High Lonesome BirdTours

"Just a brief note to thank you and Wezil for the wonderful High Lonesome Bird Tour you put together. Not only did we see about every bird on the itinerary, we also loved our stay at Ramsey Canyon Inn. What an oasis in the desert!

I cannot close without praising your fine choice of restaurants. What a treat after a long day of birding!

While I'm praising your tour, I don't want to forget the one person, Wezil, our guide, who pulled it all together and made it all happen. You better hold onto to him. He is priceless as a guide! "

HS, Glendale, NY

“Gene and I both enjoyed the Dry Tortugas trip very much. The high point for me was the dinghy ride around the island where the Frigatebirds, Sooty Terns, and Brown Noddies nest. It was a thrill to be out in the dinghy with the Sooties flying all around us.

Pat Ayers did a fabulous job with the meals on the boat. She's a great cook and she was very attentive to Gene's gluten-free needs. She even made gluten-free pancakes for him one morning—way beyond the call of duty. Mark Hedden did a very good job leading our trip. He is knowledgeable about the Tortugas and Keys birds and has good leadership skills. He took care to make sure that everyone saw the target birds. I'm sure you've heard that we were lucky enough to find not one but two separate Western Spindalis, thanks to Mark.

All in all, the trip was a lot of fun and possibly the best vacation I have ever had in terms of relaxation. It was a little windy, but the skies were blue, the water was crystal clear, and the seabirds were impressive. Thanks so much for organizing this trip. It was something that Gene and I have wanted to do for a long time and it was great to have the opportunity.”

Thanks very much and we will look for other opportunities to benefit from your tours."

MW, Maryland

"The Dry Tortugas trip exceeded expectations. The captain and crew of the Tiburon were friendly and professional. The food was excellent. Mark Heddon is an excellent birder and an affable and effective leader. He demonstrated patience and skill finding a Western Spindalis at Ft. Zachary Taylor. The second Spindalis we just stumbled on in another Key West park!
Oh yeah, the stuff you can't control: The Black Noddy was just insidethe limits of scoped visibility—but it moved so I know it wasn't a decoy for birding pleasure........."

CM, Massachussets

"We are back safely from our trip and the only negative was the airlines. I just wanted to let you know that my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our birding experience and our first trip to Southeast Arizona. Wezil was extraordinary in so many ways and made the trip the success it was. I cannot imagine a more knowledgeable, able and energetic guide and we felt really fortunate to have him lead us. I know you must hear that often, but I did not want to fail to commend Wezil and the extra effort he made every day to make sure we had a great trip.

Thanks very much and we will look for other opportunities to benefit from your tours."

GS, Washington, DC

"Dear Forrest,
I am sorry I did not get to see you again in Anchorage but I broke a habit of a lifetime and rose early to go shopping.

Thank you for all the arrangements which, despite the best efforts of the weather went like clockwork and for all the superb guiding. You made it a real pleasure to be birding in Alaska."

CC, England

"I just wanted to drop you a line about your last Nome trip of the year. Both guideswere superb. They were prepared, knowledgeable, courteous and willing to answer any and all questions. They worked well together and were fun to be around. M and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience as it was an excellent value from our perspective.

We look forward to doing another trip with your company in the future. Thanks for a great time."

M & LT, Oklahoma

"Just back from three weeks in Alaska starting the trip as a participent on your Nome 1 tour. Having never been on a tour, I wasn't sure what to expect. I believe the days in Nome were the highlight of my trip. Traveling in a small group made a huge impact. I believe everyone got along well and saw a great deal of awesome sights.

I was especially impressed with our guide. He did a an outstanding job going well above what I would have expected (he fetched coffee, cream and breakfast plates when the service was slow). He had really good enthusiasm and was very informative throughout the entire tour.

I also believe everyone else had a good trip which was also important to me. I picked up 11 bird lifers and 5 mammal lifers which are also terrific.The Emperor Goose at midnight on our last day shows how our guide went beyond the call of duty to make sure we saw everything possible. I had a great, great trip and thanks again."

SS

"We had a great time on the Alaska Breeding Bird Tour. Kip is the best guide that we've had. He did a tremendous job in locating the birds for everyone and keeping everyone pleased. We're very happy with the birds that we saw.

Thanks for the excellent accommodations and gourmet restaurants on our itinerary. We also felt quite lucky in avoiding being fogged in as was the fate of other groups."

"First, thanks, Kip, for such thorough documentation — and so quickly delivered. You showed us those birds as if you knew their home addresses!

