UK AND OVERSEAS
TOURS 2026-2028
**Please note all tours up to May 2026 are now fully booked**
Finland & Norway
May 27th – June 10th 2026
** 2 places available**
A fortnight in one of the best birdwatching regions in Europe will take us through beautiful forests and lakes in Finland and on into the high arctic of Norway well above the Arctic circle.
Amongst the species that we usually see on this tour are Three toed, Grey headed and Black Woodpeckers, Great Grey, Tengmalm’s, Ural, Hawk, Pygmy and Eagle Owls, Hazel Hen, Capercaillie, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Siberian Jay, Siberian Tit, Bluethroat, Waxwing, Pine Grosbeak, Long tailed Skua, White billed Diver, Brunnich’s Guillemot, Gyrfalcon, River Warbler, Steller’s Eider, King Eider, Lapland Bunting, Rough legged Buzzard, White tailed Eagle, Red throated Pipit, Red necked Phalarope, Greenish Warbler, Ptarmigan, Dotterel, Smew, Common Crane, Rustic Bunting, Terek Sandpiper, Caspian Tern and Broad billed Sandpiper.
Iceland
June 15th – 23rd 2026
** 4 places available**
We return to Iceland – the land of ice and fire, for our 10th visit. Although there isn’t a long list of species to be found here there’s certainly a number of top quality birds to enjoy with the added attraction of a number of possible cetaceans too.
Among the birds that we’ll hope to see are Gyrfalcon, Red necked and Grey (Red) Phalaropes, Barrows Goldeneye, Harlequin Duck, White tailed Eagle, Brunnich’s Guillemot, Ptarmigan, Great Northern Diver, Black Guillemot, Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, Purple Sandpiper, Snow Bunting and Slavonian Grebe.
We’ll have a couple of boat trips out to sea for cetaceans that usually include Minke and Humpback Whales and we’ve also seen Blue, Fin and Sei Whales on previous tours too.
There’s also amazing geology to enjoy and of course we’ll visit the geysers and other thermal attractions too.
Eastern Poland – Forests and Marshes
May 11th – 18th 2026
** 3 places available**
A return to Eastern Poland where our focus will be on the Bialowieska Forests and the Biebzra Marshes.Key species on this fabulous tour will include White backed, Three toed, Syrian, Black, Grey headed and Middle spotted Woodpeckers Aquatic, River, Sav’s,Icterine and Great Reed Warblers, Thrush Nightingale, Honey Buzzard, Lesser spotted Eagle, Citrine Wagtail, Corncrake, Penduline Tit, Red necked Grebe, Collared Flycatcher, Red breasted Flycatcher and Great Snipe among many others.
New England USA
September 7th -21st 2026
** 4 places available**
New England comprises of 6 states in the north east USA - Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire and our tour coincides with Autumn Migration so we can expect a number of warblers, seabirds, shorebirds, larids and other species. We plan a couple of pelagics / boat trips on this tour too for seabirds such as shearwaters, albatrosses, skuas, petrels, auks, seaduck, gulls and terns.
Sites we expect to visit include Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket Island, Acadia NP, the Parker River NWR, Odidorne SP and the Cape Cod seashore among others.
Species we hope to see will include Black backed Woodpecker, Boreal Chickadee, Canada Jay, Rusty Blackbird, Lincoln's, Grasshopper and Vesper Sparrows, Spruce Grouse, Ruffed Grouse, Upland Sandpiper, Bobolink and a number of migrating warbler species.
Estonia - Autumn Migration on the Baltic Coast
September 23rd – 30th 2026
** 6 places available**
A week in autumn in Estonia should yield a number of highlights and we can expect to see huge flocks of migrating Common Cranes, raptors such as Golden Eagle, Lesser spotted Eagle, White tailed Eagle and Goshawk, wildfowl such as Steller’s Eider, woodpeckers to include Black, Three toed and White backed, Nutcracker, White billed and Black throated Divers, Tengmalm’s, Ural and Pygmy Owl Crested Tit, Yellow browed Warbler along with plenty more. There’s also a chance of Eurasian Lynx too.
Sites that we visit include the Silma NR, the Matsalu NR, Saaremaa, the Sorve peninsula and the Kabli bird station near Latvia.
The Shetland Islands
October 2nd – 11th 2026
** 1 place available**
A return to the Shetland Islands at an ideal time of year to expect a number of scarce and rare migrants from the east and west. We’ll have one base on this tour and from here we’ll visit numerous sites on the mainland as well as visiting some of the other islands which may include any of Fair Isle, Yell, Unst, Fetlar or Bressay depending on where the best of the birds turn up.
