updated 20th January 2012

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Our Winter 2012 Newsletter is now online. Click here to see it.

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SPOON-BILLED SANDPIPER on the UP ?

Christoph Zockler has just sent us news that 103 adult Spoon-billed Sandpipers have just been counted at a high tide roost in China.

This is excellent news and although it may conceivably represent the world breeding population, it is likely that there are more out there. If we add the youngsters from last year's breeding season that will still be in Myanmar and this year's juveniles that will move south later, it makes for a more optimistic view than recent trends have indicated.

Observers are watching for this star bird on the Chinese during the migration season and our visit in December will allow us to check one of the estuaries there. Following this, our Myanmar tour in January will enable us to count wintering birds. (3 places left).

Young birds from Russia are still in quarantine and it is hoped that they will be settled into their new home at Slimbridge by Christmas. More updates to follow when we get them.

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Madagascar tour

Phil's tour to Madagascar went very well with Couas and Ground-rollers galore! Ring-tailed Lemurs were seen among the 19 lemur species recorded! This included the recently discovered Golden-brown Mouse Lemur. A lesser Hedgehog Tenrec was another mammalian highlight while the elusive Madagascar Serpent Eagle, White-browed Owl, Crab Plover and Meller's Duck were birdy highlights but the group fell for the dancing Running Coua that performed so admirably in the Spiny Forest near Ifaty.

Chameleons, Giraffe Weevils and Thorn Spiders, together with the eggs of the extinct Elephant Bird were other distractions in this incredible, but fragile country.

We now have one place left on our 2012 tour due to a cancellation with 2 trips there already full!!!. Places for 2013 are also filling fast.

The sun was quite intensive at the Betsiboka Delta as the gang searched for Bernier's teal, Madagascar Sacred Ibis & Humblot's Heron. So Captain Phil was forced to resort to a Michael Palin-style knotted handkerchief head dress. (Blackmail...ooops! sorry I mean Photo by Ben Wilson)

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Bird Holiday trip to Tarifa with the Bradford Ornithological Group

In mid September we took seven members of BOG to southern Spain, visiting the east side of the Guadalquivir Delta and Tarifa. We had a great time, with masses of migrants streaming through. As well as hundreds of Honey Buzzards, Booted Eagles, Black Kite and Short-toed Eagles we saw smaller numbers of Black Storks, Montague's Harriers and Lesser Kestrels. During the trip we also saw Little Swift, White-headed Duck and Marbled Duck. Surprises came in the form of a winter plumaged Marsh Sandpiper and this Royal Tern, a rarity from West Africa with fewer than 50 European records!

Royal Tern, Los Lances Beach, Tarifa, Sept 2011

Kite surfing was invented at Tarifa.

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BIRDFAIR PRIZE DRAW WINNERS - THE NORTH-EAST CLEANS UP !!!

We have just returned from another fantastic Birdfair. The weather was great and we all had a lovely, if rather hectic, weekend. Our stand was incredibly busy, and we must apologise to anyone who visited us and did not get to chat.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the free prize draw held each day. By pure coincidence, all the winners were from the north-east of England. The three lucky winners of the signed Ivory Gull canvas print by Phil Palmer are:-

Friday - Donald Martin from Billingham

Saturday - Michael Hall from Chathill, Northumberland

Sunday - Peter Cunningham from Beverley, East Yorkshire

Thomas Willoughby drawing the Friday winner.

We asked people to choose their favourite Bird Holidays brochure cover from the last 12 years, all displayed on our stand. The winning brochure cover, not surprisingly, was the 2012 Ivory Gull. Here are the top three:-

1st - 2012, Ivory Gull, 17% of the votes

2nd - 2005, Shoebill, 15% of the votes

3rd - 2011, Little Green Bee-eater, 12% of the votes

The Friday winner with his Ivory Gull print. Left to right. Phil Palmer, Donald Martin and Paul Willoughby.

Michael Hall (above), winner of the Saturday draw

The Sunday winner. Left to right Paul Willoughby, Marge Cunningham and Peter Cunningham. Incredibly, Paul used to meet up with Peter and Marge when they were birding at Flamborough in the 1990's. It's a small world...

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our 2012 brochure is now online. Click on the image below for details

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New Estonia photo page Click Here

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MANITOBA, CANADA

Loads of smart pictures from our recent visit can be seen by clicking  HERE

This Hudsonian Godwit was one of two ringed birds that Phil was able get pictures of. Being able to read the letters AX on the left leg allowed him to forward information to researchers at Churchill who sent details of its movements.

A brief synopsis of the average migration of a Churchill godwit would include: -

Three weeks staging on the western coast of James Bay before a non-stop flight from James Bay to Buenos Aires, Argentina; a flight of 10,000 km and 7 days.

A month staging along the northern Argentine coast before moving south to Tierra del Fuego where they spend five months wintering. 

A return non-stop flight northward to southern Texas in early May (another flight of ~10,000 km) before hop scotching through the Great Plains with an average of 3 stops along the way.

And, finally a return to Churchill in late May.....phew

This adult Glaucous-winged Gull was a fabulous find. As Phil was on his way back to the hotel, he decided to check out some large gulls hoping for a Thayer's Gull. To his surprise, he saw the bird above. He didn't realise how rare it was here as they are common in Alaska and he had even seen one in the UK!!! Some people were sceptical about the record, but Rhonda Reid, a local birder was with him and together with a set of superb pictures there was no doubt that the bird had been there - albeit briefly.

This reply came back from the local birders:- The Glaucous-winged Gull was a great find Phil. The only documented Glaucous –winged Gulls in the province were collected at Churchill: a second-year female on June 1, 1964 and an adult female on June 24th, 1965.

This means that this is the first sight record for Churchill & the second for Manitoba.

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NEW TOURS

Azure Tit, Belarus (Gabor Orban)

BELARUS

A new tour for May 2012 will take customers to Belarus in search of Azure Tits, Great Grey Owls and Terek Sandpipers among many other East European delights. Gabor, our local guide who some of you may know from previous trips, has sent us these images of this gorgeous bird that he took this May.  More information will be in our brochure, but we are happy to provisionally put your name down for this trip to avoid disappointment later.

Azure Tit & Terek Sandpiper by our guide Gabor Orban

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MANITOBA, CANADA

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 CHINA - Shaanxi Panda tour

Can this squirrel fly?......click HERE to see

Other pictures from our tour can be found here too.

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ESTONIA  2011

John and Phil have just returned from yet another successful tour of Estonia, a place we have been visiting annually for well over a decade now.

The weather was cool when we arrived meaning that Long-tailed Ducks remained and we were lucky enough to find four Steller's Eider with them!

The thousands of wintering Barnacle Geese were on the move, with some Bean, Whitefront and Pinkfeet with them. A run of rarity finds included Pallid Harrier and Black Kite, while some Rough-legged Buzzards had lingered to be joined by Montagu's Harriers and Honey Buzzards fresh in and displaying. Slavonian Grebes swam by our hotel watched over by squabbling White-tailed Eagles and migrants included Wryneck, Bluethroat and Waxwing. We found superb Nutcrackers, Capercaillie, Black Grouse and Black Woodpeckers in the woods before moving inland.

