I and the Bird #67: Let’s all go on a birding holiday

January is holiday time in Australia, so let’s go on a holiday.

Australia on holiday

The mad holiday season in Australia begins with Christmas parties in the week or so before Christmas. Many Australians have an enforced holiday between Christmas a New Year. Some factories and businesses close for several weeks in the early part of January. Hoards of people flock to the beaches and rivers for their traditional break from the cities. The Test Cricket - this year between India and Australia - fills endless hours in front of the television, followed in quick succession by the Australian Open Tennis in Melbourne. Then this week we have the Tour Down Under cycling event in my own backyard here in South Australia. This is the tenth tour, and the first one to be part of the European Pro Tour. This is the only Pro Tour outside of Europe. I doubt whether it will ever rival the great Tour de France - we don’t have the mountains - but it is certainly becoming very popular.

Australia Day

Then we go into holiday mode yet again with a long weekend this coming weekend. Saturday is Australia Day; the public holiday is on Monday. Barbecues are almost compulsory, the weather is usually warm to hot and the flies are everywhere. Swimming pools are overused and the sun-screen is slapped on in dollops. (I just thought I’d rub it in a bit for all of you freezing in the northern hemisphere at present; you can have all that snow and ice to yourselves.)

Birders’ Holidays

Summer is a great time to go birding too. So let’s get on with our Grand Tour. Let’s see… have we packed all of the essentials? Check out this check list:

• Binoculars
• Telescope
• Tripod
• Relevant field guides
• Camera and lenses
• Extra tripod for camera
• Spare memory cards for digital camera or film for non-digital
• Spare batteries for camera (and the charger)
• Flash unit
• GPS so we don’t get lost
• Laptop computer to download all the photos taken each day.
• Mobile phone - to ring all your friends bragging about the birds seen.
• Notebook - to record lists of birds seen.

Have I forgotten something? Mmmm… perhaps a hat, sunnies, sun-screen and maybe one change of clothes - just in case one falls in a lake or something.

Oh - on this trip you will also need a current passport.

Mannum, South Australia

I will lead off the group tour de force by taking you all for a short trip from my home here in South Australia. We will drive for half an hour and visit the wetlands at the small river town of Mannum. If we are lucky, the Glossy Ibis might still be there.

Melbourne, Victoria

After our short sojourn in Mannum we will drive to Adelaide and catch the plane to Melbourne. Here we will visit my good friend Snail. She likes to have a Snail’s Eye View and seems just as interested in our mollusc friends as she is in birds - and heaps of other things. This time she turns our attention to that iconic Australian bird, so symbolic of this land and tells us that she sees Emus. The emu video she includes is compulsory viewing - if you want a good laugh.

Eastern Victoria

After leaving Snail rolling around the floor laughing, we’ll get in an air conditioned bus and head out east of Melbourne to Ben Cruachan. Duncan will be serving some lovely coffee for our enjoyment while we enjoy the front row seat watching the birds in Duncan’s garden.

Optional side trip

Before leaving Australia, travellers on this tour will be offered and optional side trip. We haven’t been invited there, but I’m sure that the birders of the island of Tasmania would give us a very warm welcome and show the avian delights of their isle.

Flying north to Japan

No time to waste on this trip, so we will all hop on a plane and head north to Japan. It is here that we will observe the beautiful Bullfinches in Japan. Seeing them is sure to bring us very good luck for the rest of our journey. Birding can be such good fun, and can also be hard work at times. On other occasions it is the unexpected sightings that give the greatest pleasure, so luck is something we will need.

Next stop San Francisco

After the long journey across the Pacific Ocean we are all eager to stretch our legs. Because we have crossed several time zones, today will be day of relaxation seeing the sights of San Francisco. Perhaps we will even observe some unusual bird behaviour - I hope your stomach is not too squeamish after that. Our next stop will be one of those fortunate sightings of a bird from inside a car - Liza Lee Miller was lucky enough to get these great shots of a Common Merganser. Sometimes you just get extra lucky and the bird poses just right.

