NEVADA AND UTAH CANYONLANDS
September 9 to 17, 2011
Photos courtesy Linda Mack
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Nevada is the most mountainous state in the nation, with over 300 individual mountain ranges and 42 named summits over 11,000 feet. Southwest Utah is internationally famous for its unique landscapes and renowned national parks. This tour will explore some well-known places in the southwest and get “off the beaten path” for excellent birding in remote eastern Nevada. Sites we’ll visit include Desert National Wildlife Range, Pahranagat NWR, Cedar Breaks Monument, and Bryce & Zion National Parks. Our trip coincides with the peak of autumn bird migration and after the summer tourist season. Expect outstanding scenery and a wide array of western birds, butterflies, and other fauna. Some birds we’ll seek on the tour include Clark’s Grebe, Dusky Grouse, California Condor (reintroduced), Williamson’s Sapsucker, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Mountain Bluebird, Crissal Thrasher, Grace’s Warbler, and Cassin’s Finch. During migration, one never knows what interesting birds may appear at migrant traps and wetlands we’ll visit!Tour begins and ends in Las Vegas.
ACTIVITY LEVEL:
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PACE, WEATHER, AND TRAVEL CONDITIONS
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Our days in the field will usually begin about 7:00 a.m. and will end about 6:00 p.m. On most days lunches will be in the field (we provide coolers for cold food and drinks), and we will allow time at grocery stores to get them before the day begins. Optional evening excursions to look for crepuscular species will be offered on one or two nights. The trip involves easy walking on flat ground and some miderately strenuous hikes on hilly terrain.
Temperatures will be warm to hot (and dry), though early morning and evening may be cool. Expect a temperature range from approximately 50-90F degrees. Rain or thunderstorms are always a possibility, so raingear is advised. The sun is very strong, especially at this season, so sunscreen and a brimmed hat are recommended. Biting insects such as mosquitoes may be present at several locations, but generally shouldn't be a problem.
TOUR SIZE: Travel during this tour will be in vans, with no more than 7 participants plus a leader in one "12 person" van. Tour size is limited to 12 participants.
Additional information about the tour, with specific meeting times, a list of participants, addresses of motels, lists of things to bring, a reading list, a list of probable/possible birds, further information about weather, dress, etc., will be mailed to all participants well in advance of the tour.
DATES: Wednesday September 7, 2011 (meet at our hotel in Las Vegas at 7:00 pm) to Thursday September 15, 2011 (flights home anytime)
PRICE: Cost for this tour is about $2000.00 per person, based on double occupancy; single supplement $350.00. A deposit of $500.00 will hold your place until July 15, 2011 when full payment becomes due.
PRICE INCLUDES:
Motel accommodations for 8 nights, tour leadership, ground transportation while in Nevada and Utah, and entrance fees to all areas on the itinerary.
PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE: It does not include meals or airfare to/from Bismarck, or items of a personal nature.
SEND DEPOSITS & OTHER PAYMENTS TO:
NJ Audubon Eco-Travel
9 Hardscrabble Rd
tel. 908-204-8998
Or, by e-mail to travel@njaudubon.org
Please make checks payable to the New Jersey Audubon Society.
TOUR LEADERS:
Scott Barnes began birding at the age of twelve and has been an avid naturalist ever since. Encouragement and learning came from his parents and many birders, including members of the Urner Ornithological Club and staff of New Jersey Audubon Society. An interest in travel and natural history has led him from northwestern Alaska to the desert southwest to Trinidad and Tobago in search of plants and animals. He began birding at Sandy Hook, where he is the Senior Naturalist for the Sandy Hook Bird Observatory. Scott is the Region 3 Editor for Records of New Jersey Birds, compiles the Sandy Hook Christmas Bird Count, six-year member of the New Jersey Bird Records Committee, leader on See Life Paulagics boat trips, and a tour leader for the NJ Audubon Travel Program. Scott has led NJAS tours to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Utah, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Linda Mack's interest in birding began twenty years ago on a Cape May Weekend and she has been hooked ever since. She is a member of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Board of Directors, an Associate Naturalist, and bookstore co-manager at Sandy Hook Bird Observatory (SHBO). She is a past President, Program Chair, and Conservation Chair for Monmouth County Audubon Society. Linda has a special interest in seabirds and other coastal species; she co-leads pelagic birding trips off New Jersey with See Life Paulagics. Linda has traveled extensively throughout North America studying birds and natural history, with multiple trips to Washington, California, Montana, Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, and Florida. Her infectious enthusiasm and willingness to share knowledge is well known. She has co-led tours to New Mexico, Nebraska's Platte River, the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Big Bend and the Davis Mountains, Southeast Arizona, and is a regular leader on SHBO's long weekend trips to coastal Massachusetts, the Adirondack Mountains, and Bombay Hook, as well as the Cape May Spring and Fall Weekends. Linda co-led the Minnesota/North Dakota tour in 2007.
For tour itineraries, to register, or for more information contact:
NJ Audubon Eco-Travel at: (908)-204-8998
9 Hardscrabble Road
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
or email travel@njaudubon.org.
If you are not a member and would like to become one, consider Joining New Jersey Audubon Society.