Travis Audubon Society NatureScape Tours TAS: Great Midwest Warbler-a-thon June 10-18

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1 Travis Audubon Society NatureScape Tours TAS: Great Midwest Warbler-a-thon June The avian wonders of North America s boreal forest during the summer breeding season may well be one of the best kept (and enjoyable!) secrets in all of birding. Sharing it with only our small group of seven birders insures a better birding experience and that our little secret remains just between us! June landscapes are as lush as the birds are conspicuous. You ll experience boreal forests, sedge meadows, spruce bogs, northern lakes, lush hardwood forests, expansive Mississippi River backwaters, scenic bluffs, grasslands and pine barrens. Covering the richest breeding locales in all of North America, you ll luxuriate in the experience of seeing birds in full song and display amid their breeding territories. Warblers are particularly well represented, with more than 35 species possible, and we re making an effort to see as many species as possible. While seeing so many songbirds (including that amazing variety of warblers) is sure to be a highlight for most, witnessing so many species of birds singing on territory, learning their varied songs while experiencing their breeding habitat first hand may be the ultimate birding experience. We ll make a few optional evening excursions to look & listen for birds, mammals and wildlife. Various target species include displaying American Woodcock, mysterious Yellow Rails, Sawwhet, (Boreal Owl is a remote possibility), Barred, Short-eared, Long-eared and Great Gray Owls and Whip-poor-will. Calling frogs, dancing fireflies and some of our most-hoped-for mammals are all more likely to be found after the sun sets. As one might expect, because we traverse some of the last great natural areas of the region, our chances of encountering some of the more secretive mammals that call the area home are quite high. Examples from recent tours include Snowshoe Hare, Beaver, Porcupine, River Otter, Long-tailed Weasel, Mink, Fisher, Moose, Black Bear, Red & Gray Foxes and Gray Wolf. Spectacular species like Pine Marten and Lynx are possible!

2 In order to provide greater chances of success with secretive species, and for a better learning and birding experience, our tour is limited to a small group of seven participants per tour in a single 15 passenger van. Itinerary Day 1, Arrival Detroit, Michigan, to Mio, MI. Our tour begins just after noon upon our arrival in Detroit with the first group of TAS members. We want to depart near 1:00 PM, so plan your arriving flights for close to 12:00 PM. This provides ample time for folks to claim their baggage and prepare for our departure. If everyone is on time, we can be on our way close to 1:00 PM. As everyone will be eager for our birding adventure to begin, we ll have a bit of birding as we travel northward and, if time remains once we arrive in Mio, we ll drive north of town where there are many Amish farms. Grassland species abound and Sandhill Crane, Upland Sandpiper, Alder and Willow Flycatchers and Bobolink top the list of possibilities from this habitat. American Woodcock and Whip-poor-will are vocal residents and an after dark outing may be offered to find them. NIGHT MIO, MI Day 2, - Kirtland s Warbler tour, Mio, clean-up in northern Michigan. Our morning is reserved for learning about the highly endangered Kirtland s Warbler. The entire population of this species (recent estimates number only about 1,800 birds) is known to breed only in Michigan, with a few very recent isolated records in Wisconsin and Ontario. With the help of the U.S. Forest Service, we re likely to find these special warblers. Other species in the area include Upland Sandpiper, Hermit Thrush, Vesper, Clay-colored, White-throated and Lincoln s Sparrows, Eastern Towhee and charismatic Bobolinks. Once we re entirely satisfied with our views of Kirtland s Warbler, we ll visit other locations including the Rifle River State Recreation Area, whose 4,000 acres contain a nice variety of habitats. You ll have experiences with many birds that ll become familiar over the course of our trip. In addition to the many breeding songbirds, warbler highlights include Goldenwinged, Mourning and Canada. Lakes and wetlands hold a nice variety of species including Common Loon, American and Least Bitterns, Sora and Virginia Rails, Sedge and Marsh Wrens and colorful Yellow-headed Blackbirds. If needed, we ll have another chance to look for American Woodcock and Whip-poor-will this evening. NIGHT MIO, MI Day 3, - Weather/fall back for Kirtland s, open options (clean up)...n. Illinois, N. Indiana or Sugar River enroute to Beloit, WI. Our final morning amid the woodlands of Michigan. If weather conditions prevented a successful Kirtland s Warbler

