TOM'S
HOME PAGE POINT
PELEE MAY 2012 NEWFOUNDLAND
July 2012 SOUTH
AFRICA Sep/Oct 2012
VENEZUELA
FEB 2013 BRAZIL
PART 1 MARCH 2013 POINT
PELEE MAY 2013 CANADIAN
PRAIRIES JUNE 2013 AUSTRALIA
OCT/NOV 2013
TANZANIA
APRIL 2014 POINT
PELEE MAY 2014 YUKON
& DAWSON HIGHWAY JUNE 2014 BRAZIL
PART 2 AUGUST 2014
Newfoundland July 5-12, 2012
"Seabirds and Whales for
Land
lovers"
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Left to right and top to bottom: Puffins (Pratt), Razorbill
(Pratt); Blue Flag; Bunchberry; Humpback tail; Kittiwake and chick;
Iceberg; Arctic Tern (Pratt)
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Images marked Pratt are courtesy of Paul Pratt.
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When Is The Trip?
The tour is tentatively scheduled to begin on the evening of July 5th, 2012 in St. John's, Newfoundland and
conclude on
the morning of July 12th, 2012 in St. John's.
How Big Is The Group?
The group will be limited to 8 participants.
Who Are the leaders?
Tom Hince is the primary leader for this tour. Tom has guided trips throughout North America,
and to many other destinations including South Africa, Tanzania, Ecuador,
Panama, Cuba, Venezuela and
Australia. Tom lives minutes from world
renowned Point Pelee National Park, in Ontario, Canada. Here, in the peak of spring migration,
he offers birding day trips to give a
window into the magic of songbird migration. Tom takes great pride is showing
people insights into the everyday lives of birds and wildlife. Because of
transportation limitations in Newfoundland (15 passenger vans are not generally
available), we will likely use two 7 passenger minivans with a second
driver/leader.
What Is the Focus of the Trip?
Eastern Newfoundland has the finest breeding seabird colonies in the North
Atlantic. For land lovers, this is also the best site on the continent for land
based seabird viewing. The focus of this trip will be taking advantage of these
land based viewing opportunities. We will also focus on tracking any capelin spawning events
that occur while we are in this area. Capelin is a small fish that many marine
animals feast upon during their spawning season in mid summer. These events often draw many non-breeding
seabirds and whales close to shore, providing spectacular viewing opportunities.
Pending weather, we will do one or two near shore boat trips to the Witless Bay
ecological reserve. Spectacular scenery, some fine breeding land birds, flowering plants, and
interesting land mammals will also spice up the trip.
What Are the Accommodations Like?
In most areas we will be using three star motels. I
try to book lodging where we are paying for services that we get to use (ie. not
places with loads of services because we rarely get to use them). Our base
of operations in St. Johns will likely be the Comfort Inn Airport (good
location, restaurant and wireless internet access). In Trepassey, we will use
the Trepassey Motel (basic but clean motel with good location, restaurant, no internet) and in Clarenville,
we will use the Clarenville Inn (good location, restaurant, and hi speed
internet). Lodgings are tentative and similar properties may be
substituted.
What About Ground Transportation?
As stated above we will will likely use two 7 passenger minivans with four
participants and one driver/leader in each vehicle.
What Is the Cost?
The estimated cost of the main tour is CDN $2695 per person plus HST (harmonized sales
tax) based upon double occupancy from St.
John's, Newfoundland. This includes seven nights lodging, ground transportation
while in Newfoundland, meals beginning with dinner on day 1 of the itinerary and
ending with breakfast on day 8 of the itinerary, guide services as described in
the itinerary, tips for service staff (porters, hotel staff, restaurant staff),
transfers to and from hotel to St. Johns airport on day 1 and 8, drinks (water, pop, juice) and coffee breaks in the
field, use of scope, group photo (digital file), checklist for use in the field, full trip report.
It specifically does NOT include transportation to or from St. John's,
Newfoundland, alcoholic beverages, phone calls, laundry; or items of a personal nature; or items not specifically
listed. This price is based upon group tariffs for eight participants and a small
party supplement may be applied if the tour does not fill.
