any Birders out there???

We are birders and struggle to leave the scope at home when cruising. It is like our 5th leg. That said, we tend to cruise or land tour to places alive with birds. In fact we struggle between a birding trip with birding groups or cruising...but we always enjoy cruising so we each bring our binoculars all the time. Alaska and Norway cruisies had some good birding opportunities. Cruising Iceland was the best birding experience. We went with Iceland Pro-cruises, which is an expedition cruise ship with a max of 199 passengers. No glitzy shows at night, instead the entertainment was talks on birding and geology with some songsters from the crew displaying some amazing vocal talent.

We are heading back to Alaska in 2019, 3 weeks on the Maasdam, and many ports we have not yet visited. No scope, most likely. A bit too cumbersome to travel with, but you can bet we will have the binos and field guides, especially my Merlin App.

We are birders and struggle to leave the scope at home when cruising. It is like our 5th leg. That said, we tend to cruise or land tour to places alive with birds. In fact we struggle between a birding trip with birding groups or cruising...but we always enjoy cruising so we each bring our binoculars all the time. Alaska and Norway cruisies had some good birding opportunities. Cruising Iceland was the best birding experience. We went with Iceland Pro-cruises, which is an expedition cruise ship with a max of 199 passengers. No glitzy shows at night, instead the entertainment was talks on birding and geology with some songsters from the crew displaying some amazing vocal talent.

 

We are heading back to Alaska in 2019, 3 weeks on the Maasdam, and many ports we have not yet visited. No scope, most likely. A bit too cumbersome to travel with, but you can bet we will have the binos and field guides, especially my Merlin App.

Hi There! Thanks for your comment. We do much the same. We find success birding on our own, but we have a plan to align ourselves with some birding experts here and there on this trip so see some species that we just haven't been able to see on our own. Thanks for all the tips, pics and comments everyone. Please keep them coming!!

Bald eagle - Ketchikan

Juvenile bald eagle (no white feathers on head) (Ketchikan)

I love seeing everyone's photos, thanks for posting.

Not quite a "cruise," but I took these while on a boat tour along the Snake River in Wyoming.

Bald eagle:

Juvenile bald eagle:

(photos by turtles06)

Bald eagle - Ketchikan

 

 

Juvenile bald eagle (no white feathers on head) (Ketchikan)

good shots. thanks so much for sharing!!

I love seeing everyone's photos, thanks for posting.

 

Not quite a "cruise," but I took these while on a boat tour along the Snake River in Wyoming.

 

Bald eagle:

 

 

Juvenile bald eagle:

 

(photos by turtles06)

thanks for sharing. i would love to see the Snake River in Wyoming! How amazing that must have been!

Ptarmigan (Alaska's State Bird?) - Denali

Ptarmigan (Alaska's State Bird?) - Denali

 

 

yes, the willow ptarmigan is the state bird of Alaska, i love state bird facts. I live in the state of California Quail. What is yours? .... this bird is difficult to see. they are so camouflaged. nice shot.

I said in an earlier post on this thread that I wasn't a birder, but I do enjoying seeing birds and photographing them when I have the opportunity. I was just looking for some other photos from our Panama Canal cruise last year, and came across the following images; I do seem to have a lot of photographs of birds taken during our cruises and other travels. So, can I call myself a casual birder? :D

Scarlet macaw in the wild in Costa Rica (high in a tree, spotted by our tour guide; was a thrill for us to see this):

Motmot (according to our guide), also in Costa Rica (taken from a moving boat on the Tarcoles River)

I think these are black-necked stilts, also Costa Rica (also taken from a moving boat on the Tarcoles River)

(photos by turtles06)

I couldn't edit my post immediately above, but I think I have come up with a phrase to describe myself: an opportunity birder! And if it fits you as well, feel free to use it! :D

Thank you every one for sharing your pictures. I find birds are really beautifuland fun to watch.

I said in an earlier post on this thread that I wasn't a birder, but I do enjoying seeing birds and photographing them when I have the opportunity. I was just looking for some other photos from our Panama Canal cruise last year, and came across the following images; I do seem to have a lot of photographs of birds taken during our cruises and other travels. So, can I call myself a casual birder? :D

 

Scarlet macaw in the wild in Costa Rica (high in a tree, spotted by our tour guide; was a thrill for us to see this):

 

 

Motmot (according to our guide), also in Costa Rica (taken from a moving boat on the Tarcoles River)

 

 

 

I think these are black-necked stilts, also Costa Rica (also taken from a moving boat on the Tarcoles River)

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

these pics are wonderful. i did see the scarlet macaw on our panama canal cruise, but my pics did not come close to yours... and is that the turquoise browed motmot?? jealous over that one. black necked stilts we have here but they always strike me as so elegant, like they are heading to dine in the MDR, all dressed up. thanks so much for sharing!!

