International Tour Operator Encouraged by Guyana’s Birding Program

An international tour operator specializing in worldwide bird watching trips recently completed its first group tour to Guyana in ten years.

According to the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), the US tour operator Field Guides was encouraged by the Birding Tourism Program initiated by the GTA and the USAID’s Guyana Trade and Investment Support (GTIS) project.

Field Guides offers more than 120 tours to popular birding destinations throughout the world. It introduced a new outing in 2007, combining bird watching excursions in Guyana and Suriname and based on the success of the visit it is considering a return visit in 2009.

During the tour, seven participants from the U.S., Canada and Denmark spent nine days in Guyana, including stops at Kaieteur Falls, the Iwokrama Field Station, the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, Surama Village, Rock View Lodge, and Georgetown.

Guyana is home to nearly 400 species of birds that they were able to identify on the trip. These included the blood-colored woodpecker, blue-throat piping guan, crimson fruit crow, dusky purple tuft, grey-winged trumpeter, and a wide variety of parrots, including red-and-green, blue-and-yellow, and scarlet macaws.