Trip Reports

ALL of our tours are recorded on a daily blog which can be found on this website by clicking the 'blog' button on the top menu, the blog is then converted to a comprehensive trip report and archived here. We give a commentary on daily outings with a record of all bird sightings together with all sightings of mammals, reptiles, amphibeans, butterflies and other interesting insects. Whilst reading the trip reports you soon become aware that our tours are guided bird watching Holidays they are relaxed, competitively priced, well organised and very enjoyable.

We don't miss much! and yet we don't dash around trying to see every bird on the planet! We cater for beginners, we teach not preach and we make your holiday a memorable one for all the right reasons. We have many years of experience and we can provide references and testamonials from happy clients worldwide. Enjoy reading our reports and if you have further questions regarding a particular tour please contact us using the contact-page.

AUSTRALIA

QUEENSLAND & NEW SOUTH WALES

AUSTRALIA - EAST COAST TOUR : Sunday, October 23, 2016 - Sunday, November 13, 2016

A fantastic trip covering a large range of habitats along Australia's beautiful East Coast. We ventured into Tropical Rain-Forest, dry 'Tablelands' and Mangrove Swamps in North Queensland. Temperate forest dominates the hinte...

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BULGARIA

COUNTRYWIDE TOUR

BULGARIA - 2023 : Monday, May 15, 2023 - Sunday, July 23, 2023

A somewhat wet and windy start to the tour developed into a sunshiny affair with a high count of species recorded. Bulgaria proved once again that its varied and interesting landscapes house a tremendous biodiversity of wildlife, es...

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BULGARIA - 2019 : Tuesday, May 14, 2019 - Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Led by Iordan Hristov, AKA  'Dancho', a fantastic local bird guide who knows his country inside out, this small group acheived a great deal . Over 200 species were recorded including some great Bulgaria rare visitors as...

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BULGARIA - 2018 : Thursday, May 24, 2018 - Friday, June 1, 2018

Another superb trip to this beautiful country with some very exciting finds including a an invasion of Rose-coloured Starlings unprecendented in recent times. For the second year running the Wingspan Bird Tour of Bulgaria was guided sole...

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BULGARIA - 2016 : Monday, May 16, 2016 - Tuesday, May 24, 2016

BULGARIA has to be one the top European Birding Countries, where else in Europe can you see over 200 species in an 8-day tour. We travelled through dramatic mountains, lush forests, verdant open countryside, coastline and beautiful sceni...

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BULGARIA - 2015 : Monday, May 11, 2015 - Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Bulgaria is a beautiful, verdant country, with picturesque landscapes, a great variety of habitats with vast, untouched areas providing a haven for wildlife. This tour took in both the eastern and western Rhodope Mountains travellin...

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COUNTRYWIDE TOUR

BULGARIA TOUR 2 - 2014 : Wednesday, May 14, 2014 - Thursday, May 22, 2014

This, the second of two back-to-back tours, produced a similar diverse range of species as the first tour, with the addition of large numbers of Rosy Starlings, however there were fewer sightings of passing migrants as it was getting a l...

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BULGARIA TOUR 1 - 2014 : Tuesday, May 6, 2014 - Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Another great  WINGSPAN trip with some memorable sightings, we visited some truly amazing places and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of this unique Balkan State, the birding in Bulgaria is truly amazing with diverse habitats supportin...

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BULGARIA TOUR 2 - 2013 : Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - Thursday, May 30, 2013

This was the second of two back-to-back tours of Bulgaria with a much smaller group than the first trip. We had a wide range of weather conditions, changing from bright sunny days, to windy cloudy days and we had a day with tremendous ...

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BULGARIA TOUR 1 - 2013 : Monday, May 13, 2013 - Monday, May 21, 2012

14 members of the Cheltenham Bird Club joined me on this inaugural WINGSPAN tour of Bulgaria. We had a great time touring the country, visiting many regions and seeing a variety of habitats, ranging from mountains to salt pans and from...

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COLOMBIA

ANDES

COLOMBIA - ANDES TOUR 2019 : Tuesday, January 8, 2019 - Thursday, January 24, 2019

Eight intrepid Wingspanners made this a great tour, we visited parts of the Eastern, Western and Central Andes of Colombia. Logging over 420 species including over 50 species of Hummingbirds, 15 Wrens, 10 Woodpeckers and dozens of Tanage...

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COSTA RICA

COUNTRYWIDE

COSTA RICA - 2023 : Thursday, February 23, 2023 - Friday, March 10, 2023

This was another fantastic trip to one of the best birding countreis in the world. It is beautiful and bountiful, fantastic scenery, lovely people and amazing wildlife. We saw 470 species of birds, over 20 mammals, countless butterflies,...

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COUNTRYWIDE TOUR

COSTA RICA - 2020 : Tuesday, February 25, 2020 - Wednesday, March 11, 2020

We had 15 glorious days of fun, laughter and, of course, some excellent birding. The weather was very kind to us as we had no rain, only very light showers and one late afternoon downpour. There are a whole string of highlights that I co...

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COSTA RICA - 2018 : Friday, February 16, 2018 - Saturday, March 3, 2018

This was an incredible journey through some of the world most diverse habitats with, at times. breath-taking scenery. It seems unbelieveble that so many species can be packed into such a small country as Costa Rica.  Wildlife flo...

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COSTA RICA - 2017 : Sunday, February 12, 2017 - Monday, February 27, 2017

This was the sixth exciting WINGSPAN TOUR of Costa Rica and although we did not top the species total of last year’s impressive list of 465 we had a great time trying. A lovely group of people made this trip something special for m...

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COSTA RICA - 2016 : Monday, February 22, 2016 - Tuesday, March 8, 2016

COSTA RICA has to be the best birding hot-spot on the planet! It is beautiful, the people are so friendly, it has a fantastic 'green' politcal ethos and the number of species is phenomenal. During 2015 Costa Rica was self-suffici...

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COSTA RICA - 2015 : Thursday, February 19, 2015 - Friday, March 6, 2015

12 WINGSPANNERS ENJOYED A TERRIFIC TOUR OF THIS CENTRAL AMERICAN BIRDING HOTSPOT, WE RECORDED OVER 430 SPECIES INCLUDING MANY REGIONAL ENDEMICS.............

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COSTA RICA - 2014 : Saturday, February 8, 2014 - Sunday, February 23, 2014

Our best ever trip to this magical birding hotspot. We record more species than ever before, we had lovely weather, a great enthusiastic group and some smashing sightings........read on  

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COSTA RICA - 2013 : Friday, February 1, 2013 - Saturday, February 16, 2013

Our group of nine ‘wingspanners’ enjoyed a superb, relaxed holiday in one of the world’s best birding  locations. Costa Rica is truly a hot-spot for wildlife, where-ever we went there were new sights and sounds to...

