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UK Tours
Birdwatching Holidays 2008
 

Spurn & East Yorkshire Coast  September 26th – 28th

A three day weekend on the east coast where we’ll be hoping for good weather conditions for autumn migration. If conditions are in our favour and the winds are from the east we’ll be in for a fantastic few days birding with an array of scarcities and rarities along with the more common and expected species. On previous trips at this time we’ve seen Pallas’s Warbler, Bluethroat, Wryneck, Richard's Pipit, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Red-backed and Great Grey Shrikes, Arctic Warbler, Greenish Warbler, Barred Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Lapland Bunting, Pied Wheatear and Great Reed Warbler amongst many other species. 
Our tour cost of £249pp based on a minimum of four participants includes two nights accommodation with breakfast and dinner, all return transport from the Fylde Coast and en route, all nature reserve entry fees and the services of the leaders. SS £30.

 

Isles of Scilly  October 2nd – 8th

A superb seven day / six night tour to the gorgeous Isles of Scilly some 30 miles to the south west of Cornwall at the height of autumn migration season. There’ll be scarce birds galore on this trip as Scilly is a rarity magnet at this time of year.  Absolutely anything can and does turn up but even in a quiet year you can expect to see birds such as Rose-coloured Starling, Firecrest, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Black Redstart, Yellow-browed Warbler, Dotterel, American Golden Plover, Jack Snipe, Barred Warbler, Short-toed Lark, Red-backed Shrike, Lapland Bunting, Common Rosefinch and Richard's Pipit. Rarer species on recent trips to Scilly include American Robin, Cream-coloured Courser, Radde’s Warbler, Greenish Warbler, Arctic Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Bonelli’s Warbler, Rustic Bunting, Ring-necked Duck, Common Nighthawk and Common Yellowthroat to name just a few.                                                                
The tour cost of £799pp, based on a minimum of four, includes all accommodation with breakfasts and dinners, all transport by road from the Fylde coast to Penzance with pick ups en route, return helicopter flight from Penzance to St Mary’s, three inter-island boat trips from St Mary’s and the services of the tour leader. SS £120.

 

North West Birdfair - Martin Mere WWT  November 29th – 30th

As usual we’ll be at the North West Birdfair now in its 11th year at Martin Mere. You’ll be able to visit us at our stand for a chat or to discuss any of our forthcoming holidays that you may be interested in. There is a wide range of trade stands and a programme of illustrated talks throughout the weekend at this now well established event.

 

North Norfolk Coast  December 1st – 5th

An excellent four night tour to the delightful coast of north Norfolk. We’ll be situated near Titchwell for three nights and near Norwich for one night and ideally situated to explore the best birding sites along this fantastic stretch of coastline. The birding will be varied and we’ll expect to see great birds such as Common Crane, Shorelark, Black Brant, Hen Harrier, Barn Owl, Water Pipit, Twite, Velvet Scoter, Bean Goose, White-fronted Goose, Brent Goose, Golden Pheasant, Avocet, Merlin, Marsh Harrier, Long-tailed Duck, Red-throated Diver, Short-eared Owl, Purple Sandpiper, Tawny Owl, Snow Bunting, Twite, Crossbill and Hawfinch amongst many, many others.
Our tour cost of £449pp based on a minimum of four participants, includes four nights accommodation with breakfasts and dinners, all transport by road from the Fylde with pick ups en route, all nature reserve entry and the services of the tour leader. SS £60.

 

Wader Identification Weekend  December 6th – 7th

A weekend based on the Ribble Estuary looking at waders and how to identify them in their drab non breeding plumages. This is the weekend for you if you’re not sure how to tell a Dunlin from a Knot, a Curlew from a Whimbrel or a Bar-tailed from a Black-tailed Godwit. We’ll show you how by studying size, shape, structure, plumage and habitat and we’ll also look at the incredible migrations that some of this fascinating group of birds undertakes. There’ll be many other species to see too and these will include good numbers of wildfowl and birds of prey.
Our cost of £139 includes accommodation and all meals, all transport, evening wader slideshow, all tuition and the services of a Ribble Bird Tours guide. Single room supplement £15.


Birdwatching Holidays 2009
 

Islay & Mull  February 5th – 9th

A five day trip to Mull and Islay on the west coast of Scotland. There’ll be many great species to see and the highlights will perhaps be White-tailed Eagle, Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier and Otter on Mull and the huge flocks of wintering Barnacle Geese, Greenland White-fronted Geese, Chough, Twite and Long-tailed Duck on Islay. There’ll also be Great Northern, Black-throated and Red-throated Divers, Slavonian and possibly Red-necked Grebes, Velvet and possibly Surf Scoters as well as Black Grouse and Red Kites.
Our tour cost of £679pp based on a minimum of four bookings includes all accommodation with breakfast and dinner, all transport from the Fylde by road with pick ups en route, all boat crossings between the mainland and Islay / Mull and the services of the tour leader. SS £60.

 

Slimbridge WWT & Gloucestershire  February 23rd – 25th

A three day / twe night trip to the south west where we’ll spend time birding at numerous excellent sites such as the WWT headquarters at Slimbridge, the Forest of Dean and the Cotswold Water Park. There’ll be a long list of birds possible and  amongst the likely species to see are displaying Goshawk, Crossbill, Hawfinch, Smew, Mandarin, Red-crested Pochard, Eurasian White-fronted Goose, Black Redstart, Kingfisher, Brambling and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. There’s also a good chance of Badger and Barn Owl.                                                                                                                                          
Our cost of £259pp is based on a minimum of four bookings and includes accommodation with breakfasts and dinners, all transport by road from the Fylde to Gloucestershire with pick ups en route, all nature reserve entry and the services of the    tour leader. SS £30.

