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ITINERARY

AUSTRALIA INVITATIONAL Eastern Queensland, Melbourne & the Plains-wanderer

November 13-December 1, 2014

We include here information for those interested in the 2014 Field Guides Australia Invitational: Queensland, Melbourne & the Plains-wanderer tour: ⎯ a general introduction to the tour ⎯ a description of the birding areas to be visited ⎯ an abbreviated daily itinerary with some indication of the nature of each dayʼs birding outings Those who register for the tour will be sent this additional material: ⎯ an annotated list of the birds recorded on a previous yearʼs Field Guides trip to the area, with comments by guide(s) on notable species or sightings ⎯ a detailed information bulletin with important logistical information and answers to questions regarding accommodations, air arrangements, clothing, currency, customs and immigration, documents, health precautions, and personal items ⎯ a reference list ⎯ a Field Guides checklist for preparing and keeping track of the birds we see on the tour ⎯ after the conclusion of the tour, a list of birds seen on the tour Australia, the “Island Continent,” is a great plate of Earthʼs crust that has come to rest between the waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Isolated since the hemispheres began, it is an old continent, unchanged by the catastrophic mountain-building forces that have so altered the others. Only in a narrow crescent in the far eastern region do low hills and mountains, cloaked in dripping rainforest, relieve the brushy woodlands and arid plains that stretch away to the west. The greatest diversity of Australiaʼs abundant wildlife is in the deep rainforests of the northeast and the riverine habitat and eucalypt forests of the southeast, areas we will visit on this tour. Far removed from the nearest continental land mass, Australia has evolved a broad range of endemic flora and fauna during its long period of isolation. In the rainforests and dry country of eastern Queensland and the eucalypt forests of the south there are huge Emus and the awesome Southern Cassowary; tiny fairywrens, among the worldʼs most vividly colored birds; handsome currawongs and odd mud-nest builders; bizarre frogmouths and Australian Owlet-Nightjars; lyrebirds, largest of all passerines and master singers at their display grounds on the forest floor; and strange kingfishers—including the giant Laughing Kookaburra—giving voice to haunting rolls, wild chants, and hair-raising cries. And there are megapodes, buttonquail, woodswallows, parrots, pittas, pardalotes, fruit-doves, flowerpeckers, treecreepers, honeyeaters, thornbills, logrunners, and whipbirds, not to mention the birds-of-paradise and bowerbirds and the very local Plains-wanderer! In southern New South Wales we will make a nocturnal foray for the Plains-wanderer, a true avian anomally and the only member of its family. The Plains-wanderer was once thought to be related to the button-quails, but genetic work has found it to be more closely akin to the seedsnipes of South America. This bird was a mystery for decades until Philip Maher found a substantial population in the grassy plains near his home. Philip, who will join us for our time in the south, is well known to world birders as the person with whom to find this odd species. It is not just the birds, however, that make a trip to Australia intriguing. Among the many families of mammals native to Australia are some of the most peculiar on Earth. Some of the special mammals we have a good opportunity of seeing are Platypus, Koala, several species of kangaroos and wallabies, giant flying fox fruit-bats, and possums and gliders. This trip is designed to enjoy the avian and mammalian riches of these unique habitats while reducing the long drives and one-night stands that seem to be inherent in most trips to Australia. In most places there will be great birding right out the door of our lodgings, and we can enjoy a glass of wine while looking at a Superb Fairywren, Regent Bowerbird, or Red-legged Pademelon. Birding in Australia is addictive.

