An ongoing blog of my birding trips, big and small (latest entries on top).
* Important Note* - the October 2024 Mexico trip was when I really learned how to use eBird properly, including editing my personal lists (separate from the group lists I have been a part of multiple times before) and how to add images. Because of the ease of tracking my lists and having an easier way to find images, I will be using eBird primarily from now on. This will change how I have been documenting my birding experiences in important ways:
1) I will update my eBird account by adding all my prior lists; this will allow me to track my species counts across various regions I have birded. I will no longer update my life and regional lists on my website on the "My Life Lists" page above, which has been a rather tedious endeavor
2) I will have all my images from this point onward attached to my eBird lists. I may upload them to this site too, if I have time, but will not need to make the extra effort to label them, as eBird makes it so easy
3) I may continue to add and label images to the pages I have created for specific groups of birds, such as hummers, raptors, owls, etc., as I am not sure eBird has the capability to look up all my hummer images, for example.
For those interested in looking up my eBird lists/images, you will need to log in and look me up by my username nchitale.
October 2024-
Did a 4 day birding trip with guide Miguel Aguilar (@birdnomad). He is a naturalist/guide from CDMX who leads tours all over Mexico and in some parts of Colombia.
The itinerary was designed to maximize variety of habitats. Although it required a lot of travel, we visited 4 states and all kinds of beautiful birding hotspots from Mexico City to the Veracruz coast. The weather was mostly good, the locales were amazing, and the birding was beautiful. For me, the trip yielded 208 species with 60+ lifers.
Very importantly, I also got to understand how to use eBird better, for keeping my lists and images. My next big project is going to be updating my life list on eBird, so it will be easier to track my total counts; to track lifers on every new trip; to quantify species totals for certain birds (eg hummers, owls, etc), and to have a quick to access, online, and free cloud service for all my images going forward. I still intend to keep my website updated, of course.
August 2024-
Another great birding trip with East West Birding Company (under the expert guidance of Ken Blankenship) to the famed Sky Islands in Southeastern Arizona. This truly is the hummingbird capital of the country in August, with a possible 14 of the total 18 or so US species available to enjoy. We saw 12 of them (brief looks only at the beautiful Berylline, but great looks and images of the other 11). In addition, there were lots of the typical Southwestern specialties, and our trip list for the group was a very robust 156 species! My personal list was about 150, with 45 lifers, including 8 hummingbird lifers.
No trip is complete without a good owl sighting, and we were luck to see the one with the smallest US distribution- the Whiskered Screech Owl! This was at dusk at the Santa Rita Lodge, and that evening was extra special, because within an hour of the owl sighting, we had also seen a Black-tailed Rattlesnake, a raccoon, a skunk and swarms of Mexican Long-tongued Bat at the hummingbird feeders!
A short extension to my trip included 3 days in Knoxville, TN, visiting old friends Amit and Pranav. I wasn't expecting to see any lifers there, but 3 hours of birding one morning yielded 42 species with 3 lifers! (Yellow-throated and Prairie Warblers, and Fish Crow)
June 2024-
We had a fantastic family trip to Panama, visiting Panama City, Boquete and Bocas del Toro over 2 weeks. I did some guided birding on the famous Pipeline Road outside Panama City (with guide Mario), at Boquete (with guide Jason) and on the mainland in Bocas (with guide Max). Had fantastic outings at each location with these excellent guides. Something I did not expect on a second trip to Panama- a 105 lifers! Unfortunately, I did not find some high value targets (Quetzal in Boquete, Snowy Cotinga in Bocas, King Vulture, any owl), but overall the birding was fantastic. Some birds I did not think about as targets before the trip, but when I saw them, I was blown away by their beauty, such as the Golden-browed Chlorophonia, the 3 new Manakins (Golden- and White-collared, and Red-capped), and many others. And seeing a second Toucan (Yellow-throated) was expected where I birded, but still a real treat.
