• Grouse Extravaganza (Colorado)

    Want to see six species of grouse in one state? Need a Gunnison Sage-Grouse on your life list? Have you always wanted to see a White-tailed Ptarmigan? Would you like to experience the amazing spectacle of an early morning lek?

    Colorado birding in April is fantastic! The Grouse and Prairie-Chickens are dancing on their leks, the Central Flyway is alive with the hopes of a new year and the mountains are refreshed with the warming days of spring.

    Never seen a lek?  The males dance, blow up air sacks, hoot and holler, charge their rivals, and try to impress the ladies. You will see it all! This tour highlights Gunnison and Greater Sage-Grouse, Sharp-tailed and Dusky Grouse, White-tailed Ptarmigan, and Greater Prairie-Chicken.

    Join Sue Riffe, owner of She Flew Birding Tours on this 8 days/7 nights of birding in beautiful Colorado.  

    Cost per person double occupancy is $2995. Single supplement is $600.  Please see the detailed itinerary for all of the exciting details.

    Ready to register?  Have questions?  Contact Dawn at travelprogram@goldengatebirdalliance.org.  (This trip is so special, Dawn was the 1st participant to sign up!)…

  • Bhutan – Birding, Mammals, and Monasteries 1

    Fire-tailed Myzornia by Chubzang Tangbi

    Bhutan, a country roughly the size of Maryland, has almost 600 species of birds. Over 70% of its land is forested with 25% protected by National Parks. We will visit a range of environments varying from sub-tropical at 150m to alpine at over 4,500m. On this 19-day trip, expect to see between 350 and 400 species of birds and 10-15 species of mammals. Our Bhutanese guide
    from Langur Eco Travels will not only introduce you to the fauna but also the flora of Bhutan (we’re visiting during the spring rhododendron bloom) and its culture (our trip includes visits to several famous sites, including the Tiger’s Nest Monastery). For questions and registration contact Eric Schroeder at travelprogram@goldengatebirds.org 

    Cost of the trip is $6,025 (double) and $6,475 (single), which does not include the cost of internal or international flights (see the itinerary for information on these.

    Complete description and itinerary can be viewed here. Please do not contact the vendor first.
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  • Skaggs Island Raptors

    This trip is now full. 

    For many years, GGBA has offered driving tours on the property, but unfortunately due to COVID there has not been a GGBA tour on the property since February 2020.  At this time the US Fish & Wildlife Service is granting us a very special opportunity to revisit Skaggs Island albeit under some new conditions, which will represent a change to the way we have conducted these tours in the past. Because of the failure of the bridge at the southern end of Skaggs Island Rd, we will be meeting at the northern end of the road in Napa. 

    Cooper’s Hawk by Rick Lewis

    One of our target species will be Short-eared Owl.  Because they generally only become active just before and after sunset, we will stay late to look for them.  Other species we hope to see include Golden Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, White-tailed Kite, American Kestrel, and Great-horned Owl.  If we get lucky Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcon, and perhaps a laggard Rough-legged Hawk , Ferruginous Hawk, or even a very early Swainson’s Hawk might grace us with their presence.  

    This trip will require carpooling. Participants will need to have a complete course of vaccination and booster shots and should bring a mask. 

    There can be no late arrivals or early departures.  The Refuge is behind locked gates, so be prepared to arrive on time and stay until the end.

    There are no facilities of any kind on the Refuge, no rest rooms or buildings.

    The tour will be part driving and part hiking.  We will form a carpool caravan once we have entered the refuge.  Only cars that have a high clearance (i.e. Subaru Outback, or Honda CRV) will be able to navigate the roads in the Refuge.  In recent years there has been no maintenance so the pavement has deteriorated considerably and the roadway is overgrown in places with thick vegetation which might cause minor damage to the finish of vehicles.   GGBA and FWS will not be responsible for any damages incurred by vehicles on the Refuge.

    We will drive on the safest and clearest sections of the roadways, and we’ll park the vehicles at certain points to take short hikes to look for birds.  The hikes will be confined to roadways and will be on level ground the entire time.  At times we may stand in place for 15 minutes or longer. …

  • Intro to Southern Africa

    Join us on a comfortable birding and wildlife safari in South Africa and at the Victoria Falls.
    This fabulous “introduction to Africa” trip will allow you to get your first taste of Africa (or, if you’ve been before, you’ll surely see some birds and mammals you might have missed the first time around). We begin by experiencing one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Cape Town, and the surrounding Cape Fold Mountains and spectacular Cape coastline with its unique, rich plantlife and accompanying endemic birds such as sugarbirds, sunbirds and Cape Rockjumper.

    We also look for African Penguin, Blue Crane, Cape Mountain Zebra and other charismatic species. We will then fly to the opposite corner of South Africa and spend a few days in Karongwe, a “big five” reserve, meaning here you can see Lion, Leopard, White Rhinoceros, African Elephant, and Cape Buffalo. And with almost 300 species, this beautiful private reserve is a great birding destination. From Karongwe, we drive to South Africa’s greatest game
    park, Kruger National Park. Kruger is not only one of Southern Africa’s richest places for mammals, but also boasts a bird list of over 500 species.

    This massive park covers a vast area and is teaming with Africa’s big (and small). The great thing for birders, though, is that it’s full of easy-to-see, spectacular-looking birds, such as several species each of roller, bee-eater, kingfisher, hornbill, vulture, owl, and stork. The park is teaming with birds of prey, including the spectacular, colorful Bateleur. There’s also a good chance of finding Secretarybird, Kori Bustard (the world’s heaviest flying bird), Southern Ground Hornbill (along many other hornbill species). We end this amazing trip with a flight from the Kruger Park to Victoria Falls, bordering Zambia and Zimbabwe. What locals call “The Smoke that Thunders” is the planet’s largest waterfall (it’s twice the height of Niagara and more than twice its width), where the mighty Zambezi plummets into a deep gorge. The area around the falls is extremely rich with birdlife and is in the heart of wild Africa where megafauna still freely roam.

    Please refer to the itinerary below. For questions or to sign up, contact Eric Schroeder at travelprogram@goldengateaudbon.org. Please do not contact the trip vendor first.

    If you would like to convert the local currency to USD, please click here.

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