In January 2019, I went on an individual birding tour to the Dominican Republic with Katinka from Beaks & Peaks. Through a common buddy, we became acquainted. I needed a Spanish-speaking birding guide and driver who could organize logistics and other last-minute details. Katinka was more than happy to oblige. My goal for the trip was to view members of the island of Hispaniola's four recognized endemic bird families: todies, palmchats, Hispaniolan tanagers, and chat-tanagers. We opted to focus on only one birding destination: the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park, a mountain region in the southwest near the Haitian border, because the trip was short and I didn't want to spend too much time driving. This turned out beautifully. Katinka booked a cozy cottage in a little foothills town that functioned as our 'base camp' and where we cooked for ourselves. We had extremely early mornings and spent lengthy days in the outdoors, investigating the park's many ecosystems and altitudinal zones. On the first day, we observed Broad-billed Tody and Black-crowned Palm-Tanager, followed by Palmchat and the elusive Western Chat-Tanager on subsequent days. The mission has been completed! We spent the rest of the day watching todies (I couldn't get enough of these amazing birds!) and a variety of endemics from the lovely mountain woods, including the endangered White-fronted Quail-Dove, Antillean Piculet (my personal favorite), and Ashy-faced Owl. Not to mention the Golden Swallow, which is a stunning bird. We worked hard to gain views of the Bay-breasted Cuckoo and were rewarded handsomely in the end. For us, the most difficult bird of the trip was the Hispaniolan Crossbill, which Katinka discovered during our final moments in the pine trees, after I had given up. Yes! I'd love to go on another birding expedition with Katinka. She is a good organizer, patient but tenacious, very adaptable (I impulsively suggested changing plans and moving to the south side of the mountains for the last nights: no problem), a skilled driver (not easy when roads resemble river beds, either dry or flooded...), and a birder with a keen eye for the rare and elusive. Most importantly, Katinka is a delightful and easygoing companion.

My first vacation to Honduras, and William, the General Manager and Tour Leader at Beaks and Peaks, was fantastic! He is a fantastic birder who knows all there is to know about birds. I have never had the pleasure of working with a better birding guide. Almost every bird was a lifer for me for the first several days, which was to be anticipated. I'm confident we didn't overlook any species! We observed a couple pretty uncommon birds, and William knew exactly where to look for particular kinds. Our journey began smoothly enough, but the country was shut down in the middle due to the COVID-19 virus. We proceeded to bird as planned since William kept us updated. William took excellent care of us and went above and above the call of duty as our guide to make us feel at ease at this stressful time. He made certain we were not left stranded and treated us as though we were family. I'm not sure what we would have done if he hadn't stepped in. Katinka, the Operations Manager and Trip Leader, was kind enough to join us at the end of the tour. Their combined knowledge is incredible! This trip was fantastic, and I would highly suggest it. The country was stunning, the lodges were luxurious, and the cuisine was amazing. I can't say enough excellent things about Beaks and Peaks' William and Katinka.

I went to Honduras with Beaks and Peaks particularly with hopes of seeing three species of hummingbirds. Katinka is a fantastic guide who was able to not only show me the three hummers but many, many more species of both hummers and other birds. She has great eyes and ears and can get you on the birds quickly. She knew the best locations and the easiest ways to get to them. Katinka is very friendly and makes a great traveling companion as well. Would I recommend traveling with Beaks and Peaks? Most certainly, and I am hoping to travel with them again in the future.

This has been a fantastic adventure. We expected a rich and highly delightful journey after meeting William and Katinka in the United States, but we could not have guessed how wonderful and personally fulfilling it would be. On paper, the tour seemed perfect, but we were still blown away by all the friendly, interesting locals we met and interacted with, by the many beautiful national parks, world heritage sites, and other cultural sites we visited, by all the incredible birds William (our guide) found for us and his obvious desire that we each see them in the scope and binoculars and learn about their habitats and behavior, and by all our deeply thoughtful discussions with Wiley. This is a person who genuinely loves and cares for Honduras, is dedicated to developing a more sustainable future from the ground up, and is passionate about passing on his knowledge and admiration of the nation to others. He readily and meaningfully interacts with people from all walks of life, both residents and tourists from other countries, and he wants to teach us how to do the same. We also got to spend some time with Katinka, who was out on her own with a small group on a separate schedule that happened to overlap with ours at one accommodation, and it was evident that her companions felt the same way about her as we did about William. It's been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

My recent bird photography trip to Honduras, a lovely Central American nation, proved to be rather profitable. Thanks to the fantastic team of William Orellana and Katinka Domen of Beaks and Peaks, I was able to add a large number of unusual bird species to my lifer list. This adventure tour business is by far the most hands-on, professional, knowledgable, courteous, responsive, and accommodating firm I've worked with. Throughout my 5-day private excursion, I always felt safe and in good hands with William. Beaks and Peaks specializes on off-the-beaten-path trips (both private and small groups) and brings you to areas where no one else has gone before. This unique Central American country still offers pristine natural areas where you may go for hours or days across mountains and woods without seeing another human. You may actually feel at one with the natural world. A real nature lover's dream come true. William (affectionately known as the 'bird whisperer') and Katinka have an uncanny ability to locate birds, which, combined with their great knowledge of birds, will ensure that your experience is one you will never forget. You'll see the species you came to see, as well as those you didn't anticipate, thanks to William's excitement and unwavering devotion to and passion of birding. Panacam, a lovely National Park lodge, served as our home base. I was able to picture 12 different exotic types of birds within 20 minutes of arriving at the resort. You may just stay at the resort and begin bird watching or photographing within a few feet of your room. This site is very wonderful. The rooms were spotless, the meal was delicious, and the service was outstanding. Despite the fact that Beaks and Peaks is based in Honduras, they also offer excursions in Equador, Colombia, and Peru, with more destinations to be added in the future. Whatever nation you select, you'll be staying in top-notch accommodations. You will always receive top-notch professional personal attention and care when you go with Beaks and Peaks Adventure Tours. With all of the Beaks and Peaks.