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About the Physical Requirements & Pace: This trip is designed to see a lot of Australiaʼs birds, including many very special species, without the very long drives that this vast country often necessitates. The majority of places we will visit are relatively flat with easy walking, though as with almost all birding trips, there is the unexpected need to venture off a trail or road into the bush to track down a calling bird. This is most likely to happen in the southern part of Australia while weʼre in the Beechworth and Deniliquin areas. Participants should be able to walk a mile or two at a birding pace. Many of Australiaʼs birds are relatively easy to see compared to those of the dense forests of Central and South America, but others are rare and/or very localized. We hope to see as many of these rarer birds as possible, while preserving the holiday aspect of the tour. In many areas we will use recordings in a responsible manner to lure certain species into view. We have made an effort to stay in lodges and motels that are quite close to or situated in our birding areas. With the warm temperatures of the north we will often find ourselves birding in the early morning hours. On some days on the Atherton Tableland and at OʼReillyʼs Guest House we will do pre-breakfast birding before returning for a hearty breakfast. Other days we might have a continental breakfast in order to get further into the field at an optimal hour. There will be a few picnic lunches and, hopefully, a few afternoon siestas to recharge where some might like to bird the grounds of the lodges on your own. While this is a birding tour, Australia has some of the worldʼs most fascinating mammals, and weʼll make a point of searching for these as well. Lastly, Australia has a very rich assemblage of reptiles and amphibians and weʼll surely encounter a variety of these, too.

About the Birding Areas Queensland Lamington National Park is about a two-and-a-half hour drive from Brisbane. OʼReillyʼs Guest House, our home while at Lamington, is a lovely, modern motel that was once a family farm. This is one of the birdiest places in all of Australia, and many of the usually shy forest species are common on the hotel grounds. Meal times and late afternoon are feeding time, and the lawns and feeding trays are usually alive with gaudy (and bold!) Crimson Rosellas, Australian King-Parrots, Wonga Pigeons, Australian Brush-Turkeys, Pied Currawongs, stunningly beautiful Regent and Satin bowerbirds (the latter with bowers they adorn with blue objects), Superb Fairywrens, Red-browed Firetails, and a few mammals such as the little Red-necked Pademelon, bandicoots, and Short-eared Brushtail Possum. Weʼll have the better part of three days to wander the many forest trails and side tracks near OʼReillyʼs, allowing us a nice amount of time to enjoy the regionʼs special birds and a good variety of mammals. Ornithologically, the two real specialties in this forest are the Albertʼs Lyrebird and Australian Logrunner, both of very limited overall distribution. Weʼll make a concerted effort to see the lyrebird, concentrating in the early morning in favored forest ravines and should encounter the logrunners along the way. In addition to rainforest habitats, we will also bird the drier Eucalyptus woodland just down the mountain from OʼReillyʼs. Other species that we may see at Lamington include the showy Topknot Pigeon, Glossy Black-Cockatoo (rare), Noisy Pitta, Russet-tailed and Olive-tailed (Bassian) thrushes, Gray Shrike-Thrush (a beautiful singer), Rose and Eastern Yellow robins, the fabulous Australian Logrunner (which forages on the ground in groups, noisily kicking dry leaves out of the way at a ninety-degree angle from the body), White-throated and Red-browed treecreepers, Eastern Whipbird, Spotted Quail-thrush (scarce and secretive), Yellow-throated Scrubwren, Gray and Rufous fantails, Eastern Spinebill, Bell Miner, Green Catbird, and the elusive Paradise Riflebird. Weʼll also go afield by night in search of Greater Sooty-Owl (rare), Southern Boobook, frogmouths, Australian Owlet-

A fabulous Plains-wanderer caught in the light on a night drive. Photo by participant Jan Shaw.