As the temperature rose, Golden Orioles, Rosefinches, River and Blyth's Reed Warblers began to arrive; joining Thrush Nightingales, Little Gulls and Red-necked Grebes. Rarities here included White-winged Black Terns and nesting Citrine Wagtails. Evening forays provided Spotted Crakes and a series of wonderful mammal sightings. These included several Wild Boar, Elk and Beaver, while a Pine Marten was possibly our best find?

This tour has been full every time we have run it and of course we will be returning there in 2012.

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MAY  NEWS

While the boys are away missing all of this wonderful sunny spring weather, maybe we should fill you in with some news from our tours this year and maybe news of others?

"I don't think we can find a glass big enough" said one client on our January Antarctica Tour! (photo by Chrys Mellor)

Such has been our success this year, that most trips have been oversubscribed and several tours for 2012 are already provisionally full, with the odd one in 2013, the same! We have already discussed plans for new tours in 2012 and it looks like there will be exciting new tours to Belize with Paul, Chile with John and Ethiopia with Andy. Phil will have a spring tour to Belarus, probably the only place where you can expect to see the much desired Azure Tit in Europe? The country has wonderful Northern European species like Great Snipe and Great Grey Owl, as well as good populations of European Bison and other big mammals. So watch this space.

Our leaders always do a risk assessment mentally before going birding, but being pecked from behind is not high on the risk list! (photo by Chrys Mellor)

Our Nepal in March tour ran very well with Cutia, Ibisbill and Wallcreeper all seen very well, along with Indian Rhino and Jungle Cat. The big surprise was a smart White-tailed Blue Robin that fed right by the hotel in Kathmandu.

 The China Tour ran particularly smoothly with the group seeing two Giant Pandas in the wild!!!! Phil had been nervous that the walk to the research station may be hard work for some, but it passed very quickly and rather tirelessly as they saw birds like Nutcracker, Red-flanked Bluetail and Little Forktail on the way. We were told that one of our clients of 79 years was the oldest visitor to see a wild panda here! An extension was arranged to enjoy other sights and Godlewski's Bunting was seen right beside the Great Wall of China and a vagrant Japanese Waxwing joined a flock of its commoner cousins at the Emperors Palace. There will also be chance to enjoy the historical sights of China after next year's panda tour.

John found loads of Steller's Eider in Estonia and has just called the office to say that he managed Terek Sandpiper in Greece yet again. Paul is in Turkey and Andy is probably now in some forest in the Czech Republic so it is quiet here in Yeadon.

Fire-tailed Myzornis photographed on Andy's Bhutan tour.

Christoph reports that his projects in Myanmar are paying dividends with regard to Spoon-billed Sandpiper conservation. His schemes have reduced hunting of Spoon-billed Sandpipers by 50% this winter in their most important winter stronghold. We know this is not enough but it is a step in the right direction. Another bird guide has been trained there and he was so excited when he found two Spoon-billed Sandpipers in breeding plumage this spring. He says that this is the first time birds have been observed in this plumage in Myanmar and was so proud of himself. We hope to continue supporting this scheme and now with Birdlife International board, we hope that it is not to late to save this critically endangered bird. Our next tour there is planned for January 17th 2012, so if this marvellous wader is on your wish list, please join Phil & Christoph.

The Antarctica tour early in the year went like clockwork again. Our new ship was almost too luxurious for birders but we coped with the fine cuisine and the views of the bow piped directly into our cabins via a video-link!

Killer Whales seemed to be everywhere on this trip with the Bird Holidays gang finding all of them as others rushed to reach the deck each time. The endemic Cobb's Wren was seen well on Falkland and some smart Antarctic Petrels joined the many Snow Petrels that swooped over the deck this year.

                                                                                                                                                                              (all photos by Chrys Mellor)

For those customers that have travelled with Troels (left photo), we are delighted to let you know that he plans to marry this year and so we send our congratulations. Sadly he will be settling down now and changing his job. So will not be a leader on the polar cruises.

For those of you that cannot imagine what it is like to 'meet' a Wandering Albatross, the picture of 'Little' Chrys stood next to one in Grytviken museum will show you how awesome these birds really are. Museum staff have even had to bend its wings to get it into the room!!!!.

The Orca on the right was photographed by Chrys and shows the yellow algae-stained skin that some of the cetaceans in the region possess.

While we are on the subject of cruises & polar regions, we will be running our trip to Spitsbergen again in 2012 so it is perhaps time to start planning before cabins fill up?.

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Spoon-billed Sandpiper

2011 survey update & Myanmar extension for 2012

A new shaded shelter built for birdwatchers to observe waders. Part of Christoph's work with the locals.

Christoph Zockler has sent us a brief report from Myanmar regarding this year’s Spoon-billed Sandpiper survey results.

His work with the local villagers’, who in the past had been trapping the birds, is vital to prevent the extinction of this enigmatic bird. A storm had damaged part of the village where the birds winter, but with funding from the Lighthouse foundation, the people have built a brand new viewing facility complete with a toilet (a big deal in this very poor area). We are keen to assist with eco-tourism here and various initiatives are already in the pipeline to help.

 This winter’s surveys showed that 22 Spoon-billed Sandpipers were wintering in the bay. This may not sound like a lot but the most optimistic of estimates say that there are now no more than 100 pairs left in the world and possibly much less! Birdlife International are taking things very seriously and things are moving, albeit slowly. The situation is now so critical for this mysterious bird that they are even considering taking some birds into captivity.

Phil and Christoph will be leading our tour to Myanmar in January 2012. This will enable us to count the birds next year, while enjoying the many other special birds of the region. We hope that you can join us as our contribution to the local economy both financially and through raising awareness is vital to the Spoon-billed Sandpiper’s future.

If you would like to take part in our tour to see some super birds and enjoy the strange sight of a wader with a spoon, then please get in touch as soon as possible.

This is a new toilet under construction by local villagers. Specially built for birders visiting the site.

There is an option to extend the 2012 Myanmar tour, with a visit to Mount Victoria with Phil & Christoph. This will be dependent on client numbers.

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We have decided to run an extra tour later this year, to Morocco in November. Please click here for details.

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Our Early Spring 2011 Newsletter is now online. Click here to see it.

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Phew!!! spring is not even here and things are busy in the office. Roger has been to Kerala, John is in Yucatan and Andy has just returned from Ethiopia.

Phil has just returned from yet another great trip to the White Continent (Antarctica), and is doing some slide shows at the moment, while Paul is licking and sticking envelopes to get the spring newsletter out.

There are some places left on a few tours coming up soon and most of Phil's group travelling to see Pandas in China have opted to stay a couple of nights in Beijing to see the cultural sites.

As well as the Great Wall, they intend to visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, the Ming Tomb and the Summer Palace. If this sounds like your cup of tea, then you consider adding this to a wonderful Chinese tour?

By the way, it will be warm then as Phil's recce was in snowy February 2010.....brrrrrr!

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Panda Week

If you saw Nigel Marvin' series on Channel 5, you will have seen the magnificent wildlife & scenery of the Qinling Mountains.

