Raptours

RAPTOURS® L.L.C. runs guided raptor watching tours worldwide. These are to places that have special raptors and usually last six or seven days.

RAPTOURS® is now owned and operated by Sergio Seipke and was restarted as a revamped and expanded tour company at the suggestion, encouragement, and support of world raptor authority Bill Clark. Sergio started leading raptor tours in 2006 as a means to fund field research for his book project: Raptors of South America (Princeton University Press, in prep.), and decided to organize this activity in

to a formal business in 2012. RAPTOURS® often targets some of the most elusive, sought-after, and difficult-to-see species in the raptor world, as well as spectacular raptor concentrations, such as world-class migration bottlenecks. RAPTOURS® destinations, some current, some in the near future, include Argentina, Australia, Belize, Bolivia, Ecuador, Israel, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Nepal, Tanzania, Thailand, Panamá, PNG & the Solomon Islands, Paraguay, Perú, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sulawesi & Halmahera, and Venezuela. In addition to our international tours RAPTOURS® will continue to offer and expand on raptor tours in the USA as well. Examples are the Skagit Flats of Washington, The Snake River in Idaho, southeastern Arizona, the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, and Cape May, New Jersey. Group sizes at RAPTOURS® are smaller (usually 3-10) than those of most birding tours, guide-to-passenger ratio is usually 1:3 or better, we travel in 4-passenger vehicles whenever possible, share technical presentations and slide shows in the evenings, discuss field identification information (sometimes unpublished!) and raptor ecology and conservation as we watch the birds. We take pride in running intimate small tours at which people stop and watch the birds for long enough, and frequently enough, to actually learn something about them. RAPTOURS® also designs and runs custom raptor tours upon request. Contact us to discuss your group's goals and we'll put together a tour or expedition that will meet your needs. Visit http://raptoursllc.com to learn more about our coming raptor tours, or e-mail us at [email protected] to request information or to discuss your raptor-watching goals. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

02/28/2025

GREAT NEWS FROM PANAMA!!!

We recently had confirmation of an active Crested Eagle nest in the Darien, eastern Panama. One of the adults is a dark morph—this is the rarest plumage of the rarest Neotropical eagle.

We will visit this Crested Eagle nest in April on the Harpy Eagle Extension of our Panama Birds & Coral Reefs Tour. We will also visit an active Harpy Eagle nest, and a breeding site of Plumbeous Hawk.

The Crested Eagle is the rarest Neotropical eagle. This bird is so rare that for every 10 Harpy Eagle nests known to science, only one nest of Crested Eagle has been discovered.

I would like as many of you as possible to see this magnificent species in the wild with your own eyes. Therefore, now you can book the Harpy Eagle Extension without signing up for the Main Tour!

Registration deadline for the Birds and Coral Reefs of Panama Tour, 14-22 April 2025, and/or the Harpy (and Crested!) Eagle Extension, 22-27 April, is 15 March! Hurry up—limited places still available!

Don’t miss out on this once-in-a-life-time opportunity! And please share this exciting news with your birding friends.

DM for more info.

I look forward to enjoying this stunningly beautiful, rare raptor with you in Panama next April!

02/04/2025

Places still available on our Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Custom Tour to Panama to Watch Raptors and Other Birds, plus Snorkeling in the Caribbean Coral Reefs!

Join Sergio Seipke and Dr. Laurie Goodrich on this birding adventure to this raptor paradise and migration crossroads. Target 35+ species of raptors and 350+ species of birds including Harpy Eagle, and Resplendent Quetzal. 14—27 April 2025.

01/15/2025

We're going back in January 2026. Stay tuned...

Join Andre Botha and Luke Tiller on this 14-day bird-watching tour crafted to target 400+ species of birds including 55 species of raptors and Africa's BIG Five! Runs every January.

10/22/2024

Kruger National Park. Nuff said...

10/05/2024

Adult Savanna Hawk. Aguilucho Colorado, adulto.

10/01/2024

Wanna watch the fastest terrestrial animal in action? Join us in South Africa, 18-31 January 2025. Send a message for more details...

(Cheetah photo was taken in the Kalahari desert. Jan 2024)

09/24/2024

Extensive monocultures of Pinus spp. impact heavily on bird diversity along the subtropical belt in NE Argentina. Species richness fall drastically up to 90% depending on plantation extension and distance to neighboring remnants of native forest. One of the few raptor species that survive in this man-made biotope is the ecologically plastic, numerically succesfull, and taxonomically diverse Roadside Hawk. This species can be seen deep inside large swaths of Pinus spp. plantations, as long as there is some kind of forest border; e.g., ravines, roads, or clearings. This typical "magniplumis" adult was photographed in a Pinus plantation near the Parana-i river, in Misiones, Argentina.

09/19/2024

Springbok

The springbok or springbuck (Antidorcas marsupialis) is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus Antidorcas, this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1780.

A slender, long-legged antelope, the springbok reaches 71 to 86 cm (28 to 34 in) at the shoulder and weighs between 27 and 42 kg (60 and 93 lb). Both sexes have a pair of black, 35-to-50 cm (14-to-20 in) long horns that curve backwards. The springbok is characterized by a white face, a dark stripe running from the eyes to the mouth, a light-brown coat marked by a reddish-brown stripe that runs from the upper fore leg to the buttocks across the flanks like the Thomson's gazelle, and a white rump flap.

Active mainly at dawn and dusk, springbok form harems (mixed-sex herds). In earlier times, springbok of the Kalahari desert and Karoo migrated in large numbers across the countryside, a practice known as trekbokking.

