Bird Watching Vacation

Vacation and Holiday Ideas!

Bird Watching Vacation Spots

Ready to travel to some of the most beautiful areas of the world and do a little bird watching? Bird watching vacations have always been popular, and continue to rise in popularity as more and more tour companies add bird watching tours to their offerings. But, just where are some of the most popular places for a bird watching vacation?

North America Bird Watching

There are many wonderful birding spots in North America to visit, with Arizona, Texas and Florida offering some of the best bird watching spots.

Arizona

The best bird watching vacation spots in Arizona are located in the southern part of the state. In fact, southern Arizona is considered by many to be one of the best birding regions in North America.

Best Bets: Madera Canyon, in the Santa Rita Mountains; Huachuca Mountains southeast of Sonoita; the Nature Conservancy's Ramsey Canyon Preserve, which is 90 miles southeast of Tucson.

Texas

With over 600 species of birds, Texas is often called the "Birding Capital of America," with the southern part of Texas having some of the best viewing spots in the state.

Best Bets: Big Bend National Park, along the Rio Grande on the border with Mexico, where you can find 450 bird species; the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, 7 miles south of Alamo, Texas, along the banks of the lower Rio Grande, home to nearly 400 different types of birds (as well as 300 butterfly species); South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center on South Padre Island, which is the world’s longest barrier island.

Florida

Where to start? Why not try the 2,000-mile Great Florida Birding Trail: which is a self-guided highway trail with 445 total sites in 4 sections: east, west, north and south. You can get the guides for these different sections by going to http://floridabirdingtrail.com/guide.htm, where you can download the pdf guides for free.

The Great Florida Birding Trail covers all the wonderful birding spots in the state, including Big Cypress National Preserve, located in the southern section, and Everglades National Park, also in the southern section.

Central America Bird Watching

Hot birding spots in Central America include Costa Rica and Panama.

Costa Rica

Although only the size of West Virginia, Costa Rica is huge when it comes to bird watching. Costa Rica is blessed with over 840 identified species, more than all of North America north of Mexico. Bird watching here is located in the northern Pacific lowlands, the southern Pacific lowlands, the Costa Rica-Chiriqui highlands, and the Caribbean lowlands.

You might want to check out the Rara Avis Rainforest Reserve, which borders Braulio Carrillo National Park and the Zona Protectora La Selva. Located in remote pristine jungle, Rara Avis is Costa Rica's oldest rainforest lodge, offering the visitor guided nature walks through the jungle, as well as swimming in the waterfalls. For the bird watching enthusiast, Rara Avis offers 360 species of birds to view right from your own balcony overlooking the rainforest. For more info you can go to rara-avis.com.

Panama

Okay, so Costa Rica has 840 species of birds. Well, Panama has 1,000 species of birds! Just driving the Pipeline Road along the Panama Canal Watershed you can spot 300 species in one day!

Best Bet: Santa Cruz de Cana, in the Darien National Park and World Biosphere Reserve. Tour operator Ancon Expeditions manages a field station there which some consider one of the best birding sites in the world. Go for the "Ultimate Darrien Experience," a 5-day, 4-night trek into Cana, which includes spending the night at a remote tent camp 4,200 feet above sea level in the cloud forest. You can get more info by going to AnconExpeditions.com

South America Bird Watching

The jungles of South America are home to thousands of beautiful birds.

Best Bets: Bird watching hot spots in South America include the Itatiaia National Park in Brazil, which is home to around 350 different species of birds native to the Amazon; The Iguazu National Park is the leading natural reserve in Argentina, with over 400 types of indigenous birds.

Another place to check out is the Tandayapa Bird Lodge on the edge of the cloud forest outside of Mindo, Ecuador. Tandayapa is a lodge run by birders for birders, where you can take tours from the lodge. Over 600 species of birds have been recorded on tours based out of the Tandayapa Bird Lodge. For more info go to Tandayapa.com.

Caribbean Bird Watching

The Caribbean Islands, while normally associated with vacations of a different sort, are actually another good place to visit on a bird watching vacation. In the Bahamas, Grand Bahama Island is the most popular place to go for bird watching. Bermuda is another good place to visit, as there are seven major natural reserves there sponsored by the Audubon Society. In Jamaica, the Rocklands Bird Sanctuary and Feeding Station, 3 miles from Montego Bay, is popular because the birds there are so tame they literally perch on the bird watchers and eat out of their hands.

Another spot for a Caribbean bird watching vacation would be the island of Bonaire in the Dutch Caribbean. Bonaire is located 30 miles from Curacao, 50 miles north of Venezuela and 86 miles east of Aruba. Bonaire boast over 170 species of birds. But what's even more exciting is the fact that Bonaire is one of only four places in the world where flamingo colonies breed. You can spot the flamingos at the Pekelmeer Sanctuary and Lake Gotomeer, in Washington Slagbaai National Park.

European Bird Watching

There are tons of popular spots in Europe for bird watching. In Britain alone there are actually hundreds of bird watching spots. If you're considering Britain, one thing to look out for is the annual bird fairs and conventions held in various local districts. Scotland and Ireland are also popular bird watching places, as they have little lakes and isles around these two countries which are home to many different forms of bird life that are unique solely to these islands.

Ireland

Best bets for bird watching in Ireland include Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland, which is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, and a designated Ramsar Site (a wetland of international conservation importance). Here you'll find the largest concentrations of diving duck in Britain and Ireland; also check out Clonakilty Bay in County Cork, Republic of Ireland.

Catalonia

Located in N.E. Spain, Catalonia is a birder's delight.

Best Bets: Llobregat Delta Nature Reserve; the Ebro Delta, where you can find the world's rarest gull; and the Aigüamolls de L'Empordà.

Asia Bird Watching

Asia is a wonderful place to go for bird watching as a lot of different species live there that have no equivalent counterparts in the west.

Japan alone is home to around 600 species of birds. The Lake Utonai and Tateyama Bird sanctuaries in Japan are the most prominent wildlife preserves where you can see them.

China's main attraction is not only its indigenous species of birds, but the fact that certain places like Beidaihe are a migratory hub for far-ranging birds from all across Asia.

Another good place to visit for bird watching is Thailand's Doi inthanon International Park, which boasts 382 resident species.

South Pacific Bird Watching

New Zealand in the South Pacific is another rewarding spot for a bird watching vacation.

Best Bets: Miranda Shorebird Centre on the Firth of Thames, one hour southeast of Auckland, has recorded 131 bird species; The Catlins on the South Island, between Balclutha and Invercargill, home to many endangered New Zealand birds.

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