Nine-banded Armadillo, Florida

‘We had a great time on our tour around Florida’, writes tour leader Matthew Capper. ‘Each day brought a different set of habitats and some amazing wildlife. As ever, the wetland birds were the undoubted stars. It is hard to think of anywhere else that you can get quite so close to such a range of herons, egrets, bitterns, spoonbills, storks and ibis – and all in bright, warm winter sunshine.

Florida is a wonderful place to catch up with American warblers – without the need to rely on a spring or autumn fall of migrants. Here, they feed in flocks, in much the same way as our small birds here in the UK in winter. We saw 12 species over the course of the trip and there were frequently vireos, gnatcatchers and flycatchers in with them.

And of course, it wasn’t just about the birds. A Nine-banded Armadillo truffling by the side of the road, lots of Manatees, both Alligator and American Crocodile, Raccoons and Bottlenose Dolphin all made sure that we looked down as much as we looked up.

Add in sunsets on the Gulf, frigatebirds on the Atlantic, hummingbirds buzzing from flower to flower, Burrowing Owls at point blank range, famous refuges like Merritt Island, the primordial swamp at Corkscrew Sanctuary and world-famous Everglades National Park and you have all the ingredients of a superb trip.’

‘A trip to Coto Doñana National and Natural Parks in winter is about both the spectacle of numbers and the stand-out moments, and we had plenty of both on this trip’, writes tour leader Niki Williamson.

‘Wetlands teemed with Greater Flamingoes, Glossy Ibis and Black-winged Stilts, as well as large numbers of wintering wildfowl and waders. Hundreds of Red Deer filled the plains, migrating Common Cranes and White Storks swept overhead and large flocks of Iberian Magpies adorned the woodlands!

Stand-out moments came in the form of Spanish Imperial Eagles, Bluethroats, Red-knobbed Coot, Marbled Duck, Red-crested Pochards, Penduline Tits and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

One of the area’s best winter wetlands – the Madre de las Marismas lagoon – was literally right on our doorstep!  What better way to start a winter´s morning than by pulling back the curtains on a lake full of Greater Flamingoes?’

‘Geographically central in the UK, Dumfries and Galloway is home to the northernmost of southern species and the southernmost of northern species of a whole range of biodiversity, including several birds’, writes tour leader Chris Rollie. ‘The Solway Firth and Loch Ryan are renowned for their wintering waterfowl, whilst the farmland and low-lying moorland attract a range of raptors in winter, including Hen Harriers.

In addition to the magnificent Svalbard Barnacle Geese, exclusive to the Solway, wonderful views of relatively scarce Greenland White-fronted and Pale-bellied Brent Geese were enjoyed, together with large numbers of Pink-footed Geese and Icelandic Greylags. Other highlights included the Whooper Swan feed, Merlin, Peregrine, Willow Tit, numerous waterfowl including Pintail and Shoveler, and the breathtaking spectacle of around 100 Red Kites swooping down for food at the nearby feeding station.

Loch Ryan was a delight, with superb views of around 100 Pale-bellied Brent Geese at Wig Bay, and on the loch itself Greater Scaup, Slavonian Grebe, Common Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Eider, a Great Northern and Red-throated Divers, and at least six gorgeous Long-tailed Ducks. A cracking finale was provided by around 100 Whooper Swans and six Greenland White-fronts, with five ringtails and two grey male Hen Harriers flying in to their communal roost at dusk.

As ever, comfortable accommodation, superb cuisine and great hospitality were all enjoyed at the award-winning Clachan Inn, and combined with stunning birdlife and scenery, delivered a truly memorable few days and a total of 102 bird species seen.’

‘A trip to Extremadura in winter is always a beautiful thing, and this one was no exception’, writes tour leader Niki Williamson.

‘Calandra, Thekla’s Crested and Skylark, Corn Bunting, Zitting Cisticola and Eurasian Stone-curlew provided the soundtrack to some great days of plains exploration. Specialities showed well, with a major highlight of the trip being the huge flocks of both Pin-tailed and Black-bellied Sandgrouse swirling before us! Great Bustards appeared to us both individually and as herds of twenty-odd birds together! 

Views of Griffon, Eurasian Black and Egyptian Vultures were breathtakingly close, both on carcasses on the plains and soaring around the cliffs of Monfragüe National Park. Golden, Bonelli's and Spanish Imperial Eagles were delightful too!

In a week full of stunning moments, gems like Great Spotted Cuckoo, Black Stork, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting and Bluethroat shone out for many.

And as well as the warming sun, we had our hosts’ delicious traditional Extremaduran food to warm us through!’