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TOUR REGISTRATION FORM

FONT General Tour Information 
& Terms/Conditions

CUSTOMER COMMENTS
& TESTIMONIALS       

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  RECENT FONT NEWS
(in our E-Mail Bulletins)
  as of August 10, 2015
  Relating to our  recent FONT tour in 
  ICELAND (number #20 for us there),
  and a look at what's ahead 
    
   Also, what's been happening
   lately here at FONT
   with info about previous tours in
  Alaska, Argentina, Chile,  
  Costa Rica,  Dominican Republic, 
  Ecuador, Japan, Iceland, 
  Panama, and more
  including birds and other nature 
  during our tours in:
  April/May 2014 in Ecuador,
  Mar 2014 in Texas,
  Oct/Nov 2013 & Jan/Feb 2014 in Japan,
  Sep/Oct 2013 in Iceland,   
  July 2013 in Panama, 
  June 2013 in Alaska, and
  April & July 2013 in Ecuador.
 

 RARE & THREATENED BIRDS
 OF NORTH & MIDDLE AMERICA
 south to Panama

 A BIRD SEEN DURING
 FONT CHILE TOUR  IN NOV 2009
 DESCRIBED AS NEW SPECIES

    TOURS IN ALASKA,
        ECUADOR & ESTONIA

 ALASKA
 a birding & nature tour with 3 parts,
 do any or all:  
 south to Valdez, west to Nome, 
 & north to Deadhorse in the Arctic

 ECUADOR
 at reserves for regionally
 endemic, rare, & specialty birds  
  
 ESTONIA
 for birds, butterflies, 
 mammals including bear,
 plants including orchids,
 2 tours in  2016:
 1 in April, 1 in June       

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  As of September 8, 2015, 
 there's still some availability 
 on upcoming FONT tours in:
   ARGENTINA
   Nov 4-17, 2015
   in the north at Igazu Falls
   and Ibera Marshes
   for many birds, butterflies,
   and a lot of other nature   
   Nov 18-29, 2015
   in Patagonia for birds,
   whales, seals, a glacier
   and a million penguins
  HONDURAS  Jan 5-15, 2016
  to Copan, and Pico Bonito, and more
  for birds, butterflies, moths, plants   
  JAPAN  Jan 21 - Feb 2, 2016
  for winter birds: cranes, eagles,
  fish-owl, and others too.


 The Resplendent Quetzal of
 Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica

 Tour Itineraries and prices in links below. 

  OUR UPCOMING
BIRDING & NATURE TOURS:

Tours in North America

Tours in the Caribbean

Tours in Central America
(including Mexico)

Tours in South America #1 
(in Brazil and Uruguay,
Ecuador, Venezuela)

Tours in South America #2 
(in Argentina and Chile)  

Tours in Europe

Tours in Japan


  OUR Upcoming tours: 
A Chronological SummarY
 with PRICES & links to itineraries
 (in 2015, 2016, and into 2017)

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  LOOKING BACK at the 
FONT Archives Galleries 1 thru 4
(with Photos of People & Places,
 and Birds & Other Nature) 

  PAST FONT TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
 by destination, with links to: 
 narratives, photo galleries, &
 related lists pertaining to birds 
 & other nature during our past tours 


A male Rock Ptarmigan during a FONT tour
in Iceland. To see more Icelandic birds:
ICELAND, SOME PAST TOURS, PHOTOS


  VARIOUS NARRATIVES & 
PHOTO GALLERIES 
from past FONT tours
In Arizona, Belize, Brazil, Chile, 
California, Colorado, Costa Rica, 
Guatemala, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, 
North Carolina, Panama, Sweden, 
Washington State, & in the West Indies 
in Antigua, Barbuda, Dominica, 
the Dominican Republic, & Guadeloupe 

This NAZCA BOOBY was photographed 
during the FONT Ecuador tour in July 2013.

