Black and Red does nicely
Great birds back on the local patch. From the Bird Fair Ruth headed south to visit family and friends and Alan headed north to Manchester, with three Read More
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Back from Bird Fair
Whew! What a great three days. As always the British Birdwatching Fair did not disappoint and we had a wonderful time catching up with so many Read More
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Quick update from the BirdFair
Having a great time here at Rutland Water, where we're catching up with lots of old friends and making new ones in the birding Read More
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A little twitching
After the long flights back to the UK from Peru there was no thought of a lie-in as Ruth headed off for a meeting with her accountant while Alan got Read More
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Seen from the seafront
Last chance to enjoy Peruvian seabirds. With time to kill before we headed for Lima airport and the start of our marathon journey back home, we Read More
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Cusco to Lima
Today we travel from Cusco back down to Lima in preparation for our flight back to the UK tomorrow. Not many birds at the airport, but here's Read More
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Taking stock in Cusco
We prepare for the British Birdwatching Fair. We’ve taken a couple of days out of our hectic birding schedule to make sure that our Read More
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Back to Cusco 6th August
More superb birds on the Manu Road! Reluctantly we left our comfy bed at Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge and headed back along the Manu Road towards Read More
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Back on the road again 5th August
Today we travelled back along the Manu Road from Amazonia Lodge up to Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. The day started well with Black-throated Antbird Read More
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Still raining 4th August
We awoke to the sound of torrential rain still hammering down. Inevitably it was a slow start to the day as we sat on the verandah watching Read More
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Long hike through the forest 3rd August
Today we birded further away from the lodge hiking up the hill deep into the forest. As is so often the way with forest birding, birds were slow Read More
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Bamboo Birding 2nd August
We again birded the trails at Amazonia Lodge, this time searching for bamboo specialists. Bamboo birding involves long patient vigils staring Read More
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Amazonia birding 1st August
Rufous-crested Coquette steals the show! We spent the whole day birding the trails around Amazonia Lodge but we didn’t have to walk far to Read More
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Down to Amazonia Lodge 31st July
Further from civilisation! The whole day was spent travelling along the Manu Road from the Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge down into the jungle and Read More
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Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge 30th July
Visit to the Lek. A pre-dawn start saw us take the short walk from the lodge up the Manu Road to the Cock-of-the-Rock Lek. Even before we Read More
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Birding the Manu Road 29th July
We take on the infamous Manu Road. An early start from Cusco saw us on the road with our guide Marlene Huaman from InkaNatura Read More
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Heading back to Cusco
Have spent the last 4 days birding at Amazonia Lodge and now driving back along Manu Road to Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge. One night here then back Read More
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On the Manu Road
We´re on the Manu Road which has plenty of birds but little in the way of towns, villages, hamlets,
or internet,electricity etc. Read More
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Tanagers provide a riot of colour
Early morning we again birded the railway line beside the river at Aguas Calientes. Tanagers were definitely the highlight of our birding. Read More
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Condors and Incas
We birded the railway line back towards Cusco. There was plenty of bird activity to keep us busy as we encountered several feeding flocks. Read More
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Birding from the train
Today we took the train from the Sacred Valley up to Aguas Calientes, the jumping-off point for Machu Picchu. As the train made its slow way up Read More
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A tale of two lakes
Today we went exploring with our taxi driver, heading north of Cusco gaining altitude all the time. At around 4000m, we stopped at Tintero Read More
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Back to Huacarpay Lake
Apologies for website problems! If you have emailed us in the last three days please send again as we have been offline, thanks. After a Read More
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No breath at high altitude!
Spectacular day for birds and scenery, 21 new species. At four thirty am we were having doubts about what we had let ourselves in for. On the way Read More
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Gasping for breath on the level
Sixteen new birds. Today we birded with our friend Fabrice Schmitt visting Huacarpay Lake about half an hour by taxi from Cusco. A beautiful day, Read More
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De Lachay Reserve
We spent the morning birding at Reserve Nacional De Lachay, north of Lima. An area inland of the Pan American highway and watered by mists that Read More
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A bit of Peruvian culture!