Please note that the tour prices are in Canadian dollars. Participants can make all
payments in US funds and these will be credited at the CDN equivalent.
How Do I Join Up?
Reservations will be taken on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED basis. To reserve a
spot, please email me giving the name(s) of guests, email, phone number and
address. I require a $500 per person deposit (payable in either US or CDN
funds) to confirm space.
You can forward this to me via personal check made out to me and mailed to P.O.
Box 281, Wheatley, Ontario. Canada N0P 2P0.
Meals
The price of all meals is included on this trip from dinner on Day 1 to
breakfast on Day 8. Where it makes sense, we will have box breakfasts or lunches, or picnic supplies
so we can lunch in the field. However, the majority of meals will be in
restaurants.
What About Singles?
If you desire single accommodations, or if you prefer to share, but have no
roommate and we cannot provide one for you, a single supplement of CDN $450 will
apply.
Refunds and Cancellation Insurance
Cancellation insurance is strongly recommended. As I do not provide this, it
can be purchased from an independent agent (easily found on line).
Up to 120 days prior to the beginning of the tour: If you cancel, the
deposit is non refundable.
After 120 days to 60 days prior to the beginning of the tour: Fifty percent of
the total tour cost is non-refundable. Any funds paid above this amount will be
refunded.
Within 60 days of the beginning of the tour: The entire tour cost of the tour is
non-refundable.
Additional Questions?
I'm sure I've forgotten some important details, so please don't hesitate to
give me a call, or drop me an email (I read my email every few hours during the
workday). You can contact me at (586) 839-7482 or peleetom@netcore.ca
Detailed Itinerary
Summary:
The trip focuses on the eastern third of Newfoundland. All sites are within a three hour
drive from St .John's. Key sites we will visit include Witless Bay Ecological
reserve, Cape St. Mary's ecological reserve, Cape Bonavista and Elliston, Terra
Nova National Park, Cape Race, Greater St. John's, Cape Spear, Cape Pine, St.
Vincent's Beach and Point La Haye. Participants could easily extend their
visit and add a few days in western or northern Newfoundland visiting Gros Morne
National Park or St. Anthony's.
Day 1: Arrival in St. John's
There will be no formal birding activities as participants arrive in St.
John's today. We will meet for introductions and dinner at the hotel restaurant
at 6 pm this evening. Our hotel has a free shuttle service to and from the
airport. Over dinner, Tom will brief the group on plans for the trip.
Night: Comfort Inn Airport, St. John's
Day 2: Cape Spear and St. John's
After breakfast we will head south to Cape Spear National Historic
Site. This is the most easterly point in North America and the site of one of
the continent's oldest lighthouses. It is also a great spot for a sea watch.
Depending upon wind and fog conditions, there can be large numbers of seabirds
and whales visible from land. Species that are likely include Northern
Gannet, Black-legged Kittiwake, Common Murre, Atlantic Puffin, Black Guillemot
and several species of shearwaters. One of the species we will focus on finding
here is Manx Shearwater. This is one of the best sites to find this species from
land. Hopefully the conditions will be such that the flight lines of birds will
be close to shore. This is also a good site for whale watching. Species that are
occasionally seen here include Minke Whale, Humpback Whale and White-beaked
Dolphin.
Land birds that we will search for here and on the road to the Cape include
American Pipit, Blackpoll Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Northern Waterthrush,
Gray-cheeked Thrush and Pine Grosbeak. All of these species breed
regularly on the Avalon peninsula.
From Cape Spear we will return to St. John's and spend the afternoon birding
in a number of ponds and waterfront areas. Target species include Common
Black-headed Gull (erratic in summer, but occasionally present), Northern
Pintail (breeds), Green-winged Teal (breeds), Lesser Black-backed Gull (usually
a few immatures or sub-adults around), and any summering vagrants that are
staked out. We will return to our hotel for dinner in late afternoon.
