Jane Turner
Well-known member
Europe can be confusing! Try an autumn fall of Pied/Semi-Pied and Collared Flycatchers if you want to be completely bamboozled!
-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
'Cool' Birding Destination (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Darren Oakley-Martin
- Start date
very boring banned member
New member
Lotsa folks willing to send You outta Europe (& these australasians dunno what they will get)? Anyhoo, I was very serious bout FYROM, only that I meant to propose Montenegro, but Skopsko Pivo is almost as good as Nik, and there are some great lakes SW.
Andrew Rowlands
Well-known member
Darren,
If I had the cash, Kazakhstan would be high on my list.
Andy.
If I had the cash, Kazakhstan would be high on my list.
Andy.
I've never had any problems in Kenya [1] - have gone pretty well every year since 1991 and am just planning trips our next 2 trips (Western Kenya in September and, probably, the coast the following Feb). Kenya remains safe outside Nariobi although there are the odd groups of bandits, particularly up in the north of the country. That said, last time out we took one of the roads that had been closed for a number of years due to banditry but had re-opened a couple of months earlier. We had no problems at all ..... and had the area pretty much to ourselves.Bluetail said:
We avoid the northern border regions, they are still dangerous and there are areas (like the desert road to Turkana) where you have to travel in convoy with an armed guard. You also have to take on an armed guard to travel between Tsavo and Amboseli.
Increasingly we travel off the normal tourist routes but we always go with a Kenyan guide who checks out the security situation for us.
But - to get back onto Darrenom's question ..... Kenya is, as far as I'm concerned, the place to bird. But some of the really good birding areas are hot or very hot. You could try birding in the Highlands - Mt Kenya and the Aberdares are both relatively cool.
But for a really special birding trip how about Scotland?
Regards
harvelle
[1] Being strictly honest about this I did once spend an uncomfortable 20 minutes under a buffet table with t'other 'alf and a group of Kenyan businessmen. A group of armed men robbed the hotel we were in. They emptied the hotel cash box but didn't go near any tourists so we lost nothing. Other than the shock of having someone pointing a gun in your direction and shouting "get down on the floor" there was nothing unremarkable about it.
Darren Oakley-Martin
________________
harvelle said:
RIGHT, THAT DEFINITELY rules out Kenya! I'm going to be alone, and I'm small and vulnerable enough as it is!!
Sorry if I put you off. If it helps, I'm a complete wimp and would never put myself into any danger. Kenya is no more dangerous than many other destinations (and is considerably safer than a lot). We've never personally been robbed, mugged or in any way inconvenienced (other than the discomfort of lying under a buffet table .... and the Kenyans we met under there were charming!). When you bear in mind that our trips have included going birdwatching during the 2001 election campaign - and finding ourselves on Rusinga Island (which is small but bustling) during a very acrimonius political rally .... and the worst that happened was a few people looked at us a bit oddly.Darrenom said:
We've also inadvertently wandered into the middle of a Pokot initiation booze up (we were tracking an elusive species and failed to notice the drunken men with spears, drums and whistles approaching us). All that happened was they asked us what we were doing and we showed them some of the birds through our scope .... they thought we were the best entertainment of the day!
Basically it's like travelling anywhere - big cities are dangerous if you don't know your way around. I have several colleagues whose first experience of the USA was being robbed as they exited the airport. And many years ago a norwegian friend of mine was robbed and beaten when he got off the train in Liverpool. Off the beaten track you have to be careful to check the local situation in case there are any problems.
But it's a wonderful country to visit with breathtaking scenary and an amazing number of bird species (the list stands at just under 1100).
Darren Oakley-Martin
________________
It does sound an amazing and intriguing country Harvelle. Your enthusiasm for the place is clear from the way you write. I'll be sure to visit some day, but not on my own!! I don't think gangsters and wild men would be intimidated by a pink handbag!! Thanks very much for your replies.harvelle said:
Regards
Darren Oakley-Martin
________________
you wait 'til we go to Norfolk mate, you aint seen the clothes that I go birding in yet. (Nice one on the Chiffchaff by the way)SimonC said:Dunno though, it's making me very jumpy
very boring banned member
New member
Have I told that I am colorblind?
Jane Turner
Well-known member
So here is my serious suggestion. (though with 3k I'd still go to China!)
Get a cheapo flight to Malaga. Hire a car and drive yourself to a little place called Zahara de las Atunes West of Gibraltar and just south of Barbate.
Just south of Zaharra is a beach called Atlanterra. Its like Cornwall - sea is the Atlantic and there can be big rollers (so take a belly board). You will be sharing the beach with about 20 people and about 60 Audoins Gulls. There is this cliff behind the beach which has Pallid and White-rumped Swift breeding on it. In Autumn there will be a more or less continuous passage of big raptors and Storks. Flocks of 1000's! The scrub behind the beach is great for warblers!