Just to show that we do very occasionally look at other things besides birds.... Read More
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Photo of Peruvian Thick-knee
We broke our journey down a dirt track towards the coast as we headed for Lima, and were delighted to find a flock of Peruvian Thick-knees loitering Read More
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Lost in Lima
Having birded the best sites just south of Lima, today was mostly a driving day as we headed to a new area north of the capital city. It Read More
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Not so sour birding
The whole day was spent birding in and around the coastal town of Paracas. First priority was to find a petrol station that stocked Read More
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Birding the edge of the desert
Peruvian Thick-Knee and Tern amongst today’s highlights. We left Pucusana and made an early roadside stop, picking up Amazilia Hummingbird Read More
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Welcome to Peru!
Peru gets off to a frustrating start! We arrived at Lima airport in good time, and full of anticipation went to pick up our hire car. Read More
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REGUA photo
Glittering bellied Emerald actually sat still long enough to get a picture! Read More
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REGUA photo
Three toed Sloth greets the morning sun and dries out after heavy rain overnight. Read More
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REGUA photo
A stunning male Brazilian Tanager on the bird table at REGUA Guapi Assu Lodge, wow! Read More
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REGUA photo
A few pictures from REGUA check out their web site www.regua.co.uk for loads more info. Read More
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In Rio
Now on 2738. Our last day at REGUA proved a little frustrating as we spent a lot of time in the car and little time birding, but these things happen, Read More
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Quick update on numbers
Now on 2726. Unfortunately internet access is difficult at the moment, so we´ll post a fuller update as soon as possible. Still Read More
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Birding from REGUA
30 new birds today! Having arrived at the wonderful lodge of REGUA yesterday (www.regua.co.uk) and added 5 new birds in the immediate vicinity of the Read More
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An outing with Alec
20 new species for the day! The weather forecast was gloomy: torrential rain and thick fog. So Alec decided we should delay our Read More
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Back to the point
As the morning dawned clear of fog, we returned to Punta Rasa with the hope of more exciting seawatching. Unfortunately, the improved weather Read More
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Seabirds from dry land
Black-browed Albatross is today’s highlight. We birded the peninsula of Punto Rasa, an area of pampas, dunes, lagoons and open Read More
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Out to the Atlantic Coast
New birds on a driving day. It was with some reluctance that we left our cosy hotel in Buenos Aires and stepped out into the cold winter Read More
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Tango for two in Argentina
New country, new birds. Having spent yesterday in airports and aeroplanes it was nice to get out birding again, even though the cold winter Read More
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Leaving Alta Floresta
Squeezing out some last new birds. There was just time this morning to check out a few of Brad’s local patches around the town of Alta Read More
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Last day at Cristalino
And still we’re adding exciting new birds to the list! Back up the tower at first light this morning looking for canopy flocks. We Read More
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A visit to the Doctor!
Nightingale-Wren and Rufous-capped Nunlet join the list. This morning we birded Dr Haffer’s Trail in an area of bamboo forest. As we Read More
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Climbing to the forest lookout
Guianan Gnatcatcher heads the cast of new birds! First thing this morning saw us heading up river where we kicked off our birding with great Read More
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Swarming with birds!
More new birds, more new trails. By now we are back in the game of target birding in this area, and with that in mind we took the Caja trail at Read More
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Birding the Bamboo and Cacao Trails
The morning was spent birding the forest where stands of particularly large bamboo grow. Plenty of birds kept us busy throughout the morning as Read More
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Birding from the tower
We climb over 50m to see new birds. We’re out on the trails again at first light, aiming to be up the Cristalino Canopy Tower as early as Read More
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The search for Harpy Eagle Part 2
Can we turn a heard Harpy Eagle record into a seen? At dawn we were once again in the forest near the hotel, tramping the trails. We Read More
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The search for Harpy Eagle
Do we get to see our most-wanted bird of the year? Out at dawn to make the most of the early morning cool temperatures, we birded with Brad the Read More
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Moving on to Alta Floresta
We get closer to the Amazon. Today was another travel day as we took a succession of small planes to ever smaller airports as we moved north Read More
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Reluctant departure from Caiman Lodge
But new birds still added to our list. Today we sadly had to leave the fantastic Pousada Baiazinha (or Little Lake in English) at Caiman Read More
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Collecting some target birds
Target birding to complete our Caiman list. Today was spent focusing on picking up any birds that had eluded us until now. Once more, we Read More
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Spots before the eyes
Some tricky birds join the list. Another pre-dawn start and we drove north past the main lodge to another area of wet forest. Our first Read More
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Birding at Caiman Lodge
Twenty-seven new species today! With an early start, we spent the whole day birding around the reserve here until well after dark. Dawn Read More
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From Campo Grande to the Pantanal
A whopping 44 new species for the list! We left Campo Grande early morning and progress was slow as we almost immediately stopped to watch Read More
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We reach Brazil and great birds
Eighteen new birds in a few hours. After thirty hours travelling, including three flights delayed, we finally made to Campo Grande, Brazil, the Read More
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Last ptry for Ptarmigan!