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COSTA RICA - 2011 : Thursday, December 1, 2011 - Thursday, December 15, 2011

This was a recce trip in preparation for future group tours. We intended to visit as many of the lodges that we could fit in and map out an exciting route so that we could provide an interesting and exciting tour for years to come. We...

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Gambia

Gambia

Gambia November 2019 : Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - Tuesday, November 26, 2019

This was a triumphant return to the Gambia for WINGSPAN BIRD TOURS after an absence of two years. We had a marvellous group made up of four Americans and four British participants, all equally enthusiastic and anxious to find as many spe...

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Gambia November 2016 : Tuesday, November 22, 2016 - Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Another exciting tour of this fantastic African West Coast country, the birds are simply stunning and in such high numbers you cannot fail to amass a superb list. Everywhere is easy to get to and not far away, the upriver section holds a...

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Gambia November 2013 : Friday, November 15, 2013 - Friday, November 29, 2013

Another exciting tour of this tiny West African Country, but its lack of size is more than compensated for by its huge biodiversity. There are few countries in the world where you can rack up a list of 200 species in just a few days...

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Gambia November 2012 Tour 2 : Friday, November 16, 2012 - Friday, November 30, 2012

This was the second tour this year, following an earlier 12 day excursion on November 5 - I6 with a group of photographers. The weather was unusually hot and at times very humid but we soldiered on and amassed an impressive list of 287...

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Gambia November 2012 Tour 1 : Monday, November 5, 2012 - Friday, November 16, 2012

What a wonderful place The Gambia is, a perfect introduction to African birding, birds are everywhere! To prove my  point, I am sitting outside my apartment, in the grounds of the Senegambia hotel, as I write this introduction, I c...

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Gambia November 2010 Tour 2 : Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Following a good flight from London we arrived on time at Banjul, the warm tropical air felt welcoming and  inviting as the group descended the steps from the plane. After a long wait for luggage we cleared arrivals,  met our...

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Gambia November 2010 Tour 1 : Tuesday, November 16, 2010 - Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Everything went fine at Gatwick, all of the 11 strong group arrived on time and the Monarch flight went  smoothly. Six hours later we arrived in the Gambia, in bright sunshine, the temperature was around 30C and as we descended ov...

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Gambia November 2009 : Monday, November 16, 2009 - Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Our flight was on time arriving late-afternoon at Banjul in hazy sunshine, first impressions as we came in to land were  of a lush green, very flat landscape with lots of open spaces and water. The mighty river looked huge especial...

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GAMBIA

GAMBIA

THE GAMBIA : Tuesday, November 14, 2023 - Tuesday, November 28, 2023

This was our first post-Covid visit to this wonderful birding country and it hasn't changed a bit! The birding is still wonderful and varied and the wether is still blistering hot and humid!  Massive road-improvements are being ...

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GREECE

LAKE KERKINI

NORTHERN GREECE - LAKE KERKINI 2024 : Monday, May 6, 2024 - Monday, May 13, 2024

What can I say that has not already been said about this wonderful place? We had a fantastic time, the weather was great and scenery is to die for! Sightings of Birds, Butterflies, Flowers and lots of other wildlife filled our days ...

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NORTHERN GREECE - LAKE KERKINI 2023 : Sunday, May 7, 2023 - Sunday, May 14, 2023

We didn't let a couple of days of rain ruin this fantastic tour, we still enjoyed one of the most scenic tours you can find in Europe. The bird life, on and around, Lake Kerkini is prolific and a wonder to behold.

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NORTHERN GREECE - LAKE KERKINI 2022 : Friday, May 6, 2022 - Friday, May 13, 2022

The was the quintessential ideal birding trip, the weather was superb throughout, the birds performed magnificently, and we had had a wonderful bunch of people for company. There are so many highlights I could not fit them all here in on...

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NORTHERN GREECE - LAKE KERKINI TRIP REPORT MAY 6TH 2019 : Monday, May 6, 2019 - Monday, May 13, 2019

What a difference a year makes. Last year we saw about 1 million Nettle Tree Butterflies and we had a huge influx of Rose-coloured Starlings. This year we saw one individual Nettle Tree Butterfly and no Rose-coloured Starlings.  Our...

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NORTHERN GREECE - LAKE KERKINI 2018 : Tuesday, May 15, 2018 - Tuesday, May 22, 2018

It had been a truly lovely experience, a trip that vastly exceeded all of our expectations, I have fallen in love with this area. There can’t many places left in Europe where vast areas are devoid of human activity, the tranquillit...

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LESVOS

LESVOS 2024 - GROUP 2 : Sunday, April 28, 2024 - Sunday, May 5, 2024

Group 2 of the Wokingham and Bracknell RSPB Member's Group turned out in focre for this second week. Thriteen of the group enjoyed a superb week with better weather and several more species than last week's group. We also had Dan...

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LESVOS 2024 - GROUP 1 : Sunday, April 21, 2024 - Sunday, April 28, 2024

This trip was run in conjunction with Wokingham and Bracknell RSPB Member's Group, 7 members participated and formed Group 1 of a two week period. We had a great time, the group were keen to see practically everything and that is exa...

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LESVOS : Friday, April 28, 2023 - Friday, May 5, 2023

What a great trip we had this year, so many exciting species to see and the wild flowers were stunning. We saw all the Lesvos specialities and several uncommon visitors including a 'first record'  for Lesvos, the J...

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LESVOS : Thursday, April 28, 2022 - Thursday, May 5, 2022

WINGSPAN'S first return to Lesvos since 2019 because of the COVID pandemic was fantastic, all those happy memories came flooding back and the weather and the birding was just as fabulous. The airport was new, they have moved the enti...

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Guyana

Guyana

Guyana January 2014 : Wednesday, January 15, 2014 - Tuesday, January 28, 2014

This, the inaugural trip to Guyana for WINGSPAN BIRD TOURS, was put together by my good friend Penny Hale with a little input from myself. Penny had travelled to Guyana over 18 years ago and it came highly recommended to me from various ...

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GUYANA

GEORGETOWN, KAIETEUR FALLS, IWOKRAMA, ATTA CANOPY WALK, SURAMA EXO LODGE, ROCKVIEW LODGE, KARANAMBU, ARROWPOINT

GUYANA - 2015 - LOST LAND OF THE JAGUAR : Monday, January 23, 0002 - Saturday, February 7, 2015

The best trip I have ever been on,Gill.A truly amazing experience that I will never forget,David.Outstanding natural beauty and some magical wildlife encounters,Les.Read on for an account of a trip of a lifetime in a true wilderness...