If I had to list the best 100 days of my life, I would put all eleven days I spent with William Orellana on the 2018 Hummingbird Quest on that list. I will qualify that with the admission that I am an absolute hummingbird fanatic. My very well-planned tour of Honduras in search of birds to photograph was nothing less than phenomenal. I was able to capture many species, four of which are very difficult to find much less photograph. William knows the various Honduran territories so well that he was able to take me to areas where I was almost guaranteed to find a certain species. He has an impressive ability to spot perched hummingbirds, and he once even knew where a particular bird would land on a particular tree. This is an unbelievable advantage to a photographer and allowed me to obtain some of the finest photographs of the female Wine-throated Hummingbird in existence. The rare Sparkling-tailed Hummingbird is actually a regular visitor to the garden he planted at his own home! I met some incredible people in Honduras that love hummingbirds and are doing everything they can to preserve their habitat. These people are trying to teach both the children and adults of Honduras how important it is to conserve the beauty of their country for the birds and ultimately for themselves. The people are warm and friendly, and I always felt welcome everywhere I was taken. Both William Orellana and Katinka Domen love Honduras and will do anything and everything to send their clients home with the memories of a lifetime. Would I go back? Is tomorrow too soon?

We visited Honduras last year for a hummingbird photography tour and were left with the feeling that there was much more to see and do. So we soon signed up for another, longer tour with Beaks and Peaks this year. We wanted to visit some different places as well as visiting a couple of our favourites from last year. Our tour started in Tegucigalpa and we then worked our way west to Copan and then north to the Caribbean coast where we stayed on Guanaja. We visited various different birding habitats and saw some great birds. This year we managed to get much better views of the wine throated humming bird, and saw a whole range of mot mots and trogons, American migrants and local rarities. We enjoyed every place we stayed for different reasons. We enjoyed our breakfasts with local families, views of migrating swallows, swifts and hawks, walking round the town of Gracias with William, and visiting the ruins of Copan. At no point did we feel threatened or unsafe, and neither did we see any trouble or experience any issues. The security issues in Honduras seem to be vastly overstated. Honduras is a great birding destination, with friendly people who have a passion and enthusiasm for their country. We stayed in some truly excellent accommodation, particularly La Villa de Soledad as an example. Once again we enjoyed Guanaja both birding and snorkelling – the island really is like paradise and there are some great people who looked after us well. It was a great way to finish holiday. I would highly recommend Beaks and Peaks as a birding tour operator. Whilst we stuck to our overall itinerary William took account of local conditions and how we felt to ensure that we got the best out of every day. William was keen to show us his country of which he is immensely proud and share his absolute passion for the birds. He always tried his best to get us onto a bird .... but there is always one to go back for. We enjoyed each and every minute of our holiday and will always remember it

We took part in a 10 day tour starting in Tegucigalpa and ending in Pico Bonito Lodge, nr La Ceiba. From start to finish the tour worked as planned. Accommodation was generally very good with just one night where the accommodation was basic - we were told about this - and some nights where the accommodation was very good - at Panacam Lodge and Pico Bonito. Throughout the tour our guides William and Katinka were attentive to detail and very easy to get along with - nothing was too much trouble. We particularly enjoyed early morning breakfasts in the field, often with local food which was a nice touch, it was very good. We even had one day when in the middle of nowhere we had take out pizza - I'm not sure how they did it, but it was lovely, a nice change. We had no upset tummies as there was always hand cleaning gel available. From a bird watching perspective this tour is exactly as per the title, and we went to some lengths to see different and more specialised birds in more challenging locations, as well as some easier feeder visits. Of the just over 40 hummingbird species available in Honduras the trip recorded 31 in 10 days! We really enjoyed visiting Guanaja - the whole experience of the flight, short boat ride and laid back feel on the island. The whole experience was so good we have already booked to go back to do some more general birding!! Cannot wait.

I joined William from Beaks and Peaks for a Hummingbird Photography Quest. I arrived and departed from Honduras on slightly different days to the other guests for various reasons, and William could not have been more helpful in making sure I was immediately made to feel safe and welcome when I arrived. The hummingbirds we saw were incredibly beautiful, and there was ample time allowed to get used to the habitat and behaviour of each species, and to photograph them in different lights. I am a birder as well as a photographer, and William made sure that I saw (and photographed!) plenty of other species as well as the hummingbirds we were searching for. Both William and Katinka are wonderful, highly skilled and friendly guides who do their utmost to make you feel welcome in Honduras, and to ensure that each individual on the trip gets what they want out of the tour. I cannot recommend Beaks and Peaks highly enough, and Honduras is an unexpected delight to visit.