ABOUT SOME PAST FONT TOURS: 

in the Lesser Antilles & the Cayman Islands,
a nice mix of FLORA & FAUNA 

in Brazil & Uruguay, photos of birds

in Brazil,
HYACINTH MACAW & HARPY EAGLE,
JABIRU & JAGUAR  

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SOME NATURE-RELATED LISTS 
& PHOTO GALLERIES

 For Eastern North America
 where FONT will be offering 
 more tours in months to come:
 Mammals   Butterflies   Moths
 Dragonflies & Damselflies
 Amphibians & Reptiles
 Marine Fish   Other Marine Life 
 Wildflowers & Other Plants  

 For the Delmarva Peninsula:  Birds

 For North America: Birds, in 6 parts

 Links lower on this page  to Other Lists 
 & Photo Galleries  

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 Bird Taxonomy Updates  (as of Sept 2012) 

 2010 was the 20th Year for FONT Birding 
 & Nature Tours - we're now into our 22nd year




The large stork, the Jabiru, has been seen
during FONT tours in Argentina, Belize,
Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras, & Venezuela.
During our tour in Belize in April 2011,
about 50 were seen.  

Above: TIKA 2, an orphaned JAGUAR
during our April 2011 Tour in Belize.
JAGUARS in the wild have been seen 
during 7 FONT tours in 5 years:   
4 times in Brazil (as recently as Aug 2011) 
2 times in Mexico,  and once in Guatemala.
 Click for more about: JAGUARS 
with more photos of Tika 2.        
 
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Directory of Photos in this Website
(alphabetical listings of birds,
 mammals, and other nature)

This directory relates to photos included 
in bird-lists below, & in other lists & files 
in this website pertaining to mammals, 
amphibians & reptiles, butterflies, moths, 
dragonflies & damselflies, grasshoppers,
marine-life including fish and other life of 
coral reefs and shorelines, wildflowers & 
other plants, celestial phenomena.
Now in the directory: 2,425 entries.      

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LISTS & PHOTO GALLERIES 
of BIRDS
 with subspecies & updated taxonomy,
 and noting those found during FONT tours 
 (from the latest AOU supplement & 
  with most  names as in the list of the IOU,
  the International Ornithologists Union.
  There's a link to the website of the IOU
  at bottom of this column.   



This Striped Owl was photographed
after dark during a FONT tour in Brazil.

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 LISTS & PHOTO GALLERIES
of MAMMALS
& Some Other Wildlife
including those found during FONT tours

The South American Coati
is a relative of the raccoons.

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  LISTS & PHOTO GALLERIES
of BUTTERFLIES, MOTHS,
DRAGONFLIES, DAMSELFLIES 
& GRASSHOPPERS  
including those found during FONT tours

Above: A Clearwing Butterfly, 
Greta morgane oto,
one of the Neotropical butterflies
seen during FONT Birding & Nature Tours
in Central & South America.

Below: a dragonfly known as the
Twelve-spotted Skimmer,
Lidellula pulchella

 

 

 
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  LISTS & PHOTO GALLERIES
of AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES
including those found during FONT tours



A Green Iguana during a FONT Tour 
in Costa Rica

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 LISTS & PHOTO GALLERIES 
of MARINE LIFE
(other than marine mammals)
including sightings during FONT tours



A Loggerhead Sea Turtle
during a FONT boat-trip 
on the ocean off North Carolina, USA   


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  LISTS & PHOTO GALLERIES
of WILDFLOWERS
& OTHER PLANTS
including those during FONT tours

Prickly Poppy in Arizona, USA 

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Links to other Websites

Including, "ARKIVE", with many photos 
of rare birds & animals of various kinds, 
including a number seen 
during FONT tours
and 
the IUCN Red List of 
THREATENED SPECIES of birds, 
mammals, amphibians & reptiles, 
& other nature 

And a link to another excellent site: 
"BIRDS ON STAMPS"  

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Annually there have been 
Focus On Nature Tours, 
for 23 years, in over 25 countries. 

Particularly notable have been 
our JAPAN birding & nature tours 
(in winter, and the spring) 

Our CARIBBEAN birding & nature tours 
have been to over a dozen 
West Indian islands.