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HUNGARY

EASTERN HUNGARY

HUNGARY 2016 : Sunday, May 8, 2016 - Sunday, May 15, 2016

WINGSPAN'S 2nd of this wonderful birding country was as good as last year's inaugural trip. Woodpeckers, Warblers and many excellent species are included in this exciting report..........

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EGER - NORTHEAST HUNGARY

HUNGARY : Sunday, May 3, 2015 - Sunday, May 10, 2015

This was the inaugural tour of Hungary for WINGSPAN BIRD TOURS with 12 members of the Cheltenham Bird Club, new territory, new landscapes and new birds. Hungary is a lovely country, the cleanest and tidiest I have ever seen, not the most...

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Lesvos

Lesvos

Lesvos April 2019 : Friday, April 26, 2019 - Saturday, May 4, 2019

This tour was another classic ‘Lesvos’ spring trip, plenty of water, plenty of sightings in stunning scenery and lovely sunshine. Flowers and butterflies enhanced our enjoyment of this beautiful place. Birding highlights incl...

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Lesvos April 2018 : Saturday, April 28, 2018 - Saturday, May 5, 2018

It had been a very exceptionally cold and wet spring in Europe, this greatly affected the bird migration pattern. Most species were very late, some had not arrived at all! However, due to the wet conditions in March and April the flowers...

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Lesvos April 2017 : Friday, April 28, 2017 - Saturday, May 6, 2017

Lesvos is a brilliant birding destination! This is my 17th consecutive year here and I love it all, the weather, the scenery, the people and the wildlife. We hardly travelled any distance today and yet we saw nearly 100 species including...

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Lesvos April 2016 : Saturday, April 30, 2016 - Saturday, May 7, 2016

WINGSPAN'S 16th consecutive Year  to this Aegean Island Gem almost  never took off! Bad press about masses of human migrants caused hundreds of birders to keep away. Luckily enough a few did 'brave' the trip an...

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Lesvos April 2015 : Saturday, April 25, 2015 - Saturday, May 2, 2015

Another great year on this Aegean Island paradise. IT WAS THE FIFTEENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR FOR WINGSPAN BIRD TOURS ON LESVOS. The weather was just gorgeous, the flowers, butterflies and birds were in colourful abundance making it a wo...

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Lesvos April 2014 : Saturday, April 19, 2014 - Saturday, April 26, 2014

In that one hour, we found 40 species which is a true testament to how good Lesvos really is at this time of the year, results like that renew my passion for birding and rekindles a burning desire to want to return next year,&n...

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Lesvos April 2013 : Saturday, April 27, 2013 - Saturday, May 4, 2013

What a fantastic week, wall to wall sunshine, a brilliant display of wild flowers, some superb birding and a great  group of participants. This all made for a great holiday and a very enjoyable time for me too! The weather was a&nb...

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Lesvos April 2012 : Saturday, April 28, 2012 - Saturday, May 5, 2012

Our group of 8 enjoyed a wonderful week in sunny Lesvos, in fact it was a little too sunny at times, the temperature  rose to nearly 30 C on a couple of days which made the birding very tiring! But we had a great time, leisure...

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Lesvos April 2011 : Saturday, April 23, 2011 - Saturday, April 30, 2011

I met Andy and Dave at Gatwick at 6am and we travelled to Athens with Easyjet arriving at 2:40pm. We met up  with Mike and Pat at the Aegean check-in desk where we took the 5:20pm flight to Mytiline. We collected our hire  bu...

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Lesvos May 2010 : Thursday, April 29, 2010 - Thursday, May 6, 2010

A depleted group (5 instead of 8) enjoyed a wonderful week in sunny Lesvos, in fact it was a little too sunny  at times, the temperature rose above 30 C on several days which made the birding very tiring! But we had  a g...

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Lesvos April 2010 : Thursday, April 22, 2010 - Thursday, April 29, 2010

I have led tours over the last 10 years to this fabulous birding location and this was one of the best groups I  have ever led. We had such great fun, with some hilarious moments along the way and we recorded the  highest cou...

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Lesvos May 2009 : Thursday, April 30, 2009 - Thursday, May 7, 2009

The group of eight from Oxford RSPB Members Group became ‘ wing-spanners’ for seven days as they  arrived in bright sunshine on the beautiful island of Lesvos to join me, Bob Buckler of Wingspan Bird Tours  for a ...

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Lesvos April 2009 : Thursday, April 23, 2009 - Thursday, April 30, 2009

A good deal of rain had fallen during early spring and wild flowers covered every square meter of the uncultivated land. Seasonal  pools were full but despite the promise of a great birding trip it did not fully materialize as we h...

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Lesvos May 2008 : Thursday, May 1, 2008 - Thursday, May 8, 2008

The group arrived safe and well at Mytilini airport mid-afternoon after a short delay and soon we  were on the road winding our way through the busy Mytilini town centre. One of our first birds was  Red-rumped Swallow seen fr...

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Lesvos April 2008 : Thursday, April 24, 2008 - Thursday, May 1, 2008

Our group of eight ‘ wing-spanners’ had a fantastic week exploring this superb bird-watching venue, over 170 species were  recorded which included the Lesvos specialities such as: Kruper’s Nuthatch, Western Rock N...

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Morocco

Central Morocco

Central Morocco - March 2019 : Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - Saturday, March 30, 2019

It was another very successful WINGSPAN TOUR of this beautiful part of Africa and resulted in an impressive list of nearly 200 species. The trip was made so much more pleasurable because the group were so fantastic, they gelled really we...

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Central Morocco - March 2018 : Tuesday, March 20, 2018 - Friday, March 30, 2018

A cold start to this tour saw the group wrapped up warm for the first few days. The cold weather system for this year had delayed spring migration and consequently we saw very few migrant species and no visible raptor migration. However,...

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Central Morocco - March 2017 : Monday, March 20, 2017 - Thursday, March 30, 2017

8 intrepid ‘wing-spanners’ enjoyed 11 days of superb birding in this wonderful bird-watching destination. We listed over 190 species including most of the ‘Moroccan Specialities’ such as: Bald Ibis, African Crimso...

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Central Morocco - March 2016 : Sunday, March 20, 2016 - Wednesday, March 30, 2016

The beauty of this North African country never ceases to amaze me, the landscape varies every few miles and ranges from the snow capped Atlas Mountains to the flat stoney 'reggs' of the hinterland. Couple that with lush green val...

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Central Morocco - March 2014 : Thursday, March 6, 2014 - Saturday, March 15, 2014

This 10-day tour was run in co-ordination with BirdID a Norwegian internet-based bird indentification teaching course. We recorded 186 species which included 2 species only heard and not seen, migration was a little disappointing wi...

