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News in Brief: Indonesia, Scotland, Scilly, Malaysia & Canada
October 2025
‘For this 2-week holiday, our privately chartered motor yacht cruised to some of Indonesia’s least-visited sites, enabling guests to enjoy fabulous marine-life every day’ writes tour leader Sara Frost. ‘Twice-a-day snorkelling over vibrant coral reefs with a mind-boggling variety of colourful fish – plus turtles, octopus, lobsters, nudibranchs, starfish, moray eels and sharks – was breathtaking. A morning snorkelling with two Whale Sharks, and another with a Manta Ray, were particular highlights! Daily pods of dolphins kept us regularly entertained whilst sailing between islands (most helpfully often turning up at meal times!), with Bottlenose, Spinner, Spotted and Fraser’s Dolphins being seen, plus playful Melon-headed Whales also swimming around our boat and the highly elusive Dwarf Sperm and Cuvier’s Beaked Whales being seen at a distance too! False Killer Whales were also seen, along with a fabulous Blue Whale in the sunset!
Brown and Red-footed Boobies and Lesser Frigatebirds made up a good supporting cast (plus a single Abbott’s Booby), and walks on shore further found the critically endangered Yellow-crested Cockatoo, the endemic Flame-breasted Sunbird, Green Junglefowl, Orange-footed Scrubfowl, Green Imperial Pigeon and Blue-tailed and Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters and much more. Guided walks on the islands of Komodo and Rinca provided us with up-close encounters with the formidable Komodo Dragons, and a zodiac cruise along a beach even found several of them dozing along the shoreline!
Those flying out to Bali early for the pre-tour birding extension (at the opulent Menjangan Lodge in the heart of Bali Barat National Park) also saw the Bali Starling (multiple times!), Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Coppersmith and Lineated Barbets and a huge amount more, all rounded off by relaxing on the beach sipping from a coconut!
It was with great reluctance that we had to leave, having enjoyed such a fabulous cruise in the tropics.’
October 2025
'A mix of autumn weather was very typical of our tour designed to coincide with the mass arrival of migrant geese, a diversity of resident mammals and, of course, plenty of raptors including both species of eagle’ writes tour leader Neil McMahon.
‘Staying in a very accommodating and comfortable hotel in the centre of Islay, our daily forays took us around both islands, with days of good visibility enabling us to espy the distant islands of Colonsay and Mull and even Rathlin Island (Northern Ireland). Battalions of Barnacle Geese were a daily treat as they either flew over us, fed in the fields or rested on the saltings of sea lochs. We picked out Pale-bellied Brent Geese and saw Pink-footed Goose, Greenland White-fronted Geese and even a rare Lesser Canada Goose. Whooper Swans were on migration and we saw them using Islay as a staging post, family parties resting and then flying on.
Otters performed in front of us, Brown Hares and Rabbits were plentiful and we encountered the usual three species of deer and two species of seal. We saw the menacing White-tailed Eagles almost every day including some very close fly-bys, eventually caught up with Golden Eagle and were wowed by the quartering Hen Harriers.
A little of the culture and history was reflected in our visits to Kildalton Cross, the round church and cemetery at Bowmore and a visit to the American Monument on the Mull of Oa.
A couple of Waxwing sightings were a bonus but all too soon our seven days were up and we returned to the mainland with stirring memories of the best of Islay and Jura.'
October 2025
'Travelling to an island or islands always adds an extra dimension to a tour, particularly when the great British weather intervenes!’ writes tour leader Neil McMahon. ‘However, despite the best efforts of Storm Amy, everyone eventually arrived safely. For many, the star of the show was a Wilson's Phalarope that was present at the beginning of the week and performed marvellously right in front of us. This bundle of energy had flown from the other side of the Atlantic and provided unforgettable views in the shallows of Porth Hellick Pool on St Mary's. Our pelagic trip took us a long way out from the isles after admiring a number of birds in the shallower waters and we connected with pods of Common Dolphins as they cavorted around us – splashing, leaping clear of the water and bow riding our boat in the manner that only dolphins can! They were accompanied by diving Gannets, Bluefin Tuna and Great, Sooty and Manx Shearwaters and we went on to see Storm Petrels and a Grey Phalarope feeding alongside the boat.
Our visit to the island of Tresco provided an opportunity to wander the excellent terraced gardens and enjoy the many succulents and plants, shrubs and trees from the Southern Hemisphere. Introduced Red Squirrels scurried around and our walk around the Great Pool provided views of Water Rail, Cattle Egret and Firecrest. Our boat trip back to St Mary's yielded a hunting Marsh Harrier over the uninhabited island of Sampson, a flock of Mediterranean Gulls and two Spoonbills.
On St Agnes we encountered new birds every few yards in very warm conditions, with the Hoopoe on Periglis Beach being very special but also a Spotted Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpipers, Peregrine, Merlin and Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, plus Clouded Yellow butterflies and huge numbers of Red Admirals nectaring on the banks of ivy. An optional afternoon revisit to St Agnes on another day produced transatlantic migrants in the shape of an American Mourning Dove and an American Pipit, plus a Red-breasted Flycatcher showed particularly well. Wrynecks are always sought-after birds and whilst on the lovely island of Bryher we managed to see a long-staying individual, but only after it led us a bit of a merry dance!’
September 2025
‘We certainly saw many of Malaysia’s highlights on this tour – from the stunning Garnet Pitta and enigmatic Great Argus and Malayan Peacock Pheasant to the showy Malayan Crested Fireback and iconic Rhinoceros Hornbill, we saw some of the most special birds in south-east Asia’ writes tour leader Jim Wardill. ‘The supporting cast included brilliant birds such as both Ferruginous and Malayan Hill Partridge, Mountain Peacock Pheasant, Pygmy Cupwing, Blue Nuthatch and Rusty-naped Pitta, not to mention Siamang gibbons at close range, and we thoroughly enjoyed the atmospheric hill forests of Bukit Tinggi and Fraser’s Hill and the largest remaining lowland rainforest in Asia at Taman Negara. Endemic birds to be seen nowhere else, like the Malayan Laughingthrush and Malayan Whistling Thrush, also put in appearances, as did some ‘birder’s birds’ like Large Wren Babbler and Lesser Shortwing. If you want to see spectacular birds in the beautiful surroundings of Malaysia’s tropical forests, then this is the tour for you!’
September 2025
‘A Coyote posing in the early sunshine on the first morning was the first of a series of memorable wildlife encounters on this “Canada: The West” tour!’ writes tour leader Barrie Cooper. ‘We had some excellent boat trips that included Grey and Killer Whales, Sea Otters and many seabirds. Humpback Whales were seen from every boat we boarded, including two ferries. The most spectacular moment came when a Humpback was trap-feeding near the boat and inadvertently caught a shearwater, with the fortunate bird escaping when the whale next opened its mouth. Both Grizzly and Black Bears provided very good views and we saw several cubs. A Grizzly cub wrestling with a salmon that was almost as big as it was provided a particularly special moment. Bird migration was in full swing with several skeins of Cackling and Greater White-fronted Geese heading south for the winter. As always, the spectacular scenery of Vancouver Island added an extra dimension to the trip.’
