Esmeraldas Woodstar (Chaetocerus berlepschi)

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Tara

With its striking colors and straight black bill, this 3-inch hummingbird makes up in vividness what it lacks in size — and recognition. Considered rare and uncommon, the Esmeraldas woodstar, whose call is a rapid-fire chit-cheet and chit-chit-cheet, became “range restricted” to two or three disjointed sites in western Ecuador, on the western slope of the Andes.

If you would like to see this little beauty in the wild, you need to fly to Ecuador which is in the northern South America zone for most frequent flier programs, the same as Peru. Quito is served by LAN from the One World Alliance and Copa & TACA from Star Alliance.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

Wikipedia

ABC

American Bird Conservancy

Birdlife International

Center for Biological Diversity

VIDEO

Sorry, I couldn’t find one! Check back with this page periodically as they sometimes add new ones.

New Global Cash Cards For Australian Frequent Flyers

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Tara

Both Qantas and Virgin Australia are offering their members the opportunity to order new global cash cards with their airline membership numbers on them. If you order by the specified date, you have a chance to win a prize in the drawing too!

QANTAS

Full details

Qantas Cash Card

Log in to your Qantas account to confirm or update your Qantas Frequent Flyer profile contact details before 11 August 2013 and you’ll be automatically entered into the draw to win one of three $15,000 Qantas Holidays Vouchers. Vouchers can be used toward any Qantas Holidays domestic or international package.

You must be over 18 years of age and an Australian resident to be eligible for the competition. One entry per member. Alternatively, you can enter the draw by logging in to Your Profile from the qantas.com homepage, or by updating your member details through the Frequent Flyer Service Centre. See terms and conditions for details*.

VIRGIN VELOCITY

Full details

Win with Global Wallet™

With Velocity’s new Global Wallet™ you can travel easy with your Velocity Frequent Flyer Membership and Visa Prepaid card in one. It’s a convenient, secure, and reloadable travel card that allows you to make purchases, earn Points and access your own money around the world, anywhere Visa is accepted.

To celebrate the launch of Global Wallet™ Velocity is giving you the chance to win one of 10 x $1,000 AUD* to be pre-loaded onto to your card. All you have to do is opt in or sign-up to receive the new Global Wallet™ card before 31 August 2013!

Learn more about Global Wallet™ and its features.

New Members

If you aren’t already a Velocity member, join now. New members who sign-up to Velocity before 31 August 2013 and who are eligible^~ for the Global Wallet™ will automatically request to receive this nifty new card and will receive an automatic entry into the competition.

Current Members

If you are a current member^~ and would like to receive a new membership card with Global Wallet™ functionality, simply login to your Velocity Account and request a new card for free. Do this before 31 August 2013 and be in the running to win.

Now you have that extra incentive to start planning your next getaway with the convenience of your new Global Wallet™ (potentially pre-loaded with an additional $1,000 AUD spending money!).

Terms and Conditions

^*Please view full Terms and Conditions. View the Product Disclosure Statement or Financial Services Guide. Rêv Australia Pty Ltd and Cuscal Limited are not promoting this competition.

^~To be eligible to receive a Global Wallet™ enabled card, you must be 18 years of age, have a residential address in Australia and otherwise be deemed by Velocity Frequent Flyer to be eligible to receive the Global Wallet™ enabled card.

Cheap Fares To Lima From LAX – Only A Few Dates

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Tara

HT: FlyerTalk’s Mileage Run forum.

While the people who generally frequent this forum are looking for cheap ways to accrue elite qualifying miles, every once in a while there are cheap fares that can get you to a wonderful eco-tourism destination cheaply.

In this case, American Airlines has cheap fares to Lima, Peru on certain dates. You have to experiment with them to get a good combination. Here is an example, please note that taxes and fees are included! You will also accrue miles for this trip to save for a future trip!

If you wanted to buy a ticket all the way to Puerto Maldonado to go to Tambopata, it bumps the price up but still a reasonable deal for $712 all in.

A really savvy traveler will have some BA/IB Avios or Avianca-Taca Lifemiles on hand to get a cheap domestic ticket from Lima to Puerto Maldonado and take AAdvantage of the ultra-cheap fare to Lima! This is just one way of how collecting miles in my recommended programs can facilitate your future eco-tourism adventures!

Choosing The Itinerary For “The Mother Of All Africa Trips”

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Tara

Yesterday, I posted about how I will use airline miles to make a dream trip to Africa come true. Today, I will show you how I chose the specific places I did. Africa has such a huge variety of wildlife habitat, you really need to know what species you are most interested in seeing. For first time travelers, this will usually be the “Big 5” – elephants, lions, rhinoceros, leopards and buffalos. For birders, there are more decisions to be made and more species you need to consider. Here’s how I did it.

