Heatherlea Birdwatching Holidays

03/06/2026

We have had another great week of sightings for our Birding the Highlands in May group, with highlights including two Dotterel on the Cairngorm plateau, Ptarmigan, Snow Bunting, Ring Ouzel and Wood Warbler among other Scottish spring specialities.

02/06/2026

Thinking of booking a spontaneous trip? We have last minute availability on a few of our upcoming summer birding & wildlife tours across the Highlands and Islands.

Just click on the link below to see a list of our upcoming and guaranteed for departure holidays!

26 May 2026 Late Availability Tours We know it’s not always possible to book your holidays months in advance. So for those who are looking to travel last minute or for the spontaneous birder, we have created a list of upcoming tours where we still have some spaces available both here in the UK...

28/05/2026

Our Birding the Highlands in May group has been enjoying both fantastic weather and stunning wildlife this week. Scottish specialities like Crested Tit, Ptarmigan and both eagles have been seen well and the spring migrants have arrived in force with Ring Ouzel, Pied Flycatcher, Wood Warbler, Redstart, Tree Pipit and Spotted Flycatcher all seen this week. A boat trip out to the seabird colonies at Troup Head proved very popular with the group getting wonderful views of Bottlenose Dolphin as they played in the bow wave and Gannet diving right next to the boat. Look out for the photo-bombing Mountain Hare in the video below!

**Please note - the clip of the White-tailed Eagle at the nest was filmed at distance from a public road with absolutely no disturbance to the birds.**

27/05/2026

We are excited to share the latest trip report for our Finland - Late Spring Birding Tour, with highlights including Great Grey Owl, Tengmalm’s Owl, Willow Grouse, Terek Sandpiper & more!

To download the trip report, click on the link below:
https://heatherlea.co.uk/blog/trip-reports-2026/

22/05/2026

It's been a fantastic week of birding for our group on the first week of our Shetland Island Explorer tour, with highlights including; Blueyhroat, Red-backed Shrike, Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll & Pectoral Sandpiper!

21/05/2026

We had a late night visitor to our nature pond recently - a busy badger! It's lovely to see the nocturnal wildlife living around the The Mountview Hotel🦡🌿

20/05/2026

Heatherlea guides James Champion and Sergi Sales have recently completed guiding a very successful tour through the wilds of Catalonia, covering a wide range of habitats from the marshes and coastal lagoons of the Ebro Delta, through the steppes of Lleida, to the beautiful mountain landscapes of the Pyrenees. The group notched up around 205 species of bird, including highlights such as Little Crake, Collared Flycatcher, Little Bustard, Eagle Owl chicks, as well as all four species of vulture. Seeing huge numbers of Griffons literally tumbling out of the sky to feed at a vulture restaurant while the guests enjoyed coffee and biscuits was another highlight.
We look forward to offering this tour again in 2028.

Many thanks to Steve Ryder for the photos.

The latest Trip report is now available to download on the link below:
https://heatherlea.co.uk/blog/trip-reports-2026/

18/05/2026

Our group has had a fantastic start on our first week of our Shetland Island Explorer tour with 64 species of birds including Red-necked Phalarope, Risso's Dolphins and a nice Otter on Fetlar!

15/05/2026

Weekly roundup: It's been a busy week of birding here in the Highlands & Islands! Our Highlands & Corncrake group have been lucky enough to see Woodchat Shrike, King Eider, Cuckoo and multiple fantastic Corncrake sightings. Meanwhile on our Mull, Iona and Treshnish tour, the group has seen Corncrake and three Dotterel!

12/05/2026

We're almost halfway through our Outer Hebrides in Spring tour and it's been fabulous so far! Our group has had great views of Hen Harrier, Merlin, Golden and White-tailed Eagles, American Wigeon, Wood Sandpiper and lots of waders in breeding plumage including both Golden and Grey Plover. We've seen no fewer than 7 Corncrake so far with 6 seen in one day alone! And there's plenty more to come yet!