After a really successful Batwatch Nicaragua – 40 species, 2 new records – I am now offering Batwatch Big Bend with co-leader Dr. Loren Ammerman. Go to Tours for more details.
For a report on this great trip go to Batwatch Big Bend
All posts by Fiona
Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, & Argentina/Chile
Costa Rica – Feb 11-25, 2012
A new tour, similar to 2011 but with an extra night and a trip to the remote Osa Peninsula, home of the wilderness species of the region. Ever popular, this trip takes you to my favorite places in the country, based on over 25 tours I have led there!
We had a great trip with about 240 species of birds and 43 species of mammals seen!
Sri Lanka. Nov 28 to Dec 10, 2012
All-new tour! A safari in search of mammals, birds and more – see Leopards at Yala, Purple-faced Leaf Monkeys, Gray Slender Loris at Sigiriya, and Blue and Sperm Whales at Mirissa. See Tours for details.
This tour is sold out, contact me if you wish to be put on a waiting list.
Tour Report: Argentina and Chile. November 1- 16, 2010:
This was a truly fantastic trip! We has close encounters with so many animals, saw habitats from endlessly flat pampas to dramatic mountains, with windswept Patagonian coasts along the way.
For a full trip report with photos go to argentina-and-southern-chile-tour-report-illustrated pdf
Here are a few photos. The young whale came up right by our boat, then swam underneath us!
Southern Right Whale by Joanna Langdale
Commerson’s Dolphin by Regina Ribeiro
Torres del Paine
Thailand!
I went to Thailand in September, mostly because I wanted to see and draw from life the Bumblebee Bat (world’s smallest) and the Painted Bat (arguably world’s prettiest). Both of these bats I had already painted for the Golden Guide to Bats of the World, and I really don’t like to draw an animal I’ve never seen… so I set off with 6 Brits for a bat adventure, followed by a few days in two national parks with two of the same British group.
Tiny Bumblebee bat in hand. So small it was very hard to draw life size.
Thailand was great. An excellent place to visit for wildlife, bats, Buddhas and more. the scenery is awesome, the food good (though I have to say not quite as good as I expected!) and the bats are really impressive.
Last but not least, my Paint Bat painting:
Trinidad Trip Report
That’s me, squeezing through a small tunnel in the Tamana Hill Bat Cave. I was happy to get back out! We saw eight of about 11 bat species that live in the cave.
bats exit Tamana Hill cave
Fiona, squeezing through a small tunnel
Silky Anteater – fantastic!
One of many fabulous birds sighted was a Green Honeycreeper.
Special thanks to George Jett and Gwen Brewer (shown in the gallery) for letting me use their wonderful photos. I took the Silky Anteater image, they took the rest. Gwen has a Davy’s Naked-backed Bat flying over her head!
Having a Devil of a time in Tasmania
I just got back from a tour of Tasmania (January 25 to February 7). I led the trip with Mark Hanger from Naturequest New Zealand, and we took 10 enthusiastic participants. What a great country! We saw far more mammals than I expected, even though I had set out with high hopes. We even saw wild Tasmanian Devils!
This one is a captive, I must admit. The views we had of the 4 wild individuals the group as a whole saw were short and sweet.
We saw a lot of wallabies and their smaller relatives, pademelons, plus the wonderfully named Long-nosed Potoroo. Eastern Quolls were sighted at three different reserves, and we watched one out hunting at Cradle Mountain. Duck-billed Platypus, a ton of wombats, all the endemic birds, and an assortment of herps rounded out the trip.
One of my trip favorites was the Echidna (shown below) – and we saw a total of 12 individuals! You can get right up to them when they are feeding, shoving their narrow snout into the ground and spinning it like a jackhammer in search of ants. 
I’m planning to return to Tasmania with mammals uppermost on the agenda. Let me know if you are interested in coming along!
Happy Holidays!
My best wishes to all, Fiona