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Saturday 6 December to Monday 15 December 2008 Saturday 5 December to Monday 14 December 2009 with Judy Davis and David Fisher as leaders.
Cost: £1860 plus about £800 for flights (2008) Single room supplement: £350 Click here for explanation of price breakdown Maximum group size: 8 with 1 leader; 16 with 2 leaders. The second named leader will only join the tour if there are more than 8 participants. This tour can be taken in conjunction with Argentina: High Andes tour and also Argentina: Main tour |
'Judy is one of the best guides with whom I have travelled – and I’ve gone with several companies' R. Duska 2007. 'Judy was, as always, quite outstanding as the leader, dedicated, deeply knowledgeable and determined to ensure that every participant had the chance to see all the birds. The falls were, as expected, quite awesome.' N. and N. Champion, 2007. 'David and Judy are the best leaders I have been with in ten years and 35 organised bird tours. Their ability under pressure - certainly in my experience on this tour - were second to none. I look forward to several more trips with them and Sunbird.' R. Stansfield 2004. |
The great falls at Iguazú, more than a mile wide and nearly 250 feet high with borders in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, are one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world and have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. While most people who visit the falls spend only one or two days visiting the scenic spectacle, our week here will allow us to become more intimately acquainted with the area. The falls are surrounded by subtropical forest with the whole area now protected as Iguazú National Park thus providing a perfect setting for a week rich in birds and scenic atmosphere. Many of the families normally associated with tropical and subtropical areas are well represented at Iguazú. Toucans, motmots and woodpeckers are frequently seen on the hotel grounds while flycatchers, antbirds, and manakins frequent the surrounding forest areas. Birders new to the tropics will appreciate the familiarity that comes with birding the same habitat day after day while those with previous experience in such regions will have opportunities to further build skills in identification and vocalizations. Our week at Iguazú Falls will be based at two hotels, one near Puerto Iguazú and the other in the park, only a short walk from the falls. We’ll find ourselves enjoying our hotels’ proximity to the surrounding forests, allowing easy access to early morning birding when the birds are most active while providing air-conditioned comfort during afternoon rest breaks. The hotel restaurants offer tempting international and local cuisine. During our visit we should see more than 150 species, many of which are restricted to southeastern Brazil and this small part of Argentina. Sunbird has been running tours to Argentina since 1995 and this will be Judy and David's 13th tour there. Day 1: The tour starts in London with an overnight flight to Buenos Aires. Day 2: We’ll arrive this morning and transfer to our city hotel. The afternoon will be left free for resting or a sightseeing walk around the city. Night in Buenos Aires. Day 3: After breakfast we'll fly to Iguazú, arriving in time for afternoon birding both around the grounds of the hotel and at a local private residence where we will have the opportunity to enjoy five or more species of hummingbird coming to feeders, affording prolonged views of species often seen only fleetingly in the forest. Night in Iguazú town. Days 4-5: We will spend these two days birding areas around the perimeter of the park searching for birds that are more difficult to encounter within the park, including Rufous-capped Motmot, Greater Ani, Scale-throated and Planalto Hermits, Versicolored Emerald, and Tufted Antshrike. An optional night-birding trip will be offered to look for Tropical Screech Owl and Common Potoo. Nights in Iguazú town. Days 6-8: After lunch on day 5, we’ll transfer to the Sheraton Hotel near the falls. In the late afternoon we’ll explore the boardwalks of the Falls, being mesmerized by the volume of water around us as Great Dusky Swifts hurl themselves toward the rushing water and we watch for the endangered Black-fronted Piping-Guan. Our days based here will see us venturing into different areas of the park and to other nearby areas, exploring quiet trails in search of the many birds that live here. Likely highlights are too numerous to mention, but may include Surucua Trogon, Rufous-capped Motmot, Chestnut-eared Araçari, Green-billed and Toco Toucans, Blond-crested and White-spotted Woodpeckers, White-throated Woodcreeper, Rufous Gnateater, Swallow-tailed Manakin, Southern Antpipit, and Neotropical River Warbler. Most mornings will be spent walking trails listening and watching when the forest is more active with woodcreepers, antbirds, and flycatchers while some afternoons will be spent birding more open areas. Tanager flocks will provide welcome flashes of colour in the green expanse of the forest. Clearings around our hotel will provide opportunities to scan for raptors mid-day and to watch the flights of the hundreds of Great Dusky Swifts that nest behind the falls. Early mornings will be greeted with the raucous calls of parrots as they fly from roost sites. Toco Toucans and Red-rumped Caciques frequently provide photographic opportunities in the trees outside the hotel.
We’ll have opportunities to view the falls from different viewpoints including a walk to Garganta del Diablo (Throat of the Devil) where several species of swallows will keep us company as we find ourselves surrounded by rushing torrents of water. Nights in Iguazú. Day 9: After a final morning at Iguazú, we’ll catch an afternoon flight back to Buenos Aires, where we’ll connect with an overnight flight to London, where the tour concludes on Day 10. E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated June 2008 |
Photos by Judy Davis and David Fisher. |
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