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Nightjar, and mammals. Among the several mammal possibilities are Common Ringtail and Short-eared Brush-tailed possums. The Cairns waterfront—the Esplanade—is surely one of the best shorebirding spots in the world. High tide pushes the birds in toward the elevated walkway by the hundreds, even thousands. There is an excellent assemblage of species, too, mostly of East Asian and Siberian origin. Among the species to watch for along the Esplanade are Pacific Golden-Plover, Red-capped Plover, Lesser and Greater sandplovers, Far Eastern Curlew, Common Greenshank, Terek Sandpiper, Bar-tailed and Black-tailed godwits, Red-necked Stint, Sharp-tailed, Curlew, and Broad-billed (scarce but regular) sandpipers, Australian Pelican, Royal Spoonbill, Little Tern, the nearly cosmopolitan Osprey, and in trees along the coast, Varied Honeyeater and Olive-backed Sunbird. In the mangroves and parks near Cairns we hope to see Bush Thick-knee, Little (Gouldʼs) Bronze-Cuckoo, Mangrove Robin, and Brown-backed Honeyeater. Other birds in the vicinity include Rainbow Lorikeet, Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, Cicadabird, White-throated Gerygone, and Yellow Honeyeater. Lakes Eacham and Barrine/Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge and Barrine—Two of the finest rainforest preserves on the Atherton Tableland are around Lakes Eacham and Barrine, both of which occupy long-dormant volcanic craters. Our lodging, the Chambers Wildlife Lodge is adjacent to Lake Eacham National Park. Some of the specialties weʼll seek here include White-headed Pigeon, the showy Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Brown Cuckoo-Dove, Emerald Dove, the noisy Eastern Whipbird, the odd Chowchilla, Australian Brush-Turkey, Barred (Yellow-eyed) Cuckoo-shrike, Bowerʼs Shrike-Thrush, several fancy flycatchers (Yellow-breasted Boatbill and Spectacled and Pied monarchs), Pale-yellow and Gray-headed robins, Noisy and Little friarbirds, Scarlet Myzomela and Lewinʼs Honeyeater, Spotted Catbird, the strange Tooth-billed Catbird (an evolutionary link between the catbirds and bowerbirds), and the exquisite (but shy) Victoriaʼs Riflebird. We will also spend some time watching for the fabled Platypus in a nearby creek. We will study its behavior and learn of this egg-laying mammalʼs unusual life history. A nocturnal foray in the area could produce Southern Boobook or, with luck, Lesser Sooty-Owl, recently lumped with the more widespread (but also rarely seen) Greater Sooty-Owl. Our spotlights are sure to reveal the presence of some fascinating mammals, several of which, like many of the Tablelandʼs birds, are of very restricted distribution, such as the giant White-tailed Rat, Long-nosed Bandicoot, Sugar Glider, Common Brush-tailed Possum, Green Ringtail and Striped possums, and possibly Lumholtzʼs Tree-Kangaroo (yes, a kangaroo that clambers around in rainforest trees!). The Crater, a sheer-sided hole 200 feet wide and nearly 500 feet deep, is said to be the result of a single, violent volcanic eruption many thousands of years ago. The rainforest here is rich in specialties, including the skulking, monotypic Fernwren, Atherton, and Large-billed scrubwrens, Mountain Thornbill, “Little” Treecreeper (the race minor of White-throated, a candidate for a split), Bowerʼs Shrike-Thrush, Bridled Honeyeater, and even a fabulous male Golden Bowerbird at its large “double-maypole” stick bower. In the open country en route to The Crater weʼll scan the grasslands for the beautiful Spotted Harrier and flocks of Sarus Cranes. Mount Molloy and Mount Carbine lie at the northern end of the Atherton Tableland and are home to a handful of birds that are typical of the dry forest country found a few hours inland from the Atherton Tableland. Here we will search for Australian Bustard, Squatter Pigeon, Diamond Dove, Pale-headed Rosella, Red-winged Parrot, Great Bowerbird, the very odd Apostlebird, White-browed Robin, and Black-throated Finch. We will probably see a few large Eastern Gray Kangaroos somewhere in our travels here.

Double-eyed Fig-Parrot photographed by participant Robert McNab.