May 2024-
A family of Great-horned Owls in Holly Park! 4 blocks from my house. Soon as I knew I went to check them out. Over several days, I saw the parents and 3 chicks (fluffy pale feathers but already fledged) on various cypress trees around the park. Got some delightful images too.
April 2024-
On a short trip to Denmark, I had the good fortune of having Birdinpals Henrik (Copenhagen) and Peter (Aarhus) show me around. I had a great day and half of birding on this trip which yielded a total of 19 lifers, which was more than expected. I think the highlight for me was seeing a White-tailed Eagle twice, and a Bearded Reedling, an absolutely beautiful bird (no good pics of either, unfortunately). On my next trip to Europe I hope to find the Tawny Owl (the commonest owl in Europe).
January 2024-
After a trip to Indore and Surat for family, I went to Thattekad in Kerala for a dedicated birding trip with dear friend and fellow birder Pranav. I had been wanting to do this since my last trip to Kerala, where Thattekad had to be cancelled due to illness. I couldn't wait to get back there, to see the many Western Ghat endemics, and just the beauty of Kerala in winter. Although quite short (2 and half days), the trip did not disappoint. We saw about 80 species, and I got a bunch of lifers, with the highlight being 3 owl species on a night of owling.
November 2023-
Did a wonderful trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley with guides Ken Blankenship and Allee Forsberg, and a great group of enthusiastic birders from Arizona, Washington, Ohio, and Florida. Over 4 days I saw 124 species with 26 lifers. Special finds included White-tailed and Gray Hawks, Altamira Oriole, Aplomado Falcon, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Ringed Kingfisher, Vermillion Flycatcher and the Greater Roadrunner, a bird I have never seen in 17 years of birding! Also had the pleasure of seeing a baby Western Diamondback and Eastern Indigo snake.
Great weather (for the most part), great locations, great company, and most importantly, great guiding, made this trip truly memorable.
May 2023-
Finally made it to Magee Marsh! 2 days in the middle of spring migration. It's a magical place, with birds everywhere. We saw a total of 73 species; 20 warblers (of a possible 26 or so spotted in those 2 days) including the elusive Mourning and Canada Warblers! Other cool finds were an Eastern Screech-Owl, Eastern Whip-poor-will and American Woodcock. A Bald Eagle nest in the middle of the marsh had 3 chicks and the 2 adults hanging around. Lots of people from all over the US.
Definitely will consider going again some day.
February 2023-
Long awaited trip to Panama! With my daughter and a couple of friends. 3 days in the City, then 5 days in the rain forest (Canopy Lodge). The trip was fantastic, with a total of 182 species/139 lifers! Not to mention the great food and lovely people.
Highlights included 4 Owls (Spectacled, Mottled, Tropical Screech and Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl), some cool raptors (the magnificent White Hawk), lots of local specialties including all 3 Ani species , 4 of 5 Motmots, over a dozen Hummers, and tons of Tanagers. The ones that were most difficult to get were of special value, such as the Streak-breasted Antpitta and the Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo.
I highly recommend the Canopy Family for their tours, lodges and guides. We had Tino and Danilo, who were both fantastic.
It was so much fun that we have started planning our next Panama trip already.
January 2023-
Made a short trip to India for work, and managed to get in some birding too. This was followed by a 2 day trip to Turin, where I birded along the banks of the river Po. Picked up a couple of lifers!
October 2022-
Did my first pelagic birding trip after 4 years with Jet and Casey. Having seen most of the expected species over my last 2 trips, I was hoping for at least a couple of lifers, and was not disappointed! 2 new petrels and murrelets! A small disappointment was having no sun the whole day, limiting photographic opportunities. And surprisingly only a few whales. Still, fun as always. Images posted under Pelagics.