When they ask, I've been telling my friends that this was the best, most enjoyable birding trip I've ever taken. And of the many I have had, it was. Great birds, the varied state of Alaska, Kip's fine guiding, you wonderful birding companions, the laughter, the beautiful scenery along the Denali Highway, the daily super-efficient doorperson, Nome's breath-holding aviation moments, the great cuisine, the untold layers of clothing in the Pribilofs, the flawless unfolding of each day's plans, Kip's careful driving, the glaciers, the laughter, the shopping (of course) . . . oh, and the musk-ox!

Thanks to all of you for making the trip so memorable for me. I look forward to a reunion of our van-full some day, maybe in Texas. I enjoyed being with each one of you . . . and, actually, we'd all probably follow Kip anywhere! You really do have a remarkable guide in Kip. He has both fantastic birding skills and guiding skills, a combination that's rare in my experience. And we all thoroughly enjoyed his companionship. I'd be surprised if the other participants don't praise both him and the trip, as well. Both were exceptional.

Thanks for a lovely look at Alaska and its birds. And thanks for the great experiences that came with them. I'm still smiling."

LM, Colorado

"My wife and I just completed the High Lonesome Tours' 16-day Breeding Birds of Alaska tour with Kip Miller. We want to say that Kip did an exceptional job of taking care of us. He was prepared from the very beginning. He knew the area, the birds and where we were to spend the night. Kip kept us well supplied with snacks. He spoiled us. We certainly would go with High Lonesome and with Kip again.

We want to thank you for all the advice you gave us about clothing and boots to wear in Alaska. Being from Texas, we didn't have the foggiest idea what was needed. We were never unbearably cold and our feet stayed dry.

All the reservations you or your staff made went off perfectly. The dinner places knew we were coming and Kip got us there on time. The motels had everything ready for us. Coast Hotel was exceptionally accommodating in allowing us to store and retreive our extra baggage.

Everything went so smoothly that we are looking forward to birding with High Lonesome Tours again. "

TH, Texas

"Thanks to P for the email — it brings back some great memories of a fantastic trip. I am working on the powerpoint presentation of the trip, but as I said in Colorado, it will take months, rather then weeks. Anyway, when it's finished I shall mail you all a copy. I took around 1,600 pictures; I then put every picture through some software called Photoshop (to tidy up the picture, adjust the lighting levels, and finally crop to the maximum size that a digital projector will accept), then choose the best to go into the ppt presentation. Thus far I have photoshopped all the birds (except for our last day) then I will start on the scenics.

It's a busy time here in the UK. As a bander I am busy banding nestlings covering about 12 Barn Owl nests, 4 Little Owl nests and a host of other stuff. In the last month or so I have banded nearly 400 nestlings of 19 species."

"Forrest, I just want to say on behalf of my whole group, how much we enjoyed the work of our guides in Nome from the 9-13th. They were both very helpful and professional. Even more so, they are both very nice guys and went above and beyond to get everyone the birds or just enjoy what we were seeing. I highly recommend both of them for any future trips.

Thanks again for a great tour company you run. Hope to see you again in the future. Maybe in Gambell in a few years!"

JW, Oklahoma

"Small world this morning. My husband and I went on an Audubon birding walk. We met a couple who were visiting from Missouri, the man was sporting a Ramsey Canyon Nature Conservancy vest like mine. I mentioned I had just been there and showed my vest, mentioning your name. They had been on an Alaska trip with you. They raved about the trip and the food!

I am still smiling about our wonderful trip around SE Arizona. Thanks for opening up so many new experiences. Enjoyed our visits and learning new birds, thanks to you and Scott. Hope we can travel and bird together again before too long. We are considering Southern Africa with you . . ."

"I apologize for the delay in responding to K and L's e-mails. S and I were busy telling everyone what a great time we had with you, our fellow group members and our peerless leader. . . Truly everyone did a fine job. The group rapport, the icing on the cake, enhanced our wonderful experiences. "

PL, Pennsylvania

"First, thanks, Kip, for such thorough documentation—and so quickly delivered. You showed us those birds as if you knew their home addresses! When they ask, I've been telling my friends that this was the best, most enjoyable birding trip I've ever taken. And of the many I have had, it was. Great birds, the varied state of Alaska, Kip's fine guiding, you wonderful birding companions, the laughter, the beautiful scenery along the Denali Highway, the daily super-efficient doorperson, Nome's breath-holding aviation moments, the great cuisine, the untold layers of clothing in the Pribilofs, the flawless unfolding of each day's plans, Kip's careful driving, the glaciers, the laughter, the shopping (of course) ... oh, and the muskox!"