This gave you a flavour of what to expect on our Shaanxi Province tour in China in April.

To see the a series of photographs from our trip there, CLICK HERE

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OUR 2011 BROCHURE IS NOW ONLINE. CLICK HERE TO SEE IT.

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We have just released our 2011 program of tours. Click here to read about them.

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Paul recently completed a recce to the lovely island of Madeira. Due to his special interest in seabirds he had been hoping to visit for many years, and got the chance in early June. He was concerned that last winter's storms might have caused lasting problems, but there was nothing to worry about. He had a lovely time with his family, seeing many exciting seabirds as well as walking the famous levadas. He is planning a tour there for 2011. Click here for a selection of photographs that might whet your appetite.

Pico de Arieiro is the only place in the world where the Zino's Petrel nests. A visit at dusk would be worthwhile just for the magnificent sunsets, above a carpet of cloud.

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Spring News

Phew, what a hectic time. All of our tours have been running and many of them are over subscribed! We seem to be fortunate whenever there are problems in the travel business as nothing seems to dent our enthusiasm. Our leaders were affected by the volcanic ash situation with most of them abroad (fortunately not with groups), however no trips were cancelled. The only inconvenience for customers was on the Bhutan tour, where the group had to endure Andy's company for an unscheduled tour in India on the way home.

Roger suffered a short delay in Spain while on a recce and John was late back from a recce to some new sites in Estonia. Both made it back in time to lead their tour to Turkey. Phil was just a day late returning from Ascension Island but utilised his time well, by watching Sooty Terns courting and Green Turtles laying eggs.

In Kerala, Roger notched up Ceylon Bay Owl yet again to top the list of endemics found on this popular trip. Oman rarities included Amur Falcon and Crested Honey Buzzard, but topping the list was the False Killer Whales seen hunting dolphins. Staying with cetaceans, Phil's Antarctica season provided good sightings of Blue Whale but True's and Sowerby's Beaked Whales were serious fare for any sea-mammal enthusiast. The seabirds are mentioned in his brief write-up below and all sea crossings were incredibly calm until reaching Tristan. Strong winds here made landing impossible, but the Gough zodiac cruise allowed the endemic Moorhen and Bunting to be located. 

Smyrna Kingfisher and Red-fronted Serin were highlights in Turkey with additions like Cinereous Bunting and Rufous Bushchat enjoyed by all. Andy's Bhutan tour was a pheasant fest with Blood Pheasant and Satyr Tragopan showing off to everyone's glee. His Tiger tour found three adults and three cubs during an excellent week in India. John's Costa Rica tour managed so many birds that it is difficult to highlight them all but the smart photos he showed us of Boat-billed Heron were mouth watering.

Paul is currently in the Coto Donana and Andy leaves for the Czech Republic this weekend. Phil, Roger and Paul will head to Greece next week where they will be taking York RSPB on a private tour. We still have a few last minute places available on our Poland, Ecuador, Okavango and Bulgaria tours, but there are few gaps in the calendar before the autumn season. Here we have spaces for Gambia, Taiwan, Morocco and Florida with one space left on the popular Namibia trip.

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new photographs have been added to a Namibia & Caprivi web page

click here to view

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click here to read our 2010 New Year newsletter

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January News

Pearl Spotted Owlet being mobbed by Crimson-breasted Shrike & friends (Crombec, Lesser Grey Shrike & Grey-headed Sparrow), Namibia, December 2009. (Phil Palmer)

As 2009 drew to a close, our last tours of the year produced some great birds. Roger took a full tour to Taiwan where the stunning pheasants were supported by a cast of Black-faced Spoonbills and some  mouth watering megas that rarely reach the UK: Siberian Rubythroat, White's and Eye-browed Thrushes and Red-flanked Bluetail.

The final trip of the year was Phil's highly acclaimed Namibia tour. Spotted cats stole the show with Cheetah and three Leopard sightings heading the mammal list in Etosha. They were bolstered by too many Lions to mention, gangs of Hyena, Porcupines and both species of Rhino.

White Rhino has recently been re-introduced to Etosha and Phil's new safari guide, Raymond was shocked when Phil took him to see one! Raymond knows the park very well having worked there for some years, but had never seen a White Rhino. Phil has found them on four recent trips and when he told Ray that he had an appointment with one, Ray was shocked to find the animal exactly where Phil had said it would be. Ray had travelled the same road many times but was never even hopeful that he could ever see one!

The Namibia tour provided a few other surprises for this seasoned safari guide as Ray often works with some serious African twitchers. He was shocked that we did not have to do the 4am starts, long drives or sub-standard accommodation to see the endemics. He said it was one of his most relaxing trips where we saw all the goodies and still had time to look at animals and some Welwitschia plants too.

Jameson's Red Rock Rabbit is barely known about and the number of photographs of them taken in the wild can be counted on one hand. Again, Phil produced the goods with a Spotted eagle Owl and a Namaqua Dwarf Adder in the same half hour's pre-breakfast desert amble that logged three of these crazy bunnies. 

One of the few photographs ever taken of Jameson's Red Rock Rabbit. This bunny lives in the rocky granite kopjes. Its oversized bushy black tail is obvious in this photograph. (Phil Palmer).

For those that remember our previous guide Charles, the good news is that having learned many of Phil's birding secrets, he has taken on the managerial role at one of the Namibia's newest luxury lodges. Our leaders are happy to assist local birders in their careers and it was nice that Charles went out of his way to visit the group in Etosha. We wish him well in his new post.

It goes without saying that the desired birds on the trip were all found. Herero Chat, Gray's Lark and Dune Lark are the hardest of endemics to locate and several of each showed well, but the excitement of birds gathered to mob a Pearl-spotted Owlet at Namutoni will be hard to beat. The picture at the top of the page shows this diminutive hunter with four unhappy neighbours near it. The two shrikes are actually bigger than the owl!

At least four kinds of shrike led over 17 species of birds that came to offer support to the angry mob in a short period of time. 

Christmas was a time to reflect on 2009 and a newsletter will be winging its way to you in the post as soon as it returns from the printers. All five of us gathered for our traditional Christmas Dinner near the office and congratulated each other on a successful year.

2010 already looks very busy with most of the tours in the first half of the year already full. Many of you are now signing up for 2011 to avoid disappointment and some of these are full too! Don't worry if you are unable to make plans this far ahead as we may be running two trips to some destinations, but as places are limited, we would urge you to start thinking about it. There is still space on our two Namibia trips in 2010. The first in August  includes the famous Okavango Delta and is the perfect compliment to the standard tour that many of you rate as one of your finest. Both bird and animal species are very different, with little overlap in regard to sightings.

At the moment, John is in the Camargue and a phone call yesterday told how his merry band had already seen some Wallcreepers. Roger is in Kerala and Andy has just departed to Northern India. Paul and Phil are manning the phones if you want to chat about trips. This month's Birdwatch magazine contains the tale about our Siberian Stonechat mentioned lower down this news page and John has his regular piece about the North-East's rare birds.  The snow failed to bring any Waxwings to our gardens this year, but a Raven regularly commutes over Phil's garden; amazing for a Nottinghamshire locality. Some RSPB slide shows had to be cancelled for safety reasons, but we still made it to Southend, Lichfield, Long-Eaton and Oxford. Others in the coming days include Bedford, Wakefield, Coventry and Warwick.

