Wildlife vacations: it's tough to pick a top 5 - what are yours?

There are numerous reasons for travel.

A silverback gorilla climbs down from
a tree in Kahuzi Biega.

Sometimes, travel takes you to a new job. Other times, we travel just to get away for a while from our jobs, or our routines, to get out of a rut.

Then there are the dream vacations, travel to be pampered in luxury, to de-stress while others look after your every need.

Sometimes we travel to explore - a new place, a new activity, or even to explore ourselves.

I've travelled for all these reasons and more. One of my favourite reasons, my main focus to travel, is see and experience wildlife in its natural settings.

I've been very lucky, I've enjoyed some incredible wildlife experiences around the world. And some, right here in my backyard, in B.C., Alberta, and other parts of Canada.

So in trying to come up with a "top five" out of all my experiences, I was really hard-pressed to keep it to that number. But, here goes, in no particular order (if you think limiting myself to five was hard, try to pick the best of the best!)

• Looking for the "Big Five" on Africa's Serengeti plains. In Serengeti National Park, you may be lucky enough to see a leopard in a tree or listen to the roaring of lions in the bush at night while sleeping in your camp tent. In the Ngorongoro Crater, you'll probably get much closer to some of the wildlife - maybe too close if a rhino charges your jeep or if a lion saunters past and bumps it while you're popped up through the sunroof taking photos. They're only half a day's drive apart, so you'll want to see both when visiting Tanzania. Oh, the other members of the "big five" can also be seen there: Cape buffalo and elephants.

• Gorilla viewing in Central Africa. Hiking through the Congo rainforest, tracking gorillas, avoiding columns of soldier ants, fighting off hordes of disease-carrying Tsetse flies and mosquitoes, keeping your eyes peeled for poisonous snakes, to say nothing of the leopards and other creatures that would like to eat you, stomp you or just plain obliterate you, - if this is your idea of fun, then  you'll be right at home in Kahuzi Biega National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  But it'll all be worth it when you get your first glimpse of the silverback patriarch, or see a mother gorilla nursing a baby in the middle of the jungle. (If you've been to the Serengeti, and you're all "Africa'ed-Out," you can enjoy a similar and also incredible wild primate experience viewing orangutans in Borneo.)

It's definitely gator country in the Okefenokee.

• Paddling with alligators in the Okefenokee. Otherwise known as "the swamp," the Okefenokee National Wildlife Reserve in Georgia, U.S.A. offers a wilderness opportunity unlike most others. The reserve is mostly water, so you can only access the heart of it by canoe or kayak. Although you can do it on your own, you're probably safer to hire a licensed outfitter to make sure you don't get lost between the camping platforms placed along the water trails. You do get really close to gators; it's also a great place for birders.

A Grand Cayman parrot, perched in a tree on the Mastic Trail.

• Snorkeling with wild dolphins in Hawaii. I'm not talking about going to see tame dolphins like some of the resorts offer; this experience involves going out onto the ocean several miles offshore, with a reputable tour operator, locating a resident wild pod and then jumping in the ocean and going for a snorkel. You never approach them - they come to you. And when you can hear them echo locating underwater then one comes up to you and looks you over, it's an incredible feeling.

• Gazing at wild parrots in Latin America. I've had the opportunity to experience on several occasions, but my two favourite trips took me to the Heath River Wildlife Centre on the Peru-Bolivia border and on the Mastic Trail on Grand Cayman Island. At Heath River, you sit in a floating blind on the river to watch scores of parrots and macaws congregating on a jungle clay lick. In the Caymans, they're tougher to see, as there is no lick - you have to hike through the jungle and hope you get lucky. In either case, you'll hear them long before you see them.

National Aviary a birders' - and photographers' - dream

"This place really is for the birds," I thought to myself.

And since it's the National Aviary, that's a good thing.

I spent my final full day spent in Pittsburgh during my late May-early June visit there at the aviary. This place had been on my radar for at least eight years, so when I found out I would be going to Pennsylvania, I had to make sure I could spend some time there.

