Hillstar Nature

09/18/2024

One afternoon on our Brazil Safari in the Pantanal we enjoyed sightings of 5 species of including this

09/09/2024

“the spirit of the Brazilian commoner”, the is the national bird of Brazil. It’s a common bird but a gorgeous one none the less.

08/27/2024

Listen in to the latest with Hillstar leader Phil Chaon chatting with (both pictured here enjoying beers after tracking Chimpanzees) & the gang. Phil details his two books on habitats and his recent run-in with Komodo Dragons.

08/15/2024

Highlights from the recent Hillstar Pelagic included the Brown B***y and Leatherback sea turtle (largest living turtle) pictured here (photos by leader Jonathan Irons) but also Sooty Tern and several Scopoli’s shearwaters. In shore, we found over a thousand Wilson’s Storm petrels with over 300 red necked phalaropes. The marine life was a huge treat with three different s***m whale groups, 7 Chilean devil rays and 2 very close leatherback sea turtles. Perhaps rarest of all, although seen only just very briefly by a few people on board, was a dwarf s***m whale (Kogia sima).

Our last summer trip of the year leaves from Ocean City, MD Sept 8th more info on hillstarnature.com

07/23/2024

https://mailchi.mp/hillstarnature/july2024newsupdate Join us for a Chill Week in Panama, a birding paradise in Costa Rica, or snag a last spot in Colombia. Plus, 2 new pelagics.....

06/22/2024

One of the main reasons nature enthusiasts visit Utqiagvik is with the hope of glimpsing a Every year is different, and there is a big element of luck, so one never knows quite what to expect when it comes to seeing this remarkable and most sought-after animal. The largest living land carnivore, they feed mostly on seals & especially Ringed Seals. Often there are the remains of whales on shore here, and these carcasses attract bears. Foraging on whale remains is part of how some of these animals ended up looking rather dusty and dirty. We were lucky to see 7 in sight at once one day and altogether our group enjoyed 16 different sightings of this most remarkable and endangered animal. Roaming up to 15,000 miles over the course of one year, they can run a speed of about 25 miles an hour and sometimes can remain in the water swimming for a couple days or more. One of the ultimate animals in the world to see, we felt extremely lucky to have such good encounters this year on our “code share” Alaska tour with & guiding.

06/15/2024

Made it to Nome for quick visit & Aleutian Tern was among our first birds! Pic by

06/07/2024

Not rare at all, but a Pribilof Island special, it’s good to be amongst these birds. The form here is up to 50% larger than its mainland counterparts.

04/19/2024

George joins Amy Davis & Nate Swick of the American Birding Association for some birding hot takes.

https://www.aba.org/08-16-take-it-or-leave-it-seawatching-records-committees-and-owls/

On this week’s American Birding Podcast: Take it or Leave it – Seawatching, Records Committees, and Owls

Birders are full of strong opinions, some serious and some silly. In this new feature, we invite friends on to discuss the spiciest bird takes we can find to determine whether we Take it or Leave it. George Armistead and Amy Davis join host Nate Swick to talk about spark birds, seawatching, records committees, and whether we should share the locations of owls more frequently. Listen to the full episode here: https://www.aba.org/08-16-take-it-or-leave-it-seawatching-records-committees-and-owls/

04/18/2024

If you are considering our Montana Backroads: The Rockies tour with Josh Covill, get in while you still can. Registration for this trip in, during which we go for birds, like Pine Grosbeak, Black Swift, and (count’em) 4 species of chickadees, is soon to close. We really hope we will have you with us!

04/17/2024

Great interviewer & a great interviewee! Listen in while Edward Pullen & Joshua Wade Covill chat about their recent run down to Colombia on the fantastic podcast Bird Banter.

‎Show Bird Banter, Ep The Bird Banter Podcast #172 with Joshua Covill - Apr 15, 2024

04/17/2024

Time is short to join our tour with this July. Hit the link in our bio for latest news. Enjoy Cadillac Mountain, Acadia Nat. Park, & gorgeous coastal Maine scenery this summer. April 30th is the last day to register.

04/12/2024

is wrapping up in Texas right now but soon she’ll be headed back to Maine. Join her & Seth Benz for a wonderful short exploration of coastal Maine this July.

https://www.hillstarnature.com/maine-july-24

Just a couple weeks left to register for this wonderful trip for puffins, whales, Cadillac Mountain, lobster & other specials like this

04/08/2024

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Photo by Bart Hutchinson on the Texas: Eclipse Birding tour guided by &

A ton of work, anticipation & preparation has gone into this trip, and then we thought the weather was going to really put a blemish on it. But Mother Nature surprised us and smiled on our group in Evant, Texas with stunning views of the total eclipse of the sun today. Now we move on to look for birds!!

