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News in Brief: Morocco, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Austria, Italy and the UK
July 2025
‘Our adventure started at Saorsa 1875, the UK’s first plant-based hotel, nestled at the gateway to the Scottish Highlands, where we travelled out in search of the wonderful wildlife of the Cairngorms, Glenshee and sites closer to our base during pre-breakfast walks,’ writes tour leader Dave Jackson.
‘During our forays, we observed a pair of Ospreys feeding their young, a Dipper in a mountain stream, Goldeneye with cute ducklings on a tranquil lochan and waders including Curlews and Oystercatchers with fluffy chicks. Mammals included a trio of Mountain Hares, majestic Red Deer with huge antlers, normally shy Badgers from a purpose-built hide and a Red Squirrel from the breakfast table.
We visited the world-famous RSPB reserve at Boat of Garten, where a Crested Tit perched within arm's reach, colourful male Siskins squabbled over feeding rights, and Great Spotted Woodpeckers fed their nearby young.
At Uath Lochans a small flock of Scottish Crossbills dropped cones around our feet and we identified interesting flora including Alpine Starflower, Bog Asphodel, Common Butterwort and Round-leaved Sundew. A Common Lizard basked on the boardwalk, accompanied by Northern and Large Red Damselflies, as the sun broke through.
We were served an exciting array of plant-based food for breakfast and dinner in an eclectic setting in two acres of mature woodland and retired to sumptuous rooms named after the local wildlife.’
July 2025
‘Naturetrek’s “Butterflies of Morocco’s High Atlas” tour was based on the north slope of the mountains, offering access to the multiplicity of biomes that create a complex habitat mosaic driven by altitude, aridity and permeability of substrate. We spent time in the alpine zone, in the shadow of Morocco’s highest mountain, Jebel Toubkal, and its volcanic massif and also in the zones of the highly eroded sedimentary rocks. This maximised our chances of finding a wide range of species, as well as the endemics that have evolved to cope with this stark but beautiful landscape,’ writes tour leader Martin Pitt.
‘In all we found 52 species of butterflies, 12 of dragonflies, 10 species of amphibians/reptiles and 63 species of birds. Many of these are localised and only found here in the Maghreb region. After many years of drought, it was good to see flower-strewn meadows and key species such as both Berberia Graylings, African Grayling, African Knapweed Fritillary, Desert Fritillary, Vaucher's Heath and a host of confusing blues and skippers.
Other taxa were not ignored; who can forget the swathes of Broad-leaved Marsh Orchids sheltering other flowers in the alpine zone and the glimpses of day geckos amongst the rocks? Dragonflies were present in the steep valleys and we focused on the near-endemic Atlas Goldenring and Barbary Featherleg. Birds included the much sought-after Tristram’s Warbler, Atlas Wheatear and the stunning Moussier’s Redstart. Together it showed the amazing diversity of life in this seemingly parched if visually dramatic land.’
June 2025
'We had a great day at Dosthill Quarry on our snorkel safari,' writes tour leader Jack Perks. 'The guests quickly got their hired wetsuits on, and we got straight into the water – at a toasty 21°C! Right away we were greeted by shoals of Perch, Roach and Rudd, along with some bigger Carp. As we swam along the margins of the quarry the clarity of the water allowed us to see multiple Pike, a large Tench and one lucky client even got a glimpse of a Sturgeon, cruising along the bottom. After our snorkelling session, we observed and photographed some Spined Loach, Tench, Crucian Carp, Rudd and Bullheads in our aquarium tanks before releasing them back into the quarry.'
June 2025
‘The Julian Alps host spectacular wildlife in splendid scenery. In spite of very hot conditions, we managed to walk and explore different habitats to find amazing flora, fauna and geology,’ writes tour leader Steve Gater.
‘There were so many highlights, so many special moments of fun and awe. We were excited by excellent views of a huge variety of species of bellflowers, buttercups, masterworts, vetches, saxifrages, thistles, lilies, orchids and many other genera and families. Of course, the iconic Edelweiss was a favourite species – well, all were so special in their own way. Add a host of butterflies in attendance, common to rare species alike. Was Blue-spot Hairstreak, or Hungarian Glider or Pearly Heath, or Marbled White the most admired? Of course, these and all the others were! And we enjoyed seeing so many birds too, from Red-backed Shrike to Black Woodpecker to Nutcracker, the list goes on. Our boat trip across the calm Lake Bohinj and cable car to the high-altitude Vogel Ski Centre were scenic treats as well as wildlife wonders. It was no surprise that we were sad to leave; maybe we’ll be back again one day soon.’
June 2025
‘We had a fabulous week in Upper Teesdale. Eleven clients joined my co-leader and me to enjoy great weather in this wonderful North Pennines dale that is so well known for its amazing flora,’ writes tour leader Steve Gater. ‘Everyone was certainly amazed and delighted by the wealth of flowers found. Almost all of the “Teesdale Assemblage” plants were seen on lovely walks in warm sunshine. Was Lesser Twayblade or Globeflower or Shrubby Cinquefoil the best? It depends. There was so much variety in such a small dale, and we travelled no more than 20 miles each day. Most attractive birds were much enjoyed too, including Eurasian Curlew, Northern Wheatear, Black Grouse, Ring Ouzel and White-throated Dipper. It was difficult to leave such treasures at the end of the week, but so many photographs and a long species list will stimulate great memories for some time to come.’