Night: Comfort Inn Airport, St. John's
Day 3: Witless Bay
After breakfast, we will head south to the Witless Bay ecological reserve -
one of the continent's most important seabird nesting colonies. This is certain
to be one of the highlights of the trip. This cluster of offshore islands in
Witless Bay is home to nearly a million pairs of nesting seabirds (including a
quarter of a million puffins!!!). We will first
stop on the south side of the bay. From a small side road viewpoint it is
possible to get good scope views of nesting Northern Fulmars amidst a massive
colony of Kittiwakes, Puffins, Murres and Razorbills. There may also be whales
in the bay if capelin are running. Indeed over the next week we will track any
word of capelin spawning quite closely.
We will return north to the
small town of Bay Bulls, where will take a mid morning boat trip lasting about
two hours. If the conditions are not suitable for good sailing, we will postpone
this trip to another day when conditions are better. Species to be expected on
the boat trip are Black-legged Kittiwake, Atlantic Puffin, Black Guillemot,
Common Murre, Razorbill and Great black-backed and Herring Gulls. All of
these species nest in abundance on the islands and we should get excellent close
views of all of them. If we are lucky we may also chance upon Thick-billed Murre,
Northern Fulmar or Manx Shearwater (the first two species nest in small numbers,
while the latter occasionally forages in the bay).
The boat trip also
often provides great viewing opportunities for whales. The dominant species here
are Minke and Humpback whales which move into the bay to take advantage of
spawning capelin.
The
rare Thick-billed Murre (left) and "ringed" form of Common Murre at
Witless Bay.
After a late lunch, we will check out of our hotel and head south stopping first
at La Manche provincial park. Here we will search for boreal breeding species
such as Boreal Chickadee, White-winged Crossbill and Black-backed Woodpecker.
This scenic park also has a nice selection of wildflowers.
Continuing south we
will make a number of stops at small coves including Ferryland and Renews. The
latter site is a good place for side by side comparisons on nesting Common and
Arctic Terns. We will continue on the 'Irish
Loop' checking Biscay Bay and Portugal Cove before arriving in Trepassey in late
afternoon. Depending upon our progress, we may check into our hotel and take an
early dinner and then
head out to Cape Pine. This area of barrens is often home to breeding
Rough-legged Hawk and Short-eared Owl and evening is a good time to search for
them. The Cape Pine road is also one of the best sites in eastern Newfoundland
for Willow Ptarmigan. Although this species is reasonably common, it is quite
difficult to find in mid summer, so we will need some good luck. We will return
to Trepassey where we will spend the night.
Night: Trepassey
Motel, Trepassey
Day 4: Southern
Avalon/Mistaken Point
We will spend the entire day exploring the southern Avalon with sites on
today's itinerary including Cape Race, Cape Pine, St. Shotts and St. Vincent's
Beach.
The lighthouse at Cape Race was the first place to receive word of the
fate of the Titanic. Several stops along the road give access to nesting
Kittiwakes, Razorbills and Common Murres. The landscape here is open and barren
and common nesters include Horned Lark, American Pipit and Savannah and Fox
Sparrows. Although rare it is possible to bump into Caribou or Short-eared
Owl as well. If conditions are suitable we will stop and do a sea watch along
the southern shore of Cape Race. This is often a good place to view passing
shearwaters and jaegers. One
new site we will likely visit today is St. Vincent's Beach. This is a well known
site of capelin activity in early July. It can attract thousands of feeding
gannets and shearwaters and along with them number of jaegers (predominantly
Pomarine Jaegers). It is also a great location for viewing Minke, Humpback and
Fin whales quite close to shore. Another attraction of this site is a very
approachable Arctic Tern colony and large concentrations of loafing gulls,
especially kittiwakes. We will thoroughly scope Holyrood Pond in case any
wayward Leach's Storm Petrels are present (a species rarely seen from land
during the day). Today we will also make a special effort to
try and find Caribou and Willow Ptarmigan as this is an excellent area for both
of these barrens specialists.
After a picnic lunch we will take a hike to the Mistaken Point fossil site.
A local guide will explain the global significance of this site and also provide
insight into the flowering plants and ecology of this wonderful shore.