ANALYZE REQUIREMENTS

1. Can get miles from credit cards but don’t have much cash. Need destinations that can be reached on Star Alliance airlines.

2. Need to maximize destinations for number of parrot species found nearby.

3. Need to avoid long land trips that would be expensive if it would require private guides and transport.

4. Need to avoid having to pay too much in advance, prefer to pay when we arrive if possible.

5. Need to visit national parks where guides can be found on site rather than paying to transport one around with us.

PRIORITIZING TARGET SPECIES

PARROT SPECIES IN AFRICA (INCLUDING NEIGHBOR ISLANDS)

The species that I have identified as being in range for this trip will be highlighted in green. As I said, I am most interested in seeing as many parrot species as possible but the habitas I have chosen are rich in all kinds of wildlife! You can use the same technique to narrow down your travel plans whether you are interested in leopards, elephants, eagles or lemurs. Just research where your priority species can be found, find the nearest airport where you can redeem your miles and enjoy ALL the wildlife you encounter along the way!

1. Rose-ringed Parakeet – Psittacula krameri. We have seen them in several places in India and feral populations in Europe. Not a priority but may see them during the trip.

2. Mauritius Parakeet – Psittacula echo. Habitat in Black River Gorges National Park, easily driven from hotel in Mauritius.

3. Gray Parrot – Psittacus erithacus. Has large range but many places difficult, expensive or possible unsafe to travel to. Easiest place to see them near Star Alliance airport is in Ghana at Kakum National Park.

4. Greater Vasa Parrot – Coracopsis vasa. Madagascar endemic, easiest place to find them near Star Alliance airport is Andasibe National Park.

5. Lesser Vasa Parrot – Coracopsis nigra. Madagascar endemic, easiest place to find them near Star Alliance airport is Andasibe National Park.

6. Red-headed Lovebird – Agapornis pullarius. Probably out of range for this trip. Habitat in Central Africa, not easily accessible.

7. Black-winged Lovebird – Agapornis taranta. Found in Ethiopia. Slim chance to see them if there is a long layover at Addis Ababa.

8. Black-collared Lovebird – Agapornis swinderniana. Habitat not easily accessible, best chance is in Ghana.

9. Black-cheeked Lovebird – Agapornis nigrigenis. Found in Zambia, not in range for this trip.

10. Peach-faced Lovebird – Agapornis roseicollis. Tried but failed to see them in Kgalagadi National Park in 2009. Other habitats in Namibia but out of range for this trip.

11. Fischer’s Lovebird – Agapornis fischeri. Found in Tanzania, targeting them in Arusha, Tarangire and Serengeti.

12. Yellow-collared Lovebird (Masked Lovebird) – Agapornis personatus. Found in Tanzania, targeting them in Arusha, Tarangire and Serengeti.

13. Nyasa (Lilian’s) Lovebird – Agapornis lilianae. Found in Zambia & Zimbabwe, out of range for this trip.

14. Grey-headed Lovebird – Agapornis canus. Madagascar endemic, easiest place to find them near Star Alliance airport is Anatanarivo’s Tsimbazaza Park.

15. Red-fronted (Jardine’s) Parrot – Poicephalus gulielmi. Targeted in Arusha National Park and possible Ghana.

16. Cape Parrot – Poicephalus robustus. Southern coast of South Africa. Will try to find them as close as possible to Port Elizabeth.

17. Brown-necked Parrot – Poicephalus fuscicollis. Subspecies of Cape Parrot. Have seen in Magoebaskloof, planning on return visit.

18. Brown-headed Parrot – Poicephalus cryptoxanthus. Easiest to find in northern Kruger National Park.

19. Red-bellied Parrot – Poicephalus rufiventris. Found in Tanzania, targeting them in Tarangire.

20. Yellow-fronted Parrot – Poicephalus flavifrons. Very small range in Ethiopia, probably out of range for this trip.

21. Meyer’s Parrot – Poicephalus meyeri. Several subspecies spread out over southern and central Africa. Best places to target them are northern South Africa and Tanzania’s Tarangire and Serengeti.

22. Niam-Niam Parrot – Poicephalus crassus. Very small and inaccessible range in Central African Republic. Out of range for this trip.

23. Rüppell’s Parrot – Poicephalus rueppellii. Found in Angola and Namibia. Out of range for this trip.

24. Senegal Parrot – Poicephalus senegalus. Wide-spread in West Africa but easiest place to see using Star Alliance airports would be Shai Hills, Ghana near Accra.

