Dear Friends,

Welcome to the July edition of our e-newsletter.

This Month's Newsletter Features

Naturetrek Events

Naturetrek Open Days

Our new ‘Naturetrek Open Days’, held in the Naturetrek office at Cheriton Mill, have proved so popular since we launched them last September that we have planned more (see dates below) for the latter half of this year. On these days our Operations staff will be available to discuss your holiday plans with you; we will serve teas, coffees and cakes throughout the day, and, when you have had you fill, we will advise you on the many local attractions. Please do phone the office well in advance so that we can make an appointment for you to meet the staff member best suited to answer your questions:

Friday 16th July 2004 (last chance to book ’05 holidays at ’04 prices!)
Friday 10th September 2004
Friday 15th October 2004
Friday 12th November 2004

Join us for an evening of Moth collecting and identification, plus sausages!

Following our Open Day on 16th July, we invite you to join us at a Moth Evening on our Cheriton Mill premises. Food from the BBQ will be served from 6.30pm (all profits from sales going to Butterfly Conservation), an introduction to Moth Conservation and Trapping will follow at 8pm, and our moth traps will be run until midnight. With our enviable location providing chalk stream, water meadow, chalk downland and woodland habitats all within a few hundred metres, a wide and fascinating variety of moths are likely to be observed. An interesting and enjoyable evening is in store. Do join us, calling Abby on 01962 733051, or emailing abby@naturetrek.co.uk, to register your interest!

Join us for drinks at the British Birdwatching Fair

Once again, we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the annual British Birdwatching Fair, held at Rutland Water from Friday, 20th August to Sunday, 22nd August 2004 (inclusive). We also invite you to join us for a drink and ‘nibbles’ on Friday and/or Saturday, at 5 p.m. Please do join us. A great many of our staff, tour leaders and ground operators will be attending, including Paul Stanbury, Paul Dukes, Andy Tucker and Phil Wadge from our office; plus many of our tour leaders and overseas ground operators.

Trip Reports

Tanzania Highlights – February 2004

Northern Tanzania offers some of Africa’s very best mammal and bird viewing. The highlight of this tour must be the six days in the Serengeti at the height of the ungulate migration. This year’s two tours were hugely successful; both groups saw over 40 species of mammals and 350 bird species. Read Zul Bhatia’s comprehensive tour report from the first of the February tours by clicking here. The next departure will be in February 2005.

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve – April 2004

A tour summary from Chris Gomersall

Our fifteen visits to Bandhavgarh National Park over eight days produced no fewer than eleven tiger sightings. Other mammal highlights included two sightings of Wolf and one of Sloth Bear, while Chittal, Sambar, Common Langur, Rhesus Macaque and Indian Wild Boar were all abundant. A Leopard was heard sawing one morning. It was wonderful to be able to see such familiar birds as Red Junglefowl and Blue Peafowl in their natural state and habitat, and other flamboyant species such as Malabar Pied Hornbill, Plum-headed Parakeet, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, and Asian Paradise Flycatcher. There was also a thriving population of Gyps vultures in the park, principally Long-billed Vulture. The forest was particularly verdant, with many of the trees in fresh leaf, and the epiphytic orchids were just coming into bloom.

Weather was fine and dry throughout, and daytime temperatures often exceeded 40˚C. The accommodation at Nature Heritage was comfortable, food was excellent and plentiful and the staff were most obliging and good humoured. Everybody was impressed by the red fort at Agra and the Taj Mahal, but our abiding memories will be of the “big cat” at Bandhavgarh – a privilege, and a truly magical experience.

We have limited places available on our 2005 photographic tours.

DEPARTURE DATES:
Wednesday, 16th March - Sunday, 27th March 2005
Wednesday, 30th March - Sunday, 10th April 2005

France : La Brenne – May 2004

Leaders Tom McJannet and David Tattersfield led this popular week in Brenne in late May. Taking the TGV to Poitiers , the group enjoyed an excellent week of gentle wildlife exploration. To see Tom's report, complete with colour photos, click here.

Co Mayo: Corncrake Weekend – June 2004

Despite it being the west coast of Ireland , the participants of our inaugural 5-day tour in search of Corncrakes, breeding waders and seabirds in north-west County Mayo all departed with sun-tanned faces!

