TOM'S HOME PAGE AUSTRALIA Oct/Nov 2008 NEWFOUNDLAND July 2008 OAXACA March 2008 SOUTH AFRICA Sept/Oct 2008 ECUADOR Feb 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Left to right and top to bottom: Razorbill; Pitcher Plant; Atlantic Puffins; Arctic Tern; Humpback whale tail; Witless Bay; Witless Bay; Table Mtns | |
The group will be limited to 10 participants with two leaders.
Tom Hince is the primary leader for this tour. Tom has guided trips throughout North America,
South Africa, Ecuador, Cuba, Venezuela and
Australia. He and his wife Lily own a guest house just minutes from world
renowned Point Pelee National Park, in Ontario, Canada. Here in the peak of spring migration they offer packages that give a
window into the magic of songbird migration. Tom takes great pride is showing
people insights into the magic of how birds live. A secondary leader will be
added if the group fills.
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.
Two short near shore optional boat trips will be scheduled to visit the Witless
Bay islands and Newman Sound. Spectacular scenery, some fine breeding land birds, flowering plants, and
interesting land mammals will also spice up the trip.
In most areas we will be using motels. Properties are generally three star. 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 (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.
We will attempt to secure a fifteen passenger van for the group, but because these vehicles are almost impossible to secure in mid summer, we likely will use two mini vans (with a maximum of five participants per van).
The cost of the main tour is CDN $2575 per person 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 ten participants and a small
party supplement may be applied if the tour does not fill.
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 CDN $450 per person deposit to confirm space. You can forward this to me via personal check made out to me and mailed to RR#1, Wheatley, Ontario. Canada N0P 2P0.
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.
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 $390 will
apply.
The refund policy is as follows:
Up to 120 days prior to the beginning of the tour: If you cancel, any
payments minus a $100 administration fee are refundable.
After 120 days to 60 days prior to the beginning of the tour: Fifty percent of
the tour cost will be refunded. The remaining fifty percent is non-refundable.
Within 60 days of the beginning of the tour: The entire tour cost of the tour is
non-refundable.
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 (519) 825-9070 or peleetom@netcore.ca
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.
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
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
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.
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
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.
Night: Trepassey Motel, Trepassey
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
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. After lunch we will take a short boat trip on Newman Sound. Our targets here will be whales, Osprey and Bald Eagle (often spectacular close views of the latter and good photo opportunities).
We will return to Clarenville for the night.
Night: Clarenville Inn, Clarenville
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
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 (519) 825-9070 or peleetom@netcore.ca
TOM'S HOME PAGE AUSTRALIA Oct/Nov 2008 NEWFOUNDLAND July 2008 OAXACA March 2008 SOUTH AFRICA Sept/Oct 2008 ECUADOR Feb 2008