19.Qxp Summer 2019
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Summer Newsletter 2019 Walrus, Franz Josef Land Contents A warm welcome from all of us at Naturetrek! Our operations team has been busy over recent take us to Nagarhole National Park in India for Welcome from the Team! 1 weeks planning the eighteen new holidays featured Black Panthers, Canada (a new tour to eastern in this newsletter. Canada and one to the Rockies), South Africa (a News & Events 2-3 new tour dedicated to finding Caracals), the USA Many of you have travelled to the Poles with us in (two new tours to California and the Dakotas), Writing Competition Winners 4-5 recent years on our charters to Antarctica or to Cambodia and, finally, the Bahamas where we Spitsbergen. We’re excited to announce a new follow in the footsteps of Steve Backshall and the cruise for 2021 to the little-explored Franz Josef Blue Planet Live team in search of the Caribbean’s Wildlife Photography Tips 6 Land in Arctic Russia. This will be the first ever full- shark population! Last but not least, we add to our boat wildlife charter to explore this remote, ice- unrivalled range of wildlife holidays in the UK with a Tour Leader Spotlight 7 encircled archipelago, which offers some of the new short break in Dumfries and Galloway. best Polar Bear, Walrus and high Arctic wildlife- French Pyrenees Wildlife Festival 8 viewing on Earth. Join us aboard the ice- The personality and field skills of the tour leader strengthened MV Sea Spirit to explore this on a wildlife holiday can ‘make or break’ the Realm of the Siberian Tiger 9 inaccessible world of shimmering icebergs and experience. We are very proud of our outstanding seabird-crowded cliffs (pages 10-11). team of Naturetrek tour leaders so, to kick off a Cruise News 10-11 new series, to be continued in our monthly Having celebrated our 30th anniversary there with e-newsletters, is an interview with botanist David two full groups across two weeks in 2016, we’ve Tattersfield (page 7). Tailormade Holidays 12 chosen to once again lay on our popular wildlife festival concept in the French Pyrenees in June We also include two runner-up entries from our Realm of the Black Panther 13 2020 – turn to page 8 for details. Also on the 2018 writing competition, exciting news from festival front, we will be taking over Napo Wildlife Siberia (page 9), and a news and events piece New Tours for 2019/20 14-19 Centre in the Ecuadorian Amazon in February 2021 (pages 2-3) on where you can come to meet us to for another wildlife festival offering some of the talk through your wildlife holiday plans for 2019, Late Availability 20 Amazon’s best birding and mammal-watching 2020 and beyond. We’d love to see you at one of (page 14). Other new tours in 2019 and 2020 will these events! page one Programme of Speakers: Birdfair 2019 NEWS IN BRIEF 16-18 August 2019 • Rutland Water Friday 16th August 11.30am – 11.50am Tim Melling Wild China – Sichuan's Birds & Mammals (Harrier Marquee) 12.30pm – 12.50pm Ben Chapple The Birds & Mammals of South Africa's Kruger National Park (Hobby Marquee) 1.00pm – 1.20pm Kerrie Porteous Madagascar's Endemic Wildlife (Osprey Marquee) 2.30pm – 2.50pm Tom Mabbett Borneo – In Search of the Clouded Leopard (Harrier Marquee) 3.00pm – 3.20pm Andy Tucker Tigers, Leopards & Sloth Bears – The Best of India (Hobby Marquee) 3.30pm – 3.50pm Tim Melling The Wildlife of the Brazilian Pantanal (Osprey Marquee) Saturday 17th August British Birdwatching Fair 11.30am – 11.50am Tim Melling The Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica – The Wildlife of the Birdfair 2019 Southern Oceans (Harrier Marquee) 12.30pm – 12.50pm Tim Melling The Birds & Whales of Mexico’s A Date for the Diary! Baja Peninsula & Sea of Cortez (Hobby Marquee) Once again we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our stand at the annual British Birdwatching Fair, co-sponsored by 1.00pm – 1.20pm Tom Mabbett Borneo – In Search of the Naturetrek and held at Rutland Water from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th Clouded Leopard August (inclusive). We also invite you to join us for a drink and nibbles (Osprey Marquee) on Saturday 17th August at 4.30pm. 2.30pm – 2.50pm Paul Stanbury Wild Japan in Winter (Harrier Marquee) As usual at this event, each day Naturetrek staff and tour leaders will 3.00pm – 3.20pm Andy Tucker Lynx & Wolf Watching in Spain be giving illustrated presentations in the Birdfair’s lecture marquees (Hobby Marquee) (‘Osprey’, ‘Hobby’ and ‘Harrier’), as detailed opposite. Please do join us in our usual spot in marquee 6, stand 38/39/40. Many of our staff 3.30pm – 3.50pm Tim Melling Ethiopia's Wildlife Highlights and tour leaders will be attending, including Andy Tucker, Paul (Osprey Marquee) Stanbury, Tim Melling, Kerrie Porteous, Sara Frost, David Phillips, Tom Mabbett, Ben Chapple, Rajan Jolly, Georgie Head and Alison Steel. Sunday 18th August 11.30am – 11.50am Tim Melling Crete's Birds & Flowers We will be sending you our 2020 brochure during the week of 12th (Harrier Marquee) August, so that you have your copy prior to the Birdfair. We look 12.30pm – 12.50pm Tim Melling Sweden’s Wildlife through the forward to seeing you there. Seasons (Hobby Marquee) 1.00pm – 1.20pm Sara Frost St Kilda & the Hebrides – Islands on the Edge of the Atlantic (Harrier Marquee) 2.30pm – 2.50pm Tim Melling The Wildlife of the Brazilian Pantanal (Harrier Marquee) 3.00pm – 3.20pm Paul Stanbury Spitsbergen – Realm of the Polar Bear (Hobby Marquee) 3.30pm – 3.50pm Tim Melling Polar Photography from Pole to Osprey Andy in action at the Birdfair Pole (Osprey Marquee) Naturetrek Our Venues: Newcastle – Monday 4th November 2019 Presentation Harrogate – Tuesday 5th November 2019 Evenings 2019/20 Martin Mere WWT – Wednesday 6th November 2019 Chester – Thursday 7th November 2019 This year we will be presenting our annual Evesham – Friday 8th November 2019 series of illustrated talks in November 2019 Winchester – Monday 18th November 2019 and January 2020. These offer you the chance Exeter – Tuesday 19th November 2019 to come and meet us, discuss your holiday Slimbridge WWT – Wednesday 20th November 2019 plans and enjoy a selection of illustrated Dorking – Thursday 21st November 2019 presentations by our top wildlife tour leaders London – Friday 22nd November 2019 about some of our most popular wildlife London – Tuesday 7th January 2020 destinations. Please find opposite our planned Dorking – Wednesday 8th January 2020 schedule for November 2019 and January Winchester – Thursday 9th January 2020 2020. Locations and speakers will be confirmed nearer the time. Please email Amersham – Friday 10th January 2020 [email protected] to book your free Tunbridge Wells – Monday 13th January 2020 tickets or call 01962 733051. We look forward Welney WWT – Tuesday 14th January 2020 to seeing you there! Oxford – Wednesday 15th January 2020 (WWT = Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust) Northern Hawk Owl, Norway page two Call now or visit www.naturetrek.co.uk for your free Trip Itinerary. Join us at Cley Marshes Nature Reserve in October to meet the Naturetrek team We are delighted to be spending the day at Cley Marshes, in north Norfolk, on Wednesday 16th October 2019. Throughout the day several of our key staff and tour leaders will be on hand to answer any holiday questions you may have and to escort walks around the nature reserve (entrance fee not included). They will also be pleased to talk to anyone interested in a private tailormade holiday as opposed to one of our escorted group tours. A series of illustrated talks will be presented throughout the day at the reserve’s excellent visitor centre, covering a range of the holidays we offer and the wildlife highlights of each. October is a wonderful time to visit the north Norfolk coastline and a prime time for enjoying a wide range of returning geese, ducks and waders and more than the occasional rarity too! A full programme of walks and talks will be available soon, as will names of the staff members and tour leaders attending. To join us for the day, please call Annie Dale on 01962 733051, or email [email protected] advising her of your area of interest and likely time of arrival to assist our planning. Pink-footed Geese Office Open Days If you would like some help planning your next wildlife holiday, please do visit us at our Mingledown Barn offices for tea/coffee, cakes and expert advice on one of the Naturetrek Open Days listed below (or at any other time for that matter). Our expert staff will be on hand to chat with you about your travel plans for 2019, 2020 and beyond. Wildlife walks will be offered on each Open Day, and moth-trap inspections from April to September inclusive, weather permitting. Open Day dates for 2019/20: Fri 5th Jul, Fri 2nd Aug, Fri 6th Sep, Fri 4th Oct, Fri 1st Nov & Fri 6th Dec ’19, plus Fri 10th Jan & Fri 7th Feb ’20. If you wish to attend, please first call Annie Dale on 01962 733051 or email [email protected] to ensure an appointment can be made with the staff member best suited to discuss your interests. Open day????????????? moth trapping Join us at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in July 2019 & the Wildlife & Safari Travel Show in Harrogate in October 2019 We should be delighted to see you at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, at Hampton Court Palace, Surrey, from Tuesday 2nd – Sunday 7th July 2019 (Tuesday and Wednesday for RHS members only).