This Leopard was caught drinking at the Halali waterhole for just 5 minutes. (Phil Palmer).

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HELP for Swifts & Bats

We are asking customers to consider signing a petition on the website for the Prime Minister of the UK.

If it has any success it will see the mandatory installation of Swift and Bat nest places within UK buildings, whether new or restored. This I hope you will agree would be a very good thing. Even if it does not succeed, someone in the Government is going to notice it, and maybe think about it.

The Conservative Shadow Environment Minister was briefed on much the same issue too, so the word is getting about in the "Corridors of Power" about the need to make and keep places for Swifts and Bats. If we can keep up the pressure, then one day we will see results!
 

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/BirdsBats/
 

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click on the above photograph for more images of this lovely bird

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NOTE - Due to late availability on some 2010 Antarctic cruises, we are pleased to announce that we can offer a considerable discount for some cruises. Please phone for details as prices fluctuate with currency changes.

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November News

Cranes at sunset, Phil Palmer

Our Autumn programme is in full swing, Roger and Phil have just completed their reports & edited pictures from two tours to Hungary. As reported last month, their targets included Imperial Eagle, Saker Falcon, almost all of the European Woodpeckers, Dotterel and an awesome gathering of 41,000 cranes. This was achieved without a hitch among some of the most wonderful scenery. Despite being there in October, they were basking in more than 80 degrees of heat, but this didn't stop them finding wintering birds like the globally threatened Lesser White-fronted Goose, Smew and White-tailed Eagles. The wonderful colours of the Zemplen Hills were slightly cooler and clothed in the reds and golds of autumn. We are planning to return in 2011 with a bird tour and a repeat of our successful bat tour. Please register an interest at our office to avoid disappointment. For a look at some superb photographs from this tour click HERE.

Paul has returned from his Brazilian tour, where the rare Brazilian Merganser was seen along with superb Maned Wolf and Anteater. Without allowing the dust to settle he has taken a group to Goa while Andy is in the Gambia. Good moves considering the damp dark weather here in Yeadon! Phil's pictures from trips to Brazil and Ecuador have graced two new photographic guides to the area, published by New Holland. Both are worth a look if are considering going or want to reminisce about what birds you saw there.

Roger is getting ready to lead his second tour to Taiwan and Phil his umpteenth visit to Namibia. Both tours were oversubscribed so are repeated in 2010. Phil and John work with Birdguides, the country's leading bird information website. John has just written an article for their webzine about the identification of Green and Greenish Warblers.

There are only a few places left on our spring 2010 trips, so check availability before sending your booking forms in. Traditionally we expect a rush of bookings just after Christmas but it is already too late for some trips. There is still room on several Autumn 2010 trips. 

There are cabins left on our Antarctica tour, but flights are filling fast. If you want to visit the famous Białowieża Forest or Biebrza Marshes in Poland, please let us know soon as hotels are filling. If you have never seen a Moose (European Elk), then this is undoubtedly the best place to go. We saw several grazing near some Aquatic Warblers last year as a pair of cranes flew over. As it had been a good waxwing winter, there were several seen fly-catching; a crazy sight in May.  It is also a good place to get to grips with a smart male Bluethroat, most of the European Woodpeckers and Great Snipe, while the rare European Bison is a possibility too. Click HERE to see photos from this year's trip.

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First for Britain.

Many of you will know occasional Bird Holidays co-leader and great friend Mark Newsome. Mark hit the headlines (and even appeared on the BBC's News at Ten!), when he recently identified an Eastern Crowned Warbler in Co Durham, the first British record of this Siberian bird. Hundreds of twitchers travelled to see the bird on 23rd and 24th October 2009. If you know Mark (most recently he was with us in N Greece and Goa) and would like a giggle, check-out his appearance on the News at Ten by clicking on the following link. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8323930.stm

Eastern Crowned Warbler, Co Durham, First for Britain.

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A quick city tour of Budapest en-route to the airport closed a couple of wonderful Hungary tours.

October News

Autumn is in full swing and our trips have been full and busy, finding some great birds.

Roger took a group from Leeds RSPB to Hungary that was followed by Phil and a second group the week after. Amazing views were enjoyed of Imperial and White-tailed Eagles, hundreds of Dotterel scattered by a Saker and a fine selection of European woodpeckers. Rarities found involved Black-winged Pratincole and Lesser White-fronted Geese with American shorebirds like Pectoral Sandpiper and American Golden Plover. A humorous evening in a winery and a quick city tour of Budapest rounded off these excellent trips.

Paul is currently in Brazil leading a new tour after a great trip to Romania where Terek Sandpiper was a good find. In Tarifa, Paul's group saw Ruppell's Vulture as well as the more numerous raptors crossing the Straits of Gibraltar.

Phil had led our first bat tour to Hungary in August and that was a real success. Our experts used high-tech equipment to pick up invisible hunters before mist netting some for close-up views. The large daytime roosts impressed everyone as they unlike anything experienced in the UK. We also notched up two species of dormouse and an impressive butterfly list as well as Imperial Eagle, Saker and some rare woodpeckers. Our next bat tour will be in 2011 and already we have some bookings, so please don't miss this pioneering opportunity.

Andy and John continued to man the office preparing for their next trips while Roger took Doncaster RSPB to Bulgaria in late August . They chalked up Masked Shrike, Orphean Warbler and Pied Wheatear as well as spectacular numbers or migrants like the 14,000+ White Storks!

Roger is now preparing for Taiwan again and we have just got news of a discount on our Antarctica cruise in 2010. We have yet to finalise exact details of the cost, so please phone if you are interested as the ship is almost full.

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ANTARCTICA & ATLANTIC ODYSSEY

King Penguins meet reindeer on South Georgia - taken on our 2009 tour.

LATE   AVAILABILITY

The cruises to the Southern Oceans in early 2010 are filling fast. There are just a few cabins left so if you are thinking of joining one of these trips, please get in touch soon as we have extended our booking discount date.

Giant Petrels at Tristan da Cunha (2009 tour)

A pair of Sooty Albatross display over Tristan's cliffs (2009 tour)

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Our 2010 brochure is now online. Click here to see it.

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CAMARGUE IN WINTER

Due to a change in winter flight schedules we are now offering new departure airports for our Camargue in Winter trip. The tour is centred in Arles just north of the Camargue and offers a great opportunity to see wintering Wallcreeper, Alpine Accentors, Citril Finch and Snowfinch.

 In addition we have excellent sites close to our hotel where we can watch both Bonelli's Eagle and Eagle Owl. The Camargue itself holds large numbers of wintering wildfowl as well as the resident specialities such as Greater Flamingo and Purple Gallinule. Moustached Warblers can be easier to see at this time of year and Penduline Tits may also put on a show.