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Black Mountain Road—This area north of Cairns has been home to a family of cassowaries for a number of years, and Cassowary House is one of the best places to see the species. Weʼll spend the morning birding the fine forest along Black Mountain Road and at Cassowary House looking for this and other species. The dense, humid forest here also shelters a number of other great birds such as Pacific Baza, Gray Goshawk, Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, perhaps a Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher, Gray-headed Whistler, Rufous (Little) Shrike-Thrush, Macleayʼs, Graceful, and Yellow-spotted honeyeaters, the uncommon White-eared, Pied, and Spectacled monarchs, Mistletoebird, Metallic Starling, and Black Butcherbird. There are usually a couple of Musky Rat-Kangaroos, the smallest of the kangaroos, scouring the forest floor under the veranda at Cassowary House. Victoria and New South Wales Northern Victoria in the vicinity of the towns of Beechworth and Chiltern is a combination of farmland, pastures, and eucalyptus forests. Laughing Kookaburras cackle from the open forest and flocks of cockatoos and corellas visit the fields. Some of the special birds we will seek here include the strange Gang-gang Cockatoo, Turquoise Parrot, Red-browed Treecreeper, Yellow-tufted and Black-chinned honeyeaters, Speckled Warbler, and Spotted Quail-thrush. With luck, we may also encounter the Regent Honeyeater, one of the rarest birds in Australia whose estimated population is fewer than 2000 individuals. If there have been recent reports of this wide-ranging species we will make a strong effort to see it. Deniliquin is a small town in the farming and sheep country of southern New South Wales just over the Murray River from Victoria. Birding the woodlands, swamps, and open plains in Philip Maherʼs hometown should yield a plethora of new species. Many widespread Australian species occur here, and we are sure to see Emus, White-faced Heron, Australian Kite, Brown Falcon, Galah, Laughing Kookaburra, Red Wattlebird, Welcome Swallow, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Golden and Rufous whistlers, and Magpie-lark among many others. However, this part of Victoria is also home to a number of uncommon or quite local species including Spotted Harrier, Black Falcon, Banded Lapwing, the exquisite Inland Dotterel, Long-billed Corella, Yellow Rosella, Bluebonnet, the gorgeous Superb Parrot, Painted Honeyeater, perhaps a Gilbertʼs Whistler, White-backed Swallow, and Diamond Firetail. We will also check some marshes for Baillonʼs, Australian, and Spotless crakes and there is a chance for the rare Australian Painted-Snipe. In the evening we will make a foray for the Plains-wanderer, the sole member of the family Pedionomidae. By spotlighting certain native grass fields near Deniliquin, we have a great opportunity to see one of the worldʼs taxonomic anomalies “frozen” in the light. We might also encounter Stubble Quail, Little Buttonquail and Banded Lapwing in these fields. Melbourneʼs Werribee Western Treatment Plant and its associated lagoons lie west of the city along the edge of Port Phillip Bay. One of the best birding areas near Melbourne, Werribee is attractive to waterfowl, shorebirds, some open-country raptors, and other coastal species. Among the possibilities here are several species of herons, large numbers of Black Swans, Australian Shelduck, Musk and Blue-billed ducks, Gray and Chestnut teal, the scarce Australian Shoveler, Australian (Black-shouldered) Kite, Swamp Harrier, Eurasian Coot, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Curlew

This Double-wattled Cassowaryʼs feet are almost as astonishing as her head. Photo by John Rowlett.


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Sandpiper, Fairy Martin, Golden-headed Cisticola, Little Grassbird, Striated Fieldwren, and White-fronted Chat. With a bit of luck, we might encounter the secretive Black-tailed Native-Hen and the very rare Freckled Duck.

