Joel, Author at Birding Escapes

Birding the Western Cape

Leave a Comment / South Africa Birding / Joel

It was hard to believe that the time was upon me. The time to pack my bags and head to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport for a trip that would take me to the other side of the world and the other side of the equator. At age sixty-three, I would be crossing the equator for the first time. It’s not like I haven’t been a passionate traveler throughout my life, to the contrary, I have visited 5 continents, more than 50 countries and have been to forty-nine of fifty states in the USA. Also, most of my working career was in expat assignments.

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This One’s for the Drive Home

2 Comments / Uncategorized / Joel

Final Blog – Alaska – A Journey not a Destination Take the Long Way Home For decades Willie Nelson has played Whiskey River to open his concerts. For just as long, the Eagles have closed their shows with Take It Easy, the song that put them on the charts in 1972. In a show of

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Birding the Yucatan, Merida Mexico Memories

4 Comments / Mexico Birding / Joel

The day started early with a trip to a city park in Merida called Parque Acuaparque. This turned out to be a great start and right in the urban area of the surprisingly large city.

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Birding Interior Alaska feat. Glacier Fun Facts

3 Comments / Uncategorized / Joel

Part 9 – Alaska, A Journey, not a Destination Check out the flip side of this blog, Birding Coastal Alaska. Click Here Birding Interior Alaska and More It would be easy to say that we birded Alaska, North to South and East to West, but that would not be entirely accurate. North, yes, you can’t

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Birding Coastal Alaska feat. the Klondike Gold Rush

2 Comments / Alaska Birding / Joel

Part 8 – Alaska, A Journey, Not a Destination Yes, I know that Barrow Alaska is Coastal, but if you have been following you know that it was worthy of its own blog. Click Here The Klondike My Emotional Connection At some point in my early childhood, likely while living in Gainesville, FL and likely

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Black Series HQ17 Upgrade Usefulness Report

1 Comment / Black Series Camper / Joel

Introduction This past summer my wife and I embarked on a road trip like we have never done before. We purchased our 2022 Black Series HQ17 in December 2022 with this road trip in mind. I also purchased a 2022 F250 Platinum with 6.7L Diesel Engine to pull it. While we did a handful of

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Birding Barrow – Definitely Worth It

6 Comments / Alaska Birding / Joel

Barrow, Alaska (now officially called Utqiagvik) might well be the most unique and interesting place that I have ever been. I want to go back!
Although birding Barrow in the summer is fantastic, and I will get to that, this town is loaded with history and culture, new and old.

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Birding British Columbia and the Yukon

6 Comments / Canada Birding / Joel

Lewis’s Woodpecker, “Oh Canada”, what a great first bird to identify. This bird, which I had only seen a couple of times in Idaho a few days earlier was sitting on the telephone pole pecking away at something.

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Part 5 – From Condor to Cassia Crossbill

7 Comments / Arizona Birding, Idaho Birding, Utah Birding / Joel

“I’ve been from Phoenix, Arizona all the Way to Tacoma…” This Steve Miller song parallels this blog in many ways.

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Take a Chance on Birding Las Vegas

8 Comments / Nevada Birding / Joel

There is something about Las Vegas that attracts many birds to stop off or become resident when many others of their species pass it by in their migration patterns. Could it be the bright lights of the strip?

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Part 3 – Birding Southeast Arizona My Way

4 Comments / Arizona Birding / Joel

The next leg of the journey was one of the most anticipated parts of the entire trip. The sky islands of Southeast Arizona rise from the desert floor to reach 9000+ feet above sea level. They create an American oasis for biodiversity.

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Part 2 – The West Texas Birding Two-step

6 Comments / Texas Birding / Joel

Christmas Mountain Oasis is Ground Zero for the Lucifer Hummingbird. For decades Carolyn Olm has developed and nurtured her desert property in Brewster County into a year-round haven for birds.

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Alaska, A Journey not a Destination

3 Comments / Texas Birding / Joel

Months of planning and preparation was seamlessly executed before loading the Black Series HQ17 travel trailer, hooking it to my Ford F250 and heading south to Alaska from Lone Grove, Oklahoma.

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Florida Scrub-jays to Piping Plovers

2 Comments / Florida Birding, Louisiana Birding, Texas Birding / Joel

I have one more comment on Florida Scrub-jay. Why is it not the State Bird? Floridians should fight for this designation and honor a bird that is uniquely Florida.

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A Road Trip for the Aged?, Ages

1 Comment / Florida Birding, Louisiana Birding / Joel

One of the most dramatic sightings was the flock of Snow Geese. Thousands of birds filling the sky as far as the eye can see and making a landing in a nearby field. It was like a swarm of mosquitos from a bad dream, except it was beautiful.

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Birding Andalucia – A Lifetime of Memories

4 Comments / Europe Birding / Joel

Birding Andalucia offers a unique birding opportunity due to its proximity to the Straits of Gibraltar. This close point of approach to Africa becomes a major migration route as well as a spillway for African birds to reside in this part of Spain.

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Checking the Box on Wintertime Czech Birding

7 Comments / Europe Birding / Joel

And so the time came to pass that another non-birding vacation would begin. It had been nearly twenty years since I visited my wife’s home country, so I guess it was long overdue and what was required of me was to suck it up and not worry too much about Czech birding.

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Birding Chiriqui Highlands – Part 6 – Birding Panama

5 Comments / Panama Birding, Uncategorized / Joel

There were at least two things that I was really looking forward to. One was meeting up with my uncle, Clyde Stephens, to do some serious birding with him for the first time. Second, was to bird in higher elevations to see birds that have not been available at any of the locations that I have birded so far this trip. Birding Chiriquí would surely be an exciting time.

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Provincia de Veraguas – Part 5 – Birding Panama

2 Comments / Panama Birding / Joel

The time had arrived to fly the nest. No more will we wake up and walk to a table where the coffee is ready and a hot breakfast is placed in front of you, ditto for lunch and dinner. No more will we be escorted to the best birding locations that years of local knowledge have uncovered. No more will we follow the top guides in Panama around that hear and track down every little tweet in the jungle and provide 100% confidence in the identification of the birds that we see. Those days are over.

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El Valle de Anton – Birding Panama – Part 4

1 Comment / Panama Birding / Joel

The accommodation at the Canopy Lodge was wildly different than in the Darién. The facility has more of a resort hotel vibe compared to the eco-lodge vibe of the Darién property.

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