3 outing, we ll repeat our search for North America s most endangered warbler. The balance of our morning will be spent filling any holes in our checklists before departing west to Wisconsin. Today is largely a travel day as we make the journey around Lake Michigan, across the plains of Illinois to the woodlands of southern Wisconsin. While our journey is a bit long, we ve time to search for any birds remaining absent from our lists. Likely targets could include Yellow-throated, Prairie and Worm-eating Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, Dickcissel and Henslow s and Grasshopper Sparrows. NIGHT BELOIT, WI Day 4 - Sugar River, Governor Dodge State Park, Baxter s Hollow & to Prairie du Chien, WI. Grasslands, meadows and thickets across Governor Dodge State Park s 5,000 acres are home to many interesting birds. Goodies include Bell s & Whiteeyed Vireos, Orchard Oriole and a host of sparrows topped by Henslow s (which can be common some years!). We ll visit this park only as a back-up location for Henslow s Sparrow or if we have extra time for birding. Baxter s Hollow contains the largest intact southern drymesic forest in Wisconsin. Its White Pine, Red & White Oak, Hickory and Basswood forests are Wisconsin s most reliable location for Worm-eating Warbler. Avian treats like Black-billed and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Scarlet Tanager, Blue-winged, Golden-winged Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Canada and Kentucky Warblers make it an attractive birding location as we search for the more elusive Worm-eating Warbler. An after dinner outing for Whip-poor-will is possible if some have yet to see them. NIGHT PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, WI Day 5 - Wyalusing State Park, SE Minnesota & to Minneapolis, MN. This morning is spent exploring the woodlands, ridges and coulees of one of Wisconsin s birding gems Wyalusing State Park. The scenic bluffs at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers hold many species of interest to visiting birders. As we explore the more than 2,600 acres that make up one of Wisconsin s oldest state parks, you ll experience the magnificent views that have captivated visitors since Marquette and Joliet first witnessed the scene in 1673! Avian highlights abound with Acadian Flycatcher, Prothonotary, Cerulean, Yellow-throated, Worm-eating & Kentucky Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chat, Yellow-throated, White-eyed & Bell s Vireos and Henslow s Sparrows topping the large list of expected species to be found amid Wyalusing s mature woodlands, backwaters and fields. Departing Wyalusing, we ll travel northward following the winding pathway of the Mississippi River. Its scenic bluffs, coulees, forests and grasslands offer much to the visiting birder. Common Moorhen, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Prothonotary & Cerulean Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush are likely additions. NIGHT MINNEAPOLIS, MN

4 Day 6 - Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve, East Central Minnesota & to McGregor, MN. Dawn finds us wandering the winding trails and paths of Dakota & Scott County s Murphy-Hanrehan Regional Park. The impressive woodlands here present a wonderful opportunity to explore a rich southern-flavored avifauna with many species at the northwestern limits of their range. More than 90 species of birds have breed in the park including 12 species of warblers. We ll search for big woods specialties like Red-shouldered Hawk, Acadian Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Wood Thrush, Tufted Titmouse, Blue-winged, Cerulean and Hooded Warblers the latter known to breed regularly nowhere else in Minnesota Eastern Towhee and Field Sparrow. In recent years, Henslow s Sparrows have been found in small numbers near the park reserve and we ll make a special search for this grassland-loving sparrow. The greater Twin Cities area boasts a number of regional and county parks & nature centers that provide us many options for birding before we must depart north toward Aitkin County. As we travel north, we ll stop at several lakes. French & Diamond Lakes for Eared and Western Grebes, Ruddy Duck and Black Tern, Mille Lacs for loons, mergansers and Common Terns and few others along the way. Our afternoon and evening hours purposefully kept a bit flexible depending upon weather and birding conditions they re likely to be spent exploring networks of gravel roads crisscrossing areas of Aitkin County. Great Gray Owls are resident here, and we ll hope to encounter this Gray