Rarities are by their nature never guaranteed but there’s always the chance of something special. On recent tours we’ve seen gems such as Blackburnian Warbler, Veery, Snowy Owl, Brown Shrike, Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, White’s Thrush, Pechora Pipit, Pallid Harrier, Red eyed Vireo, Arctic Warbler, Greenish Warbler, Radde’s Warbler, Paddyfield Warbler,
River Warbler, Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, Lanceolated Warbler and Desert Wheatear.
Birds such as Yellow browed and Pallas’s Warblers, Red breasted Flycatcher, Barred Warbler, Little Bunting and Bluethroat are pretty much standard and expected in autumn on Shetland.
Isles of Scilly
October 17th – 24th 2026
** 4 places available**
Another return to the Isles of Scilly some 28 miles off the tip of Cornwall.
It’s geographical position makes it ideally situated to attract off course migrants from both Europe and the USA that are displaced on to the islands by unfavourable weather systems.
Among the more regular of these species are Jack Snipe, Yellow browed Warbler, Dotterel, Firecrest, Red breasted Flycatcher, Lapland Bunting, Wryneck and Black Redstart. However, over the years we’ve also seen a very long list of rare vagrants from east and west that have included Cream coloured Courser, Blue Rock Thrush, Black and White Warbler, Yellow billed Cuckoo Black Duck, Black billed Cuckoo, Eye browed Thrush, Tawny Pipit, Red throated Pipit, Red eyed Vireo, Short toed Eagle and Black Kite.
Rarities by their nature can never be guaranteed but we’ve never visited the islands without seeing at least a few great birds.
We’ll be based on the main island of St Mary’s and will visit at least 2 of the other islands during our stay.
Please note that we won’t have a vehicle with us on this tour and will spend most of our time travelling by foot.
Islay, Mull, the Slamannan Plateau and the Firth of Forth
November 14th – 23rd 2026
** 5 places available**
A 10 day tour into south Scotland where geese, birds of prey, seaduck, divers and more will be among the birds we’ll hope to see.
Among our target species will be Taiga Bean Goose, Surf Scoter, White winged Scoter, Velvet Scoter, Long tailed Duck, Scaup, Purple Sandpiper, Smew, Slavonian Grebe, Golden Eagle, White tailed Eagle, Peregrine, Merlin, Great northern Diver, Red throated Diver, Chough, Short eared Owl, Twite and huge numbers of commoner geese such as the Barnacle Goose flocks that often carry rarities such as a vagrant Canada Goose, Snow Goose or a Red breasted Goose.
Norfolk and Suffolk
November 30th – 6th December 2026
** 4 places available**
A full week in East Anglia where we’ll have 2 hotel bases as we explore numerous sites in Norfolk and Suffolk looking for the best of the wintering species along the coast and inland as well as numerous resident species.
We can expect up to 10 species of geese, a few species of owls that should include Long eared, wintering duck such as Smew, Common Cranes, Hawfinch, Shorelark, Snow Bunting, Twite, divers, grebes and perhaps some white winged gulls too. Resident species we should see include Woodlark, Goshawk, Dartford Warbler and Bittern.
There’s always the likelihood of scarce and rare species here in winter with a regular wintering Pallid Harrier over the last few years, Waxwings, Red necked Grebe and maybe Rough legged Buzzard which was a regular in winter until recently. Maybe one is due ?
Mediterranean France
January 6th - 13th 2027
** 4 places available**
A late winter week spent in southern France will include a couple of days in the Camargue wetlands, a day around Mont Ventoux and time in Les Alpilles and La Crau.
We'll hope to see Wallcreeper, Eagle Owl, Citril Finch, Moustached Warbler, Slender billed Gull, Greater Flamingo, Crag Martin, Alpine Accentor, Southern Grey Shrike, thousands of Common Crane, Blue Rock Thrush, Firecrest, Crested Tit, Bonelli's Eagle, Booted Eagle and the now quite difficult to find Little Bustard and Pin tailed Sandgrouse among others.
Thailand
January 16th – 29th 2027
** 6 places available**
We visit numerous different sites and habitats on this tour with not only a good list of birds to be found but a number of mammals too which may include Asian Elephant, Water Buffalo and a number of civets and cats.
This fabulous tour covers many different sites and habitats with key species to include Spoon billed Sandpiper, Nordmann's Greenshank, Spotted Owlet, Bronze winged Jacana, Mrs Hume's Pheasant, Asian barred Owlet, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Slaty backed Forktail, Asian Dowitcher, Malaysian Plover, White faced Plover, Ratchet tailed Treepie, Pied Harrier, Pheasant tailed Jacana, Giant Nuthatch along with many, many more great birds.