As you can see, with just the few stop-overs I planned in my airline miles redemptions; I can try for 17 out of 24 possible species of parrots in Africa and the neighboring islands of Madagascar and Mauritius.

RESOURCES I USED

To determine where parrot species can most easily be seen where, I use mostly two resources.

Joseph Forshaw’s “Parrots of the World” which is my birding travel “Bible”.

Surfbirds Trip Reports which have full lists of which birds people have seen on birding trips worldwide.

Planning The “Mother Of All African Adventures” With Miles

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Tara

In my five year plan, I had Africa penciled in for 2017. Two shorter trips to India & Sri Lanka in Feb and the Marquesas in Oct-ish were penciled in for 2015. I decided to swap them around because the trip to Africa is far more vulnerable to the frequent flier mile game than the others are, also because the Africa trip is best done with United miles ex-Australia. With United, you can have both a stop-over and an open jaw and I will probably need to make use of at least one of these. This is my tentative award itinerary, not the actual dates but I just experimented with what was available. I have a stop-over in Accra and an open jaw between Kilimanjaro and Johannesburg.

This is what it will cost for 2 tickets in Y with the taxes. I don’t think I can get the extra 100k for business class without considerable extra expense.

I will still need some other airline tickets. From Kilimanjaro, we need to get to Madagascar. The easiest way to do this is with Kenya Airways. Depending on schedules and layover rules we could either fly from Kilimanjaro-Nairobi-Antananarivo or take the bus to Dar Es Salam and then to Nairobi-Antananarivo. Theoretically, we should also be able to use a combination of Ethiopian and South African Airways to go Kilimanjaro-Addis Ababa-Johannesburg-Antananarivo but South African Airways doesn’t seem to release ANY awards at all on this segment.

Flying Blue (Air France & KLM’s program) would require 17,500 miles each for the one way award that would otherwise cost $1400 for both of us. Hopefully I can get an Amex with enough MR (Membership Rewards) points to transfer to Flying Blue.

Next we need a flight from Antananarivo to Mauritius. This will have to be a cash ticket as only Air Madagascar and Air Mauritius fly this route. I can use IHG points for a free room here.

From Mauritius, we will go to Port Elizabeth via Johannesburg because there is an amazing bird park there I would like to revisit called Birds of Eden. I can use the BOGO award from my Club Carlson Visa to get 2 nights at the Radisson Blu for 38,000 points. Flights on South African Airways are 12,500 United miles each Y class or we might have to buy up to J class if Y is not available. Current research shows J is easier to get than Y on this route.

Domestic flights within South Africa are cheap enough so we will fly back to Johannesburg, pick up a rental car and revisit the wonderful northern Kruger Park I have been blogging about and Magoebaskloof which is next on the blogging list. If I need hotels in Johannesburg due to flight schedules both IHG and Club Carlson have properties.

IN SUMMARY

BNE-ACC-JRO/-JNB-BNE 200,000 United miles. I have the miles already.

JRO/DAR-NBO-TNR 35,000 Flying Blue miles. I need an Amex with Membership Rewards in my next churn.

TNR-MRU have to pay cash.

MRU-JNB-PLZ 25,000 or 50,000 United Miles depending on class of service. Planning to add an Ink Plus in my next churn to cover this.

PLZ-JNB cash tickets are cheap.

Can use hotel points in Mauritius, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg. Otherwise will be eco-lodges in parks or whatever else I can find at a good price.

Jane Goodall Releases Grey Parrots In Uganda After Three Year Rescue Saga

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Tara

Jane Goodall released 17 African Grey parrots back into the wild in an emotional ceremony Friday on Ngamba Island, Uganda in Africa. The World Parrot Trust and Fly Free announced that the well-known chimpanzee expert and conservation leader pulled the string to open the cage door that finally allowed the greys to fly free three years after they were originally smuggled out of Africa. The full story is available here. The video below shows what happens when wild parrots are stolen out of the wild. THESE birds are the lucky ones, they get to go home! By supporting organizations such as World Parrot Trust and engaging in eco-tourism to see these birds in the wild, you encourage the locals to leave the birds alone so they can remain free.

The Sky Didn’t Fall After All

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Tara

This is a follow-up to my post from the other day. After much speculation in FlyerTalk over the mysterious tweet from United, the cat has been let out of the bag. It’s a partnership with Marriott Hotels. A big yawn for me personally as they don’t have many hotels in destinations frequented by eco-tourists. I would have preferred a partnership with IHG hotels as they have a much larger global network. At least there were no devalutions though I didn’t think there would be. The people who rushed to burn their UA miles must be feeling pretty foolish. Here’s the details of the new program.

