Birdquest Evaluations (1 Viewer)

Steve Lister said:

In the past when I had the money I have been on a handful of Birdquest tours, along with several offered by other companies. Nowadays I can very rarely afford even the cheapest commercial birding trips.

Anyway, the problems described here arose because BQ did not adequately describe the daily routines in the information available to prospective clients before committing to a trip. Yes, most birders know that BQ is a 'hardcore' company but not all trips are so excessively demanding as this one. I went on the BQ 'Best of Costa Rica' way back in about 2004, not with this guide, and it was a very relaxed tour yet still very successful and enjoyable. Yet on my latest Costa Rica trip a few years ago we arrived at one lodge just after a BQ group had left and a Danish birder who had been there throughout the BQ time was keen to tell us how the group had been up and out way before light each morning - and that was early. They would not have had much sleep.

Steve

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Really?

In terms of the terrain they may vary but I'd expect that most tours offered by BQ or similar companies, will have very long days. As well as night birding for nocturnal species, many groups will actually get up pre dawn to look for them as well, making for very long days.

My wife and a few others, did Venezuela two years ago, it was privately organised with the emphasis on seeing the maximum number of birds. The days were very long but there was always the option of skipping the night birding (after dinner) which must be a choice on all tours for those wanting more sleep?

A

yeah...as someone who has, when bored, read through many tour reports from different companies, my impression was that Birdquest was always the super hardcore company. There are other companies which take a bit more relaxed to birding, especially Costa Rica.

That said...it's not necessarily always super obvious. I know that when/if I finally get to Costa Rica, Quetzals and Macaws are on the top of my list, and I would be truly angry if I didn't get a chance to get good lucks and photos of one, in exchange for drab flycatcher #45.

Big Blue,

So sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your trip to Costa Rica with Birdquest, and that it has put you off UK based birding companies.

Not all UK based birding companies (or birders) are as hard core as Birdquest, you could look at Naturetrek (http://www.naturetrek.co.uk/) for example who offer birding and more broadly based natural history trips, some that are slower paced ('at leisure') or stay in more up market accommodation. They are not at all 'hardcore' - a bit too relaxed for me, but birding appeals to all sorts and I wouldn't criticise anyone for enjoying it in a different way to me.

I have found that for me the best way to get the level of intensity/relaxation and focus on specific species I want is to hire my own (ideally locally based) guide, even if only for a few days on a longer trip. Of course this doesn't have the benefit of company and more pairs of eyes and ears, but that is a compromise I am happy with.

Happy birding, Paul

i read all this differently. as others have said, certainly the tour information and expectations should be far more better described. they are selling a service and although it is not the days of customer is assumed to be superior, it is also not correct that the customer is in error or inferior. i expect satisfaction from any purchase of goods or service and if my assumption is wrong in degree or any major particular, i expect a respectful and courteous examination of any difficulty toward resolution. this company seems to fail in both customer awareness and in mannerly or polite resolution. a good company response by a representative or management would have been at least to offer the explanations others have made for them here and certainly to offer if not any refund, apology or offer of an alternative future tour, even so far as to suggest a 'rival'. a good business does not need or thrive on turnover as much as it survives on reputation and resolution. this us not just courtesy, it is sound business. if i were a manager of that company i would apologise, offer discount on a more suitable tour if available and if not, would have spent 30 mins of polite explanation.

Late to this discussion, guess why, because I was on a Birdquest trip to Vietnam!

Whilst I’m sorry that Big Blue didn’t enjoy her trip to Costa Rica with Birdquest I feel that she should have researched what she was signing up for, ie analysing trip reports to get a better idea of the tour schedule or phoning the Birdquest office to discuss.

For many bird tour operators and most of the bird tour clients that I have met the priority on a tour is getting good or at least acceptable views of all the key species. This means all the species that can only be seen on this tour or on a restricted number of other tours. Thus skulky birds like tapaculos, antpittas etc take more time than showy ones like Quetzals and Macaws (although the time they actually are seen in your scope or bins may be the same).