Our EUROPEAN birding & nature tours 
have been in: Spain, Sweden, Iceland, 
Hungary, & Poland. 

In NORTH AMERICA, our birding & 
nature tours have been in: Alaska, 
Arizona, California & Washington State, 
Delaware; Colorado & Kansas, 
Nebraska, Oklahoma, & Wyoming;  
Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey, 
Texas & New Mexico. 

In CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA, our 
birding & nature tours have been in: 
Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, 
Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, 
Ecuador, and Venezuela.
 
For 15 years, we did pelagic trips 
for seabirds and marine mammals 
offshore from the Eastern USA 
(from New Jersey, Delaware & 
 North Carolina), with also, during 
that time and since, other pelagic trips 
elsewhere in the world - 
notably in Chile & Japan.

 
P.O. Box 9021 
Wilmington DE 19809 USA 
Phone: (302) 529-1876
or toll-free:
1-888-721-3555

E-mail: font@focusonnature.com

Birding tours 
and nature tours, 
since 1990. 
Focus On Nature Tours Inc.  
is now into our 25th year, 
with birding and nature tours 
to various places 
throughout the world: 
in North, Central, and South America, 
the Caribbean, Europe,
 Asia (particularly Japan).




Above: the rare 
and recently-described 
JOCOTOCO ANTPITTA,
seen during the FONT tour
in Ecuador in April 2014. 
Below: a moth in the
genus ROTHCHILDIA
in the family SATURNIIDAE  
photographed during the
FONT tour in Ecuador
in July 2013. More in
OUR LIST WITH SOME PHOTOS
OF MOTHS & CATERPILLARS
IN SOUTH AMERICA




The 5 species of TODIES
are only on 4 islands
in the West Indies.
On 1 of those islands,
Hispaniola, there are 
2 of them.
Above is 1 of those 2,
the BROAD-BILLED TODY,
a bird that has been seen
during all 19 FONT tours
in the Dominican Republic.
 (above photo by
Rob Van Brussel)
For todies and other birds
on West Indian islands:
CARIBBEAN BIRDS,
A 2-PART LIST WITH PHOTOS 



Below: the HORSESHOE CRAB
In May, they come ashore en masse
to lay eggs on the beaches
of the Delmarva Peninsula.
(photo by Rise Hill)
For this creature that goes way back 
in time, and others:
MARINE LIFE OF 
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA



Birds such as Laughing Gulls
eat the HORSESHOE CRAB EGGS.
Other too, such as the Red Knot.
For it, during its long migration,
those eggs are a vital food source.
RED KNOTS IN AMERICA IN PERIL 

DELMARVA BIRDS

Sitting still on its perch deep in a
 neotropical rainforest,
a HANDSOME FRUITEATER,
a cotinga, that is one of the
many species of birds
that have been found during
FONT South American tours.
 (photo by Jim Eckert,
during a FONT tour)

MORE PHOTOS
AND LISTS OF BIRDS
IN THE NEOTROPICS
AND ELSEWHERE


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At various places in the world,
in the Neotropics and otherwise, 
during Focus On Nature Tours
in the last two and a half decades,
there has been a variety
of wonderful nature that
has been seen and enjoyed. 
BIRDS have included those 
that are big and colorful,
and others secretive and recently-discovered,
as is the antpitta in the photo at left.
Among the MOTHS and BUTTERFLIES
some have been exquisite.
Among the MAMMALS,
 some exciting, such as the jaguar.
Among AMPHIBIANS and REPTILES,
a number fascinating,
and among PLANTS,
a number interesting,
including some in the 3-part list
and gallery of photos
in the link below:
    
TROPICAL PLANTS
OF THE AMERICAS


Among the most enjoyable
nature that has been watched
during FONT neotropical tours
are an array of HUMMINGBIRDS.
In the photo below, one 
of the over 60 species of them
 that we've seen in Ecuador,
the CHESTNUT-BREASTED
CORONET.

