Dec 4 & 5 – Our visit to the ancient, walled, royal city of Fatehpur Sikri (above & below), 40 kms west of Agra, was pushed up a day in consideration of a pending visit from the President of France and his wife. Built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the late 16th century, the…

Nov 30-Dec 5 (cont.) –  The Rhesus Macaque’s had been wrecking havoc in the nursery area and it was frustrating for everyone that was looking for nightjars and owls. The tiger’s presence meant that areas where we could also look for them were out of bounds. Jag’s persistence finally paid off when he found a…

Nov 30 – Dec 5 – We spent the better part of the next 5 days in and around Keoladeo National Park. In the two weeks since I was last here the water levels in the jheels had dropped, not by a great deal but enough to see catfish squirming in the mud which made…

The Santa Hummer pictured above has been seen on every continent, but never more than once each year. Surprisingly, all annual reports of this species occur within a 24-hour period! Everyone at Wildside Nature Tours wishes youa very Merry Christmas!

Colin Campbell found Delaware’s 2nd record of a Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe this afternoon at Fox Point State Park in Wilmington. There have been less than twenty accepted records of Northern Wheatear between PA, NJ and DE, and most of these have been seen along the coast. This is one of only a handful of inland sightings.…

Sunrise in the Amazon Basin can be spectacular… sunrise with a Brazilian Tapir only adds to the brilliance! This is a wild Brazilian Tapir that became acclimated to humans during a stint at the Manu Wildlife Center (MWC). After one particular heavy rainfall, the flooded river was carrying much forest debris to uncertain destinations. Riding…

White-eyed Parakeet Today we drive east along the Manu Road for our final time. At the end of our road, in the Peruvian Amazon Basin, is the Madre de Dios River, a major tributary to the Amazon River. We had several great birding stops along the way… at one, when a motmot flew across the…

We last left off as another bus was coming up the mountain along the Manu Road. The single lane road has a steep face on one side and a multi-thousand foot drop-off on the other. So what do we do when we come face to face with another vehicle? So much more on Peru to…

Olive-backed Woodcreeper Another day along the Manu Road at mid elevation is always a welcome opportunity! Birding here can be spectacular and filled with many surprises. Feeding flocks of woodcreepers, tree-runners and flycatchers can offer a flurry of challenges. Orange-eared Tanager  When tanagers come through in a feeding flock, some of the colors can be…

Lancolated Monklet As we watched butterflies puddling in the road, I heard the faint, high-pitched tseeee of the Lancolated Monklet behind me. A brief scan of a nearby tree produced three of these beautiful little puffbirds.  Hauxwell’s Thrush Much more recognizable, the song of this Hauxwell’s Thrush drew us to another tree where we got…

Nov 27-28  –  Once again we split up into two Gypsy’s for our afternoon outing to Soorwal. This time we were not able to take the long approach into the back of Lake Soorwal as the dirt tracks were inundated with water. Nevertheless there was plenty of scenery, guava orchards, mustard fields and well wishers…

So many species of butterflies… and yet, few books to help with identification. Thanks to Janet Creamer’s help, this Leprieur’s Glory (Asterope leprieuri) has been identified!Interestingly, the web site that had the ID mentioned this species as being found from sea level to 1000 meters. This one was photographed at 1500 meters. Need help with some…