Our last chance for this bird, so 5am saw just the two of us and Pekka braving the grim conditions. As we gained in altitude, so the rain Read More
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Long way south
Today we drove back south from Varangerfjord to Ivalo, a journey of around 400 kilometers but that didn’t stop us from birding en route. Read More
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The road to nowhere
Cracking views of Bluethroat. An early scour of the area on the mainland opposite the island of Vardo produced good views of female Read More
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This is mid-June?
Three more species in sub-zero temperatures. Us two, Mike Duckham and Pekka made an early start to target Ring Ouzel. We drove back south-east Read More
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Finnish and Norwegian birds in the snow
Up onto the high moors above Ujotski to look for Long-tailed Skuas. We were immediately lucky as a pair showed off right alongside us. Read More
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Ten new birds
Pre-breakfast, the two of us plus Mike Duckham drove the back forest roads at Ivalo, saw Parrot Crossbill and Waxwing. First bird after Read More
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North to Ivalo
Out at 5am in search of Capercaille but alas no luck despite giving it a good go. The forests were strangely birdless and the highlight was a Read More
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Arctic Circle birding
We took a late morning flight north from Helsinki to Rovaniemi right on the Arctic Circle. After the essential photo stop by the sign proclaiming Read More
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Helsinki Birding
Some local birding before flying north. We left the hotel at 5am, of course this far north the sun well up and a lovely day. We drove for about one Read More
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Estonia back to Finland
Three new species. Dawn saw just the two of us and Pekka and Mika out looking for Bittern, no luck. However, at 6am we went back to the hotel to Read More
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Red breasted Flycatcher steals the show
Three more new birds as we bird hard to the Baltic Coast. The day began in style with us watching a singing Blyth's reed Warbler right outside the Read More
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In search of more warblers
Booted Warbler provides great excitement! An early morning visit to a local marsh produced River Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Read More
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From Finland to Estonia
Great Grey Owl joins the list. Pre-breakfast birding gave us a good selection of warblers. A Marsh Warbler sang from a willow right Read More
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Two Pekkas and lots of owls
Out at 6am to look for owls. We were joined late last night by the rest of the group, we all set off in a convoy of 3 vans with Pekka Pouttu and Read More
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First new birds in Finland
Six new additions to the list! Within minutes of arrival in Helsinki, we were watching a beautiful Long-eared Owl sitting in full view in Read More
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Owen accepts the offer to dance
No shrinking violet, Owen quickly accepts Ali Safak's invitation to dance! Read More
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Turkish folk dancing
OK so we did say we'd spare you the photos, but this was too good to keep to ourselves. Owen Roberts and Ali Safak dancing to traditional Read More
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Radde's Accentor at Demirkazik
To break from scanning the high peaks for Caspian Snowcock, we turned our attention to the rocks just below us and were entertained with really Read More
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Ali Safak and his Pension in Demirkazik
Ali Safak, the owner of Pansion Safak, not only treated us as one of the family with a real Turkish hospitable welcome but also provided us Read More
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Turkey photos
New photos of great birds added to our Turkey recaps, and more to come! Read More
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Turkey Recap No. 7
25th May The morning was spent birding the Goksu delta and it was a huge relief, given our trials and tribulations in Spain with this bird, to Read More
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Turkey Recap No. 6
24th May Of course our day began back at the tea gardens but this time armed with a simple sketch map of where to find the Pale Scops Owl. Read More
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Turkey Recap No. 5
23rd May Dawn saw us on the roadside just east of Birecik checking a site for See-See Partridge. We scanned the dry fields and wadis but Read More
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Turkey Recap No. 4
22nd May After saying our goodbyes to Ali Safak, we headed further east to the town of Birecik on the River Euphrates. The first Read More