 

Warbler Identification Weekend  April 25th – 26th

A repeat of our ever popular Warbler ID course. We’ll show you how to confidently identify this sometimes tricky group of birds during an enjoyable weekend based on the Fylde Coast. We’ll look at structure, families, song, plumage, habitat, seasonal occurrence and behaviour on this short break. We’ll look and listen to Willow Warbler, Wood Warbler, Chiffchaff, Grasshopper Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat and Garden Warbler.  We’ll also discuss (but not see) scarcer species such as Dartford and Cetti’s Warblers as well as regular UK rarities such as Savi’s, Great Reed, Icterine and Melodious Warblers. There’ll be other birds seen during the weekend such as Barn Owl and on previous warbler identification breaks we’ve seen Great Reed and Savi’s Warblers.                                                                    
Our weekend cost of £139 includes one night accommodation with breakfast, lunch and dinner, all transport, all tuition with a Ribble Bird Tours guide and an evening warbler slide show. SS £15. The course runs from Saturday morning through to Sunday evening and we can arrange an extra nights accommodation on request.

 

Speyside, Scotland  April 27th – May 1st

A five day trip to Speyside where we’ll hope to see many of the specialities of the region that will hopefully include Osprey, Capercaillie, Black Grouse, Scottish Crossbill, Crested Tit, Ptarmigan, Golden Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Ring Ouzel, Red Kite, Great Northern Diver, Black-throated Diver, Red-throated Diver, Slavonian Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Hen Harrier, Snow Bunting and perhaps an early Dotterel too. Mammals may include Badger, Red Squirrel, Otter and Pine Marten.      
The tour cost of £529 is based on a minimum of four participants and includes all accommodation with breakfasts and dinners, all transport from the Fylde Coast to Speyside with pick ups en route, all entry fees to nature reserves etc and the services of the tour leader. SS £70.

 

Shetland, Orkney, Mull & Iona  May 27th – June 8th

An excellent bird filled trip to the very north of the UK with time spent on mainland Shetland, Fetlar, Unst, Yell, Orkney, Mull and Iona in search of an array of our most sought after species. These will include breeding Red-necked Phalarope, Corncrake, Great Northern, Black-throated and Red-throated Divers, White-tailed and Golden Eagles, Hen Harrier, Storm Petrel, Osprey, Slavonian Grebe, Great and Arctic Skuas, Whimbrel and Twite  There’ll also be an abundance of seabirds such as Puffin and Black Guillemot. It’s a great time of year for scarce birds too on Shetland and on our 2008 tour we found a couple of Icterine Warblers, Common Rosefinch, King Eider and Surf Scoter. Also seen on Shetland during our stay were Bluethroat, Rustic Bunting, Black Stork, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Red-backed Shrike, Marsh Warbler and Black-headed Bunting amongst others with a Citril Finch on Fair Isle! This tour gives an excellent chance of getting superb views of Corncrake as we visit possibly the best place to see this rare and elusive species in Britain. In June 2008 we had stunning, prolonged views of two sat on a wall and calling down to a few feet.                                                              
Our tour cost of £1,499 is based on a minimum of four participants and includes all accommodation with breakfast and dinner, all ground transport from the Fylde with pick ups en route, all sea crossings between Aberdeen and Shetland, mainland Shetland to Fetlar, Yell and Unst, Shetland to Orkney, Orkney to Scrabster, Oban to Mull and Oban to Iona, boat trip to see Storm Petrels on Shetland, all nature reserve fees and the services of the tour leader. SS £200.

 

The Farne Islands  June 24th – 26th

A short 3 day break to the Northumberland Coast where a highlight will be a visit to the magical Farne Islands that will be full of thousands of seabirds including Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes, Shags and Fulmars as well as Sandwich Terns and Arctic Terns. Nearby we’ll see the very rare Roseate Tern on Coquet Island, nesting Little Terns on a nearby beach as well as any unusual species that are around. On recent tours we’ve seen Terek Sandpiper, White-winged Black Tern, Spoonbill, Pectoral Sandpiper and Bee-eater and in June 2008 there was a Lesser Grey Shrike and a Rose-coloured Starling in the area.
Our tour cost of £269 is based on a minimum of four participants and includes two nights accommodation (where we should see Barn Owl and Tawny Owl) with breakfast and dinner, all transport by road from the Fylde, boat trips from Seahouses to the Farnes and from Amble to Coquet Island and the services of the leaders. SS £30

 

North West England Birdwatching Breaks on request anytime throughout the year

Our one, two or three night birding breaks are based on the Fylde coast in Lytham St Anne's or Blackpool and are ideal at any time of the year either at the weekend or during the week. The various itineraries that are available cover many different areas, habitats and species and include The Fylde Coast in Winter, Morecambe Bay & Bowland in Autumn, Spring Migration in Lancashire and Breeding Birds & Butterflies in the summer. There is a minimum of two people required for any birding break with no maximum number. We have an itinerary available on request for each time of the year or can tailor any itinerary to your specific requirements.  We can also provide a birding guide for a day or half a day at any time of year – contact us for details.

 

All the above holidays are now booking or taking reservations (see Booking page).

For further details, to request an itinerary or to book on any tour please contact us at Ribble Bird Tours, 4 Sunnyhurst Avenue, Blackpool, Lancs FY4 2HP. 
01253 312043 / 07954 584359 or e mail: smrbt@blueyonder.co.uk