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September/2001 - Private Tour (Southeastern Brazil) "Edson is an amazing photographer and an eager and well-informed guide with excellent taping skills. We saw 400 species of birds in 24 days, 70 of them endemic and 240 species new to me. I have recommended Edson to many friends who have come back from SE Brazil raving about the good time and great birds that they saw with him. I can't wait to go back to Brazil and bird with Edson again." Garry George - California - USA August/2002 - Private Tour (Ubatuba - Itatiaia - Campos do Jordão) Edson Endrigo guided my wife and I for four days in the south-east Brazilian forests. Even before our arrival, he was meticulous and helpful with email correspondence, even on the day Brazil beat England in the World Cup! We will always remember his fantastic field skills, his constant good humor, his welcoming and always positive attitude, and his genuine eagerness to make sure we saw the birds! He also ensured that we fully enjoyed and learned about the wonderful places we were visiting. His 'never say die' approach to finding hard birds produced extraordinary after dark views of Long-trained Nightjar and Rusty-barred Owl, within seconds of each other, as well as most of the Itatiaia specialties in just two days. I would not hesitate in recommending Edson to any visiting birder or nature photographer. Simon & Julia Woolley - UK May-June/2002 - Private Tour (Ubatuba - Itatiaia) I am a Bird-watcher based in the UK, and when visiting E. Brazil in May 2002 I employed the services of Edson Endrigo. I contacted Edson via e-mail (avesfoto@avesfoto.com.br) and received a reply same day with package pricing information, itinerary options and suggestions and comments regarding certain target species in which I had expressed an interest. I arranged to spend 5 days birdwatching with Edson whilst in Brazil employing him as a guide. In the five days we saw the majority of my target species, and some 230 species in total, (a good total for the austral winter.) Edson proved to be an excellent guide; he had tapes for almost all the difficult species, knew where the birds were and how to find them, and worked hard to find species when they were uncooperative. He speaks English, was good company on the trails, and was 100% professional in all matters. He was punctual, (even when starting at 4am) and I am happy to highly recommend his services. Chris Gooddie - UK December/2002 - Private Tour (Campos do Jordão) A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to bird with Edson Endrigo from Sao Paulo. This was a unique experience. We listed 117 species in 1 ½ days. The number would have been higher had it not been for the bad weather we encountered. What made this such a unique experience was Edson's knowledge of not only where the birds would be found but his ability to bring me and the birds together for very good looks and identification. Edson has a gift or talent for identifying the various species by voice. Sixty to seventy percent of the birds were found and identified first by song. And, he was never wrong! Every species was also verified by sight. Hard to see birds were easily coaxed by tapes. Edson's ability to find the birds plus his very congenial style and knowledge of the country side made this an experience well worth the investment. If you are looking for an A+ guide, Edson Endrigo is a good choice. Paul Mayer - USA December/2002 Private Tour (Ubatuba - Itaiaia - Campos do Jordão) I am writing this note to express my complete satisfaction with Edson's skills as a bird tour leader. His main quality is undoubtedly his incredible ear. He was able to locate most of the forest birds almost exclusively through their calls and to bring them to sight using his tape recorder when necessary. I saw 188 species in 3 days, among which more than 160 were new to me. He showed me forest rarities such as black capped Piprites or Forked-tailed Tody-tyrant, and difficult skulking birds from the forest floor like Slaty Bristlefront or Tawny-throated Leaftosser. He was able to identify the flycatchers, Eleanias, and other tyrannulets by their calls, allowing me to see a vast majority of those occurring in this area, without the trouble of trying to identify them by sight only…. Antbirds, antvireos, antthrushes, antshrikes, becards, manakins, woodcreepers, foliage gleaners, etc…are not easily found and identified when you are not familiar with the area. Edson did a great job in showing me a good number of them. I can only be very enthusiastic in recommending him as a guide for birdwatchers who really want to see a maximum of species during their trip. In addition, he is a fun guy… very pleasant as a travel companion! Bernard Cholley - Paris, France October(18 to 24)/2003 - Fixed Departure Tour (Atlantic Rain Forest) We have gone on 25 - 30 trips with some of the leading bird tour companies in the world, and we can happily testify that the quality of the birding was as good as or better than any other trip that we have taken. We had great views of virtually all of the birds. Your ability to identify the birds by ear and then draw them in was superb. We also were very impressed and pleased at how well you ran the day-to-day activities. The accommodations and travel arrangements also were just right, adding further to our enjoyment. Equally important too is how well you acted on the needs and wishes of each participant, making sure that they had really good views of birds and also had a good time in general. We are looking forward to planning another trip with you. We certainly will recommend your services to anyone who wants to see the birds in the areas that you cover and you should feel free to refer potential clients to us for our impressions of your services. We also feel that we have established a personal friendship with you that we hope will endure and expand over the years. Hal Swartz & Ann Flood - Hanover, NH October(18 to 24)/2003 - Fixed Departure Tour (Atlantic Rain Forest) Edson is truly amazing. He has very acute hearing and remarkable vision. He knew the chip notes of all the birds and was able to bring them in close for all to see. He is extremely well organized