Itinerary for Australia Invitational Days 1-3, Thu-Sat, 13-15 Nov. Los Angeles to Australia. We have blocked space on QANTAS for the flight to Brisbane, departing Los Angeles on Thursday, November 13, at 10:10 p.m. Crossing the International Date Line en route, we effectively “lose” the day of Friday, November 14, arriving on Saturday, November 15. Upon arrival in Australia, you will clear customs and transfer to our hotel. Participants should plan to make their own way to our hotel, where rooms will be reserved in your name. Our hotel is located about 10-15 minutes from the airport just off a main street but mainly surrounded by a residential area. There are several shops and cafes within 2-3 blocks of the hotel. We will plan to drive off for some afternoon birding to shake off the long flight and try and get on a normal schedule. Night in Brisbane. Day 4, Sun, 16 Nov. Morning birding along drive up to Lamington National Park and OʼReillyʼs Guest House. After breakfast weʼll head off in our bus to OʼReillyʼs Guest House, nestled in the forests of Lamington National Park. We plan on a few stops along the way, making the normal two-hour drive a bit longer. Along this drive to Lamington weʼll watch for Scaly-breasted Lorikeet and Australasian (Green) Figbird; mammals we could spot as we ascend the last few eucalypt-clad hills include Red-necked and Whiptail wallabies. It can get cool at night at Lamington. Night at OʼReillyʼs Guesthouse. Day 5, Mon, 17 Nov. OʼReillyʼs and Lamington National Park. Weʼll have a full day today to explore the park. Weʼll spend some time on the trails near the lodge as well as drive to some nearby eucalypt forest and trailheads, perhaps taking one of the OʼReillyʼs four-wheel drive vehicles if local road conditions warrant. After dinner we will do some nightbirding in the area. Night at OʼReillyʼs Guest House. Day 6, Tue, 18 Nov. Full day at OʼReillyʼs and Lamington National Park. With another full day at the park we might go further afield to track down some of the specialties of the area. Night at OʼReillyʼs Guest House. Day 7, Wed, 19 Nov. OʼReillyʼs; to Brisbane, flight to Cairns. Weʼll spend the morning birding at Lamington/OʼReillyʼs before driving back to Brisbane with some birding stops and catching our early evening flight to Cairns. Night in Cairns. Day 8, Thu, 20 Nov. Cairns area birding; drive to Atherton Tableland. We will check a few areas near Cairns before driving up to the Atherton Tableland located just inland from the city. We might try to bird some of the drier areas at the northern end of the Tableland on our way to the small town of Yungaburra, our home for the next three nights as we explore the picturesque Atherton Tableland. Our lodge is located within the forest near this quaint town and we will certainly see some great birds here as well as a local rainforest kangaroo, the Red-legged Pademelon, which comes onto the lawn after dinner. Night at Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge. Day 9, Fri, 21 Nov. Lakes Eacham and Barrine; evening owling. Our lodge is quite birdy and many of the specialties and endemic birds of the Atherton Tableland can be found right on the grounds. We will do pre-breakfast birding for about an hour at the lodge before driving to nearby Lake Barrine, which has similar forest but is a better locale for a few of the specialties. We will be out until dusk in hopes of seeing a Duck-billed Platypus at a nearby river before returning to the lodge for dinner. After dinner Golden Bowerbird photographed by John Rowlett.


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we will try an outing for nightbirds and mammals. Night at Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge. Day 10, Sat, 22 Nov. The Crater and Atherton Tableland birding. This morning we will head to the Crater National Park, which gets us slightly higher in elevation and where we are more likely to encounter a few other specialties of the Atherton Tableland. A few other area stops will add some new honeyeaters, and we will spend some time at a swamp that always has a large number of water birds. Night at Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodge. Day 11, Sun, 23 Nov. Dry country birding and drive to Cairns. We are likely to have a continental breakfast so we can get away earlier this morning to bird the drier country at the north end of the Atherton Tableland near Mount Molloy and Mount Carbine, hoping to find an Australian Bustard. We will head back to Cairns in the afternoon and have a chance to check the foreshore if the tide is right. Night in Cairns. Day 12, Mon, 24 Nov. Black Mountain Road and Cassowary House. Weʼll spend the day north of Cairns in hopes of finding the spectacular Southern Cassowary at the well-known Cassowary House, where we usually do a breakfast and lunch sampling Sue Gregoryʼs great cooking. A host of other rainforest species can be found along Black Mountain Road, often including White-eared Monarch and Lovely Fairywren. Night in Cairns. Day 13, Tue, 25 Nov. Morning flight to Melbourne; drive to Beechworth in northern Victoria. An early departure to the airport for our flight to Melbourne will get us there in there just after noon, and weʼll meet our long-time friend, Philip Maher, whose name has been synonymous with the Plains-wanderer for many years. Phil will drive us to Beechworth, a small town in northern Victoria where we will explore this southern eucalypt forest for a number of new birds. The town of Beechworth was on the trail of the infamous 19th century bushranger, Ned Kelly. Night in Beechworth. Day 14, Wed, 26 Nov. Beechworth forests and Chiltern National Park. With a full day to explore the beautiful eucalyptus forests of northern Victoria we will have a good chance of finding some of the areaʼs harder to find species. Night in Beechworth. Day 15, Thu, 27 Nov. Beechworth area; continuing to Deniliquin. We will spend the morning birding in the Beechworth and Chiltern area before crossing the famous Murray, Australiaʼs largest river, on the way to Deniliquin. Night in Deniliquin. Day 16, Fri, 28 Nov. Deniliquin area birding. Weʼll spend a full day today birding the riverine forests, swamps, and farm country with Deniliquin native Philip Maher. The evening will find us enjoying a picnic dinner in the field before our after-sunset hunt for the rare and enigmatic Plains-wanderer, the only member of the family, Pedionomidae. Searching for this bird requires riding in a few 4WD vehicles as we drive through a large paddock hoping to spotlight this quail-like species. Once found, they typically remain still long enough for all the vehicles to arrive and for all to see it well. Night in Deniliquin. Day 17, Sat, 29 Nov. Morning birding near Deniliquin; return to Melbourne. Depending on our return from the previous eveningʼs adventure, we will have another morning in the Deniliquin area before birding our way back to Melbourne. Night at Melbourne airport hotel. Day 18, Sun, 30 Nov. Werribee Western Treatment Plant and environs. This morning will be quite birdy at the ponds, lagoons, and farms that make up this vast water treatment facility. In the afternoon we will bird some nearby forested areas on our way back to Melbourne. Night at Melbourne airport hotel. Day 19, Mon, 1 Dec. Flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles. We will transfer to the Melbourne airport for the long flight over the Pacific. We will arrive in Los Angeles on the same day (having regained our day over the International Date Line) at around 7:00 a.m.

