Travel
I
As with other birders I like to travel from time to time, although it
can be difficult to tear myself away from Skogsøy and
Tjeldstø. Birding takes up the majority of my free
time
but concessions must be made to the rest of the family - and until
several years ago this
generally
meant package
holidays to warmer climes. Since 2014 destinations have been rather
more exotic.
Holidays for me have been family events rather than birding trips.
Finding a flight is usually first on the list for the holiday. You can
find business
class tickets online for as
cheap as a coach flight ticket. A
business class flight is much more relaxing and comfortable so it's
always a great option for the cost.
However,
binoculars are always packed, mountain bikes rented and the
local areas explored. I have tended to opt for car free
birding
preferring to bird either by mountain bike or on foot for any number of
reasons. This page presents some recommendations for trips that combine
birding with family holidays:
There are books to cover most destinations - the birding guides I have
used can be found on the books
page.
One tip I have for birders wanting to bird on a family holiday, rather
than full on birding trips is to use a "binocluar booster" which turns
binoculars into a telescope. These handy devices do not give the same
kind of good quality as a proper scope but they save
weight and
worries about theft (....hotel safes aren't that big!) AND they can
give that added extra that may just save the day.
Mallorca
Mallorca is a fantastic place for a birder with a family. I have had
three trips here - in late May, July, and August.
For the first two trips I stayed with the same
tour
operator whislt the third trip was unplanned. Staying in the north east
of the island is to be recommended - ideal for non-birding families and
with VERY accessible birding by foot or bicyle.
A gallery of some of the birdlife that can be seen in Mallorca can be
viewed here.
The following book is to be heartily recommended:
Trip lists/reports can be downloaded below.
Lanzarote
A surprisingly
good
variety of birds can be seen here - although
quality rather than quantity is the keyword here. All my visits here
(1998, 2004 and 2007)
have been late autumn or mid-winter breaks to escape the grips of
the tough
Norwegian winter. Staying at Playa Blanca gives
straightforward
access to Fuerteventura on the ferry - and there are birding localities
within walking distance of the harbour.
There are plenty of specialty species to be seen here such as Houbara
Bustard, Cream-coloured Courser and Trumpeter Finch.
Most of the islands specialities can be seen using bicycle from Playa
Blanca - although for a "full on" birding holiday a hire car would be
recommended.
For more details about Lanzarote please see dedicated
web page here.
 |
 |
| Houbara
Bustard, Lanzarote, March 2012 |
Yellow-legged
Gull, Lanzarote, October 2007 |
Click
on the picture above for more information and pictures
Crete
I
have visited
Crete in June / July 2000, autumn
2006, July 2009 and June 2010. A fantastic island - and a place to
which I will no
doubt be
returning to many times in the future. For birders car hire is a must
unless one is lucky with
hotel location, try www.rhinocarhire.com
for good prices. The north coast is very developed in some places and
therefore one must travel some distance to get away from the resorts.
All
my visits have been based on the north coast, between east of
Rethymon and 15km west of Chania.
For more details see the dedicated Crete page here
The
following book is essential for visiting birders and is now in its
5th edition - but buy before you go as a copy I found in a bookshop in
Chania was prohibitively expensive.
 |
 |
| Aghia
Lake, a prime wetland in the north of the island |
The
Samaria Gorge and the area around Omalos are great sites for many of
the island's specialities. |
 |
 |
| Ferruginous
Duck, Lake Aghia, July 2009 |
Red-rumped
Swallow |
Skagen,
Denmark
Perfect for a family holiday and good birding - a great raptor
migration point in spring but with year round birding interest. I have
only made one midsummer visit to this location but would definitely go
back.
Click
on the above
picture
for more information and pictures
Falsterbo,
Sweden
Arguably
the best place to bird in Europe, Falsterbo requires no
introduction to European birders. Although not particularly noted for
rarities it is a
migration fanatics dream. A very family friendly birding destination,
at
least early in the season when the rest of the family can enjoy the
wonderful sandy beach. There is also a golf course and all manner of
other activities in the area. The city of Malmø is within
easy
bus or driving distance.
I have visited Falsterbo a number of times between July and October and
always had excellent birding. Apart from the birding the opportunity to
meet other birders from all over Europe is another attraction of this
locality.
There is a good choice of accomodation in the area ranging from the
campsite and the bird observatory to hotels.
There is a very regular bus service from Malmø to Falsterbo.
Malmø itself is easy to get to, either by flying direct or
by
train from Copenhagen.
For further details about Falsterbo please click here.
 |
 |
| Falsterbo
lighthouse viewed from "nabben" |
The
heath is the most popular location for watching raptors |
Click
on the above
picture for more information and pictures
And
the rest of the world whilst at work:
And if these locations are not enough - check out some more extreme
experiences then check out the more exotic galleries section here
 |
|
| English |
Norwegian |
4.9732522370497E+214visits
to this side since September 17, 2005.
All content on
this site,
including Natural Born Birder logo, is copyright © 2005-2018
High resolution versions of most images on this website
are available. Please contact me
regarding picture use or
other enquiries.