September 2022-
After a long hiatus from birding, I decided to check out birds in Paris, where we were heading for my birthday (people don't go to Paris for the birds, but why not look for something new?). It was casual birding in some Parisian parks (Bois de Boulogne, Jardin du Luxembourg) and along the Seine. To my delight, I did get some lifers, but not the greatest shots (wasn't carrying my big lens).
From Paris I went to Maui for a shorter trip, where I did do some serious birding with friends Jet and Casey. The focus was of course the endemic honey creepers, but I was happy to pick up some other lifers too.
April- May, 2022-
Joined my dear friend Amit and his family for a memorable trip to Everest Base Camp, Nepal. Before the trek, I did 2 days of birding in the Kathmandu Valley, where I saw over 80 species, including the only Nepali endemic, the Spiny Babbler. On the trek (unfortunately without my camera for the most part) I saw some magnificent species, including the Himalayan Monal (Nepal's national bird) and perhaps 3 (2 for sure) species of vultures. Also saw some new mammals including the Tahr, Pika, Muntjac (barking deer), Golden Jackal, Yak, etc. Would have loved to see the Musk Deer and Spotted Leopard, but those are pretty rare.
This trip was very productive in terms of lifers, netting me a total of 80!
My birding guide in Kathmandu, Tek Magar, was outstanding, and someone I highly recommend, even if a half day is all one has there. He has a thorough knowledge of the local avifauna and can ID all birds by ear.
December, 2021-
I drove 160 miles to get my first look at a Long-eared Owl (2 trips the same day to CHRP in Fremont). Got lovely looks in the setting sunlight.
September, 2021-
I had my first sighting of a Black-throated Blue Warbler in the Botanical Gardens, GGP.
August, 2021-
Went to Half Moon Bay 3 times to see Barn Owls hunting in the Wavecrest preserve. Got lovely looks but not great images as they came out in the late evenings and disappeared soon after dawn.
May 29, 2021-
Our first trip to Hawaii. Spent a week on Big Island. Saw a few lifers right outside our room at the resort in Kona, but the most exciting part of the trip was seeing almost all of the island endemic forest species with local guide/biologist/comedian Jack Jeffrey, whose knowledge of local birds, plants and history is encyclopedic. Images under the new page Hawaii, Big Island.
February 7, 2021-
Saw a Northern Red Bishop in the community garden in Fort Mason (introduced species), a lifer. Had seen it's Southern cousin in Kenya 2 years ago. Also got great looks at Red-breasted Sapsucker and a Nashville Warbler.
January 31, 2021-
My first birding outing of the new year. Went to see a Mountain Bluebird spotted in Pacifica. Beautiful spot near the ocean called Mori Point, and I got a lifer!
September 26, 2020-
Birded the Tahoe Area with Will Richardson, PhD (director of the Tahoe Institute of Natural Sciences) who is very knowledgable about the local avifauna. Unfortunately it was a pretty quiet day (a combination of earlier-than-usual migration and the smoke from the recent fires), but I got a couple of lifers in the Cassin's Finch and the Red Crossbill. I did not get a good enough look at the latter to add it to my list, however (but it was fun hearing it and chasing it for a while).
September 20, 2020-
Golden Gate Park has been a warbler paradise lately! About 12 species of warblers reported in the last 2 days. I was lucky to see 6 on this visit including the MacGillivray's, which is a lifer.
September 18, 2020-
Birded Bodega Bay with local birding guide Daniel Edelstein. It was foggier than usual and we didn't see as many species as we would have liked, but it was still a lot of fun. And I got my life list to over 1000 with the addition of the Calliope Hummingbird and the Pacific Wren!
August 6, 2020-
I got word on an online neighborhood group that a Northern Saw-whet Owl had been spotted north of Bernal Hill (as was a Barn owl 2 nights ago in someone's back yard). I had never seen a NSWO. I went over to the reported location early morning, and there it was- a juvenile sleeping in the tree. After having had my fill of observing it and taking pics, I took my kids to enjoy this rare sight. The images are under NorCal-3 and under Owls.