In terms of scheduling birding after dinner and early morning then nightbirds by definition are mainly seen at night, but most owling trips are optional ie take place from the hotel/lodge and not on the way to them. Pre-dawn outings may not be optional unless you are prepared to miss the entire morning’s birding.

The leader’s responsibility is to try and get all participants to see all key species at least once wherever possible, and this in my experience is exactly what happens. I have been held back on occasions having seen the bird whilst the leader attempts to relocate the bird for others whilst on other occasions I have been the one who has missed the bird and end up delaying the group.

I have found that the majority of bird tour participants want to spend long hours in the field if this will increase the numbers and quality of the birds they see. Its hard work, but what’s the point of spending thousands of pounds and travelling all that way if you feel that you need to go back to plug those gaps. Birdquest has a very high repeat booking rate, between 1982 and 2018 I have been on 73 Birdquest tours and I am by no means top in the repeat bookings league.

On a few occasions I have booked with another company because Birdquest couldn’t take me to a specific location when I wanted to go. In most cases I regretted that decision and wished I had waited until Birdquest was able to take me.

Whilst I cannot comment on this individual leader (I don’t know who he is) I can say that I have found almost all bird tour leaders to be very helpful and willing to help. I was on the 2017 Ultimate Costa Rica trip and I had absolutely no complaints about the leader or the schedule.

Birdquest have shown their clients 95% of the world's birds and I've seen over 7500 species on their tours. This clearly takes time and effort which might not suit everyone.

Other tour companies (BirdTour Asia. Rockjumper and others) seem to adopt Birdquest’s philosophy but at least one British tour company, Ornitholidays, is known to take more relaxed approach. They may be better suited for Big Blue’s requirements.

Ian

(looking forwards to my next Birdquest adventure, three weeks of camping in Mongolia in May/June)

I always wondered, in the early morning just around dawn...
Birds start singing and I go out, but the restaurant of the lodge fills up with tour group participants having breakfast for the next hour... same around noon while Flocks are in full swing... they go back to the lodge, out of the forest, to have lunch and siësta...they pay for food, not for birds it seems.

But I do agree that guides should try to show empathy towards clients... some clients are really on the wrong tour, but a good guide can still try to make them feel good without compromising the ambitions of other participants...

temmie said:

I always wondered, in the early morning just around dawn...
Birds start singing and I go out, but the restaurant of the lodge fills up with tour group participants having breakfast for the next hour... same around noon while Flocks are in full swing... they go back to the lodge, out of the forest, to have lunch and siësta...they pay for food, not for birds it seems.

But I do agree that guides should try to show empathy towards clients... some clients are really on the wrong tour, but a good guide can still try to make them feel good without compromising the ambitions of other participants...

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How do you know that the tour group, hadn't returned for breakfast, having spent an hour looking for night birds which many do, pre dawn, not just at night?

Only ever been on a couple of pro tours and breakfast was laways, very, pre dawn and packed lunches were eaten, outside, wherever we found ourselves?

Midday flocks, I don't know where you've been birding Temmie, there are exceptions of course but it's accepted wisdom that it's a quiet spell in many places.

Brazilian Amazon was active throughout the day. And even one good bird per hour of dull afternoon birding makes for 5-6 additions a day...
About those groups having breakfast, I was having the pre dawn birding and breakfast...
The paradox: birding groups go to great lodges with great food and great beds, but birders don't makegood use of all of that if they are birding non-stop!