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Turkey Recap No. 3
21st May Well before sunrise we were ready for our assault on the mountains of Demirkazik in the search for some very special birds. This Read More
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Turkey Recap No. 2
20th May We drove the short distance up to Demirkazik collecting Olive-tree Warbler en route. We then took the dirt roads up the Read More
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Turkey Recap No. 1
19th May
We left Paphos in Southern Cyprus with Owen and Glynis Roberts and drove to Nicosia, where we left their car and crossed Read More
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Turkey update
Good bırds come thıck and fast here. Apologies for lack of updates but we have been in areas without internet access. We are now at the Read More
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Mega birds in Turkey
8 new bırds: White-throated Robin, Olive-tree Warbler, Finsch,s Wheatear, Rock Nuthatch, Lesser Grey Shrike, Snowfinch, Fire-fronted Serin, Read More
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Local birding around Paphos
Some quality birds around Paphos. First stop this morning was the sewage works, late spring now so hopes for new birds were not high. Five Cattle Read More
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Pointing the finger of blame!
Our second entry for today is slightly different. Possibly the birding in Cyprus is all the more enjoyable because it was touch and go Read More
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Target birds in the bag
Seven Red-backed Shrikes and Eleven Eleonora's Falcons. This morning we headed out for Fassouri Reedbeds on the Akrotiri Peninsula. Read More
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We catch late migrants in Cyprus
Three great new additions to the yearlist. Once again our good friends Owen and Glynis Roberts are kindly putting us up - or is that putting Read More
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The world according to Ysgol Craig-y-Don
Take a look at the world map made by the pupils of Ysgol (school) Craig-y-Don, isn't it fantastic?! The photo doesn't really do it Read More
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The Biggest Twitch goes back to school
Put to the test by the pupils! Our quick trips back home in between the important business of birding are usually full of packing, laundry Read More
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Nothing to grouse about
Six new birds in rapid time! One of the best things, and there are many, about birding in North Wales in spring is lekking Black Grouse. These most Read More
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Quick update
Just a few lines to let you know that we made it safely back to sunny North Wales from New York, sadly any hopes of birding enroute to the airport Read More
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Quantity and Quality
Masses of shorebirds and new arrivals. We tried out some new sites today exploring the west shoreline of the Cape May Peninsula with one Read More
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Rain doesn’t stop play
Despite awful conditions new birds still come. We opened the door to be met with torrential rain. Ah! We hadn’t expected that. Read More
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Cape Birding
Cape birding.
Iceland Gull and Ruby-throated Hummingbird added to the list. Just a quick note as we are heading off to a swap night!! We Read More
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Cape May meets with approval
Great birds and warm welcome. We left New York after a short night, they’re three hours ahead of the west coast. Driving out from Read More
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Last minute bird!
One more for the list as our time runs out. With only hours to spare before our flight to New York, we met up with our friend Bonnie, a Read More
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Hard day for one new bird
Barrow’s Goldeneye our only addition.
It all started so well. An early start to catch the 9am ferry back to the mainland to give Read More
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Chasing the mythical Varied Thrush
American Dipper heads today’s cast of birds. At dawn it was cold, very cold, but the clear sky promised warm sunshine to come and there Read More
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Across to the island
Surfbird joins the list and the rain stops! We awoke to pouring rain and the mountains still shrouded in low cloud. We took the chance to Read More
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An eventful day!
We get four new birds and robbed! Canada is not our favourite country and we have barely been here a day. We flew Air Canada from San Diago, Read More
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Birding in Neverland – the full story for 30th April
Yellow billed Magpie gets us off to a great start. All too soon the alarm was buzzing and we stumbled out of bed and made our way to meet Hugh. We Read More
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Xantus’s on the high seas – the full story!
