Fall Migration 2023

Cape May

Friday, September 29 – Monday, October 2

Fall migration is the perfect time to visit this first-class birding hot spot on the Jersey Shore. Our Naturalist-in-Residence, Tait Johansson, will maximize your experience by leading you to a variety of habitats across Cape May in search of migrating raptors, migratory and resident passerines and waterbirds. On this trip, we can expect to encounter over a hundred different bird species and explore a range of habitat locations.

This trip is timed to coincide with peak migration for some raptors (including Peregrine, American Kestrel, Osprey and more), and many, many species of landbirds are possible including 15+ different warblers and a big, spectacular flock of thousands of Tree Swallows is likely. Other species include interesting waterbirds such as: Black Scoter, Caspian Tern, Parasitic Jaeger, and many others.

The exact itinerary for the weekend will be crafted closer to the departure date in order to optimize specific birding locations based on the most updated migration information. Possible locations include Cape May Point, Higbee Beach, Cox Hall Creek Wildlife Management area, the Hawkwatch platform in West Cape May, South Cape May Meadows, and/or several others.

The program fee for this trip is $150 (members); $185 (non-members and we’ll credit $35 toward an annual membership). The fee does not include hotel, transportation, or meals, but does include:

• Tait’s expertise for full days of birding
• A jam-packed itinerary with all logistics worked out so you can focus on the main attraction – birds!
• A Welcome Reception on Friday evening that will include wine, cheese, and other refreshments
• Bonding over daily recaps and bird counts every evening
• Optional group dinner on Saturday evening.

Want to join the trip or have questions? Please email Susan for more details including hotel recommendations, payment options, trip cancellation policy, and more.

*Note that registration is limited and our trips often fill up. Your registration is not confirmed until payment is received.

Costa Rica Birding 2024

Birding Rainforests, Arenal, Carara National park

Thursday, March 7 – Friday, March 15

Bedford Audubon is partnering with Holbrook Travel to embark on a comprehensive excursion perfect for avid birders wishing to add to their life list. You’ll be rewarded with ample opportunities to seek out some of the hundreds of avian species that call Costa Rica home. Visit hotspots encompassing a variety of habitats—such as Caribbean lowlands, premontane forest, tropical dry forest, mangroves, and more—during hikes, boat rides, and a hanging bridge canopy tour. Accompanied by Bedford Audubon leadership and an expert Costa Rican birding guide from Holbrook, you’ll look for sought-after residents and migrant species and experience the breadth and depth of the country’s diverse natural beauty.

• Bird the trails of the world-renowned La Selva Biological Station, where more than half of Costa Rica’s species have been recorded.
• Visit with local conservation organizations to learn about their projects and share ideas.
• Enjoy excellent vantage points—including grassland, secondary forest, a river, and a natural spring—at a private ecological reserve near Arenal Volcano.
• Get an up-in-the-branches view of the forest canopy at Arenal Hanging Bridges, which straddles a transitional vegetation strip of high biodiversity where both highland and lowland species reside.
• Spend a full day in Carara National Park, an ecologically diverse hotspot due to its location at the convergence of northwestern tropical dry forest and humid southern Pacific rainforest.
• Go for a boat ride along the Tárcoles River and watch for shore birds and mangrove specialties, as well as the giant American crocodiles for which the river is known.

The fee is $2995 per person in double occupany (based on 10 participants); additional $495 per person for a single room throughout the trip.

For more information or to book the trip, please visit the Holbrook Travel website.

Optional Post-trip Extension Available:
Birding in Savegre
March 15 – March 18

Continue your Costa Rica birding experience with this optional post-trip extension to the cloud forests of the Talamanca Mountains! The high-elevation forests here have earned a reputation for being one of the best places in the country to spot the Resplendent Quetzal, along with a diverse and colorful array of mammals, amphibians, insects, and more than 170 other bird species.

• Search for high-elevation species, including the aptly named Resplendent Quetzal, in the cloud forests of the Talamanca Mountains.
• Seek out regional endemics like the Volcano Junco, Black Guan, Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl, and White-throated Mountain-gem in the temperate forest and páramo habitats near Cerro Buena Vista.
• Make a stop at La Georgina’s, a roadside cafe whose gardens attract a variety of hummingbirds and other avifauna.

The fee for the extension is $775 per person in double occupancy (based on 6 participants); additional $95 per person for a single room throughout the trip.

For more information or to book the trip, please visit the Holbrook Travel website.