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A week in Iceland will be spent in the scenic north and west where we’ll concentrate on the best birding sites and also take a whale watching cruise. Target birds will include Harlequin Duck, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Gyr Falcon, Brünnich’s Guillemot, Grey Phalaropes (in brick red breeding plumage), Red-necked Phalarope, White-tailed Eagle, Great Northern Diver, Glaucous Gull, Iceland Gull, Manx Shearwater, Long-tailed Duck, Slavonian Grebe, Arctic Skua, Great Skua and Ptarmigan. There’s always the chance of scarcities and on previous tours we found Common Crane, Lesser Scaup, King Eider and American Wigeon. Cetaceans are likely to include Humpback and Minke Whales as well as dolphins with Sperm Whale and Orca possible.  There will be an Icelandic guide only on this tour with up to 9 bookings. There will also be a RBT leader with 10 or more bookings.

A magnificent 3 week tour to Peru in South America. We use only the highest quality accommodation available on this tour with excellent guides and leaders. We’d expect around 700 species of birds on this superb tour and we’ll also visit the famous Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. There’ll also be numerous mammals seen too. The list of birds is far too long to detail but it’ll include wonderfully named species such as Sirystes, Oilbird, Silvery Grebe, Horned Screamer, Zigzag Heron, Spix’s Guan, Hoatzin, Sunbittern, Slaty Elaenia, Jabiru, Bearded Mountaineer and Giant Hummingbird. There’ll also be up to 10 species of Tinamou, 40 or so raptors, 20 or so Parrots and Macaws, a dozen or so Cuckoos, many Woodpeckers, many Woodcreepers as well as Puffbirds, Nunbirds, Flycatchers, Owls, Trogons, Toucans, Tanagers, Hummingbirds, Antbirds, Antwrens, Antshrikes, Foliage Gleaners, Nightjars, Nighthawks, Waders, Terns, Herons and so much more.

Bulgaria – Autumn Migration on the Black Sea Coast   September 10^th – 17^th 2008

A week on the Black Sea Coast of Bulgaria will produce an excellent array of species with a migration spectacular to rival any other site in Europe. Thousands upon thousands of raptors, passerines, non-passerines, wildfowl and waders will be on the move and we’ll visit sites such as the Kaliakra Headland, Bolata Valley, Kavarna, Lake Shabla, Cape Emine, Pomorie Lake, the Poda Nature Reserve and Lake Atanasovsko to enjoy the spectacle. There’ll be numerous species involved and these should include Dalmation and White Pelicans, White and Black Storks, Greater and Lesser Spotted Eagles, Booted Eagle,  Short-toed Eagle, Levant Sparrowhawk, Red-footed Falcon, Pallid Harrier, Bee-eater, Roller, Hawfinch, Golden Oriole, Shrikes, Warblers, Pipits and Dotterel. In the wetlands there’ll be Pygmy Cormorant, Slender-billed Gull, Ferruginous Duck and Herons and Egrets. Waders may include Red-necked Phalarope and Broad-billed, Terek and Marsh Sandpipers.

A truly fabulous birding tour down under when we’ll spend a total of 19 nights in this superb bird filled country. Australia has 780 species of birds with 332 found nowhere else on the planet. Our tour of Tasmania and the Australian east coast we should enjoy well in excess of 300 of them. We spend 3 nights in Tasmania and then visit NW Victoria, Melbourne, Queensland and Cairns birding at numerous sites along the way in search of a long list of amazing species that could include Blue-billed Duck,  Superb Fairy Wren, Emu, Black Currawong, Malleefowl, Red-browed Treecreeper, Scarlet Robin, Musk Duck, Noisy Pitta, Brahminy Kite, Beach Thick-knee and various kinds of Honeyeaters, Thornbills, Wattlebirds, Cockatoos, Albatrosses, Shearwaters, Pardalotes, wildfowl, waders, Scrubwrens, Cuckoo-shrikes and much more. Non avian interest should include Platypus, Koala, Kangaroos and other marsupials as well as a visit to the Great Barrier Reef. This tour will have one of the best and most experienced guides in Australia as its leader with up to 6 bookings with a Ribble Bird Tours leader as well. This tour can be taken in conjunction with our New Zealand tour which starts in Auckland  on November 5^th.

Hungarian Autumn Crane Spectacular  October 15^th – 22^nd 2008

A fantastic birding experience in one of the best destinations in Europe. A major highlight on this tour will be the amazing thrill of thousands of trumpeting Common Cranes overhead as they flight into their evening roosts. However, there are also many other highlights and excellent birds to see and these include White-backed, Black, Syrian, Middle Spotted, Lesser Spotted and Grey-headed Woodpeckers, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Saker, White-tailed Eagle, Great Bustard, Ferruginous Duck, Pygmy Cormorant, Penduline Tit, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Rough-legged Buzzard, Long-legged Buzzard, Eagle Owl and Ural Owl with an impressive supporting cast of flocks of Dotterel, Lapland Bunting, Long-eared Owl, Serin, Hawfinch, Bearded Tit, Bittern, Great Grey Shrike and numerous Hen Harriers.