and highly skilled at finding birds. He could filter through the rainforest chorus and hone in on a rare endemic Antthrush. He also knew the local people and customs and knew the best places to eat. We had a great time and met some nice people along the way. I highly (*****) recommend him. Frank Murphy - Albany, NY USA October(18 to 24)/2003 - Fixed Departure Tour (Atlantic Rain Forest) Thanks for a wonderful trip to the Atlantic Rainforest. The birds of Itatiaia, Ubatuba and Campos do Jordão were absolutely spectacular. My favorite was the Green-headed Tanager with the red berry in its beak. Your bird-finding skills were truly amazing. I honestly cannot imagine how you found some of those birds. That is why I asked you if you have radar or heat-seeking apparatus built into your head! I also appreciated your boundless enthusiasm. You are a lot of fun to be with. Your country strikes me as beautiful, clean and safe. I have been to several South American countries; Brazil may be my favorite. I thought the food and lodging arrangements you made were fine and I appreciate the rest you gave us in the middle of the day. I look forward to traveling with you again sometime. Scott Marshall - St. Louis, Missouri September/2003 - Private Tour (Itatiaia - Ubatuba - Intervales) Three friends and I entrusted ourselves with Edson for a six day independent trip in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Between our groups we had previously been birding in over forty different countries and had used many different bird guides, in all parts of the world. Edson was without doubt the finest guide we had ever encountered and his only fault is that he makes all others that follow seem inadequate! His knowledge of the birds of the Atlantic Forest is phenomenal and his skill at picking out calls and producing great views of the birds that make them must be seen to be believed. I cannot recommend him highly enough and would not think of setting foot in Brazil again without enlisting his help. Ian Merrill - Leicestershire - UK September - October/2005 - Private Tour (Southeast Brazil) I had made some four previous trips to Southeast Brazil, including one with Bret Whitney, who is no slouch when it comes to finding good birds. So the want list I sent to Edson was full of difficult and even near-mythical birds. We found almost every one of them, plus some others that I hadn't even dared hope for. Edson is truly a magician when it comes to finding birds. I cannot recommend him too highly. John Penhallurick - Australia Private Tour - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 Edson has many qualities that make him a great bird guide. For me, the best is his tireless energy, which he demonstrates with his typical phrase: "venga, venga, venga!" With Edson I have been taking bird videos and invariably we achieve a surprisingly high number for the time we have available. Also, he has a fantastic sense of humour, which guarantees that any trip with Edson will have excellent results and will be great fun. Highly recommended! Josep del Hoyo - Bellaterra, Spain November/2005 - Private Tour (Ubatuba - Intervales - Serra da Canastra) It is difficult to find enough superlatives to describe our fantastic trip to Brazil with Edson. We have been very fortunate to have been able to travel the world in search of birds, and to try to obtain photograph of some of the most elusive species. During our travels we have had some amazing experiences and met some excellent guides. We have also guided many tours ourselves and know how hard it is to please everyone. So, we are perhaps reasonably well placed to state that in our opinion Edson is, quite simply, The Best! As well as being a really nice guy, Edson's field skills are incredible - both in terms of his acute hearing and eyesight, and in his extensive knowledge of the habits of the key birds of the areas we visited. Edson is a top bird photographer and as photographers ourselves we benefited tremendously from his skills and uncanny ability to predict on which particular "beautiful branch" the bird we were seeking would land. The fact that Edson was happy for us to photograph 'his' birds - including species he himself had not yet managed to photograph - shows just how professional and genuine he is. In terms of logistics, our trip could not be faulted. We left Brazil with photographs of over 300 species, made a great new friend in Edson, and can't wait to return for a second installment of the 'Edson Experience'. Andy & Gill Swash - West Hill, Devon, UK Private Tours - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 I have been lucky enough to do a number of birding trips with Edson in the Atlantic Forest and wholeheartedly recommend him. His birding skills and local knowledge are becoming the stuff of legend, but what distinguishes him from many other bird guides is his enthusiasm and energy. There is never a dull moment with Edson and if the birds are anywhere in the neighborhood, he will dig them out for you. John Warham - UK October/2004 Private Tour ( Serra de Canastra - Ubatuba - Itatiaia -Intervales) - 7 people "When we first hinted that a visit to South-east Brazil was on the cards, then several recommendations about Edson were forth coming. We sent a list of our demands on the bird front. After less than an hour searching for our first target, Brazilian Merganser was on our list and we were off… in what turned out to be the most spectacular eight days birding I had ever had. With the enthusiasm, energy and incredible skill that Edson had, we cleaned up. We saw 356 species including every targeted species plus more. I could not recommend Edson more highly as a guide for anyone considering a trip to Brazil." Carl Downing, Cardiff, UK. September/2007 Private Tour ( Serra do Cipó - Serra do Caraça - Serra de Canastra) - 4 people "Our recent trip with Edson Endrigo could not have been finer. He is an excellent guide with outstanding field and organizational skills, good rapport with his clients and unbounded enthusiasm. Edson knows where the birds are to be found and really loves to show them to his clients." David Donsker, North Hampton, NH, USA |
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