Our tour has a one centre base at a small hotel on the outskirts of the ancient city of Arles. There will also be time to explore the both the city and its stunning amphitheatre which is undergoing a splendid restoration.

The tour will run from Manchester and Gatwick airports to Marseille giving you the opportunity to fly from whichever airport which is the most convenient. The tour will run from January 16th to the 23rd.

to see brochure write up click here

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Our photo page has been updated with many pictures from Ecuador, Romania and our first bat tour.

Lesser Horseshoe Bat  - for more pictures of bats click HERE

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Bird Fair News

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SAVE  the  ALBATROSS

Black-browed Albatross, Antarctica. Photograph taken on our 2009 tour. Phil Palmer

Gough Island, in the South Atlantic, holds one of the world's most important seabird breeding colonies with more than a million albatross, shearwater and petrels. Their existence is threatened by descendants of the British House Mouse, which are eating chicks alive.

The mice attack at night, singly or in groups, gnawing into the chicks' bodies when they sit on the nest, and eventually kill them through blood loss or destruction of vital organs. It is that some of the 22 species of birds that breed on Gough may eventually be driven to extinction. The number of fledging Tristan Albatross chicks has decreased rapidly and it is now five times lower than it should be. The mice are also affecting the endemic Gough Bunting, one of the world’s largest finches.

There are fears that the UK Government is not placing enough of its financial resources into its Overseas Territory to save and enhance wildlife for which we have a clear responsibility. The petition below draws attention to a British problem that can and should be solved by the British Government, and in particular the threat

* Please help to motivate the Government to take notice of this problem by signing this petition: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Territories

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calling all BRAZIL  NUTS!

Over the years our series of Brazilian Tours have been extremely successful with Bird Holidays pioneering successful Jaguar watching in the Pantanal.

Building on this success as others follow in our trail, we have created a fascinating new tour to show you Giant Anteaters and Maned Wolves as well as some superb birds. Our October 2009 trip was full within days of our brochure being published last year, but we have just had two people cancel due to ill health. To grab these last places, please contact us for more details, or if you would like to book. click here to read more...

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new HUNGARY tour flights

Our Hungary tour this October departs from Manchester but we have had requests from some customers to fly from Heathrow.

We have managed to find corresponding flights for them and so a Heathrow departure is also possible for new bookings.

We realise that the continual fluctuation in flight costs and fuel surcharges is often a point of frustration to some people, so we will continue to include the cost of the flight in all our tours rather than provide a guess. Remember that you are free to make your own travel arrangements if you wish.

 Although our tours have a departure airport listed, please allow us to arrange flights from the airport of your preference.

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JULY UPDATE

July is usually a quiet month as we make final costings and corrections for our forthcoming brochure and 2010 tour season. As a result Paul has been beavering away in front of the computer, while the rest of us attended the Great Yorkshire Show for our 4th year there.

Roger is currently in Ecuador, no doubt showing the group his Cock-of-the-Rock (ooh-er, that sounds wrong?). He had just returned from Spitsbergen where he went to check out a new ship for the 2010 tour there. He found that it exceeded our expectations and his most unusual sighting was to witness a case of infanticide. It is commonly known that male Lions are known to be a threat to unrelated cubs, but Roger saw an adult Polar Bear eating a cub. Witnessing this is extremely rare and not a pleasant sight, but part of the natural fight for survival in a rapidly melting landscape. Long-tailed Skua and Grey Phalarope sightings were higher than normal and a stunning drake King Eider was a real highlight.

Andy has departed for the Okavango Delta, Caprivi Strip and Victoria Falls. This is our first official trip there for some time with a few changes to the routing. Phil has spent a lot of time in this northern part of Namibia and Botswana and says that it is very different to usual Namibia tour. Over the years this has been one of our most popular tours and ranked by many as their favourite. Our 2009 tour is already close to full and concentrates on the Namib Desert and Skeleton Coast, while the game in Etosha is also very different to that of the Okavango. Both tours complement and contrast each other well. It is the perfect time to visit Namibia if you have considered returning this great country.

John and Phil have manned the office and are girding their loins for the British Birdwatching Fair at Rutland Water in August. As usual, we shall be in Marquee number 1 and would love to chat about any aspect of our trips.

In a few days, Phil will lead a pioneering Bats and Birds Tour to Hungary, concentrating on large roost sites in cave systems that stretch into Slovakia. While not something we would run each year, we have been pleasantly surprised by the response having gained privileged permission to enter some strictly protected sites. Between bat encounters, he is confident of seeing many of the special birds of the region too like Saker and Imperial Eagle.

Hungary has proved popular for some time and we follow this trip with two bird tours there in autumn. One of these is a privately arranged tour for Leeds RSPB.

Phil is missing smoked salmon and raw fish eggs after his adventure in the Russian wilderness that is northern Kamchatka. He says that the wild berries that he picked from tundra bushes work very well with chocolate. This time he found a little outpost beside a statue of Lenin where he cleaned out their stock of chocolate. This meant that the long treks across tundra bogs were kinder then the last expedition where he lost two stone in weight!....at least he doesn't have to watch out for Grizzly Bears in Yeadon

We see that one of his photographs has just appeared in this months Birdwatch magazine. During our Atlantic Odyssey (Cape to Cape), Phil identified a heron flying over the ship as an adult Purple Heron. At the time, the vessel was near Gough Island which is in the middle of the South Atlantic and the next port of call after Antarctica and South Georgia. The closest point to their ship where the Purple Heron could have originated was Cape Town, 2000miles away. Far from being weak and tired, the bird had bypassed Tristan da Cunha and continued flying strongly over Phil's ship towards South America!

Purple Heron near Gough Island, South Atlantic April 2009. (Phil Palmer)

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Namibia Tour vehicles

Our Tour of Namibia is justifiably one of the most popular. If we take the maximum group size of 10 clients, we use this  large vehicle specially adapted for birders. You can see that this has extra height for better views while travelling and birding.

As well as plenty of window seats, there are 2 big roof-top openings for use in Etosha where it is forbidden to leave a vehicle when big game is nearby.

The massive windows can open allowing excellent photographic opportunities and easy use of a telescope with plenty of room for your tripod!

We don't think there is a better safari vehicle for birding than this.

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JUNE  UPDATE

June is a time of year when we take stock of the mad Spring bird tour season and put our plans for 2010 onto paper.  The team are in the office working on the 2010 brochure and so it perhaps easier than at any other time to chat to them. Some customers made provisional bookings for next year's trips, so we have drawn up a list of tours that we intend to run. If you haven't already put your name down for the more popular ones, then maybe this is time to start planning?

Prices will inevitably rise as the euro and dollar are still strong so maybe it is time to take advantage and grab a space on our Autumn and Winter 2009 schedule. Places are limited and some trips are full.

Phil is planning to escape the heat of the UK summer. Once again he has been selected to take part in an expedition to the Russian Arctic in search of breeding birds. He will boldly go where no birder has gone before and we have agreed to pay for his flight on condition that he does not use the return option - only joking. He plans to be back in July. Meanwhile Roger will be travelling to Spitsbergen to catch up with some Polar Bears and Walrus - sometimes our trips are so hard to resist that even the leaders want to go on them!