It's just amazing how there is an almost cult-like need to defend Birdquest as being completely incapable of any faults. If there's an unhappy client, it must have been the client's fault. (Their staff follow the same approach). 73 Birdquest Tours? My god, man , get a life! How much money have you spent on these tours? If birdwatching completely consumes you, you are obsessed and extreme and have no balance or perspective. And, oh, taking a wild guess, pretty good chance that your goal is to be able to say "I've been on more bird tours than you have" and "my list is longer than yours." I really don't care. If I ever get to be like that, someone please shoot me. I'm not in this to be able to brag. I'm in this because I enjoy watching birds and I appreciate birds. If a birdwatching tour can't deliver enjoyment and some quality time watching these beautiful winged creatures, then it's a waste of time and money. And after some reflection, I'm really not sure that there is any need whatsoever for a tour guide from England (or any foreign country) to be charging around Costa Rica (like a bull in a china shop) with no awareness of the people's cultural values, their sustainability, preservation and ecological ethos. I'm going back to what I was doing before, which was sooooooo much superior to Birdquest's approach - relying on the local naturalist guides who are out in those specific fields every day, who know them like the backs of their hands, and how they fit into their surroundings within the country in a myriad of ways. They bring "heart and soul" to their tours that Birdquest wouldn't recognize if it smacked them in the face.

Really curious how you defenders-of-Birdquest-at-all-costs explain how it's okay for a tour guide to go off and leave one of the tour participants alone in the middle of a forest in a foreign country thousands of miles from home? Doesn't it put the abandoned participant at risk? People get lost. People fall and get injured. People get bitten by snakes and scorpions. Wouldn't it always be safer to travel, at least, in pairs?

My desire since I started birding in my 20s is to see the world and see the birds (and other wildlife) of the world. Birdquest has enabled me to do that and for that I am grateful. As for getting a life, I'm very happy with the one I've got. Yes, I've spent a lot of money on the tours but I value the experience far more than the purchase a big house, an expensive car or other luxury items etc. I go birding every day whether at home or abroad but still manage to have a happy family life and time for other interests and pursuits, so I am not totally obsessed and extreme.

My goal isn't to amass more Birdquest tours than anyone else and I wasn't saying that to brag, but to say that in all the tours I have done I never come across the kinds of problems you describe, so either you were very unfortunate or you are seeing the experience of being on a tour from a very different perspective than mine.

I'm not saying that Birdquest are not capable of any faults, I've enjoyed some tours more than others and the company of some leaders more than others and I have been critical, both directly to the company and to other clients of certain aspects but there has never been any issues which has made me want to boycott them. I could have chosen other companies or tried to organise the trips on my own but I happened to chose Birdquest and from my perspective I chose wisely.

I cannot comment on your being left in the middle of a forest alone as I wasn't there, but I know that on tours I have been on steps are taken to ensure this doesn't happen, particularly after this very scenario once resulted in tragedy for an American tour company.

Again I fail to understand the 'no awareness of the people's cultural values, their sustainability, preservation and ecological ethos' as in Costa Rica foreign birdwatchers were welcome and seemed to be part of a very vibrant, sustainable tourist industry that enhances rather than detractes from the environment.

Please enjoy your locally guided trips they obviously suit you as more intensive bird filled trips suit me.

Ian

Big_Blue said:

Really curious how you defenders-of-Birdquest-at-all-costs explain how it's okay for a tour guide to go off and leave one of the tour participants alone in the middle of a forest in a foreign country thousands of miles from home? Doesn't it put the abandoned participant at risk? People get lost. People fall and get injured. People get bitten by snakes and scorpions. Wouldn't it always be safer to travel, at least, in pairs?

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Heard via the grapevine this was in the car park at Monteverde!! Hardly 'the middle of the forest'. You should,have had a cup of coffee, a piece of cake and watched the hummingbird feeders.

cheers, alan

We've of course been aware of this thread since Big-Blue (Ann) began it, but have refrained from commenting until now as most readers drew the logical conclusion. Unfortunately, as many have worked out, Ann booked on a tour that was not suitable for her, and seems determined to vilify us as a result. I believe it is fair to say that we provide adequate documentation on our website for potential clients to judge the nature of our tours. If one were to read the About Us section it gives a good indication of our objectives. If one were to read the write-up for the Best of Costa Rica tour it gives a clear idea of what we aim to achieve on the tour. And if one were to read some of the tour reports (here and here for example), one would get a good idea of what the tours have done in the past. On top of that, we have a dedicated team in the office who are able to help and advise on any aspect of our tours. The reverse is not true. We had no way of judging Ann's suitability to the tour in advance. We are always honest with people, and do not try to entice or accept bookings from clients who will not be suited to our tours. We have no interest in giving a client a holiday that they will not enjoy, and also do not wish to accept clients who will ultimately disrupt the tour for everyone else. Thankfully such instances are rare, and clients such as Ann only very occasionally slip through the net.

