I’m sure you have many questions about Zugunruhe Birding Tours.  The first two are probably “How do you pronounce ‘Zugunruhe’?” and “What’s Zugunruhe?”  Zugunruhe is migratory restlessness.  It’s a German word, pronounced more or less as “tsook-oon-roo-heh”.  Yes, it’s a bit difficult to say, so do what I do and just refer to it as “Z”. 

I like the name not just because of my interest in bird migration but also because it seemed like a natural fit for a birding tour business, despite the pronunciation difficulties.  Just as birds experience migratory restlessness, so do birders.  My only problem is I first thought it would be easy to come up with a slogan based on the name, something like “When you’re feeling restless, let Zugunruhe help you migrate”, but I think I can do better than that.  I’ll keep working on it.

OK, that's all well and good, but I need to tell you the important stuff, the things you really want to know before paying for a "Z" tour:  I've been birding for 25 years (my first "official" lifer was a Common Grackle on Apr 11, 1984) and leading tours for over 5 years.  I was a biologist working on a number of ornithological projects throughout the U.S. and then began leading tours for Bird Treks, and as you can see from the tour schedule, I still work with them.  I've lead tours to locations across North America, from Newfoundland to New Mexico and from Costa Rica to Alaska.  Alaska, particularly Adak in the Aleutian Islands, has become my specialty.  I've led more tours to Adak than any other guide, and I've probably spent more time in the Aleutians over the past 5 years than others as well.

I organize the logistics of every "Z" tour plus many of the tours I lead for Bird Treks.  It's very important to me that a tour run as smoothly as possible.  I realize that you've made an investment with your time and money by coming on one of my tours, and I want your expectations to have been met, and hopefully exceeded, by the end of the tour.

About our tours – What to expect

You can find specific information about each tour, such as weather we’re likely to encounter and the amount of walking to expect, on the itineraries.  On most tours, we stay at mid-priced hotels, usually a chain brand like Best Western, though we also stay at “independents” that I trust.  I have a similar approach to restaurants.  I like to have dinner at unique, local restaurants that I know well whenever possible.  Otherwise, we’ll dine at a chain restaurant.  Breakfast is often at the hotel.  Lunch is our most flexible meal.  It may be at a sit-down restaurant, a quick stop at a sandwich shop, or a picnic lunch during a break in the birding.  It just depends on our available options, the weather, the mood of the participants, etc.

I try to keep group sizes small, often six or fewer, whenever possible.  Smaller groups generally provide for a better experience for all involved.  I will allow for larger groups for a few tours for which the quality will not be affected.  For example, on the Adak tours, the more eyes we have looking for Asian vagrants, the better.  There will be a second guide on tours with more than six participants.  

If you have any questions, please ask.  There's a link to send an e-mail at the bottom of every page on this website.

                                                 John Puschock, owner of Zugunruhe Birding Tours

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