HIGHLANDS and ARDNAMURCHAN

SAT 18 MARCH – SAT 25 MARCH, SAT 25 MARCH – SAT 1 APRIL 2023

SAT 16 MARCH – SAT 23 MARCH. SAT 23 MARCH – SAT 30 MARCH 2024

PRICES: from £1695pp

Early Birder Prices from £1595pp (subject to availability). Contact us before booking! No single supplement. Full details are on our website. Please read FIELD NOTES on page 9.

A very different itinerary, with displaying and breeding resident birds, winter visitors still present in good numbers, and the first arriving spring migrants. We also enjoy a two-night expedition to the remote and wildlife-rich Ardnamurchan peninsula, where the birding can be unforgettable, and where we might encounter some special mammals.

In Strathspey we are placed in the middle of the best birding habitats, and a local drive should produce Black Grouse popping and cooing at the lek. Crested Tit and Scottish Crossbill are found in the pine forests and Slavonian Grebe, Whooper Swan and many breeding wader species are likely as we enjoy the best of local birding. In the moorland and hills we search for raptors including Peregrine, Merlin and perhaps the first returning Osprey. A moorland drive may give views of Black-throated Diver on lochs. Capercaillie are increasingly scarce, and we no longer look for them at this time of year, though incidental sightings are possible.

The Ardnamurchan peninsula is a hidden jewel, a wild, beautiful, remote area in the heart of the West Highlands with stunning scenery and some of the best places for wildlife in the UK. We are based close to Glenborrodale, where one of our chefs will join us to cater to Mountview Hotel standards! We enjoy warm en-suite rooms and exclusive occupancy with easy access to the best wildlife. Birding includes both eagles, Raven, Black Guillemot and the first spring passage waders perhaps including Greenshank. Mammals could be spectacular, with the possibility of Pine Marten coming to our bait at the property, visible from the comfort of our living room. A night drive gives outside chances of Wildcat, and Otter are found in nearby Loch Sunart.

Later we look for Ptarmigan, Snow Bunting, Goldeneye, Peregrine, Crested Tit and Scottish Crossbill. Local birchwoods hold Lesser Redpoll and Siskin flocks, Slavonian Grebe, Whooper Swan and waders. Waxwing are sometimes present.

Coastal birding is particularly enjoyable, sightings can include Osprey fishing, rafts of Common Eider, Goosander, Red-breasted Merganser, Common and Velvet Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Great Northern and Red-throated Diver, Glaucous and Iceland Gull, and spring waders including Purple Sandpiper, Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot, Dunlin and Ringed Plover. Rarities often include Surf Scoter or King Eider. We often see Bottle-nosed Dolphin, and with auks, Sandwich Tern, Gannet, Corn Bunting, Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer, Grey Partridge and more, this is a really rewarding day.

Seven nights at Mountview Hotel.

Combine with: SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

Highlands and Ardnamurchan (p15), Spring into Scotland (p16).

Total species for the holiday approx. 110, plus key mammals including Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Roe Deer, Grey Seal, Common Seal, Mountain Hare and Otter. Pine Marten, Badger, Fox, Bottlenosed Dolphin and Harbour Porpoise are possible. Five nights at Mountview Hotel, two nights on the west coast.

Combine with:

SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

NEW! Birding in the Footsteps of the Jacobite’s (p14), Highlands & the West Coast (p14), Highlands in March (p15), Spring into Scotland (p16).