Island Scrub-Jay makes up for seasickness! We arrived at Ventura Harbour to blue skies, no wind and calm water, what a great day for a boat Read More
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Xantus's on the high seas
Rough seas but excellent birds! A brief update while internet access is limited. Hope to tell the full story of 29th soon, but as a taster it Read More
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Mount Pinos, 8300 ft
Clark’s Nutcracker overhead, snow underfoot. We started the day in the Mojave Desert, very flat, and a surprising blaze of colour Read More
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Birding below sea-level
Salton Sea bird overload! With Guy still with us we set off pre-dawn via a 24 hour coffee stop, for some birding below sea-level. This area around Read More
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From sea-level to 6000 feet and back again
Seawatching boosts the list. Our birding day started at La Jolla Cove where we met with Guy McCaskie, a fantastic birder who is Read More
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California dreamin'
California specialities on the list already
Once again, a travel day as we said goodbye to Texas and moved west to San Diego. It was late Read More
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Flat out in the Texas Hill Country
Barred Owl goes on the list! It’s 5.30am and we’re out again in the pitch dark trying to locate Barred Owl but despite the calm Read More
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Ranch Birding
Pre dawn we were out looking and listening for owls and nightjars. Chuck-wills Widows were calling nicely, but could we see one? No we couldn't! Read More
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Target birding in The Piney Woods
Bachmann's Sparrow added to the list! Back into Texas late last night but up again at 3.30am to ensure we were in the right place at dawn in Read More
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Goodbye to Panama
With minutes to spare before our plane leaves Panama, we want to let you know our final score in this fantastic country. We recorded a total Read More
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Canal side birding
Just a quick update from alongside the Panama Canal, internet accesss limited at the moment. More detailed diary to follow asap. On the 20th Read More
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A resplendent day as we crack 2000
We smashed the 2000 species milestone with some of the best birding of the year so far! Early omens weren`t good as torrential rain Read More
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Birding Panama
We left Texas first thing this morning to fly to Panama.where we were met at the airport by Kilo of Advantage Tours Panama. We stopped Read More
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Wader fest at Bolivar Flats
A birder's paradise, thousands of waders along the strandline and just offshore the beach at Bolivar Flats and all so close that you can enjoy Read More
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High Island Birding
High Island is one of those amazing birding locations where you always have that thrill of what will pop up next? Spring migration is the time to Read More
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Big boost for our list
30 new species scored around High Island, not a bad way to kick off our time in Texas! Pre-dawn (despite the jetlag) found us at Anhuac Read More
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Farewell to Spain
We recorded 205 species during our time in Spain, and 44 of these were new birds for The Biggest Twitch. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and Read More
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One more Spanish bird for our list!
We score another woodpecker on our last morning in the Picos. Apologies for no blog yesterday. Two good reasons: 1. The only Read More
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A good day for Woodpeckers!
Woodpeckers galore today! We climbed up the twisting road to the little picturesque village of Tudes, still in the Picos mountains. We Read More
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Snow birding at 1800m
The day began with birding the hillside above Basieda looking in particular for Wryneck. We quickly found a pair of Cirl Buntings which Read More
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To the Picos de Europa
We left the rolling plains of Belchite and headed North West for the mountains of the Picos de Europa. The weather was on the change with grey sky Read More
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Extremes of temperature on the plains
Two new birds for the year. On the road at 5.30am we headed for the plains near Belchite. In the pitch dark we found the dirt road we were Read More
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Moving to the plains of Belchite
Internet access will not be easy for the next couple of days but hopefully we can still provide brief updates of our progress. With the guys Read More
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Bird Race 2, Coto de Donana
We started this morning with seawatching off Matalascanas, again with the guys from North Wales. Flushed with their success from yesterday, Read More
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Bird Race 1, Coto de Donana
Dawn to dusk birding in the national park proved to be a fantastic experience. Pre-dawn we left El Rocio heading north-east. Within Read More
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Seawatching in the sunshine
The day began with a seawatch from Matalascana beach. We found a spot near the lighthouse and set the scope up. Initially a lot of Lesser Read More
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From Bustards to Bee-eaters
Before heading off down the motorway to the Coto de Donana, we had a last look for more Bustards on the Belen plains just beyond Trujillo. Read More
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Two for the price of one
Wallcreeper and Alpine Accentor both in the scope at once! Today we headed south for a mountainous area near Guadalupe to look for some late winter Read More
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Monfrague National Park
Early morning saw us birding an area of heathland north of Trujillo. Almost the first bird we saw was a singing male Dartford Warbler, a new Read More
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Bustards!
