|
Sunday 2 May to Sunday 9 May 2010 with Antero Topp and James Lidster as leaders
Cost: £1560 plus about £330 for flights Please click here for details and an explanation of the price breakdown Maximum group size: 14 with 2 leaders.
|
|
|
Tucked away in a forgotten corner of the Baltic Sea, Estonia is a fairytale land of extensive forest, wild bogs, and ancient grasslands all braided together by an amazing number of rivers flowing down to a coastline fringed with around 1000 islands. Needless to say this wonderful mosaic of ancient habitats is alive with birds and Estonia is rapidly acquiring a reputation as one of Europe's premier birdwatching destinations. Although the country has developed quickly since its independence, an enlightened series of protective measures has ensured that many species in decline in Western Europe have increased in Estonia and birds such as Common Crane and White Stork are an inseparable part of the Estonian landscape. Equally significant as the breeding birds is the incredible spring migration. In early May, hundreds of thousands of geese, scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, divers and waders depart their wintering grounds around the North Sea for their rich Arctic breeding grounds and so can be found streaming along the coast of Estonia, thereby providing one of Europe's greatest migration spectacles. Day 1: The tour begins with a flight from London to the ancient city of Tallinn. After arrival we’ll meet up with our local guide and drive to our hotel overlooking a bay. If time allows we will be able to scan the sheltered waters from our hotel balcony, where White-tailed Eagles may reach double figures and wildfowl, including Goosander and Smew, may be present. Night at Haapsalu. Days 2-3: We’ll spend the following two days exploring this region. We’ll find ourselves surrounded by a wonderful mosaic of habitats of which the magnificent bay at Matsalu takes pride of place. This vast shallow bay should be holding large numbers of Bewick’s and Whooper Swans, Red-necked and Slavonian Grebes, Long-tailed Duck, and Velvet Scoter to name a few.
A visit to a coastal headland will enable us to witness at first hand the northbound migration of a range of species and, as well as some of the waterbirds already encountered, we could see Red and Black-throated Divers, Brent, Barnacle and Tundra Bean Geese, Arctic Skua, Caspian, Little and Sandwich Terns and perhaps the odd Osprey. Moving inland we find open meadows where White Storks mingle with gatherings of Common Cranes and Ruff. Both Marsh and Montagu’s Harriers are also possible and feeding flocks of Barnacle and White-fronted Geese may hold a rarity in the shape of a Red-breasted or Lesser White-fronted Goose. There will be patches of open water surrounded by reeds where Bittern, Garganey, Black Tern and Bearded Tit can be found while the rich deciduous and coniferous woodlands close by are where we’ll look for Woodcock, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Goshawk, Honey Buzzard, Wryneck, Black, Grey-headed, White-backed, Lesser Spotted and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nutcracker, Crested Tit, Common Crossbill and Hawfinch. Nights at Haapsalu. Day 4: We’ll spend a final morning on the coast watching the arctic migration. After breakfast we’ll drive to Pärnu, with some birding stops en route. We’ll have our picnic lunch near Pärnu and then spend the afternoon birding at the Audru wetlands where we may encounter a variety of gulls and terns including beautiful summer-plumaged Little Gulls or even a skulking Spotted or Little Crake. Night in Pärnu.
Day 5: Today we visit the Soomaa Nature Reserve which was created in 1993 to protect a large area of floodplain meadows, bogs and forest. This is a rich area for birds and we hope to see more Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Montagu's Harrier, Black Stork, Marsh Sandpiper, and Black and White-backed Woodpeckers. In the stands of reeds we will hear, and hopefully see, Great Reed and Savi’s Warblers, each readily picked out by their distinctive songs. Mammals could include Beaver, Elk and even Pine Marten. Night in Parnu. Day 6: Moving on we reach Nigula Bog, a vast treeless marshland dotted with pools and hollows where a few pairs of Common Cranes and Great Grey Shrikes breed. The surrounding woodland is good for woodpeckers as well as for Hazel Grouse, Black Grouse and Capercaillie (although seeing them all would require great luck). The surrounding woods should be echoing to the songs of some early arriving migrants such as Tree Pipit, Wood Lark, Wood Warbler, or even Red-breasted Flycatcher. After lunch we’ll visit Kabli bird observatory and concentrate on looking for migrant waders and warblers. Later we continue deeper into Estonia to Tartu. Night in Tartu.
Day 7: One of the stars of this region is Great Snipe and a visit to a traditional breeding ground should give us some good views of this rare wader performing its strange lek. Other birds in the area could include Wood Sandpiper, Temminck’s Stint, White-winged Black Tern, Golden Oriole, Common Redstart and Penduline Tit. Night in Tartu.
Day 8: After breakfast we will depart Tartu and make our way back to Tallinn airport. We may make some stops along the way before connecting with our flight to London where the tour ends.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated February 2010 |
|
Bird List