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Larks were also present, along with White Stork, a couple of distant Secretarybirds, plus Soemmering’s Gazelle and Beisa Oryx.

Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark

We then drove the short distance to the Bilen Plain and the first bird we found was a pair of Yellow-breasted Barbets perched on top of an acacia, followed by a Tawny Pipit. Further on we took a short walk but it was getting really hot, however we did find several Nile Valley Sunbirds including one male still in breeding plumage which was something of a surprise. There was also a Black-cheeked Waxbill, Brubru, Blue-naped Mousebird and plenty of other birds in the vicinity.

Yellow-breasted Barbet

We had a coffee at Bilen Lodge and saw yet more barbets, and a flock of Red-rumped Swallows on the wires here, but by now it was late morning and really hot. Returning to the hotel for lunch and a siesta we set out at 3.30pm for a drive in Awash NP but it was rather quiet. 

Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse

Although our first Red-fronted Warbler was overshadowed by 3 Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse seen just before the light faded. Driving out we had a brief view of more Bat-eared Foxes beside he track.

Awash National Park

Leaving Nazret early we reached the lava flow of the long dormant Fantale Crater volcano not too long after sunrise and it was still quite cool. Fortunately we managed to find the endemic Sombre Rock-Chat quite quickly and were treated to point-blank views of a pair perched on rocks right in front of us. 

Sombre Rock-Chat

In the same vicinity were several Shining Sunbirds, a breeding Ruppell’s Weaver, Ethiopian Swallow and our first Purple Heron and African Palm Swifts. Checking out another site nearby and having our field breakfast proved to be a good move as the first of several Striolated Buntings appeared, followed by a pair of Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Larks. Nearby, there were a few Pied and Isabelline Wheatears, Steppe Grey Shrike, a perched Gabar Goshawk, flocks of Red-billed Quelea, Abyssinian Roller, and best of all a stonking Yellow-breasted Barbet.  

Beisa Oryx at Awash National Park

  
Leaving here we drove to our hotel and enjoyed several hours siesta over the extreme heat of the midday period. Afterwards we drove through Awash National Park across the grassland seeing species such as Pygmy Falcon, Pallid Harrier, Somali Fiscals and other previously seen species. An Ashy Cisticola was new, as was Long-tailed Paradise-Whydah, flocks of Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Larks, Singing Bushlark, and an awesome Hartlaub’s Bustard patrolling the edge of the tall grass. Wow! 

A stunning Hartlaub's Bustard

Hartlaub's Bustard

Non avian interest was spiked by several stately Beisa Oryx walking across the savannah.

Star-spotted Nightjar

As it got dark we spent a very enjoyable hour spotlighting our was back across the park, and although initially we drew a blank we got our just rewards with a Greyish Eagle-Owl, Abyssinian Hare, another Common Genet and on the track right in front of us was a Star-spotted Nightjar that allowed an extraordinary close approach. What a bird! Then, as we drove back to the hotel a Bat-eared Fox was seen. What a day!