I couldn't edit my post immediately above, but I think I have come up with a phrase to describe myself: an opportunity birder! And if it fits you as well, feel free to use it! :D

.. good one, and I bird at any opportunity, so we have a lot in common! :cool:

these pics are wonderful. i did see the scarlet macaw on our panama canal cruise, but my pics did not come close to yours... and is that the turquoise browed motmot?? jealous over that one. black necked stilts we have here but they always strike me as so elegant, like they are heading to dine in the MDR, all dressed up. thanks so much for sharing!!

Thanks for the kind words.

As for the type of motmot, remember, I'm not a birder. :D I had never even heard of a motmot! As our boat was sailing down the river the guide suddenly said, "there's a motmot bird up in that tree," and I had a few seconds to get a couple of images of a small bird that I could barely even see with my eyes. (Not to mention that the river was filled with crocodiles and I was trying to remember to be careful about where I put my arms.)

Looking at the wonderful Merlin Bird ID app that another poster mentioned in this thread (it's really great!), it does appear from my first photo above that it's a turquoise-browed motmot. I just went back to check my other photos of this bird; here's the only other one worth looking at. I think it tends to confirm that this was a turquoise-browed motmot. (Do you agree?) Thanks for suggesting the ID! It's very exciting to me.

(photo by turtles06)

Thanks for the kind words.

 

As for the type of motmot, remember, I'm not a birder. :D I had never even heard of a motmot! As our boat was sailing down the river the guide suddenly said, "there's a motmot bird up in that tree," and I had a few seconds to get a couple of images of a small bird that I could barely even see with my eyes. (Not to mention that the river was filled with crocodiles and I was trying to remember to be careful about where I put my arms.)

 

Looking at the wonderful Merlin Bird ID app that another poster mentioned in this thread (it's really great!), it does appear from my first photo above that it's a turquoise-browed motmot. I just went back to check my other photos of this bird; here's the only other one worth looking at. I think it tends to confirm that this was a turquoise-browed motmot. (Do you agree?) Thanks for suggesting the ID! It's very exciting to me.

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

oh of course, that is what a motmot looks like alright. even birders who have never seen a particular bird have a wish list of birds they want to see. this is one of them for me for sure. i have a lot of bird pics and sometimes when i do not have a lot of binocular time with a bird,i take pics to help me identify later. it helps certainly. i love seeing all these pics and am enjoying all the stories. thanks again for sharing yours....

What is yours?

My state bird (Victoria, Australia) is the Helmeted honeyeater, will post a photo when I find it

My state bird (Victoria, Australia) is the Helmeted honeyeater, will post a photo when I find it

I just had to look it up , it sounded like a honey of a bird. and wow, so pretty. now another bird on my wish list. thanks for your post. another reason for me to want to go to Australia!!

Australian natives from the local forest reserve (noisy buggers!)

From my recent trip to Hawaii

I just liked how they were all in a line...

From 2013 Sri Lankan trip (Yala National Park)

Couple more

Non-bird related but some may find this interesting. Q: How well can an elephant hide when it's really close to you? A: Very well :)

Couple more

 

 

 

 

well, i love the bee eaters.. you have lot of good pics here. i will have to try to figure them out for you, but the bee eaters caught my eye. your traveling nature sure has shown you some lovely birds. i have something to look forward to. thanks again. more later...

San Juan Puerto Rico birding excursion spot available: we have room for one more birder on this cruise to go on a day birding trip in san juan puerto rico... if anyone is interested. sorry, only one spot and we can split the fee three ways. if you are interested, please let me know. this includes pick up and drop off to the pier, unless something changes between now and our sailing 12/2/18 out of tampa...first responder gets a reservation... let me know :)

I'm a cruising birder but won't be on your ship. If you have the room I'd bring the scope. Unlike our California pelagic trips, you won't have the problem with rough seas! I was in Alaska recently and they had a "naturalist" on board with a scope, but his hours were strange and sporadic. So I sort of wish I had lugged the scope as I was having "black dot frustration" even with binoculars.

You might try Birding Pal for some meetups in your ports.. I did a Cape Horn cruise and thanks to cruise critic hooked up with another birder., who had already arranged some guides and one Birding Pal in Uruguay. And we were very lucky to have a lecturer who was very interested in pelagics and helped us with our IDs on the albatrosses and other tubenoses. We even found a storm petrel on board one early morning. We tossed it over, hopefully it survived!

So keep posting...you might get lucky.