Birding by public transport? (1 Viewer)

Birding internationally without a car?

Hi all,

Ideally I'd like to start travelling at some point. However, I don't have a driver's license, and likely won't have one in the near future. So, the question that I pose is does anyone have any suggestions on good birding that I can do that does not require a car?

Ideally, English-speaking countries are preferred. I'm hoping to get my life list to at least 1000 in the next few years (I've managed to accumulate 700 so far), which should be possible, no? I take it there are some tours that go around certain countries and offer transport, which might help in some cases.

Any suggestions?

I appreciate plants, mammals, insects, and other things too...so birding is not a requirement, but I would like to focus on birding if I can!

Almost any third world country, especially in Asia. Wherever ordinary people can't afford to own cars, there tends to be a comprehensive public transport system. India and Malaysia are good options, with English very widely spoken.

Silverwolf said:

Hi all,

Ideally I'd like to start travelling at some point. However, I don't have a driver's license, and likely won't have one in the near future. So, the question that I pose is does anyone have any suggestions on good birding that I can do that does not require a car?

Ideally, English-speaking countries are preferred. I'm hoping to get my life list to at least 1000 in the next few years (I've managed to accumulate 700 so far), which should be possible, no? I take it there are some tours that go around certain countries and offer transport, which might help in some cases.

Any suggestions?

I appreciate plants, mammals, insects, and other things too...so birding is not a requirement, but I would like to focus on birding if I can!

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We don't hire cars going abroad so I tend to find a hotel which is close to a variety of habitats which you can reach on foot. I've got a list of hotels as long as your arm in places Singapore, Australia, Goa, Gambia, Cuba, Greece, Tunisia, Egypt, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia and Corsica.
We also use local taxis, buses and trains to go a little further if necessary but there's usually enough to see within walking distance if you choose the right hotel.
The trains in Tunisia are more reliable[ and cheaper] than ours, though that's not saying a lot. The buses in Goa are as cheap as chips and there's lots of them. The Canaries Islands generally all have an excellent, reliable bus service. We recently stayed in northern Greece and again the buses ran like clockwork and a 20 mile journey would cost around 2 euros. We used buses between Thessaloniki, Katerini, the coast and Mount Olympus National Park. If you base yourself in Alghero, Sardinia there are plenty of buses going to the Porto Conte Natural Park
We also go on cruises and with a little planning and knowledge you have enough time in each port to see a plenty of wildlife[ and whilst you are at sea].
Don't worry about them being English speaking countries. English is the universal language and you'll get by in most countries.

Singapore is pretty good for birding by public transport. I was there for a few days on my way back to Sydney from Scotland and spent most of my time in the botanical gardens which is easy to get to by public transport.

Cheers.

Rob

In Kent, you can access many good sites by bus. Examples include Oare (Faversham) for waders, Church Woods (Canterbury) for woodland species and Sandwich Bay & Dungeness Bird Observatories for migration. The same doubtless applies to many other areas in the UK.
Birding on the European continent by public transport can be trickier thanks to language problems and that in many areas bus services can be infrequent.

Birding in Spain without a car is possible although difficult and may often involve a good deal of walking in hot conditions so for that reason, I'd tend to opt for spring/winter rather than summer or autumn (when still hot). My knowledge is largely limited to Cadiz province but some good examples of sites reached by bus include the following. A short stay in Sanlucar de Barrameda (Cadiz) should allow you to explore nearby salinas (White-headed & Marbled Ducks, Flamingo, B-w Stilt, etc) since a bus runs to Algaida woodlands. The touristy boat trip up the river can be worthwhile. Cadiz is a great city with large salinas on its doorstep and a good network of buses by which you can access them. Being based in Tarifa puts you in prime position for raptor migration, seabirds (best on whale watching trips) and, often neglected, passerine migration (esp in spring) without much walking at all. From Tarifa, you can also access Bolonia & Fascinas (both good for migrating raptors & local specialities) by bus. Another advantage of the area is that it's the base for several birdwatching tour companies who you can join for day trips. Buses into Grazalema from Ronda (raptors & mountain species) are irregular but with care, you can do some walking and catch a bus back to your base. Ronda itself has good birds (Chough, Lesser Kestrel, Rock Sparrow, 3 species of swift). This is only scratching the surface so do contact me by PM for more info.