A return to New Zealand where the scenery and wildlife is simply breathtaking. Our 3 week tour can be taken with an optional 3 night stopover in Hong Kong and / or added on to our Australian tour. On our 2007 tour we had fantastic birds and the list included Little Spotted Kiwi, Morepork, Spotless Crake, Takahe, Stitchbird, Saddleback, Pukeko, Blue Penguin, Fjordland Crested Penguin, Snare’s Crested Penguin, Yellow-eyed Penguin, Erect-crested Penguin, Royal Penguin, Little Shearwater, Australasian Bittern, NZ Storm Petrel, Wrybill, Black Petrel, Cook’s Petrel, White-faced Storm Petrel, Grey-tailed Tattler, Wandering Tattler, NZ Dotterel, Kea, Banded Rail, NZ Brown Teal, King Shag, Banded Dotterel, NZ Falcon, Kaka, Royal Spoonbill, Blue Duck, Rock Wren,  Black Stilt, Black-fronted Dotterel, Chestnut -breasted Shelduck, Stewart Island Brown Kiwi, Okarito Brown Kiwi and much, much more. The staggering array of superb seabirds included White-capped Albatross, Salvin’s Albatross, Southern Royal Albatross, Buller’s Albatross, Northern Royal Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Wandering Albatross, Northern Giant Petrel and numerous species of shearwaters and petrels.

Our ever popular tour to the ‘sunshine state’ where we’ll have three bases near Orlando, at Fort Myers on the gorgeous Gulf Coast and at Cutler Ridge near to the awesome Everglades National Park. We’d expect around 170 species on this excellent holiday and these usually include Limpkin, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Painted Bunting, Short-tailed Hawk, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Burrowing Owl, Crested Caracara, Whooping Crane, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Snail Kite, Red-headed Woodpecker, Florida Scrub Jay, Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Skimmer, Magnificent Frigatebird, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Piping Plover, Wilson’s Plover, Bald Eagle, White-eyed Vireo, Western Kingbird and Wood Stork. There’ll be mammals too and these should include Manatee, Racoon, Nine-banded Armadillo and Bottle-nosed Dolphin and of course Alligators and with luck American Saltwater Crocodile.

Mediterranean France   January 27^th – February 3^rd 2009

A great winter break in the south of France where our list of target species will include Wallcreeper, Alpine Accentor, Snow Finch, Citril Finch, Little Bustard, Southern Grey Shrike, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Greater Flamingo, Penduline Tit, Common Crane, Greater Spotted Eagle, Blue Rock Thrush, Bonelli’s Eagle, Crested Tit, Firecrest, Red Kite and Crag Martin. We’ll be based in Arles for the week.

A superb 12 day tour to the lowlands of Nepal where we can expect in excess of 330 species of birds as well as some excellent mammals. We spend a couple of nights in Kathmandu, 3 nights in the Chitwan National Park and 3 nights at the Koshi Camp on the border with India before returning to Kathmandu for our final night. We’ll visit many sites in the Chitwan and at Koshi as well as Phulchowki Mountain and the Godavari Botanical Gardens while in Kathmandu. The fantastic list of birds to be seen on this tour is almost endless and on previous trips we’ve seen Indian Courser, Greater Thick-knee, Ibisbill, Kalij Pheasant, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Fire-tailed Sunbird, Crimson Sunbird, Collared Falconet, Siberian Rubythroat, Plumb-headed Parakeet, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Shikra, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Bronze Jacana, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Brown Crake, Pied Harrier as well as 4 species of Forktail, numerous Warblers and Woodpeckers, Waders galore and much, much more. Mammals should include Gangetic River Dolphin and Greater one horned Rhinoceros with a chance of Tiger along with Jackal, Jungle Cat, Gaur, Rhesus Macaque, Langur and numerous deer.

This fantastic trip to India will be packed with great birds but there’ll also be an emphasis of finding Tigers at the Khana National Park (this is an excellent site to see this rare and elusive cat). We’ll also visit the Taj Mahal. Our tour starts with a couple of nights in Delhi followed by 4 nights in the Khana National Park before taking the overnight sleeper train to Agra where we visit the Taj Mahal and overnight at the Chambal Safari Lodge. We then drive to the world famous Bharatpur area and spend a few days exploring the incredible wetlands here. The long list of birds possible on this tour will include Indian Cormorant, Cinnamon and Yellow Bitterns, Painted Stork, Comb Duck, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Marbled Duck, Spot-billed Duck, Brahminy Kite, Red-headed Vulture, Changeable Hawk Eagle, Red-necked Falcon, Laggar Falcon, Painted Francolin, Rain Quail, Painted Spurfowl, Sarus Crane, Demoiselle Crane, Slaty-legged Crake, Slaty-breasted Rail, Indian Bustard, Macqueens Bustard, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Watercock, Painted Snipe, Greater Thick-knee, Indian Courser, Sociable Lapwing, White-tailed Lapwing, Indian Skimmer, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse and Indian Pitta as well as 10 species of owl, 6 species of woodpecker, various Kingfishers and many more passerines, raptors and wetland species. Khana is one of the best sites in the world to see Tiger and we should see them most days, if not everyday, during our stay there.