Two global travel leaders, one great experience.

Enjoy RewardsPlus from MileagePlus and Marriott Rewards

We appreciate your loyalty to United® – and now your MileagePlus Premier® recognition and benefits just got better. Together MileagePlus® and Marriott Rewards® bring you RewardsPlus, a new program with enhanced benefits.

Premier Gold, Premier Platinum, Premier 1K® and Global Services^SM members can now register for RewardsPlus and enjoy complimentary Marriott Rewards Gold Elite status and benefits. Also, all Premier members will be able to convert MileagePlus award miles into Marriott Rewards points at an exceptional rate, and all MileagePlus members will be able to enjoy greater value when they convert Marriott Rewards points into MileagePlus miles.

Marriott Rewards Members: Learn more about RewardsPlus benefits for Marriott Rewards Members.

Marriott Rewards Gold Elite status gives you:*

Lounge access and breakfast at select Marriott locations
Room upgrades
Complimentary Internet access
Priority late check-out
25% bonus points and much more

Enhanced miles and points benefits coming soon:

Premier members can convert miles into Marriott Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio
Enjoy a 20% discount when you convert Marriott Rewards points into MileagePlus miles
Book the trip of a lifetime and receive 10% more miles when you convert to a Marriott Rewards Travel Package, a bonus of up to 12,000 miles

A Tale Of Two Cockatoos

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Tara

A Tale of Two Cockatoos has been created to help publicise the plight of two endangered species of white-tailed black-cockatoos: Baudin’s and Carnaby’s. Both are found only in south-west Western Australia. More information is available on their website. I have embedded the video to help spread the word.

If you would like to have a chance to see these beautiful cockatoos in the wild, please see my series on how to get to Australia on frequent flier miles using Perth as a gateway. We will be visiting prime habitat for both of these cockatoos on our trip in Feb 2014. Baudins are commonly found in Wungong Gorge near Armadale and Carnabys are most easily seen in Yanchep National Park.

The Sky Is Falling, The Sky Is Falling!

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Tara

Yesterday United Airlines tweeted the following:

This in itself didn’t raise an eyebrow with me. But on FlyerTalk, people were going nuts! It reminds me of that “Chicken Little” story with the way some people are panicking! Most people are expecting the worst, a devaluation of miles. Some people have rushed to redeem miles in anticipation. Elites are worried their benefits my be reduced. Others are not quite panicking but taking a “wait and see” approach. It’s pretty clear that United has a lot of damage control to do when most of their members think so little of them that they assume any mysterious tweet is going to be negative. Then again, maybe they want to get some miles off the books and were hoping people would panic and redeem.

So what could this mysterious “new reward experience” be?

I don’t think a change in levels of redemptions (devaluation) is likely. That wouldn’t fit as a “new reward experience”. And I don’t think United would want to create a social media buzz behind it when they know it’s going to upset people, but then it wouldn’t be the first time I was being logical to my detriment.

For it to be a “new reward experience” it needs to either be something new in the procedure of booking rewards or adding new rewards to be redeemed with UA miles.

If it’s the former, it could be something like adding a slider such as Avianca LifeMiles where people can pay partly with cash and partly with miles. If it’s the latter, it could be something like an email they sent me with some kind of auction to attend the Emmys. Whatever it is, I hope they don’t mess with the program as it is as I happen to like it and I like the online booking engine. I’ll keep you posted when the details are officially announced.

Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus) – An African Beauty

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Tara

Today I am going to share some more about one of my favourite birds, the Lilac-breasted Roller.

The Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus) is a member of the roller family of birds. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula, preferring open woodland and savanna; it is largely absent from treeless places. Usually found alone or in pairs, it perches conspicuously at the tops of trees, poles or other high vantage points from where it can spot insects, lizards, scorpions, snails, small birds and rodents moving about at ground level.

Nesting takes place in a natural hole in a tree where a clutch of 2–4 eggs is laid, and incubated by both parents, who are extremely aggressive in defence of their nest, taking on raptors and other birds. During the breeding season the male will rise to great heights, descending in swoops and dives, while uttering harsh, discordant cries.

The sexes are alike in coloration. Juveniles do not have the long tail feathers that adults do.

This species is the national bird of Botswana and Kenya.

Lilac Breasted Roller Range

Since they are so widespread, you have great odds of seeing them on any safari in the southern half of Africa. Kruger National Park is one of the easiest places to find them, also any of the national parks in Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and Zimbabwe would be a good bet. Even though they aren’t a rare species, their beauty makes them firm favourites with birders and artists alike. Just have a look at the variety of images on Google of this stunning bird!

Here’s a few videos to further enjoy them.

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!