04/02/2024

A endemic, and so known only from Costa Rica & Panama, the Fiery-throated Hummingbird is a dapper inhabitant of humid montane forest, and is the only species in the genus Panterpe. took this pic on the recent tour to Costa Rica. Next years tour is already filling up. Hope you’ll join us!

04/01/2024

Join & Seth Benz 13-17 July for Maine: Acadia’s Iconic Birds, Whales & Scenic Views.

https://www.hillstarnature.com/maine-july-24

Short sweet visit to the coast of Maine for birds, wildlife, seafood, & expert instruction by a couple of super friendly & smart leaders.

03/30/2024

Join for Montana Backroads: The Rockies this July & hit the alpine tundra, & you might get to see this most charming chicken. But that’s just the start! So many great birds & mammals.

03/29/2024

American pika (Ochotona princeps)
Coming up this summer we’ve got backroads tour through the with Join him in his home state as he goes for mammals & birds in & around Glacier National Park this July.

03/22/2024

just wrapped up his 2nd of 2 tour to Costa Rica. A few days featured some inclement weather but inspite of that our groups managed brilliantly seeing so much, including one of the great treasures of the cloud forest, the stunning Resplendent Quetzal. Join us in 2025 for our next run down to 🇨🇷

03/08/2024

Brown Fish-Owl was feelin grumpy after an unseasonal rain. Multiple good encounters on our recent trips to India.

03/03/2024

Waterfowl are a primary feature at the wetlands we visited south of Delhi, and among the most handsome & regularly encountered is the Bar-headed Goose which are poised at this season to move north, crossing over the high Himalayas to their breeding grounds in Mongolia & c. Asia.

03/02/2024

Among the most popular & celebrated birds in India, the Sarus Crane is among the tallest of flying birds, and the tallest capable of flying. We enjoyed seeing quite a few on our day visiting the Sarus Crane Sanctuary in the wondrous wetlands south of Delhi.

02/25/2024

The is native to India & Nepal, but once ranged into Pakistan & Bangladesh. It is also introduced to the US, and a few other countries. A gorgeous antelope with long corkscrew horns, it is the only extant species in the genus with the English name referring to the black patterning of the males. Females are tan brown white stripes along the flanks. During our India: Jewels of Gujarat tour we enjoyed seeing herds of dozens of these handsome animals.

02/23/2024

Asiatic lion (or Persian Lion) was once found throughout India, Mesopotamia, Arabia, & parts of North Africa. Today it is found only in Gujarat, India, and largely is confined to Gir National Park. By 1900 it had nearly been completely wiped out from hunting pressure and was down to only about a dozen individuals. Happily today the official number rests at just under 700 individuals, although most authorities agree it’s closer to 1000 animals in total. On our recent India: Jewels of Gujarat tour we enjoyed multiple wonderful encounters with these majestic cats.

02/21/2024

Widespread & variable across southern Asia, the Changeable Hawk-Eagle is always a fun bird to see. A formidable predator, we were alerted to their presence several times on our latest India tour by Gray Langurs cough-like alarm call. The bird takes these monkeys as prey sometimes as well as small deer & antelope. The yellowing leaves of the Sal trees make for a fun backdrop here too.

02/21/2024

One last stop…

Join us to go for Tigers, to see the Taj & for wetland birds next yr!

02/20/2024

On our India: The Taj Mahal, Wondrous Wetlands, & Tiger Country trip this year we found 9 species of owls & saw 8 of them beautifully. This Indian Scops-Owl was photo’d by on the pre-tour trip to Gujarat. Join us in 2025🐅

02/19/2024

Leaders .brown & just wrapped the Colombia: High Times in the Cordillera Central seeing specials like this this (Photo by Mollee Brown).

Join them in 2025 for this amazing trip &/or for an adjoining tour to the Chocó & the Western Andes.

02/17/2024

Hillstar Nature leaders .brown & just wrapped up guiding our Colombia: High Times in the Central Andes tour! More birds than you can shake a stick at with a great group of friends. Check out our site to join them next yr & keep an eye out for the next news letter for a trip report.

02/16/2024

So grateful for this gang. A great week! 9 tigers, 3 leopards, 2 sloth bears, about 200 species of birds, & so much more. Can’t wait to travel again with each of you & to relive what we saw this week.