Two Bustards, two Sandgrouse and Spanish Imperial Eagle, what a day!
You have to be up early to catch a Bustard, so that’s just what Read More
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Arrival in Spain
After spending an all too brief night at Gatwick Airport, we were back on a plane again, this time heading for Madrid. Collecting our hire car Read More
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Last day in Cyprus
With just a few hours to spare before our flight out of Cyprus, we had time for another look at Pafos Headland in the morning. Easterly winds Read More
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Last day in Cyprus
With just a few hours to spare before our flight out of Cyprus, we had time for another look at Pafos Headland in the morning. Easterly winds Read More
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Pallids, Pipits and Pratincole
Early morning saw the four of us (Alan and Ruth, Owen and Glynis) at Fassouri reed beds near the RAF base at Akrotiri. We’d only just got Read More
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Target Birding Cyprus
Today we sought to fill some gaps in our birding list looking for, in particular, Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler, Long-legged Buzzard and Read More
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Cyprus Bird Race
How many species are possible on Cyprus in a day? We were about to find out. The four of us (Alan, Ruth, Owen and Glynis Roberts ) were joined by Read More
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Cyprus
With just one day back in the UK between Ghana and Cyprus, we had a frenetic time getting ready for the next leg, not helped by the Read More
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Squeezing in more birds
Our last morning in Ghana so we went out to Shia Hills not far from Accra. Just one new bird for our list here, Croaking Cisticola, but it Read More
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We're halfway there!
At the end of two fantastic birding weeks in Ghana, we've ended today on 1833 species, two birds past the half-way mark in our attempt to beat the Read More
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Passing the next milestone
Moving on from Mole National Park, we birded the Tono Dam and the Tongo Hills very close to the Burkina Faso border. Birding around Read More
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Mole National Park
Alan and Ruth have been away from internet access for a while and will continue to be so for a while yet but have forwarded a message. They Read More
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Fufu and Finfoot
The sweat's running down our bodies and dripping into our eyes as we struggle to get used to the very hot and humid atmosphere. Spent Read More
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Exploring Ghana
We're being joined today by Iain Campbell and Sam Woods of Tropical Birding to start our tour of Ghana. Not sure about internet Read More
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Mega for Ghana
Having had enough of emails and relaxing, and having exhausted the possibilities of the three species in the hotel grounds, we went birding this Read More
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Catching up in Ghana
Having arrived in Accra in the afternoon of 27th, we are now spending some time on admin: catching up on emails, writing magazine articles, Read More
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Half day in Kenya, 26th Feb
We only had a brief stopover in Kenya on our way to Ghana as we'd had to change our flight plans. Our taxi driver from the airport, Paul Read More
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Ethiopia 24th to 25th backdated
Wondo Genet to Lake Langano, 24th Feb backdated We started the day with a forest walk at Wondo Read More
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Ethiopia 21st to 23rd backdated
Forest and fish at Arba Minch 21st Feb backdated Another hard and dusty drive on bone-shaking Read More
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Ethiopia 18th to 20th backdated
Savannah birding 18th Feb backdated
We headed out into the savanna, not too far from the border with Kenya. Here we picked up Foxy and Read More
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Ethiopia 15th to 17th Feb backdated
The best hotel in town, 15th Feb backdated A long drive to Ngele up and over the Bale Mountains. Suddenly the vehicles screech to a Read More
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Ethiopian Birding the Roof of Africa Tour, 2-25 Feb
As expected, internet access on the road was non-existent so this is our first chance to update the Read More
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1500!!
15 February A new milestone as we hit 1500, on a day that included the amazing Prince Ruspoli's Turaco! Bird total: 1502 Read More
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St Valentine's Day but where are the roses?