May 2025
‘From our first destination in the Rhodope Mountains, we completed an anti-clockwise circuit of Bulgaria, stopping at many stunning places,’ writes tour leader Neil Murphy. ‘These included Trigrad Gorge, Krumovgrad, Studen Kladenatz, beautiful Sozopol on the Black Sea coast, and the bird-rich lakes and wetlands around Burgas, before we headed north to Kavarna via the Goritza Hills, and the impressive Cape Kaliakra, then west to Vetren and Srebarna Lake before we finally crossed the River Danube into Romania and flew home from Bucharest.
Over these amazing bird-filled days we managed to see hundreds of Greater Flamingoes; waders – 26 species; terns – 8 species; countless herons of 7 species; Great White and Dalmatian Pelicans; raptors – 23 species; owls – 4 species; incredible daily numbers of Bee-eaters, Rollers, Golden Orioles and Hoopoes; woodpeckers – 8 species; shrikes – 4 species; warblers – 20 species; flycatchers – 3 species; wheatears – 4 species and 7 species of buntings.
Bulgaria is slightly smaller than England with a good road network. It has a large variety of stunning scenery and habitats and is located on a major migration route as birds skirt around the west coast of the Black Sea on their migrations to northern Europe and beyond, hence the reason it is so good for birding! As ever, the Bulgarian hospitality was second to none and we were treated to some fabulous food in this very friendly country. Sadly, our time in Bulgaria was all too brief and we said our farewells to our guides, Tisho and Pavel, but not before we had totalled up our trip list: 230 species of birds and countless other wildlife highlights, which made for an amazing trip around this fabulous country.’
May 2025
‘Were you as enthralled by this year’s “Springwatch” as we were?’ asks Operations Manager, Barney Jones. ‘Based at the National Trust-owned Longshaw Estate in the Peak District, the programme gave a fantastic insight into varied wildlife in this special part of the country, especially the brilliant nest captures. Our recent 4-day tour of the Peak District visited Longshaw, amongst other locations, and our group had wonderful sightings of many of the same species featured on our screens – here is what tour leader, Matthew Capper, had to report!’
‘We were treated to wonderful scenery, verdant leafy woodlands, wide open moorlands and some history too. The area holds some special birds, and over the course of the weekend we watched Woodcock and Nightjar displaying at dusk, had Merlin, Whinchat, Red Grouse and Ring Ouzel on the moorlands and Wood Warbler, Redstart and Pied Flycatcher in the woodlands. All to a backdrop of bubbling Curlew, calling Cuckoo and peewitting Lapwings.
It isn't part of the Peak District but we added variety and interest with a visit to the RSPB's chain of nature reserves in the nearby Dearne Valley. Here the wetlands provided a very different spectacle with a couple of Bittern flights, displaying Marsh Harrier, nesting Avocet and Hobby hunting dragonflies right over our heads.
Our base was the delightful village of Hathersage, and our meanderings here also provided us with lovely views of Dipper, Grey Wagtail and a nice selection of singing birds including Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Willow and Garden Warblers.
All in all, a magical way to spend a few days in Britain’s oldest national park!’
June 2025
‘“Oh, Vienna” indeed! What a fabulous city, what fabulous weather and what a fabulous trip!’ writes tour leader Andy Bunten. ‘Our weekend was full of wildlife experiences yet relaxed enough for lots of sightseeing in this gorgeous, historic city.
Our prime “targets” of Hamsters and Sousliks were achieved in spades. In our first visit to the cemetery, the Hamsters found us after a few minutes of searching and then they seemed to be everywhere. They got so close at times that the carefully selected long camera lenses were obsolete. The Sousliks were even bolder, with brave individuals coming within inches if we sat still and quiet.
Nightingales and Lesser Whitethroats sang by the river and dragonflies and damselflies put on fabulous shows in the strong sunshine. Schönbrunn Palace was stunning, Donau Park wonderful, the hotel fantastic and the Viennese food classic!’
June 2025
‘We enjoyed a very successful week in the Abruzzo National Park', writes tour leader Jessica Turner, 'with sightings of three different Marsican Brown Bears, a very large male tailing a female on Monte Marsicano in rather poor evening light and then a female or young male walking across a slope of Monte Mattone in much better light the following morning. These were seen from the Camosciara parking area; the Park rangers had to close the trail up Monte Marsicano because of disturbance to these iconic animals. We also had good, though again quite distant, views of Wolves on two mornings at Gioia Vecchio, two sitting in the sun and, on our last morning, one walking across the valley. Added to this, we saw Abruzzo Chamois, Golden Eagles, Griffon Vultures, many Red-backed Shrikes and enjoyed the House Martins constructing their nest just over one of the rooms at the hotel. The wildflowers were at their best with a host of orchids and carpets of other species. The wet spring and cool wind meant there were fewer butterflies than in some years, but we saw a good range of insects. The weather was mainly sunny, with the only significant rain when we needed a quiet evening anyway! With excellent hospitality at Hotel Valle dell’ Oro and great company, everything contributed to wonderful trip.’