A week in this excellent birding location will be spent at various sites and is timed to coincide with spring migration and the best time to see the Mai Po specialities of Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann’s Greenshank and Asiatic Dowitcher along with any lingering Black-faced Spoonbills, Terek Sandpipers, Red-necked and Long-toed Stints, Grey-tailed Tattler and Great Knot. Also here there’s a good chance of 4 species of Kingfisher, Chinese Egret, Little Swift, Pacific Swift, Narcissus Flycatcher, White-throated Needletail, and both Oriental and Black-browed Reed Warblers amongst numerous other species. We’ll visit many other sites during the week and these will include Tai Po Kau NR, Long Valley, Po Toi Island, Kowloon Park and The Peak and at these sites we’ll look for various birds such as Fork-tailed Sunbird, Scarlet and Grey-chinned Minivets, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker, Crested Goshawk, Rufous-capped Babbler, Pintail, Painted and Swinhoe’s Snipes, Chinese Francolin, Upland Pipit, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Brown-flanked Bush Warbler, Russet Bush Warbler and Large Grass Warbler. We’ll be based in the New Territories for this holiday and an extension can be arranged should you wish to stay on in Hong Kong for a few days after the trip.

A week in this little known destination will be spent at 2 different locations  - The Tatra Mountains and the Slovak Karst. In the Tatra we spend 3 days searching for great birds that will include Nutcracker, Hazel Grouse, White-backed, Three-toed, Black, Grey-headed, Middle Spotted, Lesser Spotted and Syrian Woodpeckers, Wryneck, Wallcreeper, Alpine Accentor, Rock Thrush and numerous species of raptor. In the Slovak Karst region there’ll be rare Owls such as Ural, Tengmalm’s and Pygmy along with more raptors such as Eastern Imperial Eagle and Lesser Spotted Eagle and various woodland species.

A great birding trip to the largely undiscovered countries of Georgia and Armenia in the south east of the Western Palearctic  to the east of Turkey. This tour has some of the most sought after and difficult to see birds in the WP region and these include Lammergeier, White-winged Snowfinch, Caucasian Snowcock, Caspian Snowcock, Caucasian Black Grouse, Wallcreeper, Red-fronted Serin, Great Rosefinch, Guldenstadt’s Redstart, Alpine and Radde’s Accentors, Armenian Gull, Semi-collared Flycatcher, Crimson-winged Finch, Marbled Duck, White-headed Duck, White-tailed Lapwing, White-throated Robin, Green Warbler,  Red-tailed Wheatear, Pale Rock Sparrow, Mongolian Finch, Grey-necked Bunting, Bimaculated Lark, Finsch’s Wheatear, Trumpeter Finch, Menetrie’s Warbler, Upchers Warbler and Blue-cheeked Bee-eater with a supporting cast that should include Common Rosefinch, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Bluethroat, Marsh Warbler, Ferruginous Duck, Pygmy Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Citrine Wagtail, Roller and Collared Pratincole. Our first 6 days are spent in Georgia with the rest of the tour in Armenia.

A superb 12 day tour to the best birding areas of these neighbouring countries. We’ll visit a wide range of habitats in the Carpathian Basin, Mountains and Foothills, the Hungarian Steppe and Fish Pond System, the Zemplen Foothills and the Slovakian Mountains in search of many species that will include 9 species of Woodpecker plus Wryneck, Raptors such as Saker, Eastern Imperial Eagle and Red footed Falcon, Great Bustard, Wallcreeper, Nutcracker, Hazel Grouse, Rock Thrush, Sombre Tit and Pygmy, Ural and Tengmalm’s Owls. There is also a very good chance of Brown Bear.

Another visit to Eastern Poland where the highlights will be woodland species in the incredible Bialowieska Forest and wetland species in the Biebzra Marshes. Highlights on this tour include 9 species of woodpecker, Aquatic, River and Savi’s Warblers, Greater Spotted Eagle, Roller, Collared and Red-breasted Flycatchers, Citrine Wagtail, Great Snipe, Pygmy Owl, Corncrake and so much more. We spend 4 nights in Bialowieska and 3 nights in Goniadz on this excellent tour.

A fantastic trip to the north of Finland and over the Arctic Circle into Norway and the Varanger Fjord. This tour will target all the must see species of the area with the main targets including Hawk Owl, Pygmy Owl, Ural Owl, Great Grey Owl, Tengmalm’s Owl, Eagle Owl, Three-toed, Black and Grey-headed Woodpeckers, Hazel Grouse, Willow Grouse, Siberian Jay, Siberian Tit, Pine Grosbeak, Red-flanked Bluetail, Brunnich’s Guillemot, Steller’s Eider, King Eider, Gyr Falcon, Bluethroat, Heuglin’s Gull, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Greenish Warbler, Arctic Warbler and Blyth’s Reed Warbler along with many more familiar species such as Capercaillie, Waxwing, Dotterel, Red-necked Phalarope, Arctic Redpoll, Smew, Great Grey Shrike, Golden and White-tailed Eagles, Bean Goose and Jack Snipe.