Dear Gary,
My wife and I have birded intensively for the last 20 years and we have
hacked together trips on our own, with local guides, and used VENT and
Rockjumper. We've seen more birds with tour companies. For Africa, we've
had good luck with Rockjumper. For Central and South America we prefer
Vent. These are generalizations, of course. Read the descriptions
carefully. As to Asia, I would suggest Wings with Susan Myers. She is
Australian sometimes based in Seattle. We went to Borneo with her a few
years ago and ran into her in Japan a few weeks ago. She is great!
Good luck, Alan Roedell, Seattle

On Wed, Jan 31, 2018 at 7:59 PM, Gary Bletsch <garybletsch at yahoo.com> wrote:


> Dear Tweeters,

> This summer, I may well throw in the towel and go on my first organized

> birding tour, instead of cobbling together a trip on my own.

> The excellent "Fatbirder" website led me to a short list of major

> companies, several of which have tours on dates when I could go.

> I am a pretty gung-ho international birder, willing to go on fairly short

> sleep, willing to sleep in fairly simple accommodations--while not sinking

> to the wretched level of hovels unless absolutely necessary for a night or

> two. I typically pick a country to bird in, based on whether I have a

> goodly list of possible lifers there--so I might conceivably pick a tour on

> any of several continents.

> So, here's a list of companies I saw on Fatbirder: Field Guides; VENT;

> Birdquest; Rockjumper; Wings; Tropical Birding.

> Any feedback is welcome. For example--are any of these too laid-back for a

> serious lister? Do any have "red flags" I should know about? Are any of

> them overpriced, or poorly managed?

> There were a few other companies about which I had heard good things, but

> I have left them out, either because their websites let me down, or they

> had no tours during my time window. Perhaps I am neglecting a company that

> I should consider?

> Thanks for your consideration.

> Yours truly,

> Gary Bletsch

>

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>

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