Ghost of the North. I hope to have time to search a couple of areas this evening, while our first stop planned for tomorrow has held family groups the past two summers. Wetlands and wet sedge meadows near McGregor are famous for their Yellow Rails and an after dark outing will be offered for those who wish to see one. Other targets for the area include American Bittern, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Sandhill Crane, Short-eared Owl, Black-billed Cuckoo, Sedge Wren, and Nelson s & LeConte s Sparrows. NIGHT MCGREGOR, MN Day 7 - Hedbom Forest Road, Sax-Zim Bog, Duluth, Lake Superior s North Shore & to Grand Marais. Our first stop this morning is our favorite birding road in Minnesota. A bit off the beaten track, the Hedbom Forest Road covers habitats ranging from mature deciduous forest, sedge meadows, grasslands to Black Spruce/Tamarack bogs. Over its 12 miles it s possible to find 20 species of breeding warblers!, each occupying its preferred habitat. This is the equivalent of driving from Tennessee to Canada in just 12 miles! But warblers are only part of the story! I ve found family groups of Great Gray Owls the last two years, Black-backed and American Three-toed Woodpeckers have both nested and there is simply no easier location to SEE Connecticut Warbler in Minnesota. Other nesting birds here

5 include Trumpeter Swan, Common Loon, Ring-necked & Wood Ducks, Black-billed Cuckoo, all those amazing warblers, Evening Grosbeak, sometimes White-winged Crossbills and there s always a variety of singing sparrows Savannah, LeConte s, Song, Lincoln s, Swamp, White-throated & Dark-eyed Junco to name a few. As we enter the area of Tamarack/Black Spruce bogs, open grasslands and sedge meadows known as the Sax-Zim Bog, many new birds make their presence known. Singing Alder, Yellow-bellied and Olive-sided Flycatchers, Palm, Mourning and Connecticut Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco and a host of sparrows will serenade us. Located on the Western tip of Lake Superior, Duluth is gateway to Minnesota s great Boreal Forests and Lake Superior s scenic North Shore. We ll enjoy some local birding as we travel up the shore and we ll begin our list of spectacular breeding warblers with stops for the likes of Cape May, Blackburnian and Canada Warblers. We may find a few migrants along the way, and we ll hope for late migrants that we aren t likely encounter as breeders such as Blackpoll, Orange-crowned, Wilson s and Tennessee Warblers. Lake Superior dominates the view out our passenger side windows and we ll search for species like Redthroated & Common Loons, Red-breasted and Common Mergansers and, with luck, Peregrine Falcon on dramatic nesting cliffs. NIGHT GRAND MARAIS, MN Day 8 - Grand Marais, Gunflint Trail & North Shore. Dawn comes early to the North Woods in June, and we ll be well inland from Grand Marais as the sun rises. A great wall of sound provided by the dawn chorus from the diverse boreal forest habitats found along the Gunflint Trail is beyond phenomenal. Songsters like Veery, Wood, Hermit and Swainson s Thrushes, American Robins with sound-alikes Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Scarlet Tanager Alder, Yellow-bellied and Olive-sided Flycatchers, ubiquitous White-throated and Lincoln s Sparrows and a spectacularly large list of warblers with no fewer than 15 species breeding along our planned route. A few of the more common warbler voices include Golden-winged, Nashville, Northern Parula, Magnolia, Yellow-rumped, Blackburnian, Pine, Blackand-white and Mourning Warblers. This area also offers some of our best chances for spruce-loving Bay-breasted and Cape May and local breeders like Tennessee and Wilson s Warblers. Along the way we ll hope for less vocal species like Spruce & Ruffed Grouse, Northern Goshawk, Merlin, Black-backed & American Three-toed Woodpeckers, Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee and Rusty Blackbird to show themselves. NIGHT GRAND MARAIS, MN Day 9, - Grand Marais, North Shore, Tettagouche State Park & to Duluth. Our last morning in the North Woods of Minnesota and we ll spend a bit more time in the mature hardwood forests