Florida USA
February 8th - 22nd 2027
** 4 places available**
We escape the cold wet UK winter as we spend two week in sunny Florida where we have 3 bases in the Orlando area, the Gulf Coast and around the Everglades NP.
We usually find 170 - 180 species that include Limpkin, Painted Bunting, Burrowing Owl, Short tailed Hawk, Red cockaded Woodpecker, Long billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Snail Kite, Scissor tailed Flycatcher, Ruby throated Hummingbird, Florida Scrub Jay, Roseate Spoonbill, Bald Eagle, Sandhill Crane, Wild Turkey, a number of wintering warblers and a number of wintering waders and wildfowl species.
Sri Lanka
March 5th – 20th 2027
** 6 places available**
A return to wildlife packed Sri Lanka where our last tour yielded an impressive number of birds with in excess of 230 species seen which included all 34 endemic species. There’s other wildlife apart from birds too with Asian Elephant and Sri Lankan Leopard and a number of primates also likely to be seen.
Birds will hopefully include SL Spurfowl, SL Junglefowl, Chestnut backed Owlet, Serendib Scops Owl, Green billed Coucal, Layard’s Parakeet, SL Hanging Parrot, SL Grey Hornbill, SL Small Barbet, Crimson backed Flameback, SL Scaly Thrush, Dusky Blue Flycatcher, Sri Lanka Scimitar – Babbler, Legge’s Flowerpecker and SL Blue Magpie among the endemics along with an array of herons and egrets storks, Bee Eaters galore, birds of prey, waders and plenty more.
Our Sri Lankan local guide is among the very best guides that we’ve ever used overseas and there’s also a local network of local birdwatchers who are up to date where all the species that we’d hope to see are at any one time. A fabulous wildlife packed tour.
Extremadura, Spain
April 19th – 26th 2027
** 5 places available**
A return to western Spain where there is an outstanding list of great birds to be found which will hopefully include Bee Eater, Roller, Iberian Magpie, Iberian Grey Shrike, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Great Bustard, Little Bustard, Calandra Lark, Booted Eagle, Nightingale, Orphean Warbler, Black bellied Sandgrouse, Spectacled Warbler, Short toed Eagle, Zitting Cisticola, Thekla Lark, Spotless Starling, Penduline Tit, Gull billed Tern, Spanish Sparrow, Red rumped Swallow, Great spotted Cuckoo, Black shouldered Kite, Hoopoe, Blue Rock Thrush and lots more.
The Outer Hebrides, St Kilda and Coll
May 6th – 15th 2027
** 4 places available**
A return to the Outer Hebrides which will include a day trip to St Kilda ( weather permitting ) and a day on Coll.
We will hope to see an array of great birds with highlights being Corncrake, White tailed and Golden Eagles, Black throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Red throated Diver, Slavonian Grebe, migrating skuas, Black Guillemot and Chough among many others.
On St Kilda we’ll see St Kilda Wren and some of the most amazing seabird stacks on the planet.
Mammals should include Otter and there’s a reasonable chance of cetaceans too. Butterflies including Chequered Skipper and Pearl bordered Fritillary are likely as well.
This tour tends to fill up many months in advance of departure so very early booking is always recommended. Limited to 5 bookings.
Alaska USA – Anchorage, Barrow, Nome and the Pribilofs
May 19th – June 3rd 2027
** 3 places available**
A return to the far north of the USA ( our 5th visit ) where there’ll be an incredible array of wildlife to enjoy on this once in a lifetime adventure. Along with a number of much sought after birds, there’ll be an incredible amount of amazing mammals too. We visit sites around Anchorage, Barrow in the far north, Nome in the west, the Kenai Peninsula and we’ll also hope to visit the remote Pribilof Islands on this tour, which is always subject to favourable weather conditions at the time.
There are a few boat trips on this tour too – for birds and marine mammals. A truly once in a lifetime adventure !!
Birds that we’ll hope to see will include Steller’s, Spectacled and King Eiders, Gyrfalcon, Snowy Owl, Snow Goose, Pacific Loon, White billed Loon, numerous shorebirds to include Western, White rumped, Buff breasted, Baird’s, Semi palmated, Stilt Sandpipers and Rock Sandpipers, Red necked and Red ( Grey ) Phalaropes, auks such as Kittlitz’s Murrelet, Marbled Murrelet, Ancient Murrelet, Horned and Tufted Puffins, Least Auklet, Parakeet Auklet and Cassin’s Auklet. There’ll be passerines too and we’ll hope to find Varied Thrush, Golden crowned and Fox Sparrows, McKays Bunting, Grey crowned Rosyfinch and Mountain Bluebird
We’ll also see a number of mammals that we’ll hope will include Polar Bear, Black Bear, Brown Bear, Orca, Humpback Whale, Beluga, Steller’s Sea Lion, Dall’s Porpoise, Muskox, Moose and Sea Otter.