About Your Guides John Coons combines birding excellence with a natural ability as a tour guide. He has been leading tours since 1985. Since then his great group skills, attention to detail, easy laugh, and unfailing sense to spot (and remember!) what's


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fascinating in things large and small have brought delight to innumerable Field Guides participants on tours from the High Arctic to the tip of South America and throughout Australasia. When not on tour, John enjoys exploring and birding the remote mountains, canyons, and mesas of his home in northern Arizona. His ambition of developing a completely sustainable yard of native wildflowers, grasses, trees, and shrubs is an unending goal that consumes more time than expected each spring and summer. John has guided numerous Field Guides Australia tours and designed this special itinerary with some of his favorite places in mind. Rose Ann Rowlett has been birding since her second-grade teacher influenced her and her brother to start identifying Texas migrants using Richard Poughʼs eastern Audubon guide with the marvelous Eckelberry illustrations. Rose Ann developed an enduring love for Neotropical birds beginning in 1960, when mentor Edgar Kincaid took the “the Eager Beavers” on their first of many school-holiday birding trips to Mexico, leaving them totally corrupted by the tropics. Trained as a biologist with specialties in botany and ornithology, she combines a broad natural-history background with special interests in bird song and behavior and a lot of field experience. She began guiding tours in 1975 and was one of the founders of Field Guides in 1985. Over the years she has guided more than 250 birding tours, specializing in trips to South America, but detouring regularly these days to the Old World, where the “pull” of bizarre birds, mammals, herps, insects, and plants is strong indeed. She is especially excited about this invitational tour with “the Kingfisher” to Australia, where she hasnʼt guided now since 1999. She canʼt wait to get back! Rose Ann and her Sweetie, Richard Webster, live along Cave Creek above Portal, Arizona, where they are happily distracted by the likes of Acorn Woodpeckers and Bridled Titmice, not to mention a whole host of hummers.

Financial Information FEE: $8225 per person in double occupancy from Cairns AIRFARE: $1822.60 from Los Angeles (includes flights within Australia; subject to change) DEPOSIT: $800 per person FINAL PAYMENT DUE: July 16, 2014 SINGLE SUPPLEMENT (Optional): $1450 LIMIT: 12

Other Things You Need to Know TOUR MANAGER: The manager for this tour is Karen Turner. Karen will be happy to assist you in preparing for the tour. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call her! DOCUMENTS: A current passport valid beyond the date of your return is necessary for US citizens to enter Australia. In addition, US citizens must obtain a visa, which Field Guides will automatically issue for you through the airline computer. If you are not a US citizen, please check with the Australian consulate nearest you for entry requirements. Information about consulates and entry requirements is generally available online or you can contact us and we will be happy to look this up for you. Passports should have an adequate number of blank pages for the entire journey. Some countries

The Whiptail—or Pretty-faced Wallaby—is one of several wallaby species possible on the tour. Photo by participant Jan Shaw.


