More Legroom Vs Wider Seats On Economy Flights

With airlines tightening up redemptions on premium classes and the huge devaluations that have happened over the last couple years more people will find themselves traveling in economy even though they may have originally been saving for business class redemptions.

This is where doing some homework can really pay off.  Conde Naste has a good article on finding extra legroom seats.  Even if you redeem miles, you can usually pay extra to have these seats when you choose your seats.

You should also check the exact plane configuration on Seat Guru and read the comments as some seats can have problems such as ife boxes under seats which reduce your legroom.  You can also check the width to see how closely you will be crammed in next to your seatmates.

I personally prefer to fly on smaller planes which have 2 x 2 seats on opposite sides of the aisle so my husband and I don’t have to sit with a stranger, so I always choose these planes over a 737.  We also prefer more seat width to more legroom so Seat Guru shows us what our options are.

Better Photography – Hand Holding Your Camera

In most cases when you are birding, you will be walking along a trail where it isn’t always practical to bring a tripod along.  You have to be ready to move fast as birds fly overhead and grab your camera quickly.  In other words, you will be “hand-holding” your camera.  Here’s the best way to do it.

 

Best Uses Of Flexible Points (USA) For Eco-tourists

I’m a big fan of flexible points because they give so many options for flights to the more remote, exotic locations eco-tourists want to visit.  Here are a few of my favourite uses.

CHASE ULTIMATE REWARDS

Flex Chase UR

Mostly I transfer points to United as the award chart is still pretty good to get to Asia and Africa.  They are also useful for routes within Central & South America on Avianca & Copa.  Singapore Krisflyer can be used for the same routes as United as they are also Star Alliance but beware of surcharges on routes between Australia & Asia & Africa.  I use British Airways for shorthaul economy within South Africa and on LAN flights in South America.

CITIBANK THANK YOU POINTS

Flex Citi Thankyou

I’ve been using Thank You points mostly on Flying Blue for an upcoming redemption on Kenya Airways within Africa.  They can also be used on Garuda to many birding hotspots in Indonesia.

AMEX MEMBERSHIP REWARDS (USA)

Flex Amex MR

I had a Premier Rewards Gold a few years ago and made good use of the points with a transfer to Flying Blue for Kenya Airways redemptions.  A few stray Amex MR also went to Singapore & British Airways.  You can only get any American Express card bonus once in a lifetime so I won’t be getting this card again.  I cancelled the one I had before the annual fee was due.  Considering that other cards also transfer to most of these partners and Amex isn’t as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard, this would be a last resort card to get.  The Australian version of the Membership Rewards cards is a better option (for my Australian readers) as there aren’t as many cards to compete with it.

SPG

Flex SPG

SPG points are extremely valuable as they have so many airline partners but unfortunately their credit card is issued by American Express and it’s another one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” cards.  I’ve highlighted the partners I use them on and they were extremely useful transferred to LAN to top up the miles from the LAN Visa so we could get free tickets to the Galapagos.  When Starwood is merged into Marriott, these options are likely to go away.

Birding In Cuba

Although the USA has only just reinstated the ability for US citizens to visit Cuba, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t already on the radar of dedicated birders!  Cuba does have some real stunning birds as you will see in this video journey by Rigdon Currie.

Crimson-breasted Shrike (Laniarius atrococcineus)

The Crimson-breasted Shrike (Laniarius atrococcineus) or the Crimson-breasted Gonolek, (‘gonolek’ – supposedly imitative of its call), is a southern African bird. The species is closely related to two other bushshrikes, the yellow-crowned gonolek (Laniarius barbarus) and the black-headed gonolek (Laniarius erythrogaster) of East Africa.

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The Crimson-breasted Shrike occurs in a broad swathe from southern Angola to the Free State province in South Africa. Its preferred habitat is drier thornbush areas, in thickets and riparian scrub. It makes small seasonal migrations, preferring lower altitudes during cold periods.  The brilliant flash of crimson gave this little guy away in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

crim breast shrike

LEARN MORE ABOUT CRIMSON-BREASTED SHRIKES

Wikipedia

Birdlife

Biodiversity Explorer

VIDEOS

This guy really wants to eat that grasshopper!

An even braver bird takes on a scorpion!

 

Doing Surveys Can Get You A Free (Or Discounted) Stay In Kakadu

The Accor chain has 2 hotels in Kakadu National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Kakadu Lodge Cooinda

Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel

Here’s a quote for a date chosen at random for both properties.

Accor Kakadu

Le Club Accor has two survey partners where you earn points that can be transferred to Le Club and redeemed on these and most of Accor’s properties worldwide.

E-REWARDS

Accor Erewards2

Opinion points are used in all countries except the USA, where $ are used.Accor Erewards

CLUB OPINIONS

They pay per survey and the points usually credit within 48 hours.  These are useful to top off your account to get to a 2000 point level needed to redeem EUR 40.

Accor Opinions

The best way to maximize this is to have each person do surveys on their own account and book nights from each account.  For example if I can get 4000 Le Club points and my husband gets 2000 points, I will book one night and get am EUR 80 discount, he will book the 2nd night and get EUR 40 off.

With E-Rewards, you also get a wide variety of airline transfer partners so you can keep doing surveys after your Kakadu trip and take your choice of transfer partners!

 

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – Night Safari Experience Pictorial

A night safari in any South African game park is a magical experience and should not be missed.  Most of the Sanparks rest camps will have them so be sure you book one as soon as you arrive at reception.  You are not allowed in the park in your own vehicle after sunset, the gates will close at 6pm-ish and you could be fined if you are late.

The safari vehicles are large and comfortable and your guide will be a ranger who is very familiar with the park and knows what all the animals and birds are.

Here’s a few pics from our night safari at Mata-Mata Rest Camp.  The sunsets are unreal!  Sorry I didn’t get more but it’s hard to focus in the dark although they will shine torches on any animal found.

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The 25 Best Caribbean Islands?

I have already been to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel and I’ll be visiting Trinidad, St Lucia, St Vincent, Dominica & Puerto Rico soon for birding – and I am sure birding wasn’t a criteria in this review but it is interesting as a sample of what rich people are looking for in a Caribbean island!

From the list below, I have bolded the islands which have endemic parrots as that is my top interest, though some other islands also have decent birding.

  1. Puerto Rico
  2. Dominican Republic
  3. St Marteen
  4. Curacao
  5. The Bahamas
  6. Jamaica
  7. St Barts
  8. Cayman Islands
  9. US Virgin Islands
  10. St Kitts and Nevis
  11. Aruba
  12. Barbados
  13. Martinique
  14. Antigua and Barbuda
  15. Montserrat
  16. St. Lucia
  17. Trinidad and Tobago
  18. Turks and Caicos
  19. British Virgin Islands
  20. Guadeloupe
  21. Dominica
  22. Grenada
  23. Anguilla
  24. Haiti
  25. St. Vincent and the Grenadines

See me in Jamaica!

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See me in Grand Cayman!

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Field Guide – Birds Of Brazil

It’s nice to see more and more field guides being made available in both paperback and Kindle versions.  I used to want a paper book with me in the field but as I get older and less willing to carry around excess weight, I am leaning towards Kindle versions.  If my recent series on Brazil has piqued your interest, maybe one of these guides would suit you.