Foreign Birding trips during the COVID 19 pandemic. List current situation for different destinations here! (2 Viewers)

[Birding Peru]

Even though most birders that I have been in contact with are waiting for the vaccine, some birders are still traveling. And while this may seem irresponsible to some, there is a lot of variations in different countries in active virus occurrence, as well as local COVID policies, so let us not shame those who are traveling and instead provide some information about the current situation for each place.

Questions needed to be answered include:

• What are the COVID policies in the country and how are they enforced?
• Is there a quarantine when you arrive? What other requirements on arrival?
• What restrictions are there in local travel?
• Are natural areas open and is the whole country open to travel?
  Are there any curfews?
• What are the tendencies in how COVID is spreading?

I'll go first to let you know the current situation in Peru. I just came back to Lima after 25 days of birding in Central Peru with Pete Shen (US) and Jules Eden (UK). All well there with some great birding.

PERU

• Since October the number of new cases has been going down and right now the number of active cases is decreasing. We are at levels as in mid-April.
• COVID policies are in place. You have to wear a mask at all times. All restaurants, stores, and shopping malls are open at reduced capacity. Cinemas, gyms, churches and sports events are still not open to the public. Your temperature is being measured almost everywhere you go, and there is enforced sterilizing hands as you enter any business.
• Flights to Peru are available from all American hubs at present, and from mid-December also direct from London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Madrid.
• You have to present a health declaration and a negative PCR test less taken max 72h before boarding the flights to Peru.
• You need a facemask and a face screen
• There is no quarantine
• Travel is unrestricted almost throughout the country.
• A few lodges have still not resumed, but most have opened or will do in January 2021. Practically all reserves are open again.
• There is a curfew between 00-04 (mainly enforced in the larger cities).

So all in all. Peru is a good destination to visit right now. Air travel and airport policies are very strict so traveling here seems not to be a risk factor.

For my own foreign travel within the next couple of months, I am watching Japan and Egypt.

Saludos

Gunnar

 

[Andy Adcock]

PERU

• You need a facemask and a face screen

Gunnar

This puts me right off, couldn't stand to have that on for a 10-12hr journey.

What about travelling in a vehicle, all wearing masks too? Again, this puts a damper on the entire trip for me and I won't be travelling until we can go 'mask free'.

 

[Birding Peru]

This puts me right off, couldn't stand to have that on for a 10-12hr journey.

What about travelling in a vehicle, all wearing masks too? Again, this puts a damper on the entire trip for me and I won't be travelling until we can go 'mask free'.

Technically, yes you are supposed to wear the mask at all times, but practically you have to put the mask down while birding, or the bins will fog up. Also, practically in the vehicle, you usually don't wear the mask over your nose when away from towns.

Also, during meals and drinks, you don't wear the mask, of course.

By wearing a surgeon's mask rather than an N-95 type makes it easier to breed.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Technically, yes you are supposed to wear the mask at all times, but practically you have to put the mask down while birding, or the bins will fog up. Also, practically in the vehicle, you usually don't wear the mask over your nose when away from towns.

Also, during meals and drinks, you don't wear the mask, of course.

By wearing a surgeon's mask rather than an N-95 type makes it easier to breed.

Are you sure you've got your mask on right Gunnar!

 

[WACCOE]

Booked for next November hopefully will have had the vaccine by then and we are back to normal.

 

[Richard Prior]

👏 👏 ooh you are awful Andy!
Seriously though, not covering your nose with the mask when travelling in a group in a minibus? Atishoo atishoo we all fall down........

 

[Birding Peru]

👏 👏 ooh you are awful Andy!
Seriously though, not covering your nose with the mask when travelling in a group in a minibus? Atishoo atishoo we all fall down........

I am just answering realistically what I have experienced during the 25 days in the field. One has to see the mini-van as a cell, where the important thing is to socially distance towards others outside of our party.

We have to assume that everyone in the van are not carrying the virus, otherwise they would not be in the same van. Both clients had a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to the trip. Temperature was taken every morning of clients and staff. Frequent use of gels and alcohol during the day.
Also, take into account that there are very few active cases in Peru, so there are not many vectors to be infected. The present situation in Peru is MUCH BETTER than in the UK.

Things can change fast, of course, so one has to be careful...

 

[Birding Peru]

Are you sure you've got your mask on right Gunnar!

