We were all sad when Eddie Bartley and Noreen Weeden decided to retire from their “Palm Deserts and the Salton Sea” trip.  So many of us were fortunate enough to experience this favorite GGBA birding adventure.

We are not going to tell you that we have replaced this trip.  That’s not possible.  But we are going to tell you that we have an amazing new southern California desert experience for you. To make it even more special, the trip is run by the GGBA-beloved guide Ivan Phillipsen of Wild Latitudes. Ivan was born and raised in southern California and is excited to take us to his old haunts.

The tour begins and ends in Palm Springs, in the Coachella Valley. This is the western edge of the Sonoran Desert—a landscape of sand dunes, cacti, dry flood channels, and boulder-strewn slopes. Surrounding the valley are the snow-dusted peaks of several mountain ranges. A fascinating mixture of birds, other vertebrates, insects, and desert plants awaits you in this unique environment.

Our exciting and educational journey will take us to nature hotspots across the Coachella Valley, through Joshua Tree National Park, to the shores of the Salton Sea, and into Anza Borrego Desert State Park. You’ll not only see wonderful birds on this trip, but you’ll also learn about desert ecosystems and the region’s fascinating geology.  Several of the most magnificent sites we’ll visit are lush desert oases, shaded by native California Fan Palms.

Some special birds we hope to find include Greater Roadrunner, Phainopepla, Verdin, Gambel’s Quail, Common Ground Dove, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Neotropic Cormorant, Burrowing Owl, Cactus Wren, Canyon Wren, Abert’s Towhee, and Black-throated Sparrow.

Wild Latitudes is offering us a very attractive price:

$1,885 per person

$485 single supplement

Check out the beautiful full itinerary.

Questions?  Contact Dawn at travelprogram@goldengatebirds.org.

Ready to register?  Contact Dawn first.  She will register you and put you in contact with Wild Latitudes.…

This seven-day trip is designed for birders who haven’t traveled abroad previously AND it offers the best of everything for birders who are on a tight schedule. Both beginning birders and seasoned veterans will be able to enjoy this birding tour and perhaps tick off a few mega-finds along the way! It can be combined with the Central Andes tour, but it’s a self-contained itinerary, a trip that will ensure your first international birding experience is a great one.

Why Colombia? Easy. It’s the birdiest country on earth, with 1,930 species—almost 20% of the world’s total in 1% of its landmass, with new species still being discovered and new records being announced regularly. There are several reasons for this: Colombia is tropical yet it also has ample elevation changes due to the Andes; it has both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts; it has a wide range of different habitats, and different habitats ensure a wide range of bird species.

Your home for the trip will be one of Colombia’s newest birding lodges, which will allow you to stay in very comfortable accommodations while birding some of the best sites in Colombia without having to spend much time in a vehicle—or packing your suitcase every other day! Araucana Lodge opened in January 2019 and was designed specifically for birders and nature lovers, with spacious rooms and all the comforts that ensure a good night’s rest. 

Don’t forget to pack your camera—Araucana Lodge and many of the reserves along the route have excellent feeder set-ups that  provide some of the best photographic opportunities in Colombia, with targets ranging from hummingbirds to toucans. 

This trip includes visits to some of Colombia’s most iconic birding locations, including KM 18 and the San Antonio Cloud Forest (an excellent introduction to birding in the Colombian Andes), the San Cipriano Reserve (which features the humid forests of the Pacific lowlands), the Anchicaya Valley (which is located in one of the most biodiverse national parks in the planet), and an active Andean Cock-of-the-Rock lek.

View Trip Bird List Here

$2,895 per person (7–8 participants), $3,150 per person (5–6 participants), $3,450 per person (4 participants), all prices double occupancy; $590 single supplement. Limit 8 people.

