15-22 March 2025
22-29 March 2025
£1,695 pp, no single supplement, £300 deposit
This is a very different holiday, with displaying and breeding resident birds, winter visitors still present in good numbers, and the first arriving spring migrants, plus there’s a two-night expedition to the remote, wildlife-rich Ardnamurchan peninsula, where the birding can be unforgettable, and there’s a chance to encounter Highland mammals.
There’s five nights based at Heatherlea’s hotel in Speyside, and two nights over on Ardnamurchan staying at the Glenborrowdale centre, where the group will be the only occupants. There’ll be the chance to bait nightly for Pine Marten – on previous tours they’ve been seen from the living room!
In Strathspey, we’re placed in the middle of the best birding habitats, and a local drive should produce Black Grouse 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. In the moorland and hills we’ll search for raptors including Peregrine, Merlin and perhaps the first returning Osprey. A moorland drive may give views of Black-throated Diver on lochs.
The Ardnamurchan peninsula is a hidden jewel, a wild, beautiful, remote area in the heart of the West Highlands. Birding includes both eagles, Raven, Black Guillemot and the first spring passage waders, perhaps including Greenshank. Pine Marten are commoner here than anywhere else, and other mammals often feature, with the possibility of Red Squirrel, while Loch Sunart is one of the best places to see Otter in the far west.
We’ll also 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. Waxwings are sometimes present.
Coastal birding is particularly enjoyable – sightings can include Osprey fishing, rafts of 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, plus auks, Sandwich Tern, Gannet, Corn Bunting, Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer, Grey Partridge and more.
FACTFILE
15-22 March 2025
22-29 March 2025
£1,695 pp, no single supplement, £300 deposit
Eight days, maximum group size 14
Guides: Aidan Branch and Holly Page
TO BOOK, CALL: 01479 821 248