NORTH RONALDSAY and ORKNEY in Autumn for birders

SAT 19 AUGUST – FRI 25 AUGUST, SAT 9 SEPTEMBER – SAT 16 SEPTEMBER, SAT 16 SEPTEMBER – FRI 22 SEPTEMBER 2023

SAT 24 AUGUST – FRI 30 AUGUST 2024, SAT 14 SEPTEMBER – FRI 20 SEPTEMBER 2024

SAT 21 SEPTEMBER – FRI 27 SEPTEMBER 2024

PRICES: from £1695pp

Single supplement: £130. Deposit: £300pp

Max 7 clients per departure. Leaders Mark Warren, Mike Coleman & Aidan Branch (2023)

Few birders venture to this remote outpost, so expect peace and quiet with a strong sense of exploration, and depending on the predominant wind direction, birds from east or west. Choose our early autumn date for the beginning of return passerine migration or the latter dates when migration is in full swing. In favorable conditions, passage migrants may include Willow, Garden and Wood Warbler, Pied and Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart, Whinchat, Tree Pipit and other common passerines. Island habitats are varied, offering fantastic wader passage and joining commoner species can be Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Wood, Green, Common and Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint while regular Nearctic rarities have included American Golden Plover, Pectoral and Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Osprey, Marsh and Hen Harrier, Merlin and Short-eared Owl frequently visit too, and while can be no guarantee of any particular species, North Ronaldsay is always surprising and very rewarding.

We work alongside the highly skilled Bird Observatory staff, who will be out birding and ringing, depending on the weather. We will have the option of joining in these activities most days. A completely different birding holiday destination,where in favourable weather and depending on the time of year, scarcities might include Red-backed Shrike, Richard’s Pipit, Wryneck, Bluethroat, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Barred, Icterine, Yellow-browed and Marsh Warbler, Common Rosefinch, Ortolan, Lapland and Little Bunting. More extreme rarities might include Great Snipe, Citrine Wagtail, Pechora or Olive-backed Pipit, Radde’s, Greenish, Arctic and Lanceolated Warbler, Brown Shrike, Rustic Bunting and Arctic Redpoll. Seawatching can be exceptional, and the early date is traditionally a good time when large movements of Sooty Shearwater, Storm Petrel and skuas can take place with this also the best time for Great, Cory’s and Balearic Shearwater.

We also enjoy birding around Orkney, visiting hotspots known to our guides where anything can happen! If there is time we may visit the impressive standing stones at the Ring of Brodgar and stop at the delightful Italian Chapel, however these are ‘for birders’ tours, principally focused on finding and identifying rare birds. For a more general tour of North Ronaldsay & Orkney, we recommend our Orkney Island Explorer (p36) or Orkney in High Summer (p41) holidays.

Total species c. 90. Number of centres: 2.

Combine with:

SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

Autumn in the Highlands with Easy Walking (p25), Twenty Scottish Specials (p26), Raptors & Grouse (p27), The Outer Limits Adventure (p27), Highlands & Skye in Autumn (p28).

SCOTTISH ISLANDS

Outer Hebrides in Early Autumn for birders (p43), Shetland in Autumn for birders (p43), Unexplored Orkney (p43).