Author Archives: ontheroadwithdec

** There is another blog page on Victoria Falls that is very similar to this one. This was to be on the lodge where we stay and the local habitat – but I just get so excited by the river and falls. The next one will be on the Stanley & Livingstone Hotel. The ZambeziContinue reading “Victoria Falls; geology, erosion, adrenaline, and grandeur”

New Zealand gets rave reviews as a scenic destination. As a birder/naturalist I have a somewhat different opinion regarding the flora and fauna of the islands – however the ocean is fantastic! New Zealand is remote and never had mammals. Birds dominated all the ecological niches and many of them lost the ability to flyContinue reading “Oceanic New Zealand – Hauraki Gulf”

We are in the midst of steamrolling scientific discovery. Most new ideas and solutions are buried in journals specific to the topic. But we are most fortunate to live in a time when great authors translate and explain the wonders of natural history and evolution for us. Anecdotes, histories, summaries, and natural history biographies areContinue reading “Great Thoughts – Great Authors”

The Zambezi River, in the area of Victoria Falls, separates Zimbabwe and Zambia. The river also flows through Namibia, Mozambique, Angola and Botswana. It is the fourth longest river on the African continent behind the Nile, Congo, and Niger. At present the Victoria Falls area is a significant tourist destination. The demands of maintaining aContinue reading “Victoria Falls – a river in motion”

I like the birds here.  Birds can be a nuisance for beginners; many are cryptically colored or patterned, many are small, many are always in motion. The birds of the galapagos are different: are big, obvious, relaxed, and common. People who are not into birding soon learn them and marvel at them. The adaptations allowingContinue reading “The Galapagos Birds (#2)”

. For those of you interested in Galapagos Island postings I refer you back to February 2011 postings for more and different blog postings. The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands above a hotspot located about 600 miles off the west coast South America. The islands have long been part of Ecuador and straddleContinue reading “A Galapagos Visit #1”

The highlands of Ecuador are an invigorating stop either before or after a trip out to the Galapagos Islands. The city of Quito is in the highlands at an elevation of 9,350 feet (2,800 meters) and the Antisana Ecological Reserve is at about 12,000 feet. The thin air at Cusco and Quito can be noticeableContinue reading “Ecuador: Guinea Pigs and Condors”

The magnificent Machu Picchu is certainly the highlight of a visit to the Peruvian high land. Well, as a birder I am also interested in the changing habitats and the birds found at each elevation and in each vegetative community. The bird book for Peru is 656 pages long with more than 1800 species represented.Continue reading “The Peruvian Highlands – Part Two”

The Andes are a wrinkled mass of earth that if ironed out nice and flat would cover thousands of square miles. As they are currently laid out it is nearly impossible to simply wander around. A visit into these mountains requires planning and an understanding that you will touch ground in only a tiny percentageContinue reading “Machu Picchu – A Remarkable Place”