Birdwatching Breaks 2021 Over 30 Years of Guided Tours Destinations
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Birdwatching Breaks 2021 Over 30 years of guided tours Destinations BLACK ISLE BIRDING – SCOTLAND Scotland . Caithness and Orkney . 12 Scotland . Dumfries and Galloway with Northumberland . 14 Scotland . Scottish Highlands and Aberdeenshire . 16 Scotland . Isle of Islay . 18 Scotland . Mull, Tiree and the Uists . 20 Scotland . Scottish Highlands – spring . 25 Scotland . Scottish Highlands – autumn . 23 Scotland . Shetland – autumn . 28 Scotland . Shetland – breeding birds . 30 Scotland . Western Isles – the Uists, Harris and Lewis . 32 AFRICA Ethiopia . Birds and Mammals of north-east Africa . 34 Guinea-Bissau . Casamance and Guinea-Bissau . 38 Namibia . Birds of Etosha and the Skeleton Coast . 41 Rwanda . Albertine Rift endemics and mammals . 44 Senegal . SE Senegal and Saloum . 46 Senegal . Birds of the Sahel and Saloum Delta . .49 Senegal . Pelagic birding and birds and the Sahel . 53 ASIA AND AUSTRALASIA Japan . Breeding birds and migrants . 56 Japan . Winter birds in the Land of the Rising Sun . 59 Siberia . Autumn migration at Lake Baikal and Buryat . 62 EUROPE Bulgaria . Winter birds of the Black Sea . 66 England . West Cornwall . 68 England . Kent and Sussex in springtime . 71 France . Champagne-Ardennes at New Year 2021 . 74 France . Camargue and Corsica . 76 Ireland . Northern Ireland and Donegal . 78 Mallorca . Autumn in the Balearic Islands . 80 Norway . Winter birds of the High Arctic . 82 Sweden . Autumn migration at Falsterbo . 84 Sweden . Lake Hornborga . 86 THE AMERICAS Canada . Long Point, Algonquin and Carden Alvar . 88 Colombia . The world’s best birding country . 92 Mexico . Veracruz, Oaxaca and Sierra Madre . 96 Tr inidad and Grenada . Birds of the southern Caribbean . 100 Front cover: Western Capercaillie, taken near Lake Hornborga, Sweden. Although present in Scotland it is hard to locate. Photo: Kent-Ove Hvass Back cover: Atlantic Puffins Photo: Jo Finn Layout and design www.russellturner.org Printed by Speedprint, Inverness Copyright © Birdwatching Breaks 2020 2 www.birdwatchingbreaks.com ☎ 01381 610495 Tour Calendar January 2021 Colombia . The World’s Best Birding Country . January 9-23 Senegal . South-east Senegal and Saloum . January 13-26 Scotland . Isle of Islay . January 26-30 February Japan . Winter birds in the Land of the Rising Sun . February 5-20 Senegal . Pelagic birds and the Sahel . February 27-March 7 March France . Camargue and Corsica . March 6-14 Sweden . Cranes, owls and woodpeckers . March 24-28 Scotland . Highlands and Aberdeenshire . March 28-April 4 April Norway . Winter birds of the High Arctic . April 3-9 Scotland . Early spring in the Highlands . April 18-25 England . Kent and Sussex in springtime . April 24-30 May Scotland . Spring in the Highlands . May 1-8 Canada . Long Point and Algonquin . .May 6-15 Scotland . Mull, Tiree and the Uists . May 9-16 Scotland . Caithness and Orkney . May 24-30 June Japan . Breeding birds and migrants . June 1-20 Scotland . Breeding birds of Shetland . June 12-19 July Namibia . Birds of Etosha and Skeleton Coast . July 24-August 8 August Siberia . Autumn migration in Siberia . August 28-September 11 September Scotland . Autumn migration . September 18-25 Sweden . Migration at Falsterbo . September 25-October 2 Scotland . Western Isles . September 26-October 3 October Shetland . Autumn in the Northern Isles . October 2-9 Mallorca . Eleonora’s Falcons and migrants . October 2-9 England . West Cornwall . October 9-16 Ireland . Northern Ireland and Donegal . October 9-17 Senegal . Pelagic birds and the Sahel . October 23-31 Senegal . Casamance and Guinea-Bissau . October 31-November 12 November Scotland . South-west Scotland and Northumbria . November 6-13 Tr inidad and Grenada . Birds of the Caribbean . November 20-December 1 December Ethiopia . Birds and mammals of Ethiopia . December 2-16 France . New Year in eastern France . December 28-January 2 January 2022 Colombia . The World’s Best Birding Country . January 8-22 Mexico . Veracruz and Yucatan . January 8-22 Rwanda . Birds of the Albertine Rift . January 15-27 February Japan . Winter birds in the Land of the Rising Sun . February 4-19 Bulgaria . Winter birds of Eastern Europe . February 12-19 Senegal . Sahel and Saloum Delta . February 27-March 11 ☎ 01381 610495 www.birdwatchingbreaks.com 3 Welcome to Birdwatching Breaks 2021 A warm welcome to our 2021 brochure of are extreme rarities in Britain. birdwatching holidays, this being our 34th In Africa, we have departures to year of operation. Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, In 2021, we have introduced new tours to Senegal and Rwanda. These destinations interesting countries around the world, all offer you an extremely wide range of of them having had an inspection trip either African birds and mammals from the Sahel by us or our local tour operators. in Senegal to the birds and mammals of In Asia, we have destinations to Japan Rwanda. Rwanda is a small country in both in winter and early summer plus an Central Africa and relatively unexplored for autumn tour to Russian Siberia. For those birds and wildlife. We have tours here who wish to witness the winter wonderland December 2021 and January 2022. In of Japan, we have tours in February 2021 Senegal we have a new tour taking in a and 2022. The country continues to be a pelagic trip off Dakar and the Sahel region popular destination and we have modified along the Senegal River. To the south a the winter tour slightly to visit an area for new tour has been introduced taking in the Japanese Murrelet. I have also introduced unexplored country of Guinea-Bissau and an early summer tour to Japan taking in the the southern part of Senegal, Casamance. Ryuku Islands, Izu Islands and the beauti- Ethiopia is revisited in December 2021 with ful island of Hokkaido. many improvements made in recent years Siberia is repeated in 2021 this stunning- to infrastructure and hotels. A comprehen- ly beautiful region of Russia with equally sive tour taking in the major birding sites of impressive bird life. Our focus is in early this beautiful country. In our summer autumn on the migration of shorebirds, rap- months we are going back to Namibia to tors, warblers and buntings many of which visit this fascinating desert country for its birds, abundant wildlife and Etosha National Park. In The Americas a birding tour to Colombia the world’s best birding country is planned for January 2021 and 2022. In springtime our annual tour to Long Point and Algonquin in the Canadian province of Ontario for a migration spectacle without the crowds who flock to Point Pelee. During the winter of 2021 a wonderful tour to Tr inidad plus a few days in the island state of Grenada is bound to produce a wealth of birds closely associated to the avifauna of South America. In the same geographical region I am pleased to reintroduce our tour to Mexico which takes in the bird rich areas of Mexico City, Veracruz, Oaxaca and the impressive Sierra Madre mountain range. Closer to home, we have departures to Bulgaria, Corsica, France, Ireland, Mallorca, Norway and Sweden. These countries offer you great birding among spectacular countryside and vistas. Slavonian Grebe Photo: Jo Finn Extreme Northern Norway is being offered 4 www.birdwatchingbreaks.com ☎ 01381 610495 Birding on the Uganda/Rwanda border Photo: Jo Finn in April a prime time to watch some spec- ern Scotland. We have several other tacular winter birds of the High Arctic. In Scottish tours to Aberdeenshire, Caithness 2021 a week long tour to southern France and Orkney, Islay, Shetland, and an island and the island of Corsica should provide special visiting Mull, Tiree and The Uists. exceptional winter birding and two I firmly believe we offer you the best bird- European endemics. Over the New Year in ing packages in Scotland, with the coun- 2021 a short visit to Champagne-Ardenne try’s top birding guides, along with a friend- in Eastern France for winter birds. I have ly and welcoming service with no hidden reintroduced our tour to Northern Ireland extras. and Donegal in October for late migrants. Further afield in Britain tours have been Falsterbo in Sweden is offered for the spec- added to my old home of Kent and Sussex, tacular migration of birds whilst earlier in autumn in West Cornwall and the northern the year a tour to Central Sweden for the county of Northumbria which is combined migration of cranes plus woodpeckers and with Dumfries and Galloway. owls. The team at Birdwatching Breaks looks 2021 sees the 16th year of Black Isle forward to welcoming you on one of our Birding which covers all our holidays oper- tours. ating in Scotland and Britain. This sector Finally, my thanks go to Simon Papps for has grown significantly over the last few proof-reading our 2021 brochure and for years and we are pleased to say that we the layout and design Russell Turner. have a growing reputation as one of Scotland’s premier birding companies. Jo Mark Finn and I operate our popular “holiday at home” Birdwatching Breaks programme based at Cygnus House. Its Cygnus House location, overlooking the Cromarty Firth Gordons Mill, Balblair and set in two acres of wildlife habitat, Black Isle, Ross-shire IV7 8LQ makes it is an ideal base for visiting north- Scotland ☎ 01381 610495 www.birdwatchingbreaks.com 5 Birdwatching Breaks Leaders Mark Finn lives on the Black Isle in Scotland and is the principal leader of Birdwatching Breaks, having formed the company in May 1987. In 2005, Mark set up Black Isle Birding for tours based in Scotland. Mark originally trained in hotel management and catering before pursuing careers in the Merchant Navy, industrial catering and, finally, as a sales representative. He has trav- elled widely in search of birds both.