Community Spotlight: Rich Cimino

We love getting to know birds and getting to know fellow bird nerds! Here we highlight Rich Cimino of Yellowbilled Tours, now celebrating his 25th year of leading small groups into the Tundra and down to the Tropics.

We asked Rich to share notable recollections from leading trips over the past twenty-five years and for his expert advice to consider when signing up for a group tour:

I often recall a Nome, Alaska and a Guatemala birding experience.

While driving back to Nome from Cape Nome in the evening, I saw a large group of birds on the road but couldn't identify the species from a distance. To my left side I noticed Long-tailed Jaegers (photo below) harassing a large brown bird. Turning my attention to the mob on the road I grabbed my scope, set it up, and zeroed in to see 20+ Long-tailed Jaegers tearing apart either a Whimbrel or a Bristle-thighed Curlew. The noise was indescribable from both the road and the coastal plain. I continued driving my truck toward the road event and caused a group of Jaegers to disperse. A remaining bird perched on a nearby low shrub and continued to call loudly. When I used my scope, I saw it was a second Bristle-thighed Curlew.

Always looking for opportunities to engage birders on the tour, as we were driving to Cape Nome for a Sea Watch, I was able to spot two Bristle-thighed Curlews flying over the coastal plain arriving from their flight over the Bering Sea, at nearly the same location where the Long-tailed Jaegers had killed a curlew two days earlier.

Leading over fifteen Yellowbilledtours field trips into Belize and Guatemala tropics, my most notable observations revolve around the Mixed Flock strategy that many species use for feeding on insects. A true mixed flock has a sentinel bird, which typically is a female Black-throated shrike-tanager (photo below) stationed in a tree at mid-level watching for predators, sending out an alarm call when a predator is in the area.

A mixed flock typically includes a wide variety of species such as warblers, vireos, antbirds, manakins, wrens, wood creepers, and tanagers—all chasing insects that are stirred up by a line of army ants. When I have the group pause to focus on the interactions between species on the ground and the sentinel bird, birders notice this complex species cooperation.

Here is some advice to consider when signing up for a tour to help ensure a positive experience:

• Know the tour size, the number of leaders, how many scopes will be available and how many vehicles will be used.
• Will your tour guide offer a meet-and-greet event before the tour begins?
• Allow yourself time to become acquainted with the other attendees; within two days, everyone will be familiar with you.
• Consider the reasons for choosing this location for birding.  Are you selecting an appropriate season for birdwatching in this location?
• If you use eBird, download the bird packs available by county before you leave on a trip.
• Only use the Merlin App if your guide permits it or if requested to do so by your guide. While using the Merlin App, discreetly tell your guide about any interesting birds instead of sharing the species with the group.
• Stay with the group, do not wander off on your own.
  

You'll find more field trip bird photos and birding tours detail by visiting: www.yellowbilledtours.com

Rich Cimino has years of birding experience in Northern California and is the owner and guide for Yellowbilledtours.com. He has led small group field trips from Nome, Alaska to Colombia throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Rich, based in Marin County, serves on the Marin Audubon conservation committee, participates in six Christmas Bird Counts plus the Marin Breeding Bird Atlas, and is recognized as a field trip leader for California State Parks. He teaches beginner birding at Las Positas Community College and established the Eastern Alameda County Christmas Bird Count, which is now in its twelfth year. He currently holds the position of President of the Jedediah Smith Historical Society, documenting the 200th anniversary of Smith's travels through California.

Buteo Books wishes Rich a very happy anniversary!