Don't forget, if  you want to chat about any trip, please call us. We are only too happy to discuss your requirements.

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***NEW***    ATLANTIC ODYSSEY 2010

Wandering Albatross & rainbow taken during our 2009 cruise across the Atlantic.

The Bird Holidays Atlantic Odyssey cruises from Argentina to Ascension Island & will run from 20th March to 24th April 2010.

Our accompanied tour will spend two nights in Buenos Aires, with a full days birding at wetlands outside the city. It will be followed by a day and a half in Tierra del Fuego, where we will enjoy birding in the glorious scenery. We then board our ship to travel to Antarctica, South Georgia, Gough, Tristan da Cunha, St Helena and Ascension Island. Following a night in a hotel and a full day on Ascension Island, we will then fly home in the evening.

There is chance to add a pre-tour extension to Iguazú Falls and the Atlantic Odyssey can be extended if you wish to stay on to Cape Verde.

Cruise-only prices are available starting at £4349

see photos from our South Georgia & Antarctica tours  HERE

PLACES ARE LIMITED so please call soon.

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ANTARCTICA 2010

We now have the dates of the 2010 Bird Holidays Antarctic peninsula tour.  We will leave the UK on 2nd March and return on 17th March 2010.

Of course, we will have two birding excursions to different sites near Buenos Aires and one and a half days birding on Tierra del Fuego.

Cruise-only prices starting from £3770 are available if you want to do your own thing and an extension to the fabulous Iguazú Falls is available.

see photos of Iguazú HERE

see Paul's 2009 Antarctica photos HERE

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CZECH  REPUBLIC

We have just added some photographs of the landscape, architecture and our hotel taken on the 2008 & 2009 tours.

Click HERE & check the bottom of the page to see the pictures.

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MAY  UPDATE..........21st May 2009

This morning it is raining in Yeadon with half of the team still away. Paul is leading the Estonia trip and all seems to be going well. he went out early and found three Red-breasted Geese and a thousand Ruff. Typically, early trips are best for lingering wildfowl and waders with later tours better for migrating passerines. Paul is hoping that they linger long enough for the group to see them. John was with Paul in Turkey and has returned raving about the Finsch's Wheatear and Cinereous Buntings they found as these are difficult birds to locate in Southwest Turkey. His Moroccan trip went extremely well with a good number of desert species as the Sahara is enjoying a boom period this year after good rains.

John is now in France with his group in the Camargue, an annual pilgrimage for Bird Holidays. Roger has returned from the Algarve and is recharging his batteries following a hectic spring period. He managed to find a Western Reef Heron during his time there; a sub-Saharan species that is increasingly reaching the Iberian peninsula during their wanderings. Andy, is full of the joys of spring having had a great time in the Czech Republic.

Loads of Collared Flycatchers and a bunch of owls and woodpeckers seem to have stolen the show. His favourite was the Ural Owl, but a nesting Imperial Eagle and Saker Falcon take some beating as they are extremely rare here. Andy's Bhutan snaps show the country in all its colour-

click here. 

Finally Phil has just returned from the wilds of Northeast Poland. Moose and Wild Boar were greatly received, but pride of place among mammals was a very inquisitive Pine Marten in Bialowieza. Birds were superb, with the Great Snipe doing their jumping-show, Aquatic Warbler at close range and thousands of jousting Ruff. The hotel garden list included Great Grey Shrike, Wryneck and a frog-grabbing Lesser-spotted Eagle. Gaudy highlights were Bluethroat and Citrine Wagtail, while Hazel Grouse was the most cryptic. Violet Copper Butterfly and three reptile species were exciting diversions. (new Poland photos here)

Phil will be returning to the Russian Far-East again in June as part of an expedition to seek out Spoon-billed Sandpiper breeding sites. So we expect him to be much leaner on his return. Last time he lost 2 stone so Bird Holidays are unlikely to follow in his footsteps, but we hope that the quest is successful as this bird is close to extinction.

CAPE to CAPE 2010 update

The economic situation appears to have hit travel to the Antarctic region and it is anticipated that fewer cruises will be operating in the 2009/2010 season. As a result the planned Cape to Cape cruise has been merged with the established Atlantic Odyssey. This means that a Bird Holidays group will now travel from Tierra del Fuego to Ascension Island via Antarctica, South Georgia, Gough, Tristan da Cunha archipelago and St Helena. with an option to continue from Ascension to Cape Verde if you wish.

In addition to our escorted tour, we are able to offer cruise-only prices for this cruise and many other Antarctica cruises.

We are able to offer cruise-only prices as an agent for Oceanwide Expeditions. We are usually cheaper than the ship's own published fares. If not, we will try to price-match. So please feel free to chat to us about this.

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BHUTAN

Andy has just returned from an exploratory tour of this country in preparation for a new trip for 2010. For a few shots of the scenery and cultural aspects of the trip click here

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POLAND

This Moose was by the road in Poland; the photo was taken through the vehicle window -

to see lots of photos from this tour click HERE

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CAPE to CAPE 2009

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, Tristan da Cunha...... Phil Palmer

APRIL UPDATE..........

The Swallows have all arrived above our office, but spring is far from over. Roger has just returned from leading a tour to the Algarve and John from Morocco. John then joined Paul in Turkey, while Phil goes to Poland this weekend. Soon Roger will be off to Spitsbergen in preparation for our 2010 tour there. Please contact him if you are interested as places are limited.

Andy is manning the office having just completed his pheasant and crane quest to Bhutan in readiness for a tour next year. Hopefully, he will find time to load some mouth-watering photos on the photopage when not dealing with invoices and enquiries.

Our great adventure in the Southern Oceans was a success. Phil managed to bring everyone home safely last week having taken them from Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope - surely he has some of Captain Cook's blood in him?  Congratulations to Jim & Liz Lidgate who celebrated their anniversary on the ship. Birding Tierra del Fuego before crossing Drake's Passage to Antarctica, the intrepid band pushed through the ice to reach South Orkney, then South Georgia. Phil's group continued to Gough and Tristan da Cunha before landing in Cape Town where they saw the last of eight penguin species before flying home. Amazing sightings combined a million King Penguins and countless albatrosses with 500 Dusky Dolphins and a bunch of Hammerhead Sharks!

Perhaps the most shocking of all was the sight of a Purple Heron flying strongly past Gough; actually closer to South America than Africa!!! Not satisfied with being the first record for the Tristan archipelago, it  may have reached South Georgia to be listed as part of Antarctica?

Once again, we are grateful to all those that travel with us and we hope to include some photos from our 2009 Antarctic cruises soon.

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POLAR CRUISING 2010

ANTARCTICA, South Georgia, Falkland, Tristan da Cunha, Spitsbergen, Greenland.

Our cruise company is currently revising our 2010 Cape to Cape tour dates and we will keep you informed of any changes.