6 this morning in search of any potential holes in our birdlist. Birds we expect to see in this habitat include American Redstart, Ovenbird, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Canada, Blackthroated Green and Black-throated Blue Warblers. As we turn southward toward Duluth, we ll make additional stops as needed to fill in any missing species from our time in Minnesota s Arrowhead region as time allows. Please plan your departure from Duluth for any time after 2:00 PM. This allows us our last morning of birding while insuring a timely arrival at the airport for departing flights. As your plane rises over Lake Superior on your return journey, your mind will be filled with sufficient sights, sounds, smells and experiences of our great North Woods to last a lifetime! TAS: Great Midwest Warbler-a-thon EXTRA LOGISTICAL SERVICES: Should you wish NatureScape Tours to put arrangements in place for your early arrival prior to the tour s start or extend your stay after the tour s conclusion, please contact our office prior to your tour s scheduled departure date as far in advance as possible. Such arrangements could range from nights at our first hotel of the tour to an extended stay in the hotel or area of a week or more. Our staff can easily make seamless arrangements for you that could include transfers, hotel rooms, transportation and excursions. We can often provide these services at our contracted group rates as long as we receive your request far enough in advance. All amounts are quoted in United States dollars and are based upon double occupancy. TAS: Warbler-a-thon - $ Single Supplement - $445 COST: The fee for this tour, based on a minimum group size of six, is $2125 from Detroit, MI. This includes a $100 donation to Travis Audubon Society. If the final group is smaller than six participants, a small group supplement may be charged. COST INCLUDES: A $100 per person donation to Travis Audubon Society. Accommodations based on two persons sharing a two bedded room. We select good hotels convenient to our birding destinations, but at times the only convenient accommodations may be rather simple. For those wishing single rooms the additional cost through a single supplement will be charged. We try to supply roommates for you when possible, but we can t always find one. If we can not find you a roommate, you will be charged the added cost of single accommodations. Meals as indicated in the itinerary. Expert guide service. All transportation from your city of arrival. Transportation may be by private or chartered plane, private or chartered car, station wagon, van, bus or ATV. All requisite Taxes, Local & Native Access Fees, Group Admissions and Park Entry Fees are included in the tour price. COST DOES NOT INCLUDE: Not included are transportation to or from Detroit, MI or Duluth, MN, meals away from our scheduled itinerary, laundry, personal tips, alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, juices, mineral waters and other beverages, room service charges, souvenirs, insurance of any kind, telephone calls the use of TV or on-line services not included in the room rate and overweight baggage fees.

7 MEAL COSTS: Eight meals as indicated in the itinerary ARE included in the cost of this tour, your remaining meals are NOT. For our TAS: Great Midwest Warbler-a-thon tour we eat many meals in the field like picnics. Others are at convenient typical restaurants while our final meal of the day is usually a sit-down dinner. Where we can provide meals to the advantage of each participant we do so. However, as a person can eat very well for as little as $30 per day or they can choose to spend three or four times that amount for a single day, depending upon your menu choices, we do not include all meals during this tour, only those that are indicated in the itinerary. NatureScape Tours has a policy of NOT overcharging one person to cover another s meal choices which we would have to do if all meals were included as budgeted expenses. TIPS: All expected gratuities encountered during your tour (restaurant wait staff, luggage porters, bus drivers and local guides) is included in the cost of your tour. However, if you feel your NatureScape leader, local guide or lodge personnel have given you exceptional service, it is perfectly suitable for you to bestow any gratuity you elect. We strongly stress that such tips are completely optional and solely at your discretion. DATE OF COST QUOTATION: May 20, We can only quote current costs. Tour planning often begins more than a year before the tour runs. While we try to arrive at our best estimates, we can t predict fluctuation of currency exchange rates, increases in hotel or vehicle rates outside of our negotiated contracts, etc. Therefore, we reserve the right to increase the tour cost when there are justifiable reasons. However, we make a sincere effort to arrive at the closest possible estimate and have even absorbed small increases at times to avoid raising tour costs to participants. Many of our suppliers have gone to surcharges in their contracts with NatureScape Tours as a means to offset the uncertainties inherent in long distance planning. The two most prevalent are: FUEL: In today s volatile oil market, it s difficult, nay, impossible, to