Bulgaria - Spring in the Balkans
May 20th – 2nd June 2027
** 5 places available**
A great spring birding destination where we’ll visit a good range of different habitats to include sites such as the Rhodope Mountains, the Sakar Hills, the Kaliakra Headland, the Goritka Oak Forests, the Vitosha NP, the Shabla and Durankulak Wetlands and the excellent Beech Forests of the Central Balkan NP.
We can expect in the region of 200 different species that may include Wallcreeper, Alpine Swift, Crag Martin, Griffon Vulture, Chukar, Black Vulture, Eastern Imperial Eagle, White tailed Eagle, Black Stork, Rock Nuthatch, Ortolan Bunting, Red rumped Swallow, Pallid Swift, Blue Rock Thrush, Orphean, Sardinian, Subalpine, Eastern Bonelli’s, Eastern Olivaceous and Olive Tree Warblers, Roller, Black eared Wheatear, Black headed Bunting, Sombre Tit, Levant Sparrowhawk, Masked Shrike, Semi collared Flycatcher, Eagle Owl, Booted Eagle, Roller, Bee Eater, Hoopoe, Nutcracker, Eagle Owl and Ural among many other fabulous species.
Mongolia Birds and Mammals plus Snow Leopard extension
June 5th – 22nd 2027
** 6 places available**
An amazing, just over 2 weeks adventure ( with Snow Leopard extension ) that’ll yield an amazing list of birds and mammals as we visit numerous wildlife packed nature reserves, national parks, lakes and mountains in search of birds to include Altai Snowcock, Mongolian Ground Jay, Oriental Plover, Siberian Rubythroat, Mongolian Lark, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Asian Desert Warbler, Daurian Redstart, Relict Gull, White crowned Penduline Tit, Wallcreeper, White naped Crane, Long tailed Rosefinch, Amur Falcon, Small Snowfinch, Stejneger’s Scoter and Demoiselle Crane among many others.
Mammals that we’ll hope to find will include Snow Leopard, Pallas’s Cat, Przewalki’s Horse, Wapiti, Asiatic Wild Ass, Pallas’s Pika, Mongolian Gazelle and numerous squirrels, chipmunks and gerbils.
New England USA
In the fall 2027
** 4 places available**
New England comprises of 6 states in the north east USA - Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire and our tour coincides with Autumn Migration so we can expect a number of warblers, seabirds, shorebirds, larids and other species. We plan a couple of pelagics / boat trips on this tour too for seabirds such as shearwaters, albatrosses, skuas, petrels, auks, seaduck, gulls and terns.
Sites we expect to visit include Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket Island, Acadia NP, the Parker River NWR, Odidorne SP and the Cape Cod seashore among others.
Species we hope to see will include Black backed Woodpecker, Boreal Chickadee, Canada Jay, Rusty Blackbird, Lincoln's, Grasshopper and Vesper Sparrows, Spruce Grouse, Ruffed Grouse, Upland Sandpiper, Bobolink and a number of migrating warbler species.
New Zealand – North Island, South Island and Stewart Island
January 17th – 4th Feb 2028
In New Zealand we visit North and South Islands as well as Stewart Island. Kiwis, seabirds, numerous endemics and cetaceans will all feature.
There isn’t a long list of species to be found in New Zealand but a percentage of what is here is found nowhere else in the world and the seabirds are exceptional – it’s definitely up there in the top places to see seabirds on the planet. There’s also non avian interest with a number of cetaceans and pinnipeds likely too.
Among the species that we usually see are NI Brown Kiwi, NZ Pigeon, Variable Oystercatcher, Grey Fantail, Grey Warbler, Tui, White capped Albatross, Black browed Albatross, Northern Royal Albatross, Southern Royal Albatross, Wandering Albatross, Salvin’s Albatross, Pukeko, Wrybill, Fluttering and Flesh footed Shearwaters, Red billed Gull, Black billed Gull, NZ Storm Petrel, NZ Dotterel, Morepork, Little Blue Penguin, Yellow eyed Penguin, Takahe, Wrybill, Bellbird, Rifleman, Grey Warbler, NZ Pipit and plenty more and there’s bound to be a number of cetaceans too as we have a few pelagic trips on this tour.