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Central Morocco March 2013 : Monday, March 18, 2013 - Thursday, March 28, 2013

A superb tour was enhanced by a great bunch of people making my job as tour leader a pleasure and a very enjoyable experience. The weather in general was pretty good although the low cloud base in the Atlas Mountains restricted our sight...

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Central Morocco March 2012 : Saturday, March 17, 2012 - Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Everything went smoothly at the airport, our group of 9 all arrived on time and the flight  was also on schedule. We arrived at Marrakech at 11am in a blaze of sunshine and  summer warmth, our first sighting was a House Bunti...

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Central Morocco February 2012 : Tuesday, February 7, 2012 - Friday, February 17, 2012

Our arrival at Marrakech was greeted by bright sunlight, the snow covered Atlas Mountains looked clear and  beautiful in the distance and it was quite warm. The group arrived in stages throughout the day and those that  arriv...

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Central Morocco March 2011 : Saturday, March 26, 2011 - Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The group assembled at Menara Airport at 8pm and after visiting the bureau de change we met our driver Ahmed who guided us to our bus, we then set off for our hotel in the Ourika Valley. It was dark so no birds were  recorded on t...

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Central Morocco March 2011 : Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - Saturday, March 26, 2011

The group assembled at Menara Airport at 11:30am, some had travelled the day before and spent the night in  Marrakech whilst the rest of us arrived from Madrid with Easyjet at 11am.  We met our driver Ahmed who guided us to o...

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Central Morocco March 2010 : Monday, March 22, 2010 - Thursday, April 1, 2010

Despite a very wet winter the amount of ground water was very low and the snow on the mountains was  surprising lacking which was a contrast to the last couple of years at this time. This year’s rains had been  followed...

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Central Morocco March 2009 : Monday, March 16, 2009 - Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Moroccan winter rains had fallen in earnest and the snow was piled high on the Atlas Mountains producing a wonderful contrasting vista between the verdant plains and river valleys set against the white-topped mountains. A wonderful b...

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Central Morocco April 2008 : Friday, April 4, 2008 - Sunday, April 13, 2008

During early April and over a period of 10 days our group of seven wing-spanners toured the wonderful  countryside of Morocco, visiting the high Atlas Mountains, the stony plains of the ‘Hammada’, the southeast  r...

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Central Morocco March 2008 : Saturday, March 8, 2008 - Monday, March 17, 2008

Our group of seven ‘Wing-spanners’ toured the wonderful countryside of Morocco in early March, visiting the  high Atlas Mountains, the stony plains of the ‘Hammada’, the southeast region of Tafilalt, (the ar...

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Central Morocco March 2007 : Saturday, March 10, 2007 - Saturday, March 17, 2007

This was a whirlwind tour with my good friend Richard Headford to recce the country in order to add this  superb birding venue to the growing list of destinations for Wingspan Bird Tours. The trip was essentially  taken in or...

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Northern Morocco

Northern Morocco March 2012 : Thursday, March 8, 2012 - Thursday, March 15, 2012

What a cracking start to our 7 - day tour of Southern Spain and Northern Morocco  we had lovely sunshine and everyone arrived on time. I collected Sandra, Chris and  Andy from Malaga Airport at 11am and we drove directly to t...

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MOROCCO

COUNTRYWIDE TOUR

MOROCCO : Wednesday, March 20, 2024 - Sunday, June 30, 2024

Despite the extremely dry condtions and the lack of snow on the High Atlas Mountains we still managed to see 90% of the 'most-wanted' species that this tour has to offer. We had a couple of windy days in the Sahara Desert which l...

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MOROCCO : Monday, March 20, 2023 - Thursday, March 30, 2023

The weather helped the enjoyment of this tour tremdously, we had wall to wall sunshine throughout with nice temperatures. The light was perfect and our sightings terrific. We saw almost all of our target species and had great views of mo...

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MOROCCO : Saturday, March 19, 2022 - Monday, March 28, 2022

Morocco remains one the best North African destinations, it offers a huge range of habitats and stunning landscapes ranging from coastal sand dunes to snow-capped mountains and everything in between. We visited all of these habitats and&...

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POLAND

BIEBRZA MARSH AND BIALOWEIZA FOREST

EASTERN POLAND 2019 : Sunday, June 2, 2019 - Monday, June 10, 2019

This inaugural WINGSPAN TOUR of North Eastern Poland was run in conjunction with Wild Poland and Cheltenham Bird Club. Ten participants enjoyed a fabulous 9-day tour of two very contrasting habitats. We toured the vast marshes of the Bie...

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PORTUGAL

CASTRO VERDE & TAVIRA

PORTUGAL - ALENTEJO AND THE ALGARVE : Monday, May 8, 2017 - Monday, May 15, 2017

Another WINGSPAN Tour of this fabulous Iberian country was a tremendous success despite very windy weather for 3 days and some wet conditions. We saw most of 'Plains' species very well and the contrasting coastal wetlands produce...

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Spain

Andalucia

Andaluica May 2017 : Tuesday, May 23, 2017 - Tuesday, May 30, 2017

A late spring tour to seek out the breeding birds of Andalucia which is exactly what we did. We saw 5 species of Swifts, 13 different warblers and a host of colourful sightings including Golden Oriole, Common Kingfisher, European Bee-eat...

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Andalucia April 2017 : Wednesday, April 5, 2017 - Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Although we endured very windy conditions on several days we still managed to see over 160 species during this early April Tour. Raptor migration passage was non-existent but many passerines were found..............

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Andalucia April 2016 : Friday, April 22, 2016 - Friday, April 29, 2016

What a great start to our 7-day migration tour, WHITE-WINGED TERN & BLACK TERN on the list!

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Andalucia

Andalucia April 2015 : Monday, April 6, 2015 - Monday, April 13, 2015

Another early spring tour based in Gaucin, Andalucia was full of surprises, not excluding the weather, it turned out to be the coldest April recorded in Spain for quite a few years. Nevertheless my group of hardy WINGSPANNERS braved the ...

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Andalucia May 2014 : Sunday, May 25, 2014 - Sunday, June 1, 2014

A superb week of birding in Southern Spain with glorious weather and some excellent sightings, the tour was based in Gaucin, Andalucia, a 'white' vilage in the beautiful Serrania de Ronda mountains. We visited rivers, lakes, cork...

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Andalucia June 2013 Second Trip : Friday, June 28, 2013 - Tuesday, July 2, 2013

This short birding break produced some of the best and rarest birds that Andalucia has to offer.  How about this for a list: white headed duck, marbled duck, ferruginous  duck, red-knobbed coot, white rumped swift, rufous bus...