As usual, we will be running a Bird Holidays tour to Antarctica in early 2010 and cabins are filling up. The final dates have still to be confirmed but you may book a place provisionally if you wish to avoid disappointment. For independent travellers, we are now able to provide cruise-only prices for tours to Antarctica, Spitsbergen & Greenland. As agents for Oceanwide, we can offer discounts on their published fares, so contact us to discuss your requirements. We will try to beat any quote from other agencies.

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LAST MINUTE Bookings

Almost all of our first tours for 2009 tours have been either oversubscribed or have run full - THANK YOU.

Just a reminder that the recession has not hit Bird Holidays bookings, on the contrary, spring bookings have been higher than ever!

That said, we still have a handful of places left on some tours and have extended the early booking discount dates on some, due to a price-freeze in flight prices.

Our tours for later in the year are filling fast, so now is the time to think about Galapagos, Namibia, Argentina or Transylvania amongst others to avoid disappointment.

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Don't forget that 2009 is Darwin Year.

CHARLES  DARWIN  ANNIVERSARY  TOUR

GALAPAGOS 2009

12 February 2009 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, with 24 November 2009 marking 150 years since of the publication of his book On The Origin Of Species. To celebrate Bird Holidays have organised a Galapagos Tour.

Our previous tours have provided intimate views of Darwin's finches, Marine Iguanas and the Giant Tortoises as well as so many other birds and animals. Using one of the finest tourist yachts, we leave large crowds and overpowering tourist cruise ships to enjoy the antics of Galapagos Penguins, Waved Albatross and Flightless Cormorants in peace. A short break between landings could allow one to swim with seals or penguins!!

Don't miss this trip. CLICK HERE.

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click here to see our 2009 newsletter

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This Great Dusky Swift was taking a shower in the powerful waters of the Iguazú waterfall, during our recent Argentina Tour. To see incredible pictures of these birds on Click Here.

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POLAR TOURS

........ANTARCTICA,  SPITSBERGEN,  FALKLAND,  SOUTH GEORGIA,  TRISTAN DA CUNHA.......

We have no personally led tours to Spitsbergen planned for 2009, but a close relationship with our agents and Phil's work as an expedition staff member means that we can offer considerable discounts for those that would like to travel independently.

We will of course be heading south in the winter of 2009/2010 to visit Antarctica and South Georgia again on our Cape to Cape tour. If you would like us to arrange a tour to visit the region or even join a quest to see Emperor Penguin, we are able to offer great discounts on many cruises. As ships fill and prices are constantly changing, please get in touch for the best possible deal.

TEL: 0113 3910510

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This Short-eared Owl was seen on the way to work!....... Phil Palmer       Click Here for the full story.

FEBRUARY update.

Paul returned from Madagascar having completed a recce for our inaugural tour in 2010 (we are already taking names of interested customers). He then promptly boarded a ship with his group bound for the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica. This is one of two tours that we are running to the region this spring as interest in this awesome region has risen annually. At the time of writing, Paul is still there but returns for 5 days before taking a group to Panama.

Roger continues his run of over-subscribed trips by leading the Oman tour before flying on to Nepal. Because of their popularity, both tours have a list of clients wishing to go in 2010. There are only a few places left despite us not even confirming dates & prices! Let us no quickly if you fancy joining Roger next year. 

Andy and John are in the Yucatan, again with a full complement (who said there was a financial crisis?). On their return, they will not have much time to unpack before heading to Costa Rica and Morocco.

That leaves Phil manning the office while preparing to go to Antarctica. Excited about the epic journey from Cape Horn to Cape of Good Hope, he has been signed up as a full member of the expedition staff to advise on ornithological matters. This will be his first visit to Tristan da Cunha, one of the most remote places on earth. He will also be working there in 2010 and there are still places left.

In the meantime a Red Kite was seen over our Yeadon office in mid February with Common Buzzard a few days later. Waxwings were in both Andy and Paul's gardens this month but Phil spent a considerable time attending meetings to advise the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and local police about how to deal with an upsurge in wildlife crime in North Nottinghamshire recently.

In addition both Phil and Paul have some work in print this month. Phil has photographs in a brand new photographic guide to African birds by Ertel Rainer and a publication about biomes published for students in the USA. Paul has contributed an article about the finding of a Blackpoll Warbler at Flamborough in a book about Rare Birds in the UK written by Russell Slack,

For details of Russell's book or to order at a pre-publication discount Click Here

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SPITSBERGEN,   ANTARCTICA  &  CAPE TO CAPE TOURS  2009 & 2010

Due to our close links with Oceanwide, our Polar Cruise agent, they have made available a few places that are eligible for a considerable discount on their advertised rates. This covers their Antarctica & Arctic Tours season 2009/2010.

As usual, we are planning to run our popular Bird Holidays tours to Spitsbergen, Antarctica and the ultimate Atlantic pelagic from Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope in 2010. However, if the dates do not suit you, or you want to organise independent travel, you would receive a considerable discount.

As our agent's prices are in US Dollars that fluctuate daily, please contact our office for the latest prices. 

We work very closely with expedition cruise staff and are fully integrated members of the crew on some tours.

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New photographs taken by clients on our Argentina tour can be found on our photographs page. click here

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JANUARY update

As you read this (January) Roger is leading a full complement to Kerala following a very successful trip to Taiwan with his next trip to Oman (also full). Paul is in Madagascar on an exploratory trip to see if accommodation standards have increased enough for us to run our first tour there. Phil is busy with his lectures around the UK but is very excited about the forthcoming Cape to Cape Tour (also full), while Andy is working hard in the office before heading to the Yucatan in February with yet another full tour!.

You may gather current economic situation has not affected bookings which are higher than usual.

Bird Holidays are bucking the trend in these difficult times and we thank you for your loyalty to us. We are sorry if the tour you wanted is full, so we are taking provisional bookings for 2010, (there is no commitment involved with this).

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New photographs from our December Florida Tour have just been added to our photo page - click here to see them

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Sickle-winged Nightjar, Argentina (P Palmer)

Following a very successful tour to Northwest Argentina, Phil returned home on Christmas Eve full of enthusiasm to go back - his kids got him up at 4am the next day to open presents!!!. His group managed to see Diademed Sandpiper-plover and again, the birds had chicks. Condors were found almost daily and a series of excellent owl species were observed. These included the difficult Chaco Owl and a super Magellanic Horned Owl. The group also found a Least Sandpiper in the High Andes - a very rare bird for Argentina.

After the tour extension that finished at Iguaçu, Phil remained to search for two relatively unknown species of nightjar. The amazing Long-trained Nightjar and the bizarre Sickle-winged Nightjar.

He was successful on both counts and above is the amazing Sickle-winged Nightjar; one of the least known species on the planet. Its unusual wing shape would make it a highlight on any venture into the grasslands of Argentina. 

This bird was one of three that Phil photographed while doing a reconnaissance trip for an Eastern Argentina Tour that will complete the series of itineraries that we offer in this diverse country. The vast grassland, pampas and wetlands, together with many Atlantic Forest birds that are more typical of Southeast Brazil would complement our wonderful North-western Argentina Tour and pre-Antarctica Patagonia Tour.

