Bird Guides (1 Viewer)

[hookem2010]

I'm curious as to when those who do a lot of traveling utilize guides? It seems that for the tropics, guided birding is the default choice. But what about between temperate regions? Do you Europeans often hire guides if visiting the US? Or Americans traveling to Europe, do you generally hire a guide?
I haven't had the opportunity to travel a ton outside the country, and when I do, I can generally only afford to escape the family for a few hours at a time, so just wondering what those with the freedom to travel for birding specifically like to do.

 

[Jos Stratford]

I think this is down to individual choice rather than geographic location. I have birded in about 120 countries, tropical and temperate, and have virtually never utilised a guide (to the best of my memory, one day in Wakkerstroom being the exception, along with a trip for Snow Leopards where we had excellent spotters). I have absolutely nothing against guides, but simply enjoy birding the independent way. To this extent, I have avoided locations that have guides as a compulsory requirement for entry.

I know there are several other members on the forum that have similar views, but equally there are some that do a mix of guided and individual trips, I think no real differentiation based on whether tropical or temperate.

 

[Jos Stratford]

As for guides when visiting the US, I imagine the vast majority of birders from Europe do it totally independently - locations well known, logistics simple, no major hurdles such as language, etc

 

[Owene]

time and logistics are the deciders for me. I haven’t birded that much abroad but on family holidays doing a day with a guide can mean you get to see everything and have some company while also prioritising family. Also it makes a decent xmas present as apparently I’m hard to buy for

I’ve always combined it with birding myself from the hotel but we generally don’t want to be hiring and storing a car and a days guiding is often cheaper than the money and fuss of sorting a car on a package holiday.

If you’re travelling solo and birds are the priority you can probably do it yourself lots of places but I’m a teacher with a small child so holiday dates are limited and holiday time isn’t just birds

 

[foresttwitcher]

I used a local guide in Finland for a morning to target owls as I would have been very unlikely to find them myself but I get far more enjoyment out of finding my own birds independently (with information input from trip reports, ebird and other birders), even if inevitably I miss some target species.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

It really depends on what kind of birding I'm doing. If I have specific targets, then I'm more likely to hire a guide who knows where those targets are. If I'm on a "fun trip" and there's lots of info on where to go, then probably not. It also depends on ease of transportation.

For example, when I went to Scotland or Mexico's Yucatan, I drove myself and didn't hire a guide. However, in Tierra del Fuego I hired a guide (and it was well worth it).

 

[jurek]

It depends on individual preference. Generally, using guides is common in less developed countries when organizing whole independent travel is difficult. In most more developed countries with good infrastructure and good information, people travel themselves. In many parts of Europe and the USA, it would be difficult to even find a professional bird guide.