A feature, peculiar but not unique, to the springbok is pronking, in which the springbok performs multiple leaps into the air, up to 2 m (6.6 ft) above the ground, in a stiff-legged posture, with the back bowed and the white flap lifted.

Primarily a browser, the springbok feeds on shrubs and succulents; this antelope can live without drinking water for years, meeting its requirements through eating succulent vegetation.

Breeding takes place year-round, and peaks in the rainy season, when forage is most abundant. A single calf is born after a five- to six-month-long pregnancy; weaning occurs at nearly six months of age, and the calf leaves its mother a few months later.

The springbok is one of the few antelope species considered to have an expanding population. They are popular game animals, and are valued for their meat and skin. The springbok is the national animal of South Africa.

I took this photo in the Kalahari dessert, last January on our South Africa Raptor Tour. Learn more about our January 2025 South Africa Raptor Tour using the link in the comments...

(Text adapted from Wikipedia)

09/18/2024

South Africa Raptor Tour, 18-31 Jan 2025

Join Andre Botha and Luke Tiller in this exciting birding and wildlife watching tour. Expect to see 300+ species of birds, including 50+ species of raptors, and the Big Five: lion, leopard, African elephant, buffalo and rhino!

https://www.raptoursllc.com/tours/south-africa-raptor-tour

09/12/2024

Dark Chanting-Goshawk (Melierax metabates) occurs in variety of broadleaved woodland and well-wooded savanna. In South Africa it is found mostly in the NE. The country is a great destination to watch and photograph raptors, in addition to the BIG FIVE: lion, leopard, African elephant, buffalo, and rhino.

09/11/2024

New tour Birds and Coral Reefs of Panama, a custom tour for Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, is filling up fast. Don’t miss out—sign up before it’s too late!

09/06/2024

Let me begin by saying that this is NOT a great pic, but a most interesting one...

Yes, you're right; this is an adult Gray-headed Kite, perched up in a tree almost right above the photographer. (Bad angle, bad light, bad foreground, no background!).

But, it shows something completely unexpected to me: see those black spots on the under tail coverts? Has anyone seen these in adult GHKs? I don't think I have...

This photo was taken a mere 50 m from Refugio Tingazú

09/03/2024

Rufous-thighed Kites arrive in NE Argentina in October. We can't wait to see them again!

En Octubre llegan los Milanos de Corbata (Harpagus diodon) al NE de Argentina... Los estamos esperando con todas las ganas!!!

07/30/2024

Wanna watch local and migratory raptors and hundreds of other bird species in Thailand, including Spoon-billed Sandpiper? Join us in October in this once-in-a-lifetime adventure!

Join Luke Tiller and Games Punjapa on this 14-day birding adventure to engimatic and bird-rich Thailand. Target 35+ species of raptors and 300+ species of birds including Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Nordmann's Greenshank. 21 October—3 November 2023.

12/05/2023

SENEGAL RAPTOR TOUR, 3-16 March 2024

ONLY 3 PLACES LEFT -- DON'T MISS OUT!!!

SING UP NOW. See link in comments...

Fifty-one species of diurnal raptors occur in Senegal, 47 of which are believed to migrate in at least part of their range. The Arid and Moist West African woodland and savannas that dominate the landscape provide suitable habitat to a host of bird species. This tour visits all the top birding locations in the country including Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, Kaolack, Kousmar Island, where we will wait for the multi-thousand bird flocks of Scissor-tailed Kite and Lesser Kestrel to settle for the night, Wassadou, an area of impressive raptor diversity, and the Niokolo-Koba National Park of 913,000 ha, where the raptor community of 26 resident and 12 migrant species remain “intact and in natural state”. We added a new destination: the Kedougou area, and the Dindefelo Natural Reserve, where we will target the handsome Fox Kestrel. This tour has been designed to target 40 species of diurnal birds of prey including three Critically Endangered vultures occurring in Senegal: Hooded Vulture, White-backed Vulture, and Rüppell’s Vulture.

12/04/2023

SENEGAL RAPTOR TOUR, 3-16 March 2024
A Western Africa Raptor Crossroads
Only 5 Places Left

CONFIRMED DEPARTURE !!!

Fifty-one species of diurnal raptors occur in Senegal, 47 of which are believed to migrate in at least part of their range. The Arid and Moist West African woodland and savannas that dominate the landscape provide suitable habitat to a host of bird species. This tour visits all the top birding locations in the country including Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, Kaolack, Kousmar Island, where we will wait for the multi-thousand bird flocks of Scissor-tailed Kite and Lesser Kestrel to settle for the night, Wassadou, an area of impressive raptor diversity, and the Niokolo-Koba National Park of 913,000 ha, where the raptor community of 26 resident and 12 migrant species remain “intact and in natural state”. We added a new destination: the Kedougou area, and the Dindefelo Natural Reserve, where we will target the handsome Fox Kestrel. This tour has been designed to target 40 species of diurnal birds of prey including three Critically Endangered vultures occurring in Senegal: Hooded Vulture, White-backed Vulture, and Rüppell’s Vulture.

11/19/2023

Our Senegal Raptor Tour, 3-16 March 2024 is a solid GO! Check it out …

https://www.raptoursllc.com/tours/senegal-raptor-tour

11/11/2023

To all veterans: thank you for your service!

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Videos

Afternoon urban raptor fun! #globalhawkwatching with ZEISS Birding

First day of the Raptor Banding Extension near Mpungubwe NP with African Affinity #nottooshabby #globalhawkwatching