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require a blank page for their stamp and as a precaution it is best to have one blank page per country you will visit or transit. AIR ARRANGEMENTS: Round-trip airfare Los Angeles to Brisbane and from Melbourne is currently $1822.60 (includes flights within Australia; subject to change). Field Guides is a full service travel agency and your tour manager will be happy to assist you with flights to join this tour. Field Guides does not charge a service fee for these services to clients booking a tour. However, we understand that tech-savvy clients often prefer to shop online or that you may wish to use mileage to purchase tickets. Regardless of which method you choose, your tour manager will be happy to provide assistance regarding ticket prices and schedules, along with rental cars and extra hotel nights as needed. Please be sure to check with your tour manager prior to purchasing your ticket to make sure the flights you have chosen will work well with the tour itinerary and that the tour is sufficiently subscribed to operate. Once purchased, most airline tickets are non-refundable and carry a penalty to change. Field Guides cannot be responsible for these fees. Also, it is imperative that we receive a copy of your comprehensive flight itinerary—including any and all flights not covered in the tour fee—so that we may track you in the event of missed connections, delays, or other mishaps. LUGGAGE: Please be aware that many airlines have recently modified their luggage policies and are charging additional fees for checked bags. Updates could easily occur before your departure, so you may wish to contact your airline to verify the policy. Additional charges for bags on any flights, whether these are covered by the tour fee or not, will be the clientʼs responsibility. TOUR INCLUSIONS/EXCLUSIONS: The tour fee is $8225 for one person in double occupancy from Brisbane. It includes all lodging from Day 3 through Day 18, all meals from dinner on Day 3 through breakfast on Day 19, all ground transportation, boat trips, entrance fees, and the guide services of the tour leader(s). Tipping at group meals and for drivers, porters, and local guides is included in your tour fee and will be handled for the group by your Field Guides leader(s). However, if you would like to recognize your Field Guides leader(s) or any local guide(s) for exceptional service, it is entirely appropriate to tip. We emphasize that such tips are optional and not expected. The above fee does not include your airfare to and from Australia, flights within Australia, airport taxes, any checked or carry-on baggage charges imposed by the airlines, any alcoholic beverages, optional tips to local drivers, phone calls, laundry, or other items of a personal nature. The single supplement for the tour is $1450. If you do not have a roommate but wish to share, we will try to pair you with a roommate from the tour; but if none is available, you will be billed for the single supplement. Our tour fees are based on double occupancy; one-half the cost of a double room is priced into the tour fee. The single supplement is calculated by taking the actual cost of a single room and subtracting one-half the cost of a double room (plus any applicable taxes). TOUR REGISTRATION: To register for this tour, complete the Registration/Release and Indemnity form and return it with a deposit of $800 per person. If registering by phone, a deposit must be received within fourteen days, or the space will be released. Full payment of the tour fee is due 120 days prior to departure, or by July 16, 2014. We will bill you for the final payment at either 120 days or when the tour has reached sufficient subscription to operate, whichever date comes later. Since the cost of your trip insurance and airline tickets is generally non-refundable, please do not finalize these purchases until you have received final billing for the tour or have been advised that the tour is sufficiently subscribed to operate by your tour manager. SMOKING: Almost all of our clients prefer a smoke-free environment. If you smoke, please be sensitive to the group and refrain from smoking at meals, in vehicles, and in proximity to the group on trails and elsewhere. CANCELLATION POLICY: Refund of deposit and payment, less $100 handling fee, will be made if cancellation is received up to 120 days before departure. If cancellation occurs between 119 and 70 days before the departure date, 50% of the tour fee is refundable. Thereafter, all deposits and payments are not refundable. This policy only applies to payments made to Field Guides for tour (and any services included in those fees). Airline tickets not included in the tour fee and purchased separately often carry penalties for cancellation or change, or are sometimes totally non-refundable. Additionally, if you take out trip insurance the cost of the insurance is not refundable so it is best to purchase the policy just prior to making full payment for the tour or at the time you purchase airline tickets, depending upon the airlines restrictions.


