Scotland – Spring in the Highlands

28 April – 5 May 2012

Price per person: £700
Deposit per person: £200
The tour will start in Aviemore which has good rail links. Airport pick-ups from Scottish airports or even London airports for international travellers by arrangement.

The Scottish Highlands – inspiring, dramatic, romantic. The superlatives are endless and our spring tour takes in the very best the Highlands has to offer at this special time of year.

We have timed our visit to optimise our chances of connecting with all the regional specialities and also to enjoy the lengthening days of spring.

The area is home to Black-throated and Red-throated Divers, Slavonian Grebe, Goosander, Goldeneye, Golden Eagle, Peregrine, Merlin, Osprey, Hen Harrier, Common Buzzard, Raven, Hooded Crow, Capercallie, Ptarmigan, Black Grouse, Red Grouse, Dipper, Ring Ouzel, Whinchat, Pied Flycatcher, Wood Warbler, Crested Tit, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Scottish Crossbill, Parrot Crossbill and Snow Bunting. Mammals are pretty special too and our evening with Pine Martens, Badgers and Red Squirrels will be a truly memorable experience. Mountain Hare, Otter and Bottlenose Dolphin are also distinct possibilities at some of the locations we will visit.

We also make a day visit to Handa Island off the west coast for a complete change of scenery and to witness the spectacular volumes of breeding seabirds there. These should include Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Puffin, Black Guillemot, Arctic Tern, Manx Shearwater amongst many of the more common species.

Whilst the birding will necessitate some early morning starts the pace of the tour will generally be pretty relaxed. Frequent stops for refreshments will be made as we sample local fayre as we take in our surroundings. One or two reasonably lengthy walks will be required including one high level one for some of the mountain species we won't want to miss.

Days 1 - 5

After our 'meet and greets' we will go straight into birding mode and the next few days will be spent in a thorough exploration of all the best birding spots on Speyside. We will take in mountains, moorland, valleys, lochs, fast-flowing rivers, pine-clad slopes and fragments of the ancient Caledonian Pine Forest on our travels.

We will also venture a little further afield onto Royal Deeside, to the mountains around Loch Ness and to the Moray Firth. On at least one morning we will rise early to view Capercallies in action at one of their lekking grounds and one evening will be spent in a magical woodland location to watch Pine Martens and Badgers.

Nights on Speyside

Day 6

Today we will leave the highlands and head for the islands! Handa Island off the west coast of Scotland to be precise. This remarkable place is home to seabirds a plenty and will be a day to remember for birders and photographers.

Night on Speyside

Day 7

Our last full day will be spent back in the Speyside area where we will re-visit some sites or indeed try some new ones depending on how we fared on days 1 – 5.

Night on Speyside

Day 8

Transport will be provided back to Aviemore (or your departure airport) where we will say our goodbyes.