All the time, Andy - except when birding and eating. It is impossible to bird or eat with the mask on correctly

 

[sicklebill]

Glad to see some sort of touring is feasible, here in Australia the international borders are still shut, though we have some hopes for travel bubbles with Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand and maybe Vietnam. Incoming travellers from overseas have to hotel quarantine for 2 weeks, though we have some hopes that a vaccine will make a difference in due course. Much depends on how the Americans deal with their disaster, and of course Europe and the UK are similar.

 

[Mysticete]

Spoiler alert: We Americans are dealing with it very poorly...

 

[Nutcracker]

Spoiler alert: We Americans are dealing with it very poorly...

So, too, is Britain. Seems to be a common feature of far-right populist dictators, they don't give a **** about the general public, particularly not the poor, they are dispensible.

 

[Lerxst]

We spent a week in Mexico in September (Yucatan area). There are no restrictions beyond being expected to wear the mask indoors. No quarantine period, no need for tests. We wore the mask while in the vehicle with the guides, and when indoors, but not otherwise. Kept our distance like everyone there was doing, were religious about hand-washing, etc. Restaurants and hotels have capacity restrictions. Everything went fine. Planes half full or less, airports like ghost towns.

In two weeks are are headed to Brazil for a month. Will report in mid January!

 

[Nutcracker]

Spoiler alert: We Americans are dealing with it very poorly...

And Florida worst of all, it seems. A doctor trying to investigate Covid spread independently against a background of a State-led official cover-up, gets arrested and dragged off at gunpoint in a gestapo-style dawn police raid. Not good. Very, very scary.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1336065787900145665

 

[Mono]

Can we at least keep this bird related!

 

[Birding Peru]

Booked for next November hopefully will have had the vaccine by then and we are back to normal.

Yes, can't imagine anything else. And everyone has learned a lot about hygiene when traveling. Wash your hands a lot has always been a good idea.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Booked for next November hopefully will have had the vaccine by then and we are back to normal.

The only issue would be, if airlines were restricting passengers, to those who could show an innoculation certificate, I wouldn't be surprised if some 'low risk' groups, are still waiting in a years time.

There has been some dissent in the UK at the possiblity that this could happen but what's the difference betwen Covid and say, Yellow fever, without a vaccination certificate for the latter, many countries won't let you in.

 

[opisska]

It's not as glamorous as Peru, but for a long time, Poland has been surprisingly open to travel from EU countries (sorry Brittish friends) - no checks, tests, quaraquarantine. This is particularly surprising considering it has been totally closed in the first wave (to the point of absurdity). Currently though, hotels are closed - we camp outside when going for more days, but I can see it's not for everyone in this temperature. There are also not many birds But if the attitude persist till spring, it may be pretty attractive to visit for some of you.

 

[Mysticete]

The only issue would be, if airlines were restricting passengers, to those who could show an innoculation certificate, I wouldn't be surprised if some 'low risk' groups, are still waiting in a years time.

There has been some dissent in the UK at the possiblity that this could happen but what's the difference betwen Covid and say, Yellow fever, without a vaccination certificate for the latter, many countries won't let you in.

Assuming vaccination plans go off without a hitch and in a years time everyone who wants one can have one, I am not going to be very sympathetic towards anti-vax people who can't board an airplane. In my country, something like as much as 40% of the population claim they will not take the vaccine if available.

Once I am vaccinated I am planning to return to my life as much as possible as soon as possible. I have no intention of putting my life on hold for idiots who deny the existence of COVID-19 or a science behind vaccines.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Assuming vaccination plans go off without a hitch and in a years time everyone who wants one can have one, I am not going to be very sympathetic towards anti-vax people who can't board an airplane. In my country, something like as much as 40% of the population claim they will not take the vaccine if available.

Once I am vaccinated I am planning to return to my life as much as possible as soon as possible. I have no intention of putting my life on hold for idiots who deny the existence of COVID-19 or a science behind vaccines.

Totally agree, their numbers have been growing here too over recent years and I'd personally go so far as to ban their kids from school unless they were immunised.

 

[Steve Babbs]

It doesn't seem likely there will be a certificate in the UK in the near future presumably because hospitals/doctors surgeries etc will have their plates rather full with everything else. This gives me even less sympathy with the anti-vax brigade than I had anyway - and that real was close to zero - putting everyone at risk and meaning countries won't just assume we'll all have been vaccinated.