* Important Note* - the October 2024 Mexico trip was when I really learned how to use eBird properly, including editing my personal lists (separate from the group lists I have been a part of multiple times before) and how to add images. Because of the ease of tracking my lists and having an easier way to find images, I will be using eBird primarily from now on. This will change how I have been documenting my birding experiences in important ways:
1) I will update my eBird account by adding all my prior lists; this will allow me to track my species counts across various regions I have birded. I will no longer update my life and regional lists on my website on the "My Life Lists" page above, which has been a rather tedious endeavor
2) I will have all my images from this point onward attached to my eBird lists. I may upload them to this site too, if I have time, but will not need to make the extra effort to label them, as eBird makes it so easy
3) I may continue to add and label images to the pages I have created for specific groups of birds, such as hummers, raptors, owls, etc., as I am not sure eBird has the capability to look up all my hummer images, for example.
For those interested in looking up my eBird lists/images, you will need to log in and look me up by my username nchitale.
October 2024-
Did a 4 day birding trip with guide Miguel Aguilar (@birdnomad). He is a naturalist/guide from CDMX who leads tours all over Mexico and in some parts of Colombia.
The itinerary was designed to maximize variety of habitats. Although it required a lot of travel, we visited 4 states and all kinds of beautiful birding hotspots from Mexico City to the Veracruz coast. The weather was mostly good, the locales were amazing, and the birding was beautiful. For me, the trip yielded 208 species with 60+ lifers.
Very importantly, I also got to understand how to use eBird better, for keeping my lists and images. My next big project is going to be updating my life list on eBird, so it will be easier to track my total counts; to track lifers on every new trip; to quantify species totals for certain birds (eg hummers, owls, etc), and to have a quick to access, online, and free cloud service for all my images going forward. I still intend to keep my website updated, of course.
August 2024-
Another great birding trip with East West Birding Company (under the expert guidance of Ken Blankenship) to the famed Sky Islands in Southeastern Arizona. This truly is the hummingbird capital of the country in August, with a possible 14 of the total 18 or so US species available to enjoy. We saw 12 of them (brief looks only at the beautiful Berylline, but great looks and images of the other 11). In addition, there were lots of the typical Southwestern specialties, and our trip list for the group was a very robust 156 species! My personal list was about 150, with 45 lifers, including 8 hummingbird lifers.
No trip is complete without a good owl sighting, and we were luck to see the one with the smallest US distribution- the Whiskered Screech Owl! This was at dusk at the Santa Rita Lodge, and that evening was extra special, because within an hour of the owl sighting, we had also seen a Black-tailed Rattlesnake, a raccoon, a skunk and swarms of Mexican Long-tongued Bat at the hummingbird feeders!
A short extension to my trip included 3 days in Knoxville, TN, visiting old friends Amit and Pranav. I wasn't expecting to see any lifers there, but 3 hours of birding one morning yielded 42 species with 3 lifers! (Yellow-throated and Prairie Warblers, and Fish Crow)
June 2024-
We had a fantastic family trip to Panama, visiting Panama City, Boquete and Bocas del Toro over 2 weeks. I did some guided birding on the famous Pipeline Road outside Panama City (with guide Mario), at Boquete (with guide Jason) and on the mainland in Bocas (with guide Max). Had fantastic outings at each location with these excellent guides. Something I did not expect on a second trip to Panama- a 105 lifers! Unfortunately, I did not find some high value targets (Quetzal in Boquete, Snowy Cotinga in Bocas, King Vulture, any owl), but overall the birding was fantastic. Some birds I did not think about as targets before the trip, but when I saw them, I was blown away by their beauty, such as the Golden-browed Chlorophonia, the 3 new Manakins (Golden- and White-collared, and Red-capped), and many others. And seeing a second Toucan (Yellow-throated) was expected where I birded, but still a real treat.