If you drive back up the road to Zaharra, where you meet the main Gib - Seville rd, there is a cross roads. This is the entrance to la Janda.
The road side verges can be filled with migrants, I saw 200+ Praticoles hunting over a field... there are Montagus Harriers everywhere, Wood Sands etc in the ditches. Griffon and Egyptian Vulture are easy to see, on my last trip there was a pair of Black-shouldered Kites and Eage Owl too. If you aclimatise to the heat - its only a days drive to Extremadura!
Get a cheapo flight to Malaga. Hire a car and drive yourself to a little place called Zahara de las Atunes West of Gibraltar and just south of Barbate.
Just south of Zaharra is a beach called Atlanterra. Its like Cornwall - sea is the Atlantic and there can be big rollers (so take a belly board). You will be sharing the beach with about 20 people and about 60 Audoins Gulls. There is this cliff behind the beach which has Pallid and White-rumped Swift breeding on it. In Autumn there will be a more or less continuous passage of big raptors and Storks. Flocks of 1000's! The scrub behind the beach is great for warblers!
If you drive back up the road to Zaharra, where you meet the main Gib - Seville rd, there is a cross roads. This is the entrance to la Janda.
The road side verges can be filled with migrants, I saw 200+ Praticoles hunting over a field... there are Montagus Harriers everywhere, Wood Sands etc in the ditches. Griffon and Egyptian Vulture are easy to see, on my last trip there was a pair of Black-shouldered Kites and Eage Owl too. If you aclimatise to the heat - its only a days drive to Extremadura!
Darren Oakley-Martin
________________
YES KARWIN!!Karwin said:
A colourbind, visiting alien who takes photos of Redpolls with their arses in the air, eats elk meat and fishermans friends and drinks yak's milk!
And its the rest of the world thats crazy?
Yeah, right on K!!
Edward
Umimmak
Come to Iceland,
1) overheating will not be a problem (except in bars and nightclubs). It was 7°C and sunny on Monday and people were in T-shirts in the street! Expect a pleasant 13-17°C in summer.
2) can't do much in the way of warblers (although I have managed to see 14-15 species here over the years) but there are plenty of other birds to make up for it. We don't have a lot of species compared with many places but there are lots of individuals, and many visitors are amazed how approachable birds are here. Harlequin Duck, Barrow's Goldeneye, five species of auk, Red-necked Phalarope, Gyr Falcon, White-tailed Eagle, Ptarmigan, Red-throated and Great Northern Divers, stacks of breeding waders are all easily seen. There is a lot of potential to find rare birds yourself as there are only a handful of birders covering the whole country.
3) Surely one of the safest countries in Europe, crime virtually non-existent. Some of the wildest and most beautiful scenery in Europe. No crowds, makes northern Scotland seem positively overcrowded. 24 hour daylight mid-May to mid-July, birding in broad daylight at 2 a.m. in northern Iceland is unforgettable.
4. Food and drink is expensive but where else can you watch (hundreds and thousands of) Puffins by day and eat a couple of them by night. You have to have a very sensitive palate to distinguish Common and Brünnich's Guillemot on the plate though.
E
1) overheating will not be a problem (except in bars and nightclubs). It was 7°C and sunny on Monday and people were in T-shirts in the street! Expect a pleasant 13-17°C in summer.
2) can't do much in the way of warblers (although I have managed to see 14-15 species here over the years) but there are plenty of other birds to make up for it. We don't have a lot of species compared with many places but there are lots of individuals, and many visitors are amazed how approachable birds are here. Harlequin Duck, Barrow's Goldeneye, five species of auk, Red-necked Phalarope, Gyr Falcon, White-tailed Eagle, Ptarmigan, Red-throated and Great Northern Divers, stacks of breeding waders are all easily seen. There is a lot of potential to find rare birds yourself as there are only a handful of birders covering the whole country.
3) Surely one of the safest countries in Europe, crime virtually non-existent. Some of the wildest and most beautiful scenery in Europe. No crowds, makes northern Scotland seem positively overcrowded. 24 hour daylight mid-May to mid-July, birding in broad daylight at 2 a.m. in northern Iceland is unforgettable.
4. Food and drink is expensive but where else can you watch (hundreds and thousands of) Puffins by day and eat a couple of them by night. You have to have a very sensitive palate to distinguish Common and Brünnich's Guillemot on the plate though.
E
Darren Oakley-Martin
________________
Edward said:
Funny that Edward, I was looking at flights to Reykjavik only yesterday and thought it a very appealing option. I'll be heading your way sometime in the next 6 weeks!
Couldn't eat a Puffin though!
Darren Oakley-Martin
________________
And THIS is my late summer break. Thanks Jane- spot on!!Jane Turner said:
