We are convinced that Tourism is the best tool that can conserve our biodiversity and save the planet.
Our views are consistent with those expressed consistently by the United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), that sustainable tourism can help the conservation of the biodiversity and providing better life to the communities involved. You can learn more at https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/tourism-can-help-sustain-biodiversity
Avocet & Peregrine have an unflinching respect and concern for the birds and other wildlife. Therefore, we do not do or encourage calls or any kind of baiting. We request our clients to kindly respect this
Clients are advised not to use flash while photographing birds.
For night birding, the client needs to come with a torch with suitable lumens, which the guide will handle during the photography. We do not provide torches for shooting and therefore not responsible for the photographic output quality.
Specially for night birding trips, clients are advised to wear rubber soled shoes instead of PVC soles found in popular sneaker brands. PVC soles make crunching sound that disturb night birds.
Clients are advised not disturb birds or shoo them to capture flight shots or to chase elusive /shy birds. The best practice is to leave the birds to themselves and proceed to the next bird.
We ensure that our forays into birding zones have a minimum carbon footprint and least disturbance to the areas we explore. Hence, we restrict our group size to not more than 4 persons per trip. This can be validated by our trip reports. We are completely against mass troops of birders in busloads trampling upon pristine habitats which hurts the long term interest of the environment, birders and our business model.
Avocet & Peregrine reserves the right to abort the trip at any moment if ethical birding practices described above are breached. No refund will be given for the balance uncompleted part of the trip.
Clients are requested not to disturb nests of birds when encountered during the trips.
Trash is seen everywhere in Goa and much of India. This is a serious problem and more so for the environment. Trash is even present in protected areas. Creating and disposing trash during the trips is a serious no-no. Picking up trash during birding trips will be appreciated as a community service and we always carry trash bags and gloves in the car in the event a client likes to help in picking up the trash.
TIPS
Our packages are designed in a manner that budget prices are available only for groups. The more the number of people in the group, lesser is the cost per person.
Continuing on group all inclusive packages, the effort on getting the group together lies with the lead member. We cannot be given the responsibility of acquiring more clients to fulfill the group total requirement. We have kept the package cost to the minimum and it does not include the costs incurred towards client acquisition.
Booking very much is advance is very helpful. Our peak season are the months of October, November, December, January and February. Many of our clients are visitors from other countries and they make their travel arrangements much in advance.
The most important value we offer to our clients is the experience. We try to control the entire experience including the details which are often overlooked. This includes the vehicle operated by us. Other details are stock of bottled water, tissues, charging points and even AC charging points for cameras (only in emergency). We are not comfortable going in vehicles organized and driven by the clients since many bird opportunities come up incidental to driving and the vehicle is a rather perfect mobile hide while approaching the birds. Nevertheless our vehicle cost is about Rs 2500 per trip including fuel and overheads. The average distance covered by the vehicle is about 200-250 kilometres a day. This is markedly lower than an opportunity cost of a vehicle if hired or owned by the client. Further, the air-conditioning in the vehicle is always kept running even while idling or parked unless requested to be turned off by the client or if the air-conditioning creates fogging for the camera equipment.
Those engaging us on Day Trips need to select a convenient nearby location to stay. Our ground zero for pick-ups and drops is the Paryatan Bhavan – the headquarters of Goa Tourism Development Corporation. We can deviate and pick you from the place of your stay but we reserve the right to take a call on this.
Clients are advised to be punctual specially during pick-ups during morning since the target birds can be found only at the designated spots and at the designated time. Delays build up over the course of the day and it becomes difficult to keep up to the itinerary planned for you.
In case of Day Trips, we often encounter clients who want to join a a planned trip. The rules for this are that the costs are shared between the first client and the new client. The extent of sharing is between group of clients and not number of persons. The right of refusal for this arrangement lies with the client booking the trip first.
We suggest to clients to use the enquiry forms against each package or trip before checking out. Please use the enquiry forms to clarify details about the trip. We will not be able to help much in case a trip is booked and paid for in error.
Kindly go through our Hot Spot Matrix for each birding hotspot and the trip reports. These can help you decide your birding targets in Goa and with us.
You can check our credentials in the menu titled Why Us?. This menu gives insight into what we do and what we are about!
BOOKINGS
Bookings have to be done in advance either through our website, or transfer by NEFT to our bank account or by cash deposit in our bank account. The best option for foreign clients is to pay through the payment portal on our website or through PayPal.
The rates listed on the brochures are without the GST. The GST amount will be added to this amount at 5% for the boat trip and 18% for other trips.
Client ID details (Aadhar Card / Passports) have to be furnished at the time of booking along with Vaccination Certificates / Passports. The names on the Vaccination Certificate / Passport has to correspond to those on the Aadhar Card / Passports.
We view Covid-19 prevention protocols seriously. Our teams are fully vaccinated and we expect our clients to be fully vaccinated. Our vehicles and equipment are UV-C sanitised. Clients who cannot provide vaccination details will not be accommodated and their amounts will be refunded.
Bank and other transfer charges are exclusive to the price. Charges incurred by us towards receiving payments have to be borne by the customer.
CANCELLATIONS
In case we initiate cancellations due to an overbooking or any other situation, the full amount will be refunded back to the respective client.
In case a client needs to cancel a booking, cancellation charges would be 10% of booking value if cancellation is 15 days or more prior to scheduled check in or trip.
If case the cancellation were done between 15 days to 7 days prior to scheduled check in or trip, the cancellation charges would be 50% of booking value.
If case the cancellation is done between 7 days to 3 days prior to scheduled check in or trip, the cancellation charges would be 75% of booking value.
Any cancellation done within 72 hours prior to check or trip, no amount will be refunded. 6. Refund amounts will be refunded to the same account the amount was debited. In case of cash deposits, the amount will be credited to the account matching to the ID details furnished at the time of booking.
CONDUCT
Clients are advised to conduct themselves in well behaved manner at the stays provided and during the trips. Any kind of misbehaviour will be not tolerated and the trip can be aborted and criminal proceedings may be initiated based on the gravity of the misdemeanours. No refund will be given for the balance uncompleted part of the trip
Clients are advised to follow the laws of the land and including the rules regarding smoking, drinking, littering etc especially in forests and while on the road.
Clients damaging the properties of Avocet & Peregrine or at the stays will be liable to pay the damages involved irrespective of the intent.
SAFETY
Clients are advised to wear protective footwear while birding to avoid being bitten by venomous snakes.
Clients are advised to protect them selves adequately with clothing and insect repellant especially with respect to forest ticks.
Clients are advised to wear protective boots specially when venturing into water bodies or loose cobbles or during night birding trips. Clients are also advised about a clear and present danger of drowning or crocodile attacks while birding close to water bodies.
Clients are advised to stay at the side of the road while birding on busy roads.
While birding on the Zuari Boat trips, clients are advised to wear the life jackets provided and not to dip their hands /feet into the water since the waters are crocodile habitats.
OTHER CONDITIONS
The trip pick up and drop locations are outside Paryatan Bhavan of Goa Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. For any other location, the transportation charges as applicable need to be paid.
All incidental expenses on the day trips such as refreshments including breakfast, lunch etc, forest entry trips, and local guide and hide charges; toll, etc are on the account of the client.
The charges are time based and not based on any other parameter.
Sightings cannot be assured since bird behaviours are unpredictable. The objectives of our trips are to take our clients to the hotspots where frequencies of sightings are high and this can be verified through our trip reports on eBird.