I ended up opening it up and closing it down my first day there, roaming around, taking photos, watching flying shows and just generally indulging my "bird-brain." I spent half of a second-day there in the company of Kurt Hundgen, director of collections; and Robin Weber, director of marketing.

When I first walked through the doors that led into the "Grasslands" area of the facility, I knew I'd come to the right place.

There, sitting on some tree-like perches were a pair of Congo African grey parrots. They were not unlike my own two CAGs, Nikki and Coco; they were grooming and one of them hammed it up for me, even imitating the beeping noise my camera makes while shooting images and video.

Time for some pelican preening!

The aviary is divided into different "eco-regions," and from the Grasslands I went to the Wetlands area, where a feeding demonstration was in progress with a touring school group. The "swamp" was alive with roseate spoonbills, flamingos, kookaburas, pelicans, a few different kinds of ibis and - heard, but not seen - a screaming piha. (It doesn't really "scream," but this South American rainforest bird does make a very distinctive call.) Several smaller birds also flitted about through the vegetation.

Of course, no aviary experience would be complete without a stop at the penguin pool. In this case, the "African" theme continued, as the penguins who live here are South African penguins. And very playful penguins, they are.

The penguins are ready to "test the waters" once again.

Every time I leaned over the short wall to try to take an unobstructed photo of one of the penguins swimming around, the bird would pop his head up out of the water towards me. It made it really hard to focus! I figured he was either expecting food - or really didn't care to be caught on film by what he might have perceived as the "penguin paparazzi" (me).

From there, it was just a short walk through the cafeteria to the Tropical Rainforest area.

Like the Wetlands, there were numerous small birds flying and flitting around in the area. I also saw a feeding take place, as one of the staff members handed out mealworms for people to hold in their hands for the birds to fly down and scoop up.

Like the Grasslands, though, the main attraction for me was a pair of macaws in a large holding area at one end: a green-winged macaw and a hyacinth macaw.

These two species are not normally found in the same habitat, but these two were obviously very bonded. They played and groomed each other affectionately, making for some great shots and video footage.

In talking with Hundgen and Weber, I learned how the aviary holds regular programs focused on teaching people about the pitfalls of living with parrots as pets. Hundgen is working toward ensuring that visitors perceive the parrots here more as wild creatures in a natural environment than as potential pets, something that can only help both wild and captive parrots.

Although not the same species, these macaw are real pals.

The aviary is a member of Associations of Zoos and Aquariums, so it meets the highest standards of care for its inhabitants. It is involved in the Species Survival Plan to help prevent the loss of rare and endangered species as well as the loss of genetic diversity within those species.

Its programs extend far outside its walls. Scientists from the aviary are involved in field research and conservation programs of international scope, including work aimed at restoring the populations of Andean condors, an iconic vulture of South America.

And speaking of vultures...

A trio of vultures were among the free-flying birds featured in the "Talons!" show that required the purchase of advance tickets, as seats usually fill up quickly. They were joined by an owl, crows, a bald eagle, seagulls, and hawks. Combined with a multi-media presentation, the show displays some of the grace and power of these avians while educating spectators about the birds and ongoing conservation issues in the world.

It's a real crowd-pleaser, for little kids ... and big kids, too.

Like all good programs, the aviary is planning future expansion, both in terms of the infrastructure (parts of the building are more than 60 years old) and programs in and outside the facility.

Even without expansion, the aviary is a real gem in the crown of Pittsburgh attractions, and it was so well worth my time and effort to make sure I had a chance to explore it - and given the presence of parrots in the aviary, it was - coming on the heels of a day spent paddling - the absolutely perfect way to cap off my 12 days in Pennsylvania.

So just where DO you go to see wild parrots?

People reading my blog probably don't have a hard time figuring out my two main passions.

They don't even really need to read a post, just see the title.

Of course, one of the earliest posts I wrote featured lists of my favourite places to paddle. However, I have yet to post a list of my favourite places to view wild parrots.

