Golden Gate Audubon Society

Are you thinking of traveling outside the Bay Area? Do you want to expand your life list while experiencing a different environment or a different culture? If so, consider these new offerings, both designed especially for GGAS. For more information—and a detailed itinerary—contact  Pat Kirkpatrick  via email: patkirkpatrick14@gmail.com or her assistant Alexis Hummel at  avargas542@aol.com.

We welcome suggestions for future trips. If you have been on a birding trip that was especially wonderful, experienced a terrific guide, or have a suggestion of an area to visit, please email Pat Kirkpatrick, at patkirkpatrick14@gmail.com or assistant, Alexis Hummel, at avargas542@aol.com

 

Breeding Birds of Nome, Alaska

Rich Cimino leads five trips, starting May 28, June 1, June 5, June 9, and June 13, 2013. Each includes an initial evening of introductions and a preview of target species, followed by four full days of birding. In late spring, most birds are in their resplendent breeding plumages. Each tour covers prime birding areas to look for both regularly occurring and accidental Asian species.

Cost of $2,500 per person covers lodging, ground transportation, airport transfers, and guide services, as well as a $150 tax-deductible donation to GGAS. Airfare to Nome and meals are not included. Each trip is limited to four people. Contact Rich Cimino, yellowbilledtours@gmail.com or 925.353.0266, to register or to obtain a detailed itinerary.

 

Summer in the Oregon Mountains

Harry Fuller’s June 21–24, 2013, trip devotes the first day to the Siskiyou Mountains, which rise to an elevation of 7,500 feet. Highlights include Calliope Hummingbird (smallest bird in North America), Dusky and Willow flycatchers, White-headed Woodpecker, Townsend’s Solitaire, Mountain Bluebird, Hermit and MacGillivray’s warblers, Green-tailed Towhee, and Lincoln’s Sparrow. The group will also look for Sooty and Ruffed grouse and Mountain Quail.

The Cascade Range, the second day’s destination, supports breeding Sandhill Cranes, nesting Osprey, Wilson’s Snipe, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Cassin’s Vireo, and Vesper Sparrow. Sightings may also include Northern Pygmy-Owl and Northern Goshawk. At dawn and dusk, the group will look for Great Gray Owl. Mammals could include golden-mantled ground squirrel and least chipmunk.

Klamath Basin, on the third day, offers a different suite of birds: Redhead, Bald Eagle, Black Tern, dancing Western Grebes, breeding Eared Grebe, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Short-eared Owl, and possibly Ferruginous and Swainson’s Hawks, Black-backed Woodpecker, and Chukar. Mammals could include pronghorn and marmot.

The trip will be based in Ashland, so consider staying longer to attend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival! Cost of $250 per person covers ground transportation, guide, and a $50 tax-deductible donation to GGAS. Airfare, lodging, and meals are not included. contact Pat Kirkpatrick, patkirkpatrick14@gmail.com, or her assistant, Alexis Hummel, avargas542@aol.com, for complete itineraries and registration forms.

 

Northern New Mexico – August 5-9, August 11-15

New Mexico is a spectacular state with an astonishing variety of habitats — wide-open blue sky, eastern plains, grasslands, mountain ranges, deep canyons, and pine and juniper forest situated on the spine of the Continental Divide. Birding in New Mexico offers bird species found west of the Continental Divide (Pacific Flyway), as well as bird species east of the Continental Divide (Central Flyway), which adds up to an impressive birding experience. There are several “Interior West” subspecies or groups, which we’ll take our time to observe to understand the differences. July begins the fall migration for both Great Basin land birds and water birds.

Rich Cimino of Yellowbilled Tours  is leading two sessions of this five-day trip, from August 5-9 and again from August 11-15. The second trip allows you to stay afterwards on your own for the Santa Fe Indian Market, which runs on August 17-18. Contact Rich Cimino at YellowbilledTours@gmail.com or 925-353-0266. This is a small group trip limited to four birders. Cost of $899 does not include airfare or meals.

 

Southern Ecuador – Oct. 7-20, 2013 - sold out

With approximately 1,600 species of birds, over 16, 000 plants, and almost 400 species of mammals, Ecuador is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world. The trip will include  two outstanding Jocotoco Foundation reserves in the west and south and finish with a visit to the Copalinga Lodge in the east. You will see tropical deciduous forest and cloud forest birds as well as a mix of highland and lowland species.

Led by naturalist and popular bird guide Mark Pretti, the cost is $3,850 per person, double occupancy, and includes all lodging, meals, admissions, transportation from Quito, and a $150 donation to the GGAS.  Group size is limited to 8 participants.  For more information, contact Mark at (520) 803-6889 or mpnaturetours@earthlink.net or visit Mark’s web site.