May 2024-
A family of Great-horned Owls in Holly Park! 4 blocks from my house. Soon as I knew I went to check them out. Over several days, I saw the parents and 3 chicks (fluffy pale feathers but already fledged) on various cypress trees around the park. Got some delightful images too.
April 2024-
On a short trip to Denmark, I had the good fortune of having Birdinpals Henrik (Copenhagen) and Peter (Aarhus) show me around. I had a great day and half of birding on this trip which yielded a total of 19 lifers, which was more than expected. I think the highlight for me was seeing a White-tailed Eagle twice, and a Bearded Reedling, an absolutely beautiful bird (no good pics of either, unfortunately). On my next trip to Europe I hope to find the Tawny Owl (the commonest owl in Europe).
January 2024-
After a trip to Indore and Surat for family, I went to Thattekad in Kerala for a dedicated birding trip with dear friend and fellow birder Pranav. I had been wanting to do this since my last trip to Kerala, where Thattekad had to be cancelled due to illness. I couldn't wait to get back there, to see the many Western Ghat endemics, and just the beauty of Kerala in winter. Although quite short (2 and half days), the trip did not disappoint. We saw about 80 species, and I got a bunch of lifers, with the highlight being 3 owl species on a night of owling.
November 2023-
Did a wonderful trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley with guides Ken Blankenship and Allee Forsberg, and a great group of enthusiastic birders from Arizona, Washington, Ohio, and Florida. Over 4 days I saw 124 species with 26 lifers. Special finds included White-tailed and Gray Hawks, Altamira Oriole, Aplomado Falcon, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Ringed Kingfisher, Vermillion Flycatcher and the Greater Roadrunner, a bird I have never seen in 17 years of birding! Also had the pleasure of seeing a baby Western Diamondback and Eastern Indigo snake.
Great weather (for the most part), great locations, great company, and most importantly, great guiding, made this trip truly memorable.
May 2023-
Finally made it to Magee Marsh! 2 days in the middle of spring migration. It's a magical place, with birds everywhere. We saw a total of 73 species; 20 warblers (of a possible 26 or so spotted in those 2 days) including the elusive Mourning and Canada Warblers! Other cool finds were an Eastern Screech-Owl, Eastern Whip-poor-will and American Woodcock. A Bald Eagle nest in the middle of the marsh had 3 chicks and the 2 adults hanging around. Lots of people from all over the US.
Definitely will consider going again some day.
February 2023-
Long awaited trip to Panama! With my daughter and a couple of friends. 3 days in the City, then 5 days in the rain forest (Canopy Lodge). The trip was fantastic, with a total of 182 species/139 lifers! Not to mention the great food and lovely people.
Highlights included 4 Owls (Spectacled, Mottled, Tropical Screech and Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl), some cool raptors (the magnificent White Hawk), lots of local specialties including all 3 Ani species , 4 of 5 Motmots, over a dozen Hummers, and tons of Tanagers. The ones that were most difficult to get were of special value, such as the Streak-breasted Antpitta and the Rufous-vented Ground-Cuckoo.
I highly recommend the Canopy Family for their tours, lodges and guides. We had Tino and Danilo, who were both fantastic.
It was so much fun that we have started planning our next Panama trip already.
January 2023-
Made a short trip to India for work, and managed to get in some birding too. This was followed by a 2 day trip to Turin, where I birded along the banks of the river Po. Picked up a couple of lifers!
October 2022-
Did my first pelagic birding trip after 4 years with Jet and Casey. Having seen most of the expected species over my last 2 trips, I was hoping for at least a couple of lifers, and was not disappointed! 2 new petrels and murrelets! A small disappointment was having no sun the whole day, limiting photographic opportunities. And surprisingly only a few whales. Still, fun as always. Images posted under Pelagics.