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The right is reserved to cancel any tour prior to departure, in which case full refund will constitute full settlement to the passenger. The right is reserved to substitute in case of emergency another guide for the original one. TRIP CANCELLATION & MEDICAL EMERGENCY INSURANCE: We strongly recommend you consider purchasing trip cancellation (including medical emergency) insurance to cover your investment in case of injury or illness to you or your family prior to or during a trip. Because we must remit early (and substantial) tour deposits to our suppliers, we cannot offer any refund when cancellation occurs within 70 days of departure, and only a partial refund from 70 to 119 days prior to departure (see CANCELLATION POLICY). In addition, the Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and if it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation. US medical insurance plans seldom cover health costs incurred outside the United States unless supplemental coverage is purchased. Furthermore, US Medicare and Medicaid programs do not provide payment for medical services outside the United States. When making a decision regarding health insurance, Americans should consider that many foreign doctors and hospitals require payment in cash prior to providing service and that a medical evacuation to the United States may cost well in excess of $50,000. Uninsured travelers who require medical care overseas often face extreme difficulties. When consulting with your insurer prior to your trip, please ascertain whether payment will be made to the overseas healthcare provider or whether you will be reimbursed later for expenses that you incur. US citizens will receive from us a brochure regarding optional tour cancellation/emergency medical insurance. Our agent, CSA, will insure for trip cancellation and interruption, medical coverage, travel delay, baggage loss and delay, 24-hour accident protection, and emergency medical transportation. If you purchase the insurance when making final payment for the tour, pre-existing conditions are covered. The CSA brochure includes a contact number; you may also purchase your CSA policy on-line by visiting our website at www.fieldguides.com/travelinsurance.htm and clicking the link to CSA. Please note, once the insurance is purchased it is non-refundable, so please check with your tour manager prior to making the purchase to assure the tour will operate as scheduled. Citizens of other countries are urged to consult their insurance broker. RESPONSIBILITY: For and in consideration of the opportunity to participate in the tour, each tour participant and each parent or legal guardian of a tour participant who is under 18 agrees to release, indemnify, and hold harmless Field Guides Incorporated, its agents, servants, employees, shareholders, officers, directors, attorneys, and contractors as more fully set forth in the Release and Indemnity Agreement on the reverse side of the registration form. Field Guides Incorporated acts only as an agent for the passenger in regard to travel, whether by railroad, motorcar, motorcoach, boat, airplane, or other means, and assumes no liability for injury, damage, loss, accident, delay, or irregularity caused by defect in such vehicles or for any reason whatsoever, including the acts, defaults, or bankruptcies of any company or person engaged in conveying the passenger or in carrying out the arrangements of the tour. Field Guides Incorporated accepts no responsibility for losses or additional expenses due to delay or changes in air or other services, sickness, weather, strike, war, quarantine, or other causes. The tour participant shall bear all such losses and expenses. Field Guides Incorporated reserves the right to substitute hotels of similar category for those indicated and to make any changes in the itinerary where deemed necessary or caused by changes in air schedules. Field Guides Incorporated reserves the right to decline to accept or to retain any person as a member of any tour. Baggage is at ownerʼs risk entirely. Participants should be in good health and should consult a physician before undertaking a tour. If you have questions about the physical requirements of a tour, please contact our office for further information. Participants should prepare for the tour by reading the detailed itinerary, the information bulletin, and other pertinent matter provided by Field Guides. Each participant is responsible for bringing appropriate clothing and equipment as recommended in our bulletins. THE RECEIPT OF YOUR TOUR DEPOSIT SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE CONSENT TO THE ABOVE CONDITIONS. EACH TOUR PARTICIPANT AND EACH PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN OF A TOUR PARTICIPANT WHO IS UNDER 18 SHALL SIGN AND DELIVER THE RELEASE AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION. 1/14JC 2/14ADR

BIRDING TOURS WORLDWIDE - FIELD GUIDES · BIRDING TOURS WORLDWIDE ... relieve the brushy woodlands...

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