I would not have bothered to comment here except that Ann is persisting with a rather unfortunate claim that she was 'abandoned in the forest in a foreign country'. I would just like to put this matter in to context. Ann was unable to participate in a very gentle uphill walk as it was too physically demanding for her. With just one leader, we are then faced with two choices. Either abandon the walk, or find a safe passage back for the client. Now we are not talking about a remote location here. Ann was not far from the car park of the busy Monteverde Cloudforest Reserve as I understand it, and the leader waited for her and then gave her careful and precise instructions on how to walk back down to the adjacent hummingbird gallery, where he believed she would be able to enjoy herself. Ann then took it upon herself to return to the bus and wait there. I really do not think anyone was ever put in any kind of danger.

To put this whole episode in to context, the rest of the group had a great trip and we received some lovely feedback after the tour. Ann on the other hand referred to the leader as "Hitler", and her parting remark to the leader, when he wished her well and suggested that not everyone agreed with her that it was a 'nonsense tour' was a rather rude expletive which I will not repeat here.

I hope we can put this unfortunate episode to bed now. I do not intend to participate further in the debate as I do not wish to get in to an online argument with Ann, but I did think it fair to bring some of our perspective into the thread.

I wish Ann well on her future trips that she can tailor-make to her own requirements.

Pete

You should run for Parliament Pete, don't know how you do it, wish I could show such restraint!




A

lewis20126 said:

Heard via the grapevine this was in the car park at Monteverde!! Hardly 'the middle of the forest'. You should,have had a cup of coffee, a piece of cake and watched the hummingbird feeders.

cheers, alan

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You apparently heard WRONG via the grapevine (isn't that interesting). This was about at marker #5 or #6 of the Sendero Bosque Nuboso when the last member of the group just vanished. I was left entirely ALONE from there until I found my way back to the car park area, thank you very much for your concern. Didn't find any coffee or cake available out there. Didn't find any hummingbird feeders out there. 72-year-old lady wanders around a cloud forest alone!

raspberries!

And with that, I think I've had it with this discussion group! You people are enough to kill anyone's interest in birdwatching!

Big_Blue said:

72-year-old lady wanders around a cloud forest alone!

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My mum is 72 and still wandering around cloud forests and mountains on her own. One day I'll go and try and find her.

cheers, alan

lewis20126 said:

My mum is 72 and still wandering around cloud forests and mountains on her own. One day I'll go and try and find her.

cheers, alan

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Heard via the grapevine that she'd rather you didn't

Big_Blue said:

You apparently heard WRONG via the grapevine (isn't that interesting). This was about at marker #5 or #6 of the Sendero Bosque Nuboso when the last member of the group just vanished. I was left entirely ALONE from there until I found my way back to the car park area, thank you very much for your concern. Didn't find any coffee or cake available out there. Didn't find any hummingbird feeders out there. 72-year-old lady wanders around a cloud forest alone!

raspberries!

And with that, I think I've had it with this discussion group! You people are enough to kill anyone's interest in birdwatching!

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Seems to me like you didn't have that much interest to start with, you go on a birding tour and then spend all your time moaning about the time spent birding?

Not sure about the markers but Sendero Bosque Nuboso is only just over a mile long, they didn't leave you in the middle of the Amazon or the Andes.

It's annoyingly hard to remain on your own for more than about a minute on the main trails at Monteverde!

Sometimes a certain tour is just not for certain people (a mismatch). It's a good thing that people share opinions and that there is a balanced, 2-sided version of what happened. Most if not all here can decide for themselves what to conclude. I just find it a pity that the lady finds this not a welcoming place for her griefs, whether they make sense or not. I applaud transparancy, all kinds of opinions and open discussions on this forum.