Sarah Marshall explores twitching breaks as weather warms Spring into birding delight
Nothing heralds the start of spring quite like birdsong. As trees blossom and daffodils flower, our feathered inhabitants are hurriedly gathering materials for their nests. Birdwatching has taken off in recent years, as more and more people begin to appreciate nature. Discover the brilliant birds of our skies on one of these trips…
TOP UP ON TWITCHING
If you’re short on time but want to increase your bird count, David Leslie’s Big Day Birding Tours could be the solution. Packing as many feathered encounters as possible into one day (ideally more than 100), there are two tours available in Aberdeenshire, an area with a variety of habitats ranging from mountains and lochs to beaches and woodland. These can be done individually or combined to create a Big Day Birding Weekend.
Start the search along the River Don in Seaton Park, where dippers and wagtails can be found. Forvie National Nature Reserve is home to breeding colonies of common, Arctic and sandwich terns. Little grebes can be seen at Meikle Loch, while puffins, kittiwakes and skuas can be spotted on coastal paths.
In the Cairngorms, head to Cullerlie Stone Circle, where red kites were introduced just over a decade ago. Find osprey fishing at Loch Kinord. Climb a viewpoint above the upper Dee Valley to spy golden and white-tailed eagles. How: The two-day package costs £300, including transport from any Aberdeen accommodation and guiding. Visit aberdeenshirebirdtours.com. Stay at the Sandman Hotel and Spa from £115 per night with breakfast. Visit sandmansignature.co.uk.
EXPLORING SKY AND LAND Birding trips don’t always have to be about checklists and binoculars. Many of the areas frequented by avian species also happen to be scenic and often only accessible by foot, making them ideal stops on a walking tour. North Norfolk is the perfect example; trails running through meadows, woodlands, vast sandy beaches and marsh areas are prime spots for some of the UK’s top birding spectacles.
From September until early April, thousands of wading birds gather at the Wash and Snettisham, an
RSPB Nature Reserve. At Holme Dunes, find over-wintering migratory wildfowl preparing to make their journeys home.
How: The six-night Seascapes of North Norfolk tour costs from £1,105pp (two sharing), including B&B accommodation, three dinners, luggage transfers and route notes and maps. Available from March 1. Visit inntravel.co.uk.
MEET FEATHERED MARVELS Observe both bird and marine life on a wildlife-themed tour based at Warmwell House, Dorset. Naturalists Mike Dilger and Ed Drewitt guide several excursions, including a trip to Salisbury Plain to learn about a successful project to reintroduce bustards. Take a cruise along the Wareham Channel to search for raptors, look out for goshawks in the New Forest and spend the day with Brownsea Island’s red squirrels and bats. How: The eight-day South Coast Wildlife Extravaganza tour costs from £2,995pp (two sharing), including accommodation, most meals, transfers and guided activities. Departures on May 10 and 18. Visit wildlifeworldwide.com.
FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ATTENBOROUGH
He’s travelled all across the planet but a gathering of 150,000 northern gannets at Bass Rock in Scotland still had the power to amaze Sir David Attenborough. The birds begin to gather at this wild outcrop around mid-February, reaching a peak in the summer months. See the spectacle for yourself on a guided trip to Northumberland and Scotland, visiting several top seabird colonies.
Start the tour south of the border with a boat trip to the Farne Islands to see puffins and guillemots. In Scotland, once you’ve been wowed by the gannets, continue to the Isle of May. Watch seabirds cram on to cliff ledges while the largest puffin colony on the east coast of Scotland can be seen in their grassy burrows.
How: A six-night Wild Isles trip costs from £2,295pp (two sharing), including accommodation, all meals, guiding and transfers. Departures on May 11 and June 15. Visit wildernessengland.com.