Set in an area of extraordinarily wild, rugged, picturesque, beauty with extensive machair grasslands, golden sand beaches, sheltered bays and inlets, cliff scapes, offshore islands and the Nephin Beg mountain range, the group managed to see a respectable 93 species. Some of the many highlights being the sight of a Corncrake delivering it’s distinctive ‘crex crex’ song in full view at 2 metres range! A stunning full summer plumaged Great Northern Diver attempting to swallow a flatfish close inshore, Chough tumbling and calling along the cliff tops and a family party of Twite feeding amongst the ‘sea pinks’. Combined with this the friendly people, relaxed lifestyle, quiet roads, fine food and the perfect pint of Guinness made for a first class holiday!

Click here for leader Dave Suddaby’s full report.

New Bargain Birding Tours for 2005

INDIA — JUST BHARATPUR!

A new 9-day tour based at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, and also including visits to the Chambal River to see Ganges River Dolphins, Bund Baretha for Indian Skimmers, and Agra, the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri to ensure a little cultural emphasis. Cost £990.

Email Rajan Jolly for trip details rajan@naturetrek.co.uk

WILDLIFE & INDIAN CUISINE IN KERALA

A leisurely 9-day birdwatching and wildlife holiday, with a difference, visiting the Thattakad (Dr Salim Ali) Bird Sanctuary and the pristine forest haven of Gavi, in the Western Ghats , part of Periyar Tiger Reserve. Other highlights include evening cookery lessons, the sites of Cochin and harbour cruise. Cost £1,090.

Email Rajan Jolly for trip details rajan@naturetrek.co.uk

KERALA’S NATIONAL PARKS & BACKWATERS

A 9-day wildlife tour to Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Periyar Tiger Reserve, and the Eravikulam National Park near Munnar… plus an overnight ‘houseboat cruise’ on the backwaters of Kerala. Cost £1,090.

Email Rajan Jolly for trip details rajan@naturetrek.co.uk

ECUADOR'S CHOCO & NW LOWLAND FORESTS

The success and popularity of our ‘Cock-of-the-Rock tour’, in north-central Ecuador, has prompted us to expand our selection in this bird-rich country. Whilst many birders are familiar with such sites as Mindo, Bellavista and Tandayapa, the chocó and lowland forests of north-western Ecuador are less well known, yet home to many range-restricted and endemic birds. This is the area on which this tour focuses; an ideal itinerary for repeat visitors to Ecuador in search of new birding horizons. Cost £1,295.

Email Andy Tucker andy@naturetrek.co.uk for the full trip details.

COASTAL ECUADOR & TUMBESIAN ENDEMICS

The Tumbesian Endemic Bird Area spanning a part of both western Ecuador and north-western Peru represents one of the most biotic sites on Earth. On this tour we will journey from the mangroves at Manglares-Churute (home of the largest population of Horned Screamers in Ecuador ) to the bird-rich Cerro Blanco which supports no less than 9 threatened species, including the Great Green Macaw. We then travel north to the Ecuasal lakes (a magnet for seabirds and waders) and the well-known, endemic-rich Machalilla and Rio Ayampe. Most notably, our tour includes a pelagic to the Isla de la Plata in search of a plethora of exciting seabirds and, on our June and September departures, Humpback Whales as well! Cost from £1,250.

Email Andy Tucker andy@naturetrek.co.uk for the full trip details.

Madagascar

BOOK NOW FOR THE LAST FEW PLACES ON THE NATURETREK/BRITISH BIRD FAIR TOUR TO MADAGASCAR

When last year’s British Birdwatching Fair focused on fund-raising to save the endangered wetlands of Madagascar, we offered to lend a hand raising these funds through a special tour to Madagascar (that included a visit to the Mahavavy wetlands in search of the critically endangered Sakalava Rail) led by Bill Oddie. Regretfully Bill has had to pull out due to unforeseen filming commitments, but we are delighted that Nick Garbutt has agreed to take Bill's place. Nick is one of Madagascar 's foremost wildlife experts and author of the the field guide 'Mammals of Madagascar'. If you would like to take advantage of this ‘one-off’, pioneering itinerary, please call Paul Stanbury on 01962 733051, or email paul@naturetrek.co.uk

Please see below for late availability. Do not hesitate to give us a call on 01962 733051 if we can help with any queries or questions.

Kind regards,

The Naturetrek Team

If you would prefer not to hear from us in this way, please email remove@naturetrek.co.uk

For more information on any of our holidays please call us on 01962 733051