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Andalucia June 2013 : Sunday, June 2, 2013 - Sunday, June 9, 2013

It feels great to be back on my own patch again after spending 17 days in Bulgaria. The sun was shining, there was a lovely breeze and I got to see some great birdies.   I collected Neil from a Hotel near Malaga and then we drove i...

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Andalucia April 2013 : Saturday, April 20, 2013 - Friday, April 26, 2013

Vern and Trish are staying for a few extra days to see local birds so I dropped them off at the Rio Genal before carrying on to the Airport at Malaga. It was dry, a little cloudy and a cool wind had come in, but the sun shone. I drove t...

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Andalucia April 2013 Second Trip : Sunday, April 7, 2013 - Thursday, April 11, 2013

This was a short break which fitted in nicely with my spring programme between tours. I led Tarje from Finland for 4 days, we covered the mountainous region of the Serrania de Ronda and coastal areas near Soto Grande. Raptor migrati...

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Andalucia May 2012 : Monday, May 7, 2012 - Monday, May 14, 2012

It was a beautiful sunny day, top temperature 25C, very light SW wind.   We had a marvelous start to our 7 day tour in Southern Spain. I collected the group of 6 at Malaga Airport at lunchtime and before we knew it we were birding ...

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Andalucia April 2012 : Sunday, April 1, 2012 - Tuesday, April 5, 2011

I collected Susan and Steve from Malaga Airport around 11am and we went straight to the Nature Reserve at the river Guadalhorce, we spent 3 excellent hours having a great birding session in the bright Spanish Sunshine.   Sue and St...

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Andalucia September 2011 : Saturday, September 3, 2011 - Thursday, September 10, 2009

Our first day involved getting the group assembled; Steve and Roz arrived at midday whilst Chris, Colin and Shirley were not due until late evening. Jane, Jack & Marg were only joining us for part of the tour later in the week and Ge...

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Andalucia September 2009 : Sunday, September 13, 2009 - Sunday, September 13, 2009

We met in Ronda at the Hotel San Gabriel on a bright Sunday morning, a hazy sky produced a weakened  sun with very little breeze which made for very good birding weather.  The Serrania de Ronda is an area of mountainous beaut...

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Andalucia June 2009 : Saturday, June 6, 2009 - Saturday, June 13, 2009

We had an excellent relaxed week of birding, eating and drinking, savouring the ambiance of a typical pueblo blanco! The weather conditions were mixed, the first day was very windy with light showers, Sunday was sunny and Monday was dull...

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Coto Donana / Extremadura

Coto Donana & Extremadura 2017 : Sunday, April 16, 2017 - Monday, April 24, 2017

Another hugely successful tour of these two premiere venues in the heart of Spain. A little windy for two or three days but that never stopped us enjoying our fantastic sightings........

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Coto Donana & Extremadura April 2016 : Thursday, April 14, 2016 - Friday, April 22, 2016

Another fabulous tour of these two magical places. A lot depends on the weather conditions which were not too favourable to begin with. However, we still managed a credible total species list..........

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Coto Donana & Extremadura April 2015 : Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - Thursday, April 23, 2015

This dual destination trip to two of Spain's best birding areas always proves a winner with my groups. The variety of scenic landscapes, wildlife habitats and birding locations guarantees a huge list in European standards a...

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Coto Donana & Extremadura April 2014 : Sunday, April 27, 2014 - Monday, May 5, 2014

I was priveliged to lead the Knutsford Ornithological Soceity (KOS) in their 40th celebration tour. Twelve members, lead by Sheila Blamire,  enjoyed a terrific week of good weather and excellent birding. We experienced many mag...

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Coto Donana & Extremadura April 2014 Tour 2 : Thursday, April 10, 2014 - Friday, April 18, 2014

After a terrific week of birding we managed a species total of 172 with another 7 species heard but not seen, this is a fantastic total for a European country covered in just 7 days....................  

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Coto Donana & Extremadura April 2013 : Friday, April 12, 2013 - Friday, April 19, 2013

We spent 8 superb days in some of the best habitat that Spain has to offer, the weather was glorious throughout except for one day of windy conditions near the end of the trip. Birding highlights included:  Spanish Imperial Eagle, G...

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Coto Donana & Extremadura October 2012 : Monday, October 15, 2012 - Wednesday, October 24, 2012

We spent 9 superb days in some of the best habitat that Spain has to offer, the weather was glorious throughout except for one day of rain and some cloud near the end of the trip. Birding highlights included: a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker,...

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Coto Donana & Extremadura October 2011 : Sunday, October 16, 2011 - Monday, October 24, 2011

This 9-day tour covered a wide variety of habitats and included two of the best Bird-watching regions of Spain, it is not surprising then that we recorded over 170 species with some rare and unusual birds on the list. We saw 26 species o...

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Coto Donana & Extremadura October 2009 : Sunday, October 18, 2009 - Sunday, October 25, 2009

A good week of late summer weather with clear blue skies on most days and temperatures in the lower 20’s, we  had one afternoon of wind and rain, followed by high stormy-winds overnight and as we drove north into Extremadura...

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Coto Donana & Extremadura May 2008 : Sunday, May 18, 2008 - Sunday, May 25, 2008

We had an excellent week of birding spoilt only by bouts of inclement weather, a couple of days were very windy with light showers and our visit to Monfrague Park in Extremadura was foreshortened by heavy rain. The temperature was kept i...

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Coto Donana & Extremadura October 2007 : Saturday, October 6, 2007 - Saturday, October 13, 2007

We visited the laguna and birded from an observation point within the town of El  Rocio in good light and hazy sunshine. There were many birds there including a  distant flock of Greater Flamingos, Glossy Ibis, Little and Cat...

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Coto Donana & Extremadura September 2007 : Thursday, September 20, 2007 - Thursday, September 27, 2007

The group arrived on time and we quickly loaded up the buses and set off on the two hour journey to El Rocio in the Coto Donana. We dropped our belongings into our rooms at the Hotel Toruno and ate dinner at  10pm amidst growling ...

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Extremadura May 2006 : Monday, May 22, 2006 - Monday, May 29, 2006

We left Madrid airport and headed Southwest for Trujillo just after midday. Our first  birds were Common Swifts hawking the terminal buildings quickly followed by  Spotless Starling and Collared Dove. We stopped for refre...

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Extremadura May 2005 : Saturday, May 21, 2005 - Saturday, May 28, 2005

After a long delay we eventually left Madrid airport and headed Southwest for Trujillo. Our first birds were Common and Pallid Swifts hawking the terminal buildings quickly followed by Spotless Starling and Collared Dove. As we approache...

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Coto Donana & Extremadura

Coto Donana & Extremadura 2019 : Sunday, April 14, 2019 - Monday, April 22, 2019

This was another great trip to the two best birding areas of Spain, the contrasting habitats of the two areas we visited gave us the opportunity to seek out a great diversity of species. The weather, although quite cold at times was gene...

