Are Guided Birding Holidays fun? (1 Viewer)

[jurek]

I somehow never seen such a birding tour as in your post, tehri... If I do, I will know I died and went into heaven for birders.

By the way, if, like most people, you are constrained with holiday time this automatically reduces the choice of tours available to about one or two. Or you begin to have vazaha dilemma: choose between two tours in completely opposite parts of the world.

 

[chowchilla]

Unfortunately, from what I’ve heard, if there are a couple of "Richardheads" on the tour it can certainly reduce the amount of fun available.

I've no idea what a Richardhead is. Could you explain this mysterious phenomenon please?

 

[Mike Crawley]

I've no idea what a Richardhead is. Could you explain this mysterious phenomenon please?

Richard = Dick
Head = Head

Trying too hard to be polite and avoid offending people ;-)

 

[chowchilla]

Richard = Dick
Head = Head

Trying too hard to be polite and avoid offending people ;-)

Of course! I'm sleep deprived as I'm a live in carer who doesn't get to have any sleep. That's my excuse anyway...


My experience of self-guided and organised trips is complicated.

First of all, I've done a number of independent trips over the years and typically had a wonderful time on them. The first organised tour I did was to Taiwan, where we cleaned up on endemics, except for the now split Taiwan Thrush. That was a great trip.

Other tours....? My tours to Thailand, Japan and Peru were spoiled in each case, by cantankerous elderly male American birders. I've met many delightful Americans over the years, but I'm getting kind of sick of elderly American men. Can any of yous please explain why so many of yous are so angry these days?

I've had one truly horrible guide - a Dutch guide on the middle leg of an Australian tour I did. Vile man, who was bagged by the much nicer Aussie guide we had for the final leg, which I thought was hilarious.

And for these reasons I'm reluctant to do any future tours. I think I'd sooner team up with one or two other birders and go back to independent birding, despite my advancing years. My eyesight is beginning to fail me and I don't drive, but I have good ears, so I'm not completely useless.

Speaking of ears, I used to do guiding of sorts in the Cairns region. A number of members of this forum have contacted me over the years to guide them around the area for the endemics and other specialities, with mostly positive results. I didn't charge any money, so the deal was, get me to the sites and I'll ID the birds calling in the forest for you. Worked pretty well I thought, and was a lot of fun.

 

[Jon Turner]

Of course! I'm sleep deprived as I'm a live in carer who doesn't get to have any sleep. That's my excuse anyway...


My experience of self-guided and organised trips is complicated.

First of all, I've done a number of independent trips over the years and typically had a wonderful time on them. The first organised tour I did was to Taiwan, where we cleaned up on endemics, except for the now split Taiwan Thrush. That was a great trip.

Other tours....? My tours to Thailand, Japan and Peru were spoiled in each case, by cantankerous elderly male American birders. I've met many delightful Americans over the years, but I'm getting kind of sick of elderly American men. Can any of yous please explain why so many of yous are so angry these days?

I've had one truly horrible guide - a Dutch guide on the middle leg of an Australian tour I did. Vile man, who was bagged by the much nicer Aussie guide we had for the final leg, which I thought was hilarious.

And for these reasons I'm reluctant to do any future tours. I think I'd sooner team up with one or two other birders and go back to independent birding, despite my advancing years. My eyesight is beginning to fail me and I don't drive, but I have good ears, so I'm not completely useless.

Speaking of ears, I used to do guiding of sorts in the Cairns region. A number of members of this forum have contacted me over the years to guide them around the area for the endemics and other specialities, with mostly positive results. I didn't charge any money, so the deal was, get me to the sites and I'll ID the birds calling in the forest for you. Worked pretty well I thought, and was a lot of fun.

It sure was...