Fossil at Mistaken Point
We will return to Trepassey for dinner.
Night:
Trepassey Motel, Trepassey
Day
5: Cape St.
Mary's
After breakfast we will check out of our hotel and head towards Cape St.
Mary's ecological reserve. We may take a quick look at St. Vincent's Beach or
Point La Haye to check for capelin spawning en route to today's destination. We
should arrive at Cape St. Mary's by mid morning and will spend several hours at
this spectacular gannet and alcid colony. It is hard to describe the awesome
spectacle of Cape St. Mary's! Standing atop a cliff looking at a massive colony
of Northern Gannets on a close sea stack is something that you will never
forget. At times the gannets will drift by so close it seems you could reach out
and touch them. Needless to say this is one of the most popular areas for bird
photographers in North America.
In addition to gannets, the cliffs hold
large numbers of Black-legged Kittiwakes and Common Murres, and smaller numbers
of Razorbills, Black Guillemots and Thick-billed Murres (the southernmost known
breeding colony). Like many areas on the Avalon, if the capelin are running this
can also be a great area for viewing large numbers of shearwaters and
whales. We will also search the nearby barrens for Short-eared Owl,
American Pipit, Willow Ptarmigan and Caribou. We will stop in the nearby town of
St. Brides for a late sit down lunch before continuing on several hours to the
town of Clarenville where we will spend the night.
Night:
Clarenville Inn, Clarenville
Day 6: Terra
Nova National Park
After breakfast at our hotel in Clarenville we will drive west into Terra
Nova National Park. We will spend several hours exploring the park trails for
Black-backed Woodpecker, Spruce Grouse, Boreal Chickadee, Pine Grosbeak, Palm
Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow and other boreal
breeders. Our afternoon itinerary may vary today depending upon weather. We may
continue our exploration of Terra Nova, or perhaps make a quick trip up the
Bonavista Peninsula if the weather is good.
Male Spruce Grouse - we will watch carefully for this in
Terra Nova N. P.
We will return to Clarenville for the night.
Night: Clarenville Inn, Clarenville
Day 7:
Cape Bonavista
After breakfast we will check out of our hotel and drive north along the
Bonavista peninsula. In mid morning we will arrive in the picturesque
coastal community of Bonavista. The town touts itself as the place to see
'puffins, icebergs and whales' and that is what we will seek today. The shore of
the cape often holds a number of icebergs and we will focus today and trying to
get good views of any bergs stranded close to shore. Whales are often present at
Cape Bonavista, particularly if the capelin are spawning.
Another major
highlight of today is the opportunity to get good views of nesting Atlantic
Puffins, right from solid land. There are two colonies on sea stacks near the
cape which can be viewing from only a few hundred feet. This will allow us to
get good scope views of these enigmatic birds that are a highlight of any
visit to Newfoundland in summer. If we are lucky some puffins may land on the
mainland providing good photo opportunities. After lunch in Bonavista we will
make our way back along the coast to St. John's. We should arrive at our hotel
in St. John's with time to freshen up before a farewell dinner in downtown St.
John's.
Night: Comfort Inn
Airport, St. Johns
Day 8:
Transfer to Airport
The tour concludes this morning. Participants will be able to take the free
airport shuttle at any time this morning. Between 4 am and 7 am, there
will be a continental breakfast available to early departing participants. After
7 am a cooked breakfast will be available in the hotel
restaurant.
For more information call Tom at (586) 839-7482 or peleetom@netcore.ca
TOM'S
HOME PAGE POINT
PELEE MAY 2012 NEWFOUNDLAND
July 2012 SOUTH
AFRICA Sep/Oct 2012
VENEZUELA
FEB 2013 BRAZIL
PART 1 MARCH 2013 POINT
PELEE MAY 2013 CANADIAN
PRAIRIES JUNE 2013 AUSTRALIA
OCT/NOV 2013
TANZANIA
APRIL 2014 POINT
PELEE MAY 2014 YUKON
& DAWSON HIGHWAY JUNE 2014 BRAZIL
PART 2 AUGUST 2014