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Coto Donana/Extremadura

Coto Donana & Extremadura 2018 : Tuesday, April 10, 2018 - Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Spain did not escape the very cold, wet weather that the rest of Europe had suffered this spring, heavy snow still covered the mountains and a biting cold wind dominated our trip with two or three days of overcast skies and rain. The wea...

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Coto Donana & Tarifa

Coto Donana & Tarifa May 2012 : Sunday, April 15, 2012 - Sunday, April 22, 2012

left Gaucin at 6am to collect Kenneth & Katherine from the  centre of Granada; they are from Toronto and will be joining us for a week. We then drove  to Malaga Airport to meet Ken & Margaret arriving from the UK, the...

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Coto Donana & Tarifa April 2011 : Friday, April 15, 2011 - Friday, April 22, 2011

Our first day involved getting the group assembled; Conor & Ann were collected from Malaga Airport at 11:30am  and then Peter, Alison & Gordon were collected from Gibraltar Airport at 2:30pm it was the shortest visit to Gib...

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Coto Donana & Tarifa April 2010 : Wednesday, April 14, 2010 - Sunday, February 21, 2010

The group arrived on time and brought the Gloucestershire weather with them – it was windy, cold, overcast and rainy! After quickly loading into the bus we drove the short distance to the Nature Reserve in the salt marsh of the riv...

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Coto Donana & Tarifa March 2008 : Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The sky was a clear azure blue and the light was very good as we emerged from the hotel at 8 am. We took breakfast at a café/bar just around the corner, coffee and large rounds of toast were consumed with great enthusiasm.   ...

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Extremadura & Gredos Mountains

Extremadura & Gredos Mountains 2012 Tour 2 : Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - Tuesday, May 29, 2012

This was the second week of two back-to-back trips to the same area. The weather was superb throughout, perhaps a little too hot at times especially down on the plains of Extremadura. We had a wonderful time and saw all the specialties o...

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Extremadura & Gredos Mountains 2012 Tour 1 : Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - Tuesday, May 22, 2012

What a great start to our 7 day tour of Extremadura, the weather was superb, bright and  sunny, with nice temperatures of around 25C.  The group assembled at Madrid airport, Ken, Lilian came with me from Andalucia, I  c...

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Extremadura & Gredos Mountains 2011 : Thursday, May 19, 2011 - Thursday, May 26, 2011

A tremendous tour was enhanced by superb weather, picturesque scenery, some fantastic bird  sightings and a lovely group of people.  Birding highlights included: Over 100 vultures, of 3 species, in the sky at once over Monfra...

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tarifa migration

Andalucia sept 2014 : Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Overall the spectacle of thousands of migration raptors did not materialise which was a little disappointing, this was due to the weather patterns at the peak migration times. The light westerly winds were always favourable for the cross...

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The Pyrenees, Zaragoza & Picos de Europa

The Pyrenees, Zaragoza & Picos de Europa - June 2019 : Wednesday, June 12, 2019 - Thursday, June 20, 2019

When you think a trip cannot get much better, it does. This Wingspan Tour was our tenth year in a row and proved every bit as good as all the previous tours. The scenery of the Pyrenees, in my opinion, cannot be beaten in Western Europe....

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The Pyrenees, Zaragoza & Picos de Europa - JUNE 2018 : Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Our total list of 135 was somewhat lower than the average of 150 because of the bad weather and unseasonal cold spells. We also missed about 10 species because we couldn’t visit the coastal sites as usual because a major link road ...

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The Pyrenees, Zaragoza & Picos de Europa - JUNE 2017 : Monday, June 12, 2017 - Tuesday, June 20, 2017

It was another very successful Tour of these three unique and contrasting areas, the scenery was stunning, the birds were amazing and the group was fantastic, we all gelled well and everyone enjoyed the trip. If anything, the weather was...

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The Pyrenees, Zaragoza and Picos de Europa - JUNE 2016 : Friday, June 10, 2016 - Saturday, June 18, 2016

Stunning scenery, fantastic wildlife, a great group........what more could you possibly want? Oh, good weather.....well, not quite!

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The Pyrenees, Zaragoza and Picos de Europa - JUNE 2015 : Saturday, June 20, 2015 - Sunday, June 28, 2015

The Pyrenees Mountains behold some of the most beautiful scenery in the whole of Spain, whilst the Picos de Europa adds its own blend of unique and fascinating landscapes. The wildlife found in these areas is both prolific and diverse, t...

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The Pyrenees, Zaragoza and Picos de Europa - JUNE 2014 : Friday, June 13, 2014 - Saturday, June 21, 2014

Another successful trip to two of the most beautiful parts of Spain, we recorded many special species not found anywhere else in Spain including: Lammergeier, Wallcreeper, Alpine Accentor, Snowfinch, Citril Finch, Ring Ouzel, Black Woodp...

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The Pyrenees, Zaragoza & Picos de Europa - JUNE 2013 : Monday, June 10, 2013 - Tuesday, June 18, 2013

After last night's rain we awoke to a lovely clear blue sky. With bags packed we were ready to move at 7:30am,  and so our tour began. Birds seen as we passed through the suburbs of Madrid included: Common & Pallid  S...

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The Pyrenees, Zaragoza & Picos de Europa JUNE 2012 : Sunday, June 17, 2012 - Monday, June 25, 2012

A great tour with a great ‘team’ of birders, everyone contributed and everyone found something for the  list. This was the first attempt by WINGSPAN to combine these 3 contrasting and unique habitats, it  really w...

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SPAIN

ANDALUCIA

DAY TOUR - JULY 12TH 2018 : Thursday, July 12, 2018 - Sunday, August 12, 2018

ENCINAS BORRACHAS TRACK Today I met up with Paul and Claire who have also purchased a house in Gaucin and have been regular companions on my day tours and birding holidays over the last few years. We met early because we expected the ...

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ANDALUCIA - LAGUNAS DE CAMPILLOS

DAY TOUR - 5TH JULY 2018 : Thursday, July 5, 2018 - Thursday, July 5, 2018

  GAUCIN TO RONDA THEN ON TO THE LAGUNAS DE CAMPILLOS  AND THEN THE CASTILLO DE TEBA WEATHER; wall to all sunshine, nice cool breeze, top temp 30C Dawn and I met up with John, Mary, Henry and Sue on the edge of the vil...

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COTO DONANA & EXTREMADURA

COTO DONANA & EXTREMADURA : Thursday, April 11, 2024 - Sunday, May 19, 2024

After 4 years of drought Spain wasn't looking like a good prospect for a spring birding tour.  Then in February and March this year the heavans opened and everywhere had a deluge of rain. This made it excellent for wildlife...