14th February We celebrated St Valentine's Day with a Read More
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Bale Mountains
13th February Birding at high altitude in the Read More
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Hot drive
12th February A long, hot and uncomfortable driving day as we bounced for many hours along the Read More
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Forest Birding
11th February The morning at Langano got us Abdim's Stork and Pygmy Falcon. In the afternoon Read More
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Rift Valley Lakes
10th February More lakeside birding in the Rift Valley gave us plenty of waders and waterfowl Read More
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Lunar birding
9th February Birding in the lunar landscape of the lava fields outside Metahara, near awash NP Read More
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Awash National Park
8th February Backed up by armed guard, we birded the park scoring Chestnut-bellied and Read More
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Dust galore!
7th February Crossing the Afar plains is an adventure all in itself. Never has so much Read More
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Ankober Escarpment
6th February The morning was spent scouring the stupendous edges of the rift valley for a bird only discovered in the late 20th century, the Read More
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Birding on the edge
5th February Very early start to get the tricky Harwood’s Spurfowl. Thanks to Read More
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Four Wheel Drive Convoy
4th February Today we joined the 4-Jeep convoy tour of Tropical Birding as well as old Read More
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Reservoir Birding
We headed out of Addis AbabaRead More
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Brief word from Addis Ababa
Internet access at the Ghion Hotel, but it's very slow so we can't write much. We've arrived safely in Ethiopia but sadly all our luggage is Read More
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Off to Ethiopia
This afternoon we're heading off to Africa - Ethiopia first where we'll be joining a Tropical Birding tour lead by Christian Boix, and Keith Read More
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Birding our local patch
Despite being very jetlagged, we struggled out of bed early again and went birding, this time in North Wales. We met up with our friends Read More
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4 airports in 24 hours
We made it back to Manchester, UK this morning, having left Quito at 5am the previous day, and with brief stopovers in Houston, Texas and Newark, Read More
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Last day in Ecuador
Our last birding day in Ecuador started predictably at 5am and we hit the road. Several roadside stops added new birds such as Stub-tailed Read More
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Close to the Colombian Border
Quick note from us in the field as we've got brief internet access ourselves at Tundaloma Lodge in the Esmeraldas region of northwest Ecuador not Read More
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Quality not quanity in the Chocó cloudforest
Heavy rain took a chunk out of the birding time today, but Scott, Alan, and Ruth managed some seriously rare birds. Now in this contest, common Read More
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Milpe Bird Sanctuary
Another update over the cel phone from Los Bancos, Ecuador: Milpe was truly pumping today, and Alan and Ruth scored a load of Read More
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Tandayapa Valley
Alan and Ruth just phoned up from Tandayapa Bird Lodge (www.tandayapa.com). They have been birding the cloudforests of the Read More
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Feeding Flock Fest
We’re now back in the highlands of Ecuador near Antisana, and birding with Nick Athanas from Tropical Birding, an absolute ace at bird Read More
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Extremes of altitude
We reluctantly left Sacha Lodge at 6.30am and birded our way along the boardwalk back to our motorised canoe on the Napo River, adding a few more Read More
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Sacha Lodge Birding
Sorry we haven´t been able to update the diary while we´ve been at Sacha Lodge, but don´t worry we HAVE been busy birding hard at Read More
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Sacha Lodge
Alan and Ruth have been at Sacha Lodge for five days now. I haven't heard anything from them, so I can only assume that Marcelo Andy, their Sacha Read More
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Off to the Amazon
We're flying out to Sacha Lodge in the Amazon area in a few minutes (www.sachalodge.com) so we won't be able Read More
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Birding in the clouds
We arrived in Ecuador at 11pm and having finally cleared all the official stuff, we were met by our good (and mad) friend Iain Campbell, who was Read More
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If you go down to the woods this afternoon….
With a few hours to kill, we thought, just for a change, we’d go birding. Just north of Houston lies the W.G. Jones State Forest, owned Read More
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San Cristobal and El Sumidero
Our day began in the cold pine forests just above San Cristobal. As the sun came up, so the birds materialised. Rufous-collared Thrush Read More
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Quick Update 11 Jan Houston 1pm local time
We are now in Texas with a brief stopover in Houston. At last we have internet access again so have gone back and posted a few photos on our Read More
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Birding the Border
Today we birded at Yaxchilan Mayan ruins. To reach this site, we took a boat trip along the river that forms the border between Mexico and Read More
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Toucans and Temples
7th Jan: Montezuma got his revenge! Unfortunately, a nasty bout of diarrhoea and sickness delayed our start on day seven but we soon hit the Read More
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Birding by boat
6th Jan: We drove to Rio Lagartos stopping to bird dry scrub where highlights included great views of Lesser Roadrunner and Yucatan Wren.
