Maasai Giraffe, Defassa Waterbuck and Common ZebraI have just returned from an extended trip to East Africa, one of my favorite parts of the world. With two different groups, in eight weeks, I toured over 15 different national parks, reserves and important bird areas in Kenya and Northern Tanzania, seeing 735 birds species, 95 mammals,…

This Variable Antshrike was one of our first birds of our final morning of birding. It was a beautiful morning for a walk — which started with a 2-mile bus ride up the road toward Machu Picchu. A small park sits between the mountain and the river and the activity was wonderful! Feeding flocks moved…

No words are needed for viewing Machu Picchu… enjoy… photos © Kevin Loughlin

After our Morning flight to Cusco began the four hour drive to the town of Ollantaytambo, named for the ruins pictured above. The scenic drive through the Andes offered vistas of snow-capped mountains and volcanoes bordered by farm fields of potatoes and other veggies. Alpacas feeding in gardens were a common sight, as were llamas.…

Rain. Heavy Rain. Wind, too. Today we depart Manu, traveling down river to Laberinto and then by bus to Puerto Maldonado. Typically an eight hour journey. Usually when we think of the Amazon, we think hot and humid. Well, not when it is cold and rainy on the Madre de Dios River! The extra ponchos…

The Ocellated Turkey of Central America was a staple food in the diet of the Mayans and are difficult to find in some areas. However, here at the ruins of Tikal in Guatemala they are quite plentiful! (You can hear the howler monkeys in the background.) I hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey Day! Mine…

Off to a different canopy tower on day 10. This time on the Manu Wildlife Center property, a 20 minute hike from the cabanas. This tower had a metal spiral staircase to the branches of a ceiba tree that was about 30 feet lower than the previous tower. The platform was about level with the…

Whew, so much going on I finally have a short break in the mayhem to write a bit more of the Peru report! The afternoon of day 9 we hiked the Tapir trail. It was relatively quiet as rainforests go. However, we did quickly come across a small troop of Red Howlers who where not…

Jens Kruger, a true artist and master of the 5-string banjo, is also a wonderful teacher — probably due to his pure, down-to-Earth nature and a true love for what he does. Banjo workshop? So what does this have to do with birds, nature or photography? Well, other than the wonderful print of the Great…

As the sun set and the Sandhill Cranes flew overhead a small group of birders prepared for an evening at the Toledo Zoo. We piled into the BSBO Birders Bus and rambled the 30 minutes into the city. The Toledo Naturalists’ Association was holding their annual banquet, and this year they were honoring Kim Kaufman…

The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge offered their building to host the Third Annual Ohio Young Birders Conference. The room was large, but barely large enough to house the approximately 100 attendees! Doors opened at 8:30am for registration. Each attendee was given a ticket for the afternoon raffle, and there were also optional raffles offered for…

Eastern Screech Owl seen at Magee Marsh in May Got your attention? Okay, maybe I should have said ‘marshes’ as I am in Port Clinton, OH on the shores of Lake Erie. If you remember (or search the blog) I was here in May for the International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) celebration at Magee Marsh. This…