View Itinerary 

Trip Contact Person : Eric Schroeder 

Video—Birding Near Araucana Lodge: https://youtu.be/qQhM_SNaxPM

Araucana Lodge: https://youtu.be/nxtzwXW38ZU…

This route focuses on the coffee growing region of the western and central Andes, where more than a quarter of the country’s endemics can be found. The central Andean region is dominated by glaciated volcanoes that reach heights of over 5,000 m (16,500 ft), providing an ample gradient in terms of altitude that provide for amazing birding. The area is home to one of Colombia’s largest national parks, as well as several well-managed private reserves with convenient access from major cities. In the northern portion of the western Andes, the best birding is done at the higher elevations and on the Pacific slope, where there is still good forest cover.

On the drive from Araucana lodge (or Cali if you haven’t done the first week), we’ll visit Rio Bravo Reserve and at the Cameguadua Reserve before we begin our ascent to Manizales, our first overnight stop. We’ll spend two days visiting the Rio Blanco Reserve, which is home to more than 450 species and considered to be one of the top five birding sites on the planet.

Our next stop, Hacienda El Bosque, is roughly an hour drive from Manizales, so we will plan to get there early in time for breakfast before the amazing birding begins. The day will be spent on this working cattle farm that produces milk, whose owners have been protecting large swaths of forests for decades. Lunch will be at the hacienda, and we  will have time for some afternoon birding before driving up  the mountain to spend two nights  at Hotel Termales del Ruiz, at 11,000 feet, where we can relax in its mineral-rich, medicinal hot springs and enjoy scenic views of the central Andes.

We’ll have a whole day to explore Los Nevados National Park, located on the highest part of the Colombian central Andes. We will wind through patches of forest that open up to Paramo, an ecosystem of tropical grasslands above the treeline, toward the picturesque 5,300-meter (17,400-foot) volcano Nevado del Ruiz.  The scenery in Paramo is magical and surreal. The tour reaches elevations up to 3,950 meters (13,000 feet), so it will be cold.  Here the goal is to find species adapted to high elevations like the endemic Buffy Helmetcrest and the near endemic Rainbow-bearded Thornbill, both of which sometimes forage on the ground.

Our last stop on the tour will be the Otun-Quimbaya Reserve, a flora and fauna sanctuary located on the west slope of the Central Cordillera, and home to the Wax Palm, the tallest palm in the world and the national tree of Colombia.…

Winter birding in Minnesota is an extremely rewarding experience with both amazing birds and breathtaking scenery. This six-day itinerary focuses on owls as well as a variety of other species that call the boreal forest and Lake Superior home for the winter. Starting in Minneapolis, the tour will target Long-eared, Northern Saw-Whet, and Great Horned Owls, all of which occur in this area but are not found further north. From there we’ll head up to Duluth for the next four nights. The incredible Sax-Zim Bog will be our focus for the next few days; it’s home to loads of our target species, such as Great Grey and Barred Owls, Northern Hawk-Owl, Pine and Evening Grosbeaks, Boreal Chickadee, Ruffed Grouse, Common Redpoll, and Canada Jay. In addition to this well-known USA birding site, the tour will explore the Duluth/Superior harbor for species such as Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, and Long-tailed Duck. This is also the best tour location to find the coveted Snowy Owl to round out our owl targets for this trip. The bog and the lake are not the only birding destinations; we’ll  venture into Superior National Forest in search of both Black-backed and American Three-toed Woodpeckers and, with some luck, Spruce Grouse. After three full days exploring the area, we’ll pack up and leave Duluth to head back to the airport in Minneapolis. Extra birding may be possible on the final day depending on flight times. 

More questions? Contact GGBA Travel Coordinator Eric Schroeder at travelprogram@goldengatebirdalliance.org.

Ready to register?  Contact Eric first.  He will put you in touch with Birding Ecotours.

Price: $2,780 per person sharing 

Single supplement: $400

Trip Contact: Eric Schroeder  

Event Photo: Great Grey Owl by Jacob-Roalef…