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Coto Donana & Extremadura 2022 : Tuesday, April 5, 2022 - Thursday, April 14, 2022

We had a fabulous early spring Tour of two of the top destinations in Spain. Producing a bird list approaching 190 species we saw all of the 'most-wanted' species associated with these two superb birding areas. Spanish ...

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EXTREMADURA

SPAIN MINI-BREAK - BUSTARDS, EAGLES, SANDGROUSE AND ORCHIDS : Friday, March 31, 2023 - Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Bustards, Sandgrouse, Eagles and Orchids is what we hoped to see and that is exactly what we got. Maybe not all of our target species but a pewrcenatge of them. It was windy for a couple of days which restricted our viewing somewhat but ...

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SPAIN MINI-BREAK - BUSTARDS, EAGLES, SANDGROUSE AND ORCHIDS : Wednesday, March 30, 2022 - Monday, April 4, 2022

This was a private Tour booked by 5 American birders who wanted an extension into Spain after joining me in Morocco for 10 days during March. This mini-break went so well, we saw so many great species of birds and Orchids, that I have in...

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Extremadura & Gredos

Extremadura & Gredos Mountains 2019 : Friday, May 24, 2019 - Friday, May 31, 2019

What a great trip this turned out to be! The weather was just perfect, the flowers and butterflies were magnificent which enhanced our birding excursions no end. All aspects exceeded our expectations and the scenery was out of this world...

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Extremadura & Gredos Mountains

Extremadura & Gredos Mountains 2018 : Thursday, May 31, 2018 - Thursday, June 7, 2018

Our first morning went like a dream except for the delayed arrival of one flight. Four of us had arrived last night and met up for breakfast and then at 11am we drove to the airport to collect the other four participants, they arrived 25...

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Extremadura & Gredos Mountains

Extremadura & Gredos Mountains 2017 : Wednesday, May 31, 2017 - Wednesday, June 7, 2017

A superb trip which everyone thoroughly enjoyed, it was a little warm at times but we coped by having frequent breaks and cold drinks. Finca Santa Marta was as charming as ever and the birding throughout the trip was excellent. Highlight...

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Gaucin, Andalucia

Andalucia -birds and butterflies short break July 2016 : Thursday, July 14, 2016 - Monday, July 18, 2016

It was a very windy but enjoyable short break, we saw many more species of birds than we did of butterflies! A great timr nevertheless.

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MARCHENILLA TRACK AND RIO HOZGARGANTE

DAY TOUR - ANDALUCIA : Saturday, July 28, 2018 - Saturday, July 28, 2018

MARCHENILLA TRACK AND RIO HOZGARGANTE Today, Dawn and I met up with Mary, a birder from New Mexico and John, also an American, but who lives in Gaucin and is a good friend of ours. Mary is visiting John for a few days and insisted on ...

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RIO GUADIARO

DAY TOUR - 6TH AUGUST 2018 : Monday, August 6, 2018 - Monday, August 6, 2018

RIO GUADIARO AT ESTACION DE CORTES Dawn and I were joined by John McClure, our American friend and budding birder also from Gaucin,  for an afternoon of birding by the river. We just sat under our favourite tree and whiled away t...

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RONDA - ENCINAS BORRACHAS - SIERRA DE LAS NIEVES

DAY TOUR - 30TH JUNE 2018 : Saturday, June 30, 2018 - Saturday, June 30, 2018

WEATHER: broken sunshine all day, top temp 22C Back in Spain, it was great to get out on my old patch again. I met Jane on the edge of our village, Gaucin, at 7am. It was a little chilly, with a few clouds and a little windy. We dr...

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SOUTHERN ANDALUCIA

ANDALUCIA - BIRDS 'N' BUTERFLIES JUNE 2ND 2016 : Thursday, June 2, 2016 - Thursday, June 9, 2016

Great weather, beautiful scenery, great birding and lots of butterflies..........a most enjoyable week

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ANDALUCIA - SPRING MIGRATION TOUR APRIL 22ND 2016 : Friday, April 22, 2016 - Friday, April 29, 2016

A delightful spring break with variable weather conditions and an excellent species count of 163. We made sightings of a number of special European species which included: Little Swift, Marbled Duck, Rufous Bush Robin, Common Rock Thrush...

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TARIFA

TARIFA MIGRATION TOUR : Thursday, September 1, 2022 - Thursday, September 8, 2022

We added an extra day to this trip which enhanced our sighting by giving us a full day in the Malaga region before we drove down to Tarifa. The migration in general was slow as the weather conditions allowed easy passage for the migratin...

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TARIFA - AUTUMN MIGRATION TOUR - SEPT 2019 : Sunday, September 1, 2019 - Sunday, September 8, 2019

ANOTHER GREAT MIGRATION TOUR finished where it started, back in Malaga. We had seen 168 species and heard a couple more, Common Nightingale and Wren. I had a fantastic group, full of ethusiasm and very keen to seek out a tremendous varie...

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TARIFA - AUTUMN MIGRATION TOUR - 2018 TOUR 2 : Sunday, September 9, 2018 - Sunday, September 16, 2018

This was our second consecutive Autumn Migration Tour FOR 2018, it fell just short of the mark with regards to large raptor movements, we did see a few thousand birds but not en-masse as in the first week. Passerine migration was also po...

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TARIFA - AUTUMN MIGRATION TOUR - SEPT 2017 TOUR 2 : Saturday, September 9, 2017 - Saturday, September 16, 2017

We had a smashing week of sunshine and birding, it was a little too hot at times but we really enjoyed the rapot migration and the birds of La Janda.Overall the raptor passage was sporadic and not as good as recent years, there were one ...

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TARIFA - AUTUMN MIGRATION TOUR - SEPT 2016 TOUR 2 : Saturday, September 10, 2016 - Saturday, September 17, 2016

Unseasonably hot weather slowed us down a little and likewise the number of migrants passing through. However we had a few days where thousands of raptors filled the sky it was amazing at times. La Janda provided a refuge for many, many ...

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TARIFA - AUTUMN MIGRATION TOUR - SEPT 2016 TOUR 1 : Friday, September 2, 2016 - Friday, September 9, 2016

This was an exciting birding week right in rhe middle of peak migration, thousands of raptors came over us on a daily basis. The marshes and lagunas mear the coast were full of storks, ibis, herons, egrets and waders. The weather was hot...

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TARIFA - AUTUMN MIGRATION TOUR - SEPT 2015 : Friday, September 4, 2015 - Friday, September 11, 2015

Migration watching at Tarifa is extremely weather dependent, this year it was an unusually hot summer with little in the way of strong autumnal winds and subsequently migrant raptors passed over very early and very high up. Apa...

