One of the nicest things about arriving in a new place is finding some interesting habitat and going out to see what birds can be found there. I enjoy this far more than going anywhere in the expectation of seeing any particular species with the pressure that can put upon oneself which can spoil a pleasant morning of birding. On my first day in Austria last month I found myself staying on the edge of a small town called Feldkirch. Getting up early in the morning I was able to take a walk along a river into some woodland as the sun was rising, burning off the mist and revealing a surprising level of bird activity. I saw a few interesting species but most of all it was just a nice way to spend the first few hours of the day. Read more »
Gull Feeding Frenzy at Samut Sakhon | Birding in Thailand
A beautiful sunrise, thousands of birds, the sound of the sea; all the ingredients for one of the world’s birding hotspots, but in reality this is the atmosphere I was able to enjoy on a short morning excursion from Bangkok when visiting the “Red Bridge” coastal boardwalk in neighbouring Samut Sakhon province. Rather than being [...]
Birds in a Park in Bukhara | Birding in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is one of those countries that is great for birding and at the same time extremely interesting in touristic terms too; an ideal place to travel with a non-birding partner and then to find time to go birding in locations near the tourist spots and to visit some really spectacular scenery. In late April [...]
Top 5 Birds of Vietnam Birding Tour 2025 | Birding in Vietnam
Vietnam is the country in mainland Southeast Asia with the highest number of endemic species and the best place to see a number of regional endemics too as well as a fantastic supporting cast of more widespread birds. Leading the Calidris Birding Tours trip to Southern and Central Vietnam in March/April 2025 gave all participants [...]
A Day Birding in Qatar | Birding in Qatar
My annual migration between Thailand and UK has not only seen the cost of direct flights rise dramatically but I have grown very tired of sitting on a plane for twelve hours, if only I was able to make the journey under self-powered flight like a Bar-tailed Godwit! Indirect flights are, of course, a solution [...]
Parakeets & Peafowl | Birding in Thailand
One thing I have learned over the years that I have been bird watching is that there are many different ways for people to enjoy birds. I started birding by going on long country walks in England with birds being perhaps the most accessible category of wildlife to enjoy along the way. Friends of mine [...]
An October Morning at Bridlington Harbour – British Birding
October 15th, 2018 
Nick With bright weather persisting I found myself in East Yorkshire, more specifically in Bridlington, with a few hours to spare after breakfast. The tide was falling so it was a good time to check out the birds feeding on the rocks at the base of the harbour’s southern wall, a regular site for finding Purple Sandpiper in the autumn. Large numbers of gulls were feeding in the shallows and water’s edge with plenty of shorebirds foraging in the area too and I was able to get very close to them by walking very slowly and not making any sharp movements, as well as getting slightly wet feet. This gave me an hour and a half to observe 6 Purple Sandpipers along with several other species at extremely close range and take a lot of photographs, some of which turned out nicely. Read more »
Autumn Birding in the Alps – Austria Birding
October 2nd, 2018 Nick There is no doubting the beauty of the Alps and to be able to experience them in near perpetual September sunshine was wonderful over the last few weeks in Austria. For birders Autumn is not really the time to visit but I spent some time birding in the mountains while on a general touristic visit with my wife and saw some interesting species but mostly just enjoyed walking and birding in a fantastic landscape. In the forests in the foothills I was happy to see birds such as Firecrest, Black Woodpecker, White-backed Woodpecker, Wood Warbler, Crested Tit, Red Crossbill and Spotted Nutcracker while higher up it was great to see lots of Alpine Choughs, a flock of Alpine Accentors, several Golden Eagles, Water Pipits, Black Grouse and Rock Ptarmigan. Read more »
Predatory Gulls | Bird Behaviour
August 11th, 2018 Nick It might look fluffy and cute but this young Lesser Black-backed Gull was already enjoying the fruits of a predatory lifestyle when I photographed it at the end of July growing fat on a diet of freshly fledged Pufflings! While sitting, watching Puffins go in and out of their burrows to go out and catch fish for their chicks and then return to feed them I witnessed frequent attacks on them by adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls which were nesting alongside the Puffins in some numbers on Staple Island off the northeast coast of England. The gulls were attacking the Puffins mostly in acts of kleptoparasitism but also in actual attacks on adult Puffins. Furthermore, in a 5 minute period of watching this I also saw 4 emerging Puffin chicks taken at the mouth of the burrow by adult gulls and immediately fed to the waiting young gulls including the one pictured here. Read more »
Colour Ringed Great Black-backed Gull | British Birding
August 9th, 2018 Nick In July I took a boat trip from Amble, in Northumbria, UK, out to Coquet Island to see the Roseate Terns that nest there. It was a nice, one hour, boat trip that gave me good views of lots of Roseate Terns feeding their chicks as well as plenty of Puffins, Kittiwakes, Razorbills, Guillemots, Sandwich Terns and Arctic Terns. I took lots of photos of as many birds as I could and as we drifted back into the harbour I took a lot of shots of various gulls but it was not until I checked the photos later on that I noticed something interesting about a photograph of a Great Black-backed Gull. Read more »
Puffins in Northeast England | British Birding
August 4th, 2018 Nick Early in the last week of July I made a trip to the north east of England to take advantage of the end of the seabird nesting season before the majority of birds left the nesting areas and headed out to sea. My main destination was the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumbria, which is a famous seabird nesting hotspot, but on my way north I stopped in at Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire as well as Coquet Island, Northumbria. All three locations have good populations of nesting seabirds with each having something unique to offer birders with huge numbers of Gannets at Bempton, Roseate Terns at Coquet Island and dive-bombing Arctic Terns on Inner Farne but there is one bird present at all three locations that draws large numbers of people to see them: Atlantic Puffin. Read more »
An Afternoon at Titchwell – British Birding
July 19th, 2018 Nick North Norfolk is widely known as one of the best regions in UK for bird watching but it is an area that I have spent little time in so it was nice to have the opportunity to stay with a friend for a weekend and do some birding. Although early July is not regarded as a good time for birding in UK, I was still able to find some nice birds when visiting RSPB Titchwell. I have heard many birders complain about this location over the years due to large visitor numbers and was true that there were many people there when I went, but it is popular for good reason and it is a great place for beginner birders to get good views of large numbers of birds including quite a few scarce ones. I spent quite a lot of time sitting in a hide getting very close views of several male Ruff of various colours, with Little Gull, Caspian Gull, Red Knot, Pied Avocet and many others a little further away.