Photo above during
our April 2014 Ecuador Tour, 
by Marie Gardner,
who also took the photo
at lower left of the blue feet,
during the July 2013
FONT tour in Ecuador.

For more photos
of as many as 110 different 
hummingbird species:

 HUMMINGBIRD LIST
& PHOTO GALLERY
(PART 1)

HUMMINGBIRD LIST
& PHOTO GALLERY
(PART 2)
      
***********************************     
Now, there are more than
2,400 photographs
of different birds and other nature 
are in this web-site.
There's an alphabetical listing in: 
PHOTO DIRECTORY 

In the photo below,
a Urania Swallowtail Moth
in Costa Rica,
1 of over 1,150 species in
OUR LIST WITH SOME PHOTOS
OF MOTHS & CATERPILLARS
IN CENTRAL AMERICA


(photo by Guilia Iannitelli)

 
Birding Tours
(and other 
nature TOURS) 
Worldwide

Geographical
Listing
in
alphabetical order
Birding Tours 
(& other nature TOURS) 
Worldwide
Calendar Listing
in 
chronological order


2015
2016 & 2017
Our thanks to everyone who traveled with us last year,  
the 24th year for FONT tours.
And now, in 2015, FONT is into its 25th year.

SOME FEATURE PHOTOS:

In the wonderful photograph above, 
it may look like a leaf, but it is a butterfly,
aptly called the RED-STRIPED LEAFWING.
The photo was taken in the Dominican Republic.
Notice to two white legs of the butterfly,
as it clings to a real leaf.
(photo by Liza Johnson)

 A Link to Lists and Photo Galleries of 
BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS
IN THE WEST INDIES OF THE CARIBBEAN



Above, the BLAKISTON'S FISH OWL
as we saw it during our Japan Tour in November 2013.
The species is said to be the rarest and the largest owl in the world.
During our November '13 tour, we saw 3 of them.
The Blakiston's Fish Owl has been found during 24 FONT tours in Japan, 
during all of our tours on the northern island of Hokkaido.
For itineraries for: UPCOMING FONT TOURS IN JAPAN

To see about our previous Japanese tours:
HIGHLIGHTS OF PAST FONT JAPAN TOURS
See: JAPAN'S BIRDS

Above: In Iceland, it is called HRAFNAFIFA.
Elsewhere in its range it is known as ALASKA COTTON.
Another name yet for it is SCHEUCHZER'S COTTONGRASS.
The scientific name for the plant:
ERIOPHORUM SCHEUCHZERI.
It is one of a number of interesting "northern plants"
that have been seen during FONT tours.
(photo by Gabriel Hauser)

For a list of more than 450 Icelandic Plants,
with some more photos, go to:
WILDFLOWERS AND OTHER PLANTS IN ICELAND

Also relating to Iceland, for a list with some photos
of Marine Life, including mollusks, anthropods,
jellyfish, fish, and marine mammals, go to:
MARINE LIFE OF ICELAND

  


A mollusk of Iceland is ARCTICA ISLANDICA.
One of these has been found that lived
for more than 500 years, making the species
the longest-lived non-colonial animal ever known.
Common names for it are the OCEAN QUAHOG
or the BLACK CLAM.   


Here, Links to Photos from Some Recent FONT Tours: 

IN ECUADOR:    IN APR/MAY 2014     IN JUL 2013    IN APR 2013 

IN SOUTHERN ARGENTINA IN DEC 2013    IN COSTA RICA IN MAR 2012 

IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:    IN APR 2012    IN FEB 2012 

IN ICELAND:    IN SEP/OCT 2013    IN JUN 2012     IN CHILE IN NOV 2011

Many of the photographs of the more than 2,400 things in nature 
in this website were taken during FONT tours 
at various places in the world.
But not all. Some photos have been kindly provided to us
so as to make our Lists & Photo Galleries more complete.

A purpose of this website, of course, is to present 
information about FONT tours.
But another purpose has evolved, to have a showcase
of interesting photographs by which people
not only on tours, but home at their computers,
can see the beauty and intricacy of nature.
Often people contact us about photos, either for an ID,
or simply to say they enjoy and appreciate those we have.
School teachers contact us often.
Our sincere appreciation to all
who have shared their photos with us.