A Read More
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Mayan Ruins
5th Jan: Having left Cozumel Island we drove to Coba and visited some Mayan ruins which provided great birding. The temples themselves made Read More
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From Arizona to Mexico
Day four of The Biggest Twitch and sadly we can only report one new species for the list – Brown Pelican. Today we left Tucson pre-dawn and Read More
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Target birding around Tucson
The Biggest Twitch day three already and we are again birding with Moez Ali so already we know it is going to be a good day! But we didn’t Read More
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From canyons to grasslands
Day two of The Biggest Twitch began slowly as we needed to find a pharmacy for cold remedy. Strong winds did nothing to help the birding Read More
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New Years Day
Day one of The Biggest Twitch
7am and we are with Moez Ali at the Sweetwater Sewage Works, Tucson, Arizona. It is cold, very cold and the Read More
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Happy New Year! New years day diary?
Just a quick note to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and a bird filled 2008, we certainly hope ours will be!
New Year's Day will see us Read More
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Tucson sewage works: a fowl place
Bit of a cliché going birding at the sewage works but that’s just what we did. Sweetwater Treatment Works, Tucson doesn’t look Read More
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Two Welsh birders take a day trip to Patagonia
An early start had us heading south for Patagonia and the promise of some fantastic birds. But no flights down to Argentina for us, Patagonia, Read More
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The Biggest Twitch hits the USA
Following a 5am start from home in Llandudno, North Wales we travelled for 24 hours and finally arrived in Arizona. Birding en route was very Read More
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Last diary from the UK
Not much time for writing the diary today, too busy packing and doing all those last-minute jobs that always get left to the last minute. The Read More
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Not long now!
Having feasted on roast duck for Christmas dinner and stuffed ourselves with chocolates in front of the TV last night it was back to earth today. Read More
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Happy Christmas!
We would like to wish everyone who visits our website a very happy peaceful Christmas. We would also wish everyone a bird filled 2008 particularly Read More
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Where are we going? Part 4
In mid January we will be birding on familiar ground in Ecuador and hopefully really boosting the year list, where better? It will be great to Read More
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Where are we going part 3
Late May and the first half of June 2008 will see us birding in northern Europe. We begin in southern Finland in the forests near Hauho. This magical Read More
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Leaving do ends with a bang!
Temperatures were down to -4 degrees C and ice was thick on the ground but that didn’t stop over 60 people making their way to the Read More
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Farewell to RSPB Conwy
The Biggest Twitch took another step closer to departure as Alan left his job at RSPB Conwy on Friday. After nearly six years as Site Manager, Read More
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BBC Wales features The Biggest Twitch
No strangers to filming at RSPB Conwy, BBC Wales reporter Roger Pinney and his cameraman Marc arrived on a bright sunny afternoon all set to do a Read More
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Where are we going – part 2
Most of the places we’re visiting in 2008 will be new to us, but one place on the list has been tried and tested, by us and many other Read More
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Where are we going – Part 1
With less than four weeks to go, we’ve been busy fixing up accommodation around the world where we want to go birding. And we’ve Read More
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Inspirational listing
Would you want to drive over 40,000 miles around the UK in a Peugeot 106 to see over 300 species in less than a year, especially if your starting Read More
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Birding in North Wales
If anyone doubted our commitment to birding, proof of that has just appeared on the bookshelf, with the publication of Best Birdwatching Sites in Read More
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The rules of engagement
Before we embark on The Biggest Twitch, we need to get a few things straight. What rules are we playing by? If our world record attempt is to stand Read More
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The Long Way Down
All work and no play make Jack and Jill very dull, so we took time out from our planning to do some birding, and with a Pechora Pipit showing so well Read More
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How to make a travel agent weep
Well, he didn’t exactly burst into tears but he certainly took a deep breath when faced with our itinerary for 2008. To achieve our ambitious birding Read More
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Fifteen minutes of fame!
How did the press find out? We’d always wanted to get the story of The Biggest Twitch into |