The amazing diversity of habitats, landscapes and birds has come as a shock to the customers we have already taken there. The Northwest Argentina Tour targets birds of the High Andes such as the Diademed Sandpiper Plover and three flamingo species, as well as many endemics and birds that share the Argentinean border with Chile. We will be there again in November 2009 - click here to see the itinerary.

In 2010, we propose to run our Eastern Argentina Tour.

Grey Potoo, Iguaçu, Argentina tour 2008 (Phil Palmer)

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Save the Bogs

Bird Holidays staff like to help with conservation issues and support the RSPB and Wildlife Trusts.

30% of the world's carbon is locked in the northern peatlands so we would like to draw your attention to the Wildlife Trusts web page that informs you about where you can buy peat-free products in the UK. Click Here

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Studying birds in Siberia - click here to see this news story.

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To claim a discount on our Uganda Tour in February 2009, please contact us before 31st December 2008.

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A photo essay of Phil's trip to the North Pole has been added - Click Here to see it.

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This fine White-backed Night Heron was one of the photographic stars of Andy's Zambia & Malawi Tour.

This picture was taken by Roger Gee. See more pictures by Roger and other clients on our 2008 tour by clicking here.

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Spitsbergen/Svalbard - click here to see the latest photos from this year's tour.

Our leader was part of the Expedition team and we will be visiting the High Arctic again in the summer of 2010. This tour fills very quickly, so please let us know if you are interested - E-mail info@birdholidays.co.uk

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More photographs from PERU, TEXAS and our BAT  TOUR have been added. Go to our Photo Page to see them.

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We are delighted to welcome John McLoughlin as a principal tour guide. His first tour will be in early 2009. John has the highest credentials. He has led and co-led a number of tours for us over the last 12 years. After graduating from Leeds University he worked on many conservation projects, including the first census of Thailand's critically endangered Gurney's Pitta. More recently he has worked closer to home on upland birds in Northern England. This includes population monitoring of the threatened Hen Harrier, Black Grouse and Twite. You may also have come across John in his role of managing the Denby Dale arm of In Focus, the binocular and telescope specialists. He has worked there since the shop opened in 1993. In addition, he has a keen interest in bird identification issues. John served on the British Birds Rarities Committee between 1996 and 2006.

Living in Denby Dale, John is close enough to Leeds to work in our office when not away leading trips. He lives there with his wife, Dawn, and their three young sons. There’s no basis to the rumour that he’s taking up full-time tour leading to get some peace and quiet! We are sure that he will quickly fit into the routine here at Bird Holidays, and in no time will become a fully established part of our team.

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GUYANA  2010

We are pleased to announce that we will be running a tour to Guyana in 2011. For photos taken by us on a recent visit, Click Here.

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TRANSYLVANIA   &   BAT WATCHING TOURS

This Wallcreeper was seen on our 2008 tour - more photos on our brochure page.

This Festoon was taken in Hungary by Gill Dale on our Transylvania Tour 2008. We are organising a very special combined bat and bird-watching tour to Hungary in 2009.

see our 2009 brochure - published August/September 2008.

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David Lingard has created a wonderful slideshow of photographs he has taken on Bird Holidays tours. They include photos from Oman, Gambia & Spain amongst others.

View them at  http://www.ascy30.dsl.pipex.com/birdholidays/
 

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POLAND  RSPB visit 2008.

In May, we took York RSPB members group to Poland. This was a privately organised tour for 28 customers having taken them to see the migration spectacle at Gibraltar, the previous year. The group was split into two for birdwatching outings but met at mealtimes. Between them they managed to see all the special birds that Poland is famous for - and more.

Of course we saw Great Snipe, all the woodpeckers including nesting Black, White-backed, Middle Spotted and Syrian, thousands of Marsh Terns and the regular forest birds like Red-breasted and Collared Flycatchers. We also had excellent views of Pygmy Owl, Citrine Wagtail, Barred, Savi's, River and Aquatic Warblers, Bluethroat, Hazel Grouse, two species of Spotted Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Corncrake and Black Stork. Mammal highlights included Wild Boar and Raccoon Dog. 

Some photos can be seen here

We are placing the same successful itinerary in our 2009 brochure if you would like to consider joining us.

We have been specialising in eastern Europe this spring with full tours to Estonia, Czech Republic, Transylvania and Hungary. In autumn we take Leeds RSPB to Bulgaria, so if you fancy seeing birds in these places before their admission to the EEC starts to make changes, join us in 2009.

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Our Argentina tour is filling fast!

Phil has just returned from Argentina, where he found a pair of Diademed Sandpiper Plovers in readiness for our forthcoming tour. They had two small chicks. He went on to find another breeding pair and an immature bird at a new site for this species in Argentina 

Local birdwatchers say our Argentina tour is unique and in their opinion and offers the best mix of Argentinean endemics, culture and scenery.

An extension to the world famous Iguaçu Falls (below) is also planned for 2008. click to see our Argentina itinerary

click to see our recent Argentina photos

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Bird Holidays staff regularly contribute articles or pictures for publication. The most recent being Phil & Paul's observations of an undescribed Little Bittern display while on tour in Spain. A small note was published in the February 2008 edition of British Birds.

In addition, Phil was asked to review  Hadoram Shirihai's latest book; the Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife for Birdguides. Click here to read it. Also Phil has recently contributed to the new book The Birds of Zambia by R.J  Dowsett, et al.

To see photographs taken on our recent South Africa Tour, click here to go to our South Africa photo page

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European Turtle Dove with Rock Hyrax, Namibia. (photo - Phil Palmer)

This juvenile flew in to the feeding station at Erongo Wilderness Lodge on 16 November 2007 during our successful tour of the country in which we cleaned up on all the endemics. We understand that there has been one other sighting in Namibia previously, so this would be the second record for the country. If you now of any records in Namibia please let us know at info@birdholidays.co.uk.

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NEW Photographs have been added to our photography page.

Pictures of Jaguars on our Brazil 2007 tour, bears from our Transylvania tour, some Argentina and Falsterbo Tour photos.

click here to see them.

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Did you know that we have organised private tours for RSPB Members Groups

In 2207/8, we ran trips for York, Doncaster & Leeds.

Our tour leaders have also given up their time in assisting conservation groups.

Most recently in 2007 we have been spotters on the RSPB Bridlington Skua Pelagics as well as negotiating the acquisition of a massive new reserve  for the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. We were also called as expert witnesses in the controversial proposal to install wind farms on Humberside.

See some of the things we do for conservation  here

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Our 2010 Antarctica Tour will run from Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope, visiting South Georgia & Tristan da Cunha. We have teamed up with Birdwatch Magazine to organise this Mega Trip.

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2007 Bird sighting highlights

In Tarifa, we saw Sperm Whales, Terek Sandpiper in Romania, Hornby's Storm-petrel & Giant Antpitta in Ecuador, Shoebill, Gorilla and Kivu Ground Thrush in Uganda.

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Our 2008 brochure is now online. Click here to see it now!

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We are pleased to have a stand at the British Bird Fair again. Find us in Marquee 1. In August 2009, our brochure will be available, and you can collect your copy from our stand.

It is a fantastic day out.

For more information please visit  www.birdfair.org.uk

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