Costa Rica – July 27 – August 6, 2016; Peak of the nesting Sea Turtles –
Come join us
We are planning another great adventure to Costa Rica, July 27 – August 6, 2016, and would love to have you join us! This trip is planned to coincide
with the peak time of the largest nesting sea turtle event in the world. At Atlantic coastal Tortuguero, we will visit the Sea Turtle Conservancy for an
evening guided turtle walk where up to 100,000 sea turtles come to shore per night to lay their eggs. At this idyllic Caribbean spot we will also search
for numerous tropical frogs including the photogenic red-eyed tree frogs along with capuchin and howler monkeys.
Well known for its amazing biodiversity we will be visiting some of Costa Rica’s most unique areas including the highlands of Savegre where its
perfect climate is like spring all the time. Its cloud forests buzz with multitudes of hummingbirds, warblers, tanagers and trogons that are
attracted to the colorful flowers and shrubs. The resplendent quetzal, restricted to the cloud forests of Central America and one of the world’s
most colorful and striking birds, nest on the grounds and feed on the local wild avocado fruit. At a slightly lower elevation we will visit Rancho
Naturalista. It is famous for its montane forest diversity of wildlife and birds including hummingbirds such as purple-crowned fairies, the rare
snowcap and violet-crowned woodnymphs. Both montane areas have hummingbird and fruit feeders that attract a wide diversity of birds and mammals – a photographer’s dream where a dozen species of hummingbirds might be seen right from the balcony. We will also offer this trip for college credit through Lord Fairfax Community College (class not required to join the trip) and the class can be used as an elective for the Careers Certificate in Outdoor and Nature Photography. What a great way to wind up the summer! Our trip goes to three of the very best biologically diverse areas in Costa Rica.
Who is the trip for? The trips normally have a few retired folks, a selection of professionals from varying fields, several photographers of
varying levels, a few birders and a few typical college age students who have an interest in natural history/photography. We give hands on
photography advice for all of the various types of photographic situations so travelers come home with spectacular memorable images. The trip is not
designed to be a strenuous hiking trip. It is a slow paced trip designed to see and photograph a large number of plants and animals in one of the
world’s most spectacular areas in very comfortable accommodations with very good food. Land cost is $2335
Click this link for more info or see Holbrook Travel / Costa Rica: Birding, Photography and Natural Wonders with Lord Fairfax Community College. Hope you can join us. If you know of anyone who would like to join us on this enchanted journey to the tropics, please pass this along.
Galapagos, Ecuador Andes and the Amazon
June 30 – July 23; probable dates
The main trip is the Galapagos with a pretrip to the Andes and a post trip to the Amazon. Participants can sign up for any part or all of the trip. The Galapagos needs no introduction and we will be emphasizing how to get the best photos possible with the equipment you have. The Andes part of the trip will highlight hummingbirds and how to photograph them. There will be feeders at all of the places we visit and the swarming activity of the hummers is often breath taking with a dozen or more species at the feeders. We will be targeting some of the real Andes specialties like the Swordbill, Mountain Toucans and Mountain Tanagers. The Andes is truly birding and bird photography at its best because the spectacular birds are often so accommodating. The Amazon has a sense of mystery just in the word. We will see lots of species that have aquatic affinities and highly specialized habitats. Up to 11 species of primates will share the forest with us. Visiting the clay lick is a special treat where sometimes hundreds of parrots and Macaws come to eat the clay to neutralize the toxins in their plant diet. The forest cable towers enable us to visit a world that is so very different and diverse from a view from below. At night we will see what special insects come to the ultra violet lights – giant gaudy moths, beetles the size of your hand and katydids that could pass for a ragged chewed up leaf. If interested please contact us to get more details or sign up for a spot.
Brazil: Jaguars, Maned Wolves, Hyacinth Macaws, the Pantanal and Tropical Forest
July 1 – 21; probable dates
This is a 3 part trip:
- Stay at wolf camp in the dry tropical forest to photograph the endangered Maned Wolf. This is the only spot where you are guaranteed to see
this spectacular attractive canid. We will also sit in blinds to get frame filling shots of the endangered Hyacinth Macaw – the world’s largest and
most spectacular parrot. We will see many other rare birds and mammals like the Tufted-eared Marmoset. - Jaguar Quest: We will head into the Pantanal to an area where Jaguars are regularly seen (2.5 sightings a day) along the edge of the river
where they, sleep, groom and hunt for caimans. We will also have very good chances of seeing other large mammals (4 of South Americas big 5) – tapir, giant anteater, giant otter and Capybaras. The whole area is teaming with wildlife and they are attracted to the water’s edge during the dry season. - Amazon and Iguacu Falls: Explore the rich diversity of Amazon life – plants and animals found nowhere else on earth. A trip to Iguacu falls for
one of the world’s scenic wonders which also harbors an amazing diversity of flora and fauna.
Please contact us for detailed information and to reserve a spot for these trips.