The butterfly CALLICORE PYGAS at Iguazu Falls
(photo courtesy of Sherry Nelson)
OUR LISTS & PHOTO GALLERIES 
OF BUTTERFLIES, MOTHS, DRAGONFLIES & DAMSELFLIES
& OTHER INSECTS
In those of South & Central American  butterflies, 
more info has recently been added.
For those of eastern North America, Texas, & Arizona,  
info for each species includes when they fly,

    
  Below: a photo showing why
the HUMPBACK WHALE is so named,
with the humps on the back behind the dorsal fin. 
Photographed during the FONT Ecuador Tour in July 2013  
(photo by Marie Gardner)

To see more about:  HUMPBACK WHALES IN ECUADOR   
Photos on this page are among those in this web-site 
of different & assorted nature: mostly birds, but also mammals, 
amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies, 
grasshoppers, marine life, wildflowers,
other plants, celestial phenomena, and more.   
There's a link at left to a directory of the photographs.
During Focus On Nature Tours, we see BIRDS mostly.
But the other nature that we also see include:
MAMMALS, BUTTERFLIES, PLANTS,
AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES.
On the left-side of this home-page, 
there are links to the files with photos
for each of these groupings.
Those photos reflect the vast array of nature
at the places we go during our tours. 

LINKS TO 
FEATURES & GALLERIES
OF INTEREST

A LIST & PHOTO GALLERY OF
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS, in 6 Parts

PHOTOS OF BIRDS 
RARE in NORTH AMERICA 

THE 100 MOST ENDANGERED SPECIES



The Spoon-billed Sandpiper 
is in both features, in the links 
above & below this photograph.

AN ILLUSTRATED SERIES 
OF 50 BIRD BEAKS 

A photo feature with some 
BIRDS OF CHILE
with poems of PABLO NERUDA 


ALBATROSSES
& other SEABIRDS 
off the coast of 
CHILE   

 

 

CRANES during 
FONT Tours
in JAPAN & 
NORTH AMERICA 

SHOREBIRDS
in JAPAN
(53 species seen 
during FONT tours)

RARE BIRDS of JAPAN
(including some counts of cranes)

RARE BIRDS of BRAZIL  

RARE BIRDS of SOUTH AMERICA
in the ANDES & PATAGONIA

RARE BIRDS of the CARIBBEAN Today
& those in that region gone extinct
(incl. macaws, parrots, parakeets) 

RARE BIRDS of NORTH AMERICA 
 & MIDDLE AMERICA  

The GROUSE of COLORADO,
NEBRASKA, & KANSAS

 

 

 

HUMMINGBIRDS
& HAWKS 
in southern ARIZONA

        


HUMMINGBIRDS:  
A List and Photo Gallery
noting those during FONT Tours
(with 110 species in photos)

Some Photogenic BIRDS, MAMMALS,
& OTHER NATURE worldwide

BIRDS throughout the Americas  


A Feature about ALEXANDER SKUTCH
with a directory of his writings 
and a PHOTO GALLERY 
of NEOTROPICAL BIRDS

COSTA RICA: COLORFUL BIRDS


SEABIRDS
in black & white
A portfolio of photos
by Alan Brady 

Birds & Marine Life
during FONT New Jersey
pelagic trips, 2000-2005




A tiny island bursting with birds
in spring migration, 
Hegura, in the Sea of Japan   


"Nothing's much Finer
than Birding in
Carolina"  - an essay
about birds & our tours
in NORTH CAROLINA
 


NATURELINE and the BIRDLINE
(done by Armas Hill on the phone & internet 
 for 3 decades, and on the radio for 10 years)
 with links to other 
 nature & bird-related websites)  

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SOLAR ECLIPSES
& Other Celestial Nature
during FONT Tours

 


 


These pages last updated on 08 Sep 2015.

FONT logo designed by Jim Lockyer.