accurately project fuel costs into the distant future. Prices for our tours are based upon fuel rates reasonably expected at the time of your tour s start. While NatureScape Tours does everything possible to maintain the quoted price of your tour, with a dramatic shift in fuel prices, it may be necessary to charge a fuel surcharge. If such a surcharge is levied, every effort will be made to minimize the cost passed along to you. In almost all cases, these are additional charges being assessed NatureScape Tours by our service suppliers and vendors who have exercised their right, under their contracts with NatureScape Tours, to increase prices caused by substantial changes in the cost of fuel. EXCHANGE RATES: As with oil, it s impossible, to accurately project foreign currency exchange rates into the distant future. Prices for our tours are based upon the rate of exchange reasonably expected at the time of your tour s start. While NatureScape Tours does everything possible to maintain the quoted price of your tour, with a dramatic shift in exchange rates, it may be necessary to charge a surcharge. If such a surcharge is levied, every effort will be made to minimize the cost passed along to you. In almost all cases, these are additional charges being assessed NatureScape Tours by our service suppliers and vendors who have exercised their right, under their contracts with NatureScape Tours, to increase prices caused by substantial changes in foreign currency exchange rates. PLEASE NOTE: In more than 20 years of running tours, we ve NEVER had to assess an additional charge or surcharge to a client. We feel strongly that our staff s careful planning and negotiation will continue our unblemished record.

8 UNANTICIPATED COSTS: Rarely we have had unexpected costs. Cancellation of a flight has required staying in a hotel an extra night, hiring vehicles for extra birding excursions, and other services. A few times when all of the birds expected at an area were found more quickly than anticipated, the tour leader has proposed shortening the visit to that location, adding flights to new destinations, etc. If such changes are proposed and accepted by participants, it is with the understanding that they accept the obligation to pay any extra unanticipated costs. On all of our tours, participants are responsible for any extra expenses incurred from deviations to our scheduled tour itinerary which result from events out of our control (additional hotel nights, transfers and transportation by air, water or ground). During early summer in the upper Midwest, this typically refers to very rare WEATHER DELAYS!, but could be a result of flight cancellations, labor strikes, acts of God or the like. REGISTRATION: THIS TOUR IS STRICTLY LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM OF SEVEN PARTICI- PANTS! A tour deposit of $ and a completed registration form are required to confirm your space. Without these, no one is considered registered. Registrations are taken on a firstcome first-served basis with priority based on the postmark date. TOUR CANCELLATION: To cover the work and expense of handling registrations and canceling them, $ will be deducted from all deposits if we are notified in writing at least 121 days before departure date. For our TAS: Great Midwest Warbler-a-thon, fees deducted for later cancellations are: 120 to 91 days before departure date, your entire deposit plus all inseparable costs (i.e. vehicle rental, leaders expenses); due to contractual obligations with our hotels, bus and van rentals, boat charters and other costs where we have contracted payment dates there can be no refunds for cancellations within 90 days prior to our departure. Some participants have lost substantial sums when illness or other circumstances prevented them from taking a tour. Therefore, we advise you to buy trip cancellation insurance that may reimburse the entire unrecovered amount should you have to cancel. UNUSED PORTIONS OF A TOUR: We can t offer refunds for unused portions of a tour unless agreed to before the tour. If you fail to show up or meet the tour regardless of the reason, we are under no obligation to provide any refund. Trip cancellation insurance may reimburse losses if you fail to meet the tour or must leave a tour early for illness or other valid reason. COMPLETION OF PAYMENT: Foreign travel agents, hotels, airline operators etc. require advance payment. We are able to offer better rates on our tours because of negotiated contracts with specific payment dates with our service providers. Your cooperation with timely payment helps to avoid problems with your arrangements. For this tour we require your final payment to be received in our office by March 1, 2012.