Host: Philip Palmer When: Anytime Length of stay: Itineraries of one or two weeks are proposed, but visits of any length can be accommodated. Minimum number of guests: One Fee: This depends very much on the group size and how comfortably you wish to travel. An average priced one week tour based on 4 people would be c. £1,200 each (includes 6 nights hotel, breakfast, evening meal and packed lunch, boat to the islands, entry permits to Farne Islands and all nature reserves, leaders fee - Does not include drinks, flight to the UK and personal items). An average priced two weeks tour based on 4 people would be c.£2,200 (includes 12 nights hotel breakfast, evening meal and packed lunch, boat to the islands, entry permits to Farne Islands, Bass Rock and all nature reserves, leaders fee - Does not include drinks, flight to the UK and personal items). The prices above can be raised or lowered if hotel quality is varied (e.g: it is possible to stay in Thorsby Hall, a Stately Home in Sherwood, or cheaper guest house accommodation), rented vehicle size can vary. Alternatively just pay a daily guiding rate of £35 per person (based on 4 people) and you are welcome to hire your own vehicle and find your own accommodation etc. BACKGROUND: Because it is an island, Britain boasts a massive share of northwest Europe's seabird populations. The extensive coastline provides a flyway for migrating and wintering shorebirds, with wildfowl in abundance. All bird species are legally protected to some degree, and so the diversity of breeding birds is high. Throw in some great historical and architectural sites, the world's largest Bird Fair, and the country is has an unbeatable combination. We can design a tour around visits to the International Birdwatching Fair in August; Seal pupping time in November to January. Seabird breeding colonies from June to August. Shorebird migration August to September. A guide can be hired for single days and target certain species if you prefer and all accommodation, food and transport included, or kept separate. We can also provide a guide to take you out on stopovers at major airports. Having grown up in the heart of Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest, I was instantly attracted to a wonderful site that has a series of lagoons created by the extraction of sand and gravel 50 years ago. Recolonised by plants and animals, it is areas such as this that now hold the wealth of Britain's birds, indeed Sherwood's gravel pits are rapidly being recognised as premier birding sites. I was instrumental in getting this particular site specially protected and designated a site of special scientific interest on account of its amazing assembly of breeding birds. We can easily see 60 species of bird, without meeting another person, or seeing a Macdonald's. On a good day, at the right time of year this can reach over 100! This wetland gem with the surrounding Sherwood heaths, woods, moors and valleys provide the base from which to see most of England's bird species. Being based centrally, rather than in London, day trips to the coast provides the opportunity to visit spectacular seabird cliffs and islands, or the coastal mudflats and meadows of Norfolk. Although primarily a bird enthusiast, leading bird tours, we are always on the lookout for butterflies, dragonflies, mammals, reptiles and plants. We also cater for non-birding partners that wish to go shopping or visit ancient churches, castles and stately homes. SITES and BIRDS: Sherwood Gravel Pits and the Trent flyway: Wetland, farmland, scrub and woodland birds in the mosaic of habitats, see us getting excellent views of breeding Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Eurasian Wigeon, Pochard, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Redshank, Little Ringed & Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, terns, Black-headed, Great Black Backed, Lesser Black Backed, herring and Common Gulls, Cuckoo, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Skylark, Kestrel, Magpie, Shelduck, Coot, Moorhen, Sparrowhawk, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer and Tits that include: Blue, Great, Willow, Long-tailed and Marsh. Warblers include Sedge, Reed, Willow, Garden and Grasshopper Warblers, with Blackcap, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat all common, but difficult to find without a guide. Long-eared, Barn, Tawny and Little Owl breeds, while Short-eared Owl winter. Winter birding produces many of the above as well as large numbers of wildfowl such as Bewick's and Whooper Swan, Goldeneye, Goosander and Pintail. Sherwood Forest: Only a few of the ancient oaks that were widespread when Robin hid from the Sheriff remain, but by locating them one can find Redstart, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Jay, Mistle Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Song Thrush, Buzzard, Goshawk and Blackbird. At dusk we can see displaying Woodcock and Nightjar on the heaths where Woodlark, Siskin and Crossbill are found breeding. Peak District National Park: The wonderful scenery around Chatsworth House (the ancestral seat of the Duke of Devonshire) allows us to search for Goosander, Stonechat, Dipper, Pied Flycatcher, Wood Warbler, Red Grouse and Merlin. Norfolk, Yorkshire or Lincolnshire coasts: Day trips or longer stays of a few days produce impressive numbers of shorebirds and wildfowl. Depending upon the season, thousands of Brent, Greylag, Pink-footed, Whitefronted and Bean Geese graze the marshes. Shorebirds include Avocet, Oystercatcher, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Bar and Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Curlew, Purple, Wood, Green, Common Sandpipers, Greenshank, etc. Lagoons hold Bittern, Bearded Tit, Water Rail, Mediterranean Gull, Kingfisher and the possibility of any number of rarities, while Little and Sandwich Terns nest. Seabird cliffs in Yorkshire are home to thousands of auks, such as Puffin, Guillemot and Razorbill, while Kittiwake, Fulmar and Gannet, add to the wealth of birds at close photographic range. Winter visits to Lincolnshire are perfect for photographers intent on getting extreme close-ups of seals; many have attendant pups around Christmas. Farne Islands and Bass Rock: Travelling north for a day trip, or longer if more is to be seen, we can visit some of the castles that Britain is famous for. Lindisfarne and Bamburgh are spectacular and beyond the battlements and dunes lie the Farne Islands, visible just a mile offshore. Boats take us to one of the most accessible seabird sites in the world where we see at amazing close range, Razorbills, Guillemots, Fulmars, Shags, Eiders, Seals, Kittiwakes, four species of Tern and of course thousands of Puffins- everyone's favourite. Seals are also present year-round, breeding in large numbers. In the Firth of Forth, only 30 miles from Edinburgh, the Bass Rock is one of the most impressive geological features that one could ever see. The top is white, covered in fact by thousands of Gannets! We are able to land and walk among these impressive birds which gave the Gannet its Latin name Morus bassana. Typical tours: Combinations of preferred sites can be put together and we can restrict travelling time ITINERARIES 1 week: Based in the Sherwood Forest area (woods, wetlands, heaths, night visits, etc) 3 days. Yorkshire coast for wildfowl and shorebirds 1 day. Farne Islands and coast 2 days 2 weeks: Sherwood Forest 4 days Peak District National Park 1 day Norfolk coast 3 days Farne Islands, Holy Island, Bamburgh Castle, Bass Rock (alternative visit to Edinburgh?), 4 days