World of birds
Fancy a bird-filled trip to West Africa, Eastern Europe or Scandinavia? Look no further than our World of Birds reader tours for 2022 and 2023!
OUR World of Birds reader tour programme has been longestablished and popular. Working in association with a select group of specialist birding tour operators, we offer destinations and departures with the promise of some fantastic birding and, importantly, excellent value for money. With travel becoming easier again, we have started to put together another exciting schedule of holidays for this year and beyond.
Our nine-day tour of the West African country of Senegal in October this year features a wide range of avian possibilities. In addition to encountering many new and exciting bird families, we should also see good numbers of more familiar Palearctic migrants that make the Sahel region their home during our winter. Arabian and Savile’s Bustards, Goliath Heron, Saddle-billed Stork, Scissor-tailed Kite and Cricket Warbler have all been found regularly on previous tours and we will also try to locate the rare and elusive Golden Nightjar. This tour also boasts a pelagic trip to search for the range of seabirds that are found in the deep coastal waters.
Next year, an early spring eightday tour starting on 25 March to western Sweden should bring the memorable sight (and sound) of many thousands of Common Cranes and Whooper Swans, as they stage in the area before dispersing to breed. We have several days to soak in the spectacle, before we move further north to explore the old-growth forests in search of Scandinavian specialties such as Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Ural,
Great Grey, Eurasian Pygmy and Tengmalm’s Owls and Black, Greyheaded and Eurasian Three-toed Woodpeckers.
Then, 29 April-8 May sees us head to Bulgaria for some classic spring birding. Dividing our time between the mountains and the coast, we will search for breeding Wallcreeper in a spectacular gorge and should also encounter a wide range of raptors, including Cinereous Vulture and Levant Sparrowhawk, as well as tracking down newly arrived breeders such as Semicollared Flycatcher, Barred Warbler and Masked Shrike. Moving on to the coastal wetlands, we will be treated to a host of heron species, Pygmy Cormorant and both Great White and Dalmatian Pelicans.
Our tour to beautiful Herzegovina from 14-25 May is a guaranteed departure and based in the historic town of Mostar. A wide range of different
habitats are within easy reach of our accommodation and the spring birding will be fantastic at this time. Leisurely days in the field should reveal flocks of European Bee-eaters, Golden Orioles, shrikes and a fine array
of warblers, as well as special resident species such as Rock Partridge, Sombre Tit and Western Rock Nuthatch. This holiday includes all meals and local wines and is superb value on many levels. ■