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TARIFA, LA JANDA

DAY TOUR - 18TH SEPTEMBER 2016 : Sunday, September 18, 2016 - Sunday, September 18, 2016

SAN ENRIQUE WOODS – ALGARROBO WATCH-POINT – CAZALLA WATCH POINT – LA JANDA Weather: bright, sunny, hot, light easterly wind top temp 34C.

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The Pyrenees, Zaragoza & Picos de Europa

The Pyrenees, Zaragoza & Picos de Europa - 2022 : Sunday, June 12, 2022 - Monday, June 20, 2022

It was aother excellent trip to the most scenic areas of Spain. we saw nearly all of our target species but...........the weather conditions were very harsh! We had extreme heat for the first 6 days and then a very cold and win...

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SPAIN

COTO DONANA & EXTREMADURA

Coto Donana & Extremadura 2023 : Wednesday, April 19, 2023 - Thursday, April 27, 2023

A superb tour of these two, very contrasting habitats. The variety of species is arguably second to none in the whole of Europe. However, drought condtions in Coto Donana severly reduced our sightings list and birding enjoyment, Global w...

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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka 2020 : Monday, February 3, 2020 - Sunday, February 16, 2020

It was another successful tour of this magical and bird-rich island, we saw all of the 34 endemic species of birds in our total of 248 species. We also saw over 50 species of butterflies, 21 mammals and a dozen or so reptiles. This beaut...

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Sri Lanka 2019 : Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Saturday, February 16, 2019

We had a great time touring this wonderful, scenic country. Our bird-watching experience exceeded our wildest expectations, the food, the people and our accommodation were all first class. A truly wonderful adventure, we saw nearly 250 s...

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Sri Lanka 2018 : Sunday, January 7, 2018 - Saturday, January 20, 2018

What a fabulous place to go birding!  A beautiful verdant country with terrific scenery an abundance of wildlife and very friendly people.  This, our second tour produced 240 species of birds, around 40 butterflies and 26 mamma...

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Sri Lanka 2016 : Monday, January 11, 2016 - Tuesday, January 26, 2016

The WINGSPAN inaugural tour of Sri Lanka was a complete success in terms of finding excellent local guides, good accommodation, the best routes and of course the best places to see the huge variety of wildlife. It was a fantastic re...

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SRI LANKA

SRI LANKA

SRI LANKA 2024 : Wednesday, January 17, 2024 - Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Another successful Tour of this beautiful island country, we had fabulous weather, some really exciting sightings and plenty of adventures with a couple of mishaps along the way. Read on for Bob's misadventure in Sri Lanka!

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uk

ISLES OF SCILLY

ISLES OF SCILLY 2019 : Monday, September 30, 2019 - Monday, October 7, 2019

It had a been a very good week not a great week! We had mixed fortunes with both birding and the weather and I guess they are both inextricably connected. Just as we did last year we picked up one or two goodies each day, we saw Jack Sni...

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UK

CORNWALL

SOUTH-WEST CORNWALL - MIGRATION TOUR : Tuesday, October 3, 2023 - Tuesday, October 10, 2023

A wonderful selection of wildlife was on show in Cornwall during our seven--day Tour. We never saw all of the rarities on offer we tried our best to see most of them. Pleasant weather prevailed for most of the time, we had sunshine, fog,...

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ISLES OF SCILLY

ISLES OF SCILLY 2023 : Monday, September 25, 2023 - Monday, October 2, 2023

There was an unbelievable autumn migration throughout the UK because of the very unique weather conditions. An unprecedented number of Nearctic Birds arrived on the west coast of the UK including the Isles of Scilly. American Warble...

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ISLES OF SCILLY 2018 : Friday, September 28, 2018 - Friday, October 5, 2018

For me it was great to return to the Isles of Scilly after a 16-year break, they haven’t changed, they still retain their unique charm, beauty and tranquillity. The birding isn’t as good as the heady days of the past, but the...

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NORTHUMBERLAND

NORTHUMBERLAND - THE FARNE ISLANDS : Friday, June 23, 2017 - Monday, June 26, 2017

A long-weekend tour of this magnificent coastline included visits to Lindisfarne (Holy Island), Inner Farne, Staple Island and Coquet Island a little further south. It was fantastic, a birder's heaven and one of the best birding expe...

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Weymouth

Dorset, Autumn Migration based in Weymouth - 2019 : Friday, October 11, 2019 - Friday, October 18, 2019

We had a wet and windy week in Weymouth, rain and high winds spoilt some of our days, but we went home happy with many excellent sightings and some memorable experiences. We saw one or two rare species and a few uncommon migrants as well...

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United Kingdom

DORSET

DORSET - SOMERSET NEW YEAR MINI-BREAK : Sunday, January 2, 2022 - Sunday, January 9, 2022

The combined trip of the Somerset Levels and Southern Dorset worked very well, we logged 140 species noting all five species of Grebes and all three Divers. Great, Little and Cattle Egrets are now easy sightings in Somserset with Spoonbi...

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DORSET AUTUMN MIGRATION 2021 : Wednesday, October 6, 2021 - Wednesday, October 13, 2021

We had superb weather, in fact it was too nice at times! The group was lovely we had plenty of laughs but the migration was more or less non-exisitent. We hardly saw a common migrant let alone a rare one. Despite this we saw over 120 spe...

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ISLES OF SCILLY

ISLES OF SCILLY 2 - 2021 : Saturday, October 16, 2021 - Saturday, October 23, 2021

This was far from the best migration year, we had a diificult time finding common migrant birds let alone rare or uncommon species. The weather wasn't too bad except for a very stormy afternoon and evening in midweek. We mananged to ...

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ISLES OF SCILLY 1 - 2021 : Saturday, September 25, 2021 - Saturday, October 2, 2021

Another successful Tour of these magical islands. Common migrants were thin on the ground  but we saw many uncommon and rare birds. The weather dipped somewhat during the week and we left the islands a day early because of an horren...

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ISLES OF SCILLY 2020 : Tuesday, October 6, 2020 - Tuesday, October 13, 2020

It was another classic ‘Isles of Scilly in October’ Tour with plenty of exciting rare birds to look for, a variety of weather conditions to cope with and the ever-present outstanding beauty and tranquillity of this special pl...

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SOMERSET AND DORSET

SOMERSET - DORSET NEW YEAR MINI-BREAKS : Sunday, January 2, 2022 - Sunday, January 9, 2022

This combined trip of the Somerset Levels and Southern Dorset worked very well, we logged 140 species noting all five species of Grebes and all three Divers expected in the UK. Great, Little and Cattle Egrets are now easy sightings ...

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