While you can paddle a canoe or kayak anywhere there is a lake, river, ocean or even a pond, viewing parrots in the wild involves a bit more of an effort, at least if you live in temperate North America, and if you want to see them in their native habitat (sorry, San Francisco, your Telegraph Hill flock won't be featured here.)

I've been very fortunate that I've travelled to several places in the world to see wild parrots. But there are several other places I would still like to visit in my lifetime, to view wild parrots.

I saw my first wild parrots in Belize, in 1991. However, at the time, I had not been overcome by "parrot passion," so I did not spend a lot of time trying to see them or take pictures. 

That changed in 1994, when I met Nikki, our African grey parrot. 

Since then, I've been on a journey to see them, write about them, and where possible, help them.

Here then are two lists: one of places I've seen wild parrots, the other places I want to see wild parrots.

A Cayman brac parrot, seen along the Mastic Trail.

Wild Parrots: Experienced

1. The Cayman Islands. There are two main species of parrots here, the Cayman parrot and Cayman Brac parrot. I've seen them both, although I only caught a brief glimpse of the endangered Brac parrot on the island of the same name. The Cayman parrot was much more co-operative; I saw several members of a flock during a day-long hike on the Mastic Trail on Grand Cayman Island.

2. Ecuador: La Selva Lodge. During a five-day kayak trip down the Rio Shiripuno in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, I saw and heard several parrots and macaws - but all at a distance. I then spent three days at a lodge where I was able to see them better at the Yasuni Clay Lick, just off the Rio Napo. I saw several pionus parrots and some Mealy Amazons, but they mainly stayed up in the trees, so I still could not take great photos.

3. Peru: Heath River Lodge. This was a much better experience than the one in Ecuador. We stayed hidden on a floating blind in the middle of the river and watched green-winged macaws and several species of Amazons gather at the lick and in the trees surrounding it. A wonderful experience on the river that actually forms the border between Peru and Bolivia in that part of South America.

4. Puerto Rico. I saw parrots here as part of the annual World Parrot Trust parrot lovers' cruise, a once-a-year event structured around existing cruise schedules that allows parrot people on the cruise to pay a bit extra and visit centres around the Caribbean and Central America that have active parrot conservation projects underway. We actually went to the breeding/rehab centre on the island, as the Puerto Rican parrot is very threatened, and almost became extinct. It is now recovering as a wild population.

5. Dominica. This was another stop on the WPT parrot lovers' cruise. Like all parrots on the Caribbean Islands, the parrots here are very unique - and all very much at risk as they are endemic to very specific habitats and populations can easily be threatened by disease or natural disasters like hurricanes. 

Wild Parrots: Bucket List

1. Central Africa. Since I live with two African grey parrots, it should come as no surprise that I want to see their wild cousins in their natural habitat. Unfortunately, political difficulties and economic instability in the countries in this region make it difficult to set up successful ecotours to see these marvelous birds. It also makes it a prime target for smugglers, something the World Parrot Trust is constantly trying to eliminate.

2. Indonesia. These islands are home to several species of cockatoos as well as eclectus parrots. The Indonesian Parrot Project did run some ecotours here for a few years, and it looks like they are gearing up to get that program going again after a few years' hiatus.

A pair of green-winged macaws in Peru.

3. Peru: Manu and/or Tambopata. I was actually supposed to go to Manu the trip I went to Heath River, but there was some kind of airstrip difficulty, so I had to either go home or go to Heath. I went to heath. Tambopata is arguably THE bucket list destination for parrot lovers.

4. Brazil: the Pantanal. This area of Brazil is the last remaining spot where viable populations of the giant blue Hyacinth macaws can be seen. If you're lucky, you may also see other rare wildlife on tours in this area, including jaguars.

5. Australia. Not only is it the land down under, it's also the land of cockatoos, cockatiels and budgies. And a kookaburra or two. People who know me cannot believe I have not already been there, it is such a birders' - and parrot lovers' - paradise. While I'm there, I should probably check out the kea parrots over in New Zealand, as well.

Like their cousins in South America, African greys also eat clay - 
but from the ground rather than cliffs.