Terry’s first foreign trip this year was to Northeast Brazil. (Karen had too much going on so she had to stay home.) It was wonderful to see the scores of endemic birds that are just hanging on in the region, sad to see this naturally arid environment ravaged by drought and agricultural practices.

Buff-throated Owl. Photo by Larry Peavler.

Great Xenops. Photo by Bret Whitney.

Red-shouldered Spinetail. Photo by Bret Whitney.

Hooded Visorbearer. Photo by Bret Whitney.

Silvery-cheeked Antshrike. Photo by Richard Woodruff.

The Northeast Brazil tour group.

With Karen again snowed under with work, Terry and his friend Jim Arneson took a two-week spring birding excursion to the Caribbean, stopping first in Jamaica, then in Puerto Rico. While the birds and the people were great, it is again sad to see the destruction wrought by the hurricane on Puerto Rico, recognizing the great fragility of these island environments, particularly in the wake of climate change.

Our guide in Jamaica.

The view from Green Castle, Jamaica.

View from the South Beach, Puerto Rico.

Birding buddy Jim Arneson.