Foreign birding trips

[Picidae]

I'd be interested to know how many members go on specific birding trips abroad and where you go? What sort of criteria do you use in chosing a location (eg. money? time of year? habitat?), do you use a guide, have a favorite Country etc?

I'm fortunate in that I've traveled fairly extensively around Europe over the past 30 years, but still would like to do more birding in Eastern Europe. I've not been to Asia but have been to N.Africa and N.America but Europe is definitely my preferred location tbh.

Some of my favorite locations are S.Spain, Poland, France (particularly the Pyrenees and Camargue), Greece (especially south western Greece). I'm also fortunate in that I've had trips that have been specifically to carry out bird surveys so have been very well subsidised otherwise my main criteria is peak migration periods, low cost, low tourist/populated areas and diversity of habitat/accessibility as I don't drive. (which is probably why I prefer European birding!)

[Jonners]

Having a young family means that any Foreign holidays have to take more into account than just the wildlife. However, since they all enjoy looking for all creatures great and small, it does mean that we have had some very enjoyable holidays that have catered to all of our tastes. Having said all that, we've only done Cyprus (October and early Spring), Turkey (October) and Portugal (Easter). Like you suggest Picidae, migration times are particularly interesting, and Spring in Cyprus means that there is more water around for things like tree frogs and toads, as well as being an excellent staging post. Portugal was good (this year) for birds and we also found a turtle, geckos and lizards, and scorpions, to name but a few. We did have the advantage of having a car, so were able to drive to more remote areas - nearly always beneficial.

[thebeard]

i haven't been specifically on birdwatching holidays and i dont get away much at all, but both times i have been to southern iberia (south coast of portugal and almeria in spain) i did a lot of birding. These were amazing, especially as i;d just started out, and were good as you got a mix of familiar birds from the UK as well as a whole host of new and interesting species - highlights from both would be crested larks, bee-eaters, azure magpies, scops owl and corn buntings.

if i got the chance i think i would just go to the same region again for birding, as there is such a good range of familiar birds as well as those new ones. It would be nice to got to tropical climates, but i think its just too much of another world away in birdwatching terms for me to properly enjoy it. However i would like to go and see the birds of north america.

[RobS]

Nowhere - seeing a bird outside the UK doesn't count for me and doesn't really interest / excite me. Having said that I did have a nice few days driving through France and saw one or two good things. I'd never go abroad specifically to birdwatch though, with perhaps one exception to see Birds of Paradise.

Rob S

[rossy]

hello picadae, i went to visit friends in bulgaria, but was delighted of the amount of bird life, bee eaters , golden oriele, storks, cuckoo, eagle, buzzard, swallows . and more house martins than you can imagine, to name but a few, i went in june, other people have been there to birdwatch and all enjoyed it, it isnt expensive there , niether. rossy.

[RoyW]

I'm not adverse to a foreign birding trip, although so far I've mainly stuck to Europe (+ once Zambia/Malawi). Depending on the location + cost etc, the trips I have been on have been a combination of organised tours with guides, trips with a few friends planned after finding the best sites in books and online, and complete 'hit or miss' trips with a geographic location picked and sites then found by using a map and driving around. The organised tours tend to produce the largest number of species, but DIY trips tend to be far more satisfying (and organised trips sometimes seem to involve a 'tick and run' mentality, depending on the other people present).
For the next few years most of my foreign trips will be planned around dragonflies because I'd like to try to see, and photograph, as many of the European species as possible. Birds then act as a 'fall back' for the days when the weather is not suitable for dragonflies, + an interesting distraction on the days when the weather is good!

[Adam Cheeseman]

Haven't been abroad on holiday for 6 six years, but did a day trip to Boulogne for the Wallcreeper 2 years ago. In the past I have chosen a country where I wanted to go, researched the best places to go in that contry and then chose a package holiday to a resort that would act as a central base.

I have used the services of guides in Goa and Gambia, local taxi drivers in Morocco and teamed up with local birders in Louisiana. Mostly though I have read up on lots of reports available on the web for trips to places such as Morocco and Turkey.

One fairly cheap way of seeing birds in distant countries I have used is to go on sponsored charity treks and and make the most of what countryside I got. In Namibia we trekked across the Namib Desert and ended up at Swakopmund where there is a cracking estuary. In China there weren't too many birds to be seen on trek, but the birdlife around the Summer Palace in Beijing is pretty good. Best one though was Ecuador where we trekked through cloud forest and paramo up to Mount Cotopaxi. I stayed on and spent four days on the Galapagos and several days around Quito - fantastic country for birds.

Cheers,

Adam

[Kayleigh]

I saw pink flamingos on the salt lakes santa pola in Alicante it wasn't a planned birding trip was lovely to these birds in the wild and not a park in the UK..
My camera battery had gone typical..

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

I saw pink flamingos on the salt lakes santa pola in Alicante it wasn't a planned birding trip was lovely to these birds in the wild and not a park in the UK..

One of my earliest (age 5 or 6?) 'birding' memories was being dragged out of bed by my parents at 4.00 am where we were staying on the Camargue and taken to see the expected arrival of the Pink Flamingo's which had been reported as flying in towards their breeding grounds. After waiting an hour or so with many others in that dawn gathering, the sight of some 20,000 Pink Flamingo's flocking in against a pink dawn sky was something I'll never forget!

Adam: Trekking sounds like a lot of hard foot work - especially if you're carrying scope, camera, binos and backpack!

Rossy: Bulgaria is a birding destination I've been meaning to make for a few years. The last two years have been taking up with survey trips so haven't had the time yet - and have just agreed to do Southern Spain (Ebro Delta ) with a friend next year as well as the West coast of Brittany for Spring migration so it will be put off again!

RoyW: I feel the same re: using guides and would rather 'discover' and 'find' the birds myself or just with a few friends (in fact only ever used one and that was just to get him to drive me around, was still a pain though and on that occasion i had a bum deal!). Guided tours are great for those that are short on time or experience and certainly recommended for those wanting to see as many species as possible in the shortest time available - however, this approach can end up being a bit pricey. Google Earth is my favorite trip 'research tool' - not only can you choose your best migration hotspots by looking at the geography but also see rail/bus/plane links, accommodation links and most significantly, habitat in the satellite maps (as well as print them off for the trip)

Thanks for the responses guys - interesting reading. (And, hopefully, some inspired ideas for different destinations other than those we've previously visited)

[Hobjob]

I have a daughter in south Africa so am getting to know the birds there. Have a done a three week tour with UK birders there, and missus is happy to bird when we are in game parks. John, from WAB, was one and I think he got nearly 300 lifers!! We hired a few guides along the way.

Happy to offer advice if anyone wants to go that way. Amazingly diverse habitats and bird list is >900 species! Very easy to organize self drive tour to all parts. Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia need proper 4 x 4 for large chunks. Also easy to organize self drive.