Peace Country Naturalist

Category: Birding

  • Birding and Wildlife Watching in southern Saskatchewan.

    For various reasons, I have to take a bit of a break from the more distant travel destinations and specialized birding tours. Last summer, I did go to a conference in Winnipeg, and I took that opportunity to make a stop in Grasslands National Park, in southern Saskatchewan. Southern Saskatchewan isn’t quite as exotic a…

  • Eastern Indonesia: Waigeo

    Waigeo is a largely unspoiled island that is just north of the northwestern tip of New Guinea. It’s the largest island of the Raja Ampat archipelago, and is the only island in the group with any roads at all. It also has a small town and some small homestays / beach resorts. These resorts aren’t…

  • Eastern Indonesia: Halmahera

    The next stop on the tour was the island of Halmahera, which was formerly called Gilolo. Getting to Halmahera is a bit of a process. There aren’t any major airports on the island itself, so first you have to fly to the city of Ternate, on the island of the same name. Ternate is a…

  • Eastern Indonesia: Sulawesi Part II

    After Lore Lindu, we headed back to the city of Palu and stayed a night there before heading to Manado. The hotel in Palu (Sultan Raja) was quite nice. I left a hat behind there and the hotel staff actually contacted the tour leader about it and had it sent to the last hotel we…

  • Eastern Indonesia: Sulawesi Part I

    It’s been a couple of weeks since I returned from my latest adventure: a trip to eastern Indonesia. Specifically, it covered the islands of Sulawesi, Halmahera, New Guinea, and Waigeo. What made me want to visit that area of the world in particular? The bird life is one of the big reasons, particularly the Birds…

  • Botswana Part I: Okavango Panhandle

    I spent most of my trip to Africa in Namibia, but I did cross over into neighboring Botswana a couple of times. The first time was with the birding group. We spent a few nights at a secluded lodge along the Okavango River in northern Botswana. We took a short boat ride to get to…

  • Namibia: Kavango and Zambezi Regions (featuring hippos, bee-eaters, and strangler figs).

    After the visit to Etosha National Park, we headed through the Kavango and Zambezi regions of Namibia, which are located in the northeastern part of the country. This region of Namibia is much greener and more densely populated than the south, in part due to the presence of two major permanent rivers: the Kavango and…

  • Namibia: Spitzkoppe

    The semester’s over and I finally have time to write again! Note: The first blog post about my trip to Namibia can be found by clicking HERE. The next stops on the itinerary included Spitzkoppe and various sites in the Erongo Mountains. “Spitzkoppe,” which is derived from the German words for ‘pointed dome,’ is a group…

  • Namibia: Walvis Bay Flamingos

    Note: My first post about my trip to Namibia is HERE . After driving through the desert, we arrived in the coastal city of Walvis Bay. It’s a great spot for people interested in birds and nature, as many sea birds can be seen along the shore, especially in the Walvis Bay lagoon. There are…

  • Namibia Trip: Daan Viljoen Nature Reserve and Avis Dam

    Note: The first blog post about my trip to Namibia can be found by clicking HERE. After spending time on my own at a guest ranch, I joined up with a small tour group at a lodge just outside of Windhoek. This was through Rockjumper Tours, which is a birdwatching tour company. From my experience,…