Heading east

After the excitement of birding around San Francisco we head east for a little sojourn in Con’s world in Colorado. She has Mountain Chickadees wintering in her garden and posing just the right way for her camera. I’d love to try my hand at capturing such delightful little birds with my camera, but the cold might be a little too much to take after our warm Aussie summer.

Our next stop takes us to visit Greg Laden in Minnesota. He invites us in for a well earned coffee and regales us with tales of the Laysan Duck of Hawaii. Here is a duck that is surviving - no, thriving - against the odds in the Pacific region. Pity our plane didn’t touch down for us see these ducks in their home territory.

A Challenge from Michigan

We now travel on to Michigan and visit Wrenaissance Woman. I’m sure we can indulge in another cup of coffee while she tells us about the BIGBY, or the importance of being green. With all the cold weather they’ve been having recently, the warm drink will be much appreciated. While there we can check out the finches and other birds in her garden and observe how they are coping with the extreme weather conditions.

Instructions from Illinois

We now move on the Illinois, folks. The Birdfreak Team has been busy teaching some young fledglings how to fly…er…go birding. In another life I tried to teach my students all about birding and the wonders of the natural world. It would have made life easier with help from their post called Guide: taking kids birding. I am sure we would be welcome to tag along - and hopefully learn something new in the process. We are never too old to learn.

New York, New York

Back on the plane everyone - we’re heading for New York. Sorry - no time for sightseeing here. We are on a mission to see some birds. First, we join Noflickster who will help us to get In The Mood trying to see heaps of birds this year. I hope you are fit, for he sets a cracking pace looking for birds. Then to help settle us down we will visit Mike over at 10000 Birds. He is sure to get us all arguing about his latest post. And he wants all of us to take part in his Pileated Pronunciation Poll. That sounds like a fun way to end a busy birding day.

Moving South

Moving on down the east coast to we take time to join The Ridger in Maryland to have a look at the wonderful photos taken of Shore Birds in Two States. Next we move on to New Jersey so we can visit Bevson who writes about nature on her poetically named blog, Murmuring Trees: Musing from the Mountain. I am sure that she will invite us to experience A Little Night Magic. Dress warmly folks. Next day we travel on to North Carolina and join N8 from The Drinking Bird on his quest to seek out good birds to add to his current lists. He had a great day birding the coastline and the birds kept on coming, even after dark. Don’t ya just love it when they do that?

Off to Ireland

Our birding journey now takes over the sea to Northern Ireland. Here we will catch up with Peregrine who has invited us to Spend a Beautiful Afternoon with Purple Sandpipers, Turnstones and other birds. Sounds very tempting. We will make a little extra time to see more birds in wonderful Ireland, and to taste some of its more cultural pursuits. Here we will also have an important rest day, because we have a long flight ahead of us.

Right Down South

A long flight takes us the length of Africa so that we can stay with Casper and go Birding in South Africa. Casper lives only a short distance from Kruger National Park. With 500+ species it would be easy to please even the fussiest birder. As an added bonus, Casper offers free accommodation to any birders who visit. What an offer; I hope he is not too intimidated by how many are coming in our party.

Across to Asia

Our next flight is another long one, this time to Sri Lanka just off the south eastern coast of India. We visit Amila and join him on his quest In Search of a Drongo. Not only is he successful in this quest, his photos also show plenty of other birds and reptiles and insects seen. Sri Lanka is certainly one birding hotspot and a must for all serious birders. Our next flight takes us to Singapore. It is here that we will learn about Eye Colour in Bulbuls. I am sure that we can squeeze in a day or two of exciting birding on the Malaysian Peninsula as well. And then, so soon, it will be time to head back home to South Australia. I love travelling and seeing new places, peoples and birds. But it is so lovely to get home to a familiar bed once again.

Thank you to everyone who joined me on this birding holiday. I trust it has inspired you to get out there with the birds more often.

A late bonus:

On your arrival home after this whirlwind birding trip around the globe, you will probably need to relax a little. How about a book to read while you relax? I haven’t read this book so I can’t give a personal recommendation, so you will need to visit Living the Scientific Life to read a long and extensive review of the book called Speciation in Birds written by Trevor Price.

Coming soon - to a blog near you

The next edition of I and the Bird #68 is due for publication on February 7th over at Biological Ramblings.