September 2022-
After a long hiatus from birding, I decided to check out birds in Paris, where we were heading for my birthday (people don't go to Paris for the birds, but why not look for something new?). It was casual birding in some Parisian parks (Bois de Boulogne, Jardin du Luxembourg) and along the Seine. To my delight, I did get some lifers, but not the greatest shots (wasn't carrying my big lens).
From Paris I went to Maui for a shorter trip, where I did do some serious birding with friends Jet and Casey. The focus was of course the endemic honey creepers, but I was happy to pick up some other lifers too.
April- May, 2022-
Joined my dear friend Amit and his family for a memorable trip to Everest Base Camp, Nepal. Before the trek, I did 2 days of birding in the Kathmandu Valley, where I saw over 80 species, including the only Nepali endemic, the Spiny Babbler. On the trek (unfortunately without my camera for the most part) I saw some magnificent species, including the Himalayan Monal (Nepal's national bird) and perhaps 3 (2 for sure) species of vultures. Also saw some new mammals including the Tahr, Pika, Muntjac (barking deer), Golden Jackal, Yak, etc. Would have loved to see the Musk Deer and Spotted Leopard, but those are pretty rare.
This trip was very productive in terms of lifers, netting me a total of 80!
My birding guide in Kathmandu, Tek Magar, was outstanding, and someone I highly recommend, even if a half day is all one has there. He has a thorough knowledge of the local avifauna and can ID all birds by ear.
December, 2021-
I drove 160 miles to get my first look at a Long-eared Owl (2 trips the same day to CHRP in Fremont). Got lovely looks in the setting sunlight.
September, 2021-
I had my first sighting of a Black-throated Blue Warbler in the Botanical Gardens, GGP.
August, 2021-
Went to Half Moon Bay 3 times to see Barn Owls hunting in the Wavecrest preserve. Got lovely looks but not great images as they came out in the late evenings and disappeared soon after dawn.
May 29, 2021-
Our first trip to Hawaii. Spent a week on Big Island. Saw a few lifers right outside our room at the resort in Kona, but the most exciting part of the trip was seeing almost all of the island endemic forest species with local guide/biologist/comedian Jack Jeffrey, whose knowledge of local birds, plants and history is encyclopedic. Images under the new page Hawaii, Big Island.
February 7, 2021-
Saw a Northern Red Bishop in the community garden in Fort Mason (introduced species), a lifer. Had seen it's Southern cousin in Kenya 2 years ago. Also got great looks at Red-breasted Sapsucker and a Nashville Warbler.
January 31, 2021-
My first birding outing of the new year. Went to see a Mountain Bluebird spotted in Pacifica. Beautiful spot near the ocean called Mori Point, and I got a lifer!
September 26, 2020-
Birded the Tahoe Area with Will Richardson, PhD (director of the Tahoe Institute of Natural Sciences) who is very knowledgable about the local avifauna. Unfortunately it was a pretty quiet day (a combination of earlier-than-usual migration and the smoke from the recent fires), but I got a couple of lifers in the Cassin's Finch and the Red Crossbill. I did not get a good enough look at the latter to add it to my list, however (but it was fun hearing it and chasing it for a while).
September 20, 2020-
Golden Gate Park has been a warbler paradise lately! About 12 species of warblers reported in the last 2 days. I was lucky to see 6 on this visit including the MacGillivray's, which is a lifer.
September 18, 2020-
Birded Bodega Bay with local birding guide Daniel Edelstein. It was foggier than usual and we didn't see as many species as we would have liked, but it was still a lot of fun. And I got my life list to over 1000 with the addition of the Calliope Hummingbird and the Pacific Wren!
August 6, 2020-
I got word on an online neighborhood group that a Northern Saw-whet Owl had been spotted north of Bernal Hill (as was a Barn owl 2 nights ago in someone's back yard). I had never seen a NSWO. I went over to the reported location early morning, and there it was- a juvenile sleeping in the tree. After having had my fill of observing it and taking pics, I took my kids to enjoy this rare sight. The images are under NorCal-3 and under Owls.