NEW YEAR BIRDLIST BOOSTER
2024 DATES:
Saturday 6 January to Saturday 13 January 2024
Saturday 13 January to Saturday 20 January 2024
READER OFFER PRICE: £1,195pp plus no single supplement.
RETAIL PRICE: £1,495pp,
GUIDES/GROUP SIZE: Your guides will be highly experienced Heatherlea Leaders Holly Page & Aidan Branch (1st departure), and Mike Coleman & Alex Rhodes (2nd departure). Maximum Group size 7 per Guide.
FURTHER INFORMATION and BOOKINGS
Contact Heatherlea here;
T: 01479 821248
info@heatherlea.co.uk
www.heatherlea.co.uk go to ‘New Year Birdlist Booster’.
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
· Seven nights comfortable accommodation at the 3* Mountview Hotel, Nethy Bridge. All rooms are en-suite, there is no single supplement, and guests are never expected to share.
· Full Scottish breakfast, a substantial packed lunch, and a delicious dinner each day.
· Six full days wildlife watching with a Heatherlea Guide/s.
· All transport by comfortable 9 seater minibus
· A checklist specifically prepared for your holiday to record your sightings and notes.
· Courtesy transfer service to/from Aviemore train station.
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED:
· Travel to The Mountview Hotel.
· Insurance, drinks and other items of a personal nature.
Get 2024 off to a flying start!
This Highlands holiday, run by birders for birders, is the perfect chance to get off to a flying start on your 2024 #My200BirdYear challenge!
One priority will be British speciality species best sought in the Highlands, and these Birdlist Booster tours specifically target Ptarmigan, Black Grouse, Golden Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Scottish Crossbill and Crested Tit (pictured above). You’ll also have outside chances of seeing increasingly rare Capercaillie. This holiday is perfect for all levels of birding ability, packing in a lot of birds and lots of sites. We’ll also seek a host of northern winter visitors and spend time concentrating on any available rarities; King Eider and Surf Scoter are regular winter visitors, and the unexpected can be expected! We estimate we will encounter about 120 species, including many ‘difficult’ birds you might otherwise miss without a guide, or struggle to locate further south in the UK.
All holidays are hosted by Heatherlea, one of Britain’s leading birding tour companies, based at the three-star Mountview Hotel, in Nethy Bridge. You’ll spend time in the adjacent Caledonian pinewoods of Abernethy Forest for specialities, visit the Cairngorm Mountains for Ptarmigan, and explore remote glens for eagles and other raptors. Northern coastal habitats provide great birding in winter, and with the Moray Firth, Aberdeenshire, the west coast, and secluded bays north of Inverness all within reach, the prospects are excellent. Your guides will be closely monitoring weather, tides and local bird news to make sure you maximise your birding on this exciting tour.
Possible Scottish species for your #My200BirdYear list include: Black Grouse, Ptarmigan, Crested Tit, Scottish (Parrot) Crossbill, Golden Eagle, White-tailed Eagle, Capercaillie, Red Grouse, Red-throated Diver, Black-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Slavonian Grebe, Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Common Scoter, Velvet Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Goosander, Purple Sandpiper, Iceland Gull, Dipper, Hooded Crow, Raven, Tree Sparrow, Twite, Lesser Redpoll, Snow Bunting, Corn Bunting.
Good chances: Bean Goose, Barnacle Goose, Brent Goose, Grey Partridge, Hen Harrier, Goshawk, Merlin, Peregrine, Glaucous Gull, Waxwing, Great Grey Shrike, Brambling, and (Common) Crossbill.
Typical rarities: Red-breasted Goose, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, American Black Duck, Ring-necked Duck, Black Scoter, King Eider, Surf Scoter, White-billed Diver, Red-necked Grebe, Bittern, Bonaparte’s Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Ross’s Gull, Ivory Gull, and Little Auk.