AA Birdpix, Birds, Travel and More

In the beginning I can be rather impulsive, but when I took up birding again at the age of thirty, after fifteen years of university, typical young male pursuits including rallying, and the purchase of my first house, I decided to see all the "regular" British birds before doing any twitching. This resulted in my missing the long-staying Steller's Eider whilst on holiday in the Hebrides, because I wasn't told about it. I was married to Linda then, who some may remember, and four years later I had seen all but Lady Amherst's Pheasant and Long-eared Owl, so whilst on an autumn holiday in Norfolk we went on our first twitch, to Wells Wood for a Red-breasted Flycatcher. Later that week, after a little dispute about the distance travelled, we twitched a Wilson's Phalarope at Gibraltar Point. The following February saw us walking down the quay on Shetland trying to get to a Harlequin Duck, and following on from people we met there I travelled again to Shetland a for...

Cruising for Wildlife. Cruising holidays, love 'em or hate 'em? If you're a birder it's not always clear cut. Ann and I went on a five week cruise for our 25th Wedding Anniversary, but we're both birders, the route we chose (Buenos Aires to Los Angeles) was deliberate, and enabled us to see twelve species of Albatross and much more besides. The point is that the typical image of a cruising holiday is normally suited to a person somewhat less likely to be interested in wildlife (ship's captains will slow down to enable people to see dolphins if they happen to be close by, but that's about it). There are many specialist cruises both on the oceans and rivers such as the Amazon, several of which we have undertaken, but they have sadly become very expensive as costs have risen and the pound falls against the dollar. If you can afford them they are unbeatable in terms of species seen and sheer experience, plus most people on board will be like-minded (if you don...