Some nice info there already. I would add that there are some locations where you are prohibited from taking a car in the first place; here in Germany for example, that means several of the islands that are famous for good birding (Heligoland, Hiddensee, etc.). In my experience, there are also a few good locations around Madrid, Helsinki, and Berlin where you don't need a car.

@ Silverwolf, do you have any specific target species (birds or otherwise) in mind for Europe?

Colombia is the richest country in the world for birds and much of it is quite easy to travel using public transport, including many of the key birding sites. You could either do a tour taking in many of the sites for the endemics in the central and western Andes (traveling by public bus between the main sites), or base yourself in a bird-rich area (like the towns of Mitù, Puerto Inirida, or Puerto Leguizamo for lowland Amazonian birding, or Bahia Solano/El Valle for lowland Chocò specialties) and use mototaxis and canoes to get around. The options are nearly endless. In some parts of the country (such as around Bogotà) a car is a real convenience, but otherwise you really won't lose too many birding opportunities if you use public transport only. Of course you'd have to learn some Spanish, but then again it's the main language in most of Central and South America so it's well worth the investment!

Much of Latin America is very easy to do by public transport - I've done Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Peru multiple times each and never rented a car. Knowing some Spanish helps a ton but I bet you could get away without it - my husband and I traveled around SE Brazil a bit using public transport despite not knowing any Portuguese (and horribly mangling any words we did try to pronounce!)

We'll be doing Ghana by public transport this fall, will let you know how it goes! From what I've read is seems not too difficult.

Thanks all! Some good thoughts here...

English speaking areas are
Cape Clear island in Ireland. On his island car make no sense, but is hot spot in September.
Hongkong is possible with public transport. In April can be found until 100 different birds on one day.

Not english but easy to travel
In Thailand public transport is not bad and taxi is much cheaper than in europe or US. In Thailand can be found 350 - 400 different birds in a 3 - 4 weeks trip.

Seychelles is easy to travel on Praslin and La Digue, because this are small islands. There can be found thousend or even thetousend seabirds in one hour in the migration hours ( after sunrise and before sunset ).
But is difficult to found 70 - 80 different birds in 2 - 3 weeks trip. But some endemic birds.

In Germany Helgoland is a small island and worth to visit whole year.
But most raities in October.
The ferry town to Helgoland Cuxhaven is good for waders at the beach, where you can hike for kilometers. Nationalpark Wattenmeer is easy to reach by bus from the town.
Areas near Berlin are the best for combination railway and bicycle.
In the river area Havelland and lake Guelper, which called petrol station of migration birds of Central Europe, can be found 90 - 100 different birds on one day in main migration time ( 3. and 4. week of April and 1. week of May ).

Easy to travel is also Iguazu area of Argentina.
You can ask Guy Cox for tours or stay at Karadya, where the owner speaks English to.

In Europe and Thailand birds escape much earlier, than in US.
The watching distance is much closer in US.
Same is in Argentina, the watching distance is very close.


Alternativ follow some people on birding tour, which use a car, for complete holiday or follow domestic people for daily or weekend tours.

If you are prepared to pay for organized tours with a company (either birding or general wildlife) then you could probably reach the 1000 in one trip to a lot of latin american countries. With my own rental but with only using guide a couple of days, I got more than 300 species in a trip to Costa Rica a few years ago. Other people have done CR using public transport, and combining that with staying as some of the better lodges, you should also be getting similar numbers. Same should be possible in several other countries.

Niels

njlarsen said:

If you are prepared to pay for organized tours with a company (either birding or general wildlife) then you could probably reach the 1000 in one trip to a lot of latin american countries. With my own rental but with only using guide a couple of days, I got more than 300 species in a trip to Costa Rica a few years ago. Other people have done CR using public transport, and combining that with staying as some of the better lodges, you should also be getting similar numbers. Same should be possible in several other countries.

Niels

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Thanks Niels (and others). This has definitely opened up some possibilities for me.

I was looking into WINGS tours for that exact reason. It's costly but it'll be exactly what I need. They provide the transport and the touring. Do you know if that's a reputable company e.g. they aren't going to take the money and run?? There are so many companies like this and I don't know them well.

I was remembering this thread as being relevant here: https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=313709

Just a warning: such trips can become addictive.

Niels

njlarsen said:

I was remembering this thread as being relevant here: https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=313709

Just a warning: such trips can become addictive.

Niels

Click to expand...

I'm already addicted just looking at all the trips they list :t: