Check out some of our favorite places on the web!
TRAVEL INSURANCE
If you think it's OK to travel without medical coverage, let us tell you about the $36,000+ that a friend had to pay to arrange a medevac flight from Panama to Texas after taking a bad fall. You might want to consider a policy offered by your airline when you purchase your ticket, or you can purchase directly from a travel insurance company. You can compare different insurance policies (coverage and cost) at one of these websites:
https://www.insuremytrip.com/?linkId=ER791460
http://www.quotewright.com/?sub_id=6056
If you take more than one or two trips a year, you might want to consider purchasing an annual policy that covers your medical expenses on all trips you take for a full year. These policies typically cover only medical expenses and do not cover trip cancellation, lost luggage, trip interruption, etc. For that kind of coverage, the policies offered by your airline when you purchase your ticket would be a better choice, but they must be purchased for each trip. The Beckmans carry an annual medical travel insurance policy through Allianz, but we've seen similar policies offered by AAA and other companies. Do some online research and find the best policy for you!
TROUBLE WITH YOUR LENSES FOGGING UP IN HUMID CONDITIONS?
This stuff works! You simply rub your glasses or binocular lens with this dry cloth for 10-15 seconds and you are fog-free for up to 8 hours. Each cloth may be reused up to 10 times, and they come in packages of 3 cloths. You can buy them on several websites, including Amazon. You can see the demonstration video here:
https://www.defogitworks.com/
ZEISS OPTICS - We've tried them all, and we think Zeiss offers the clearest, brightest view for birders, especially in low-light conditions of the rain forest. Both Jim and Cindy carry a pair of Victory SF 10 x 42. Zeiss offers quality optics at different price ranges - check out the new Terra HD!
http://sportsoptics.zeiss.com/nature/en_us/binoculars.html
RESEARCH
Internet Bird Collection (IBC) offers photographs and videos of thousands of bird species:
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/
If you are traveling with Cheepers!, we will provide you with a customized checklist that cross-references the field guide. We usually send the checklist 2 - 6 weeks prior to departure, but if you want to prepare well in advance, you may want a current checklist for the birds found in your destination country. Avibase offers up-to-date checklists that you can download and print.
http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?lang=EN
As you prepare for a trip to a new destination, you might want to learn vocalizations for some of your target species. An excellent site that could provide you with the audio you need is xeno-canto:
http://xeno-canto.org/locations.php
Internet Bird Collection (IBC) offers photographs and videos of thousands of bird species:
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/
If you are traveling with Cheepers!, we will provide you with a customized checklist that cross-references the field guide. We usually send the checklist 2 - 6 weeks prior to departure, but if you want to prepare well in advance, you may want a current checklist for the birds found in your destination country. Avibase offers up-to-date checklists that you can download and print.
http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?lang=EN
As you prepare for a trip to a new destination, you might want to learn vocalizations for some of your target species. An excellent site that could provide you with the audio you need is xeno-canto:
http://xeno-canto.org/locations.php