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Birdwatching Trips, Llandudno (2026)

28/04/2026

Fantastic start to our latest Birdwatching Trips Tour - Extremadura Spain with Iolo Williams
Day one - travel down from Madrid where we stayed overnight. Montagu’s & Marsh Harriers, Cinereous & Griffon Vultures, Booted Eagles, Lesser Kestrels, European Bee-eaters, Hoopoes, White Storks, Iberian Magpies, Purple Herons, Savi’s Warbler, Red-rumped Swallows. Glorious weather, excellent food, a lot of laughs.
Day two - out at dawn on the steppe. Perfect conditions cool overcast no wind - very little haze - beautiful light. Fantastic display Great Bustards, Spanish Imperial Eagles, Short-toed & Booted Eagles, melanistic Montagu’s Harrier, Calandra, Thekla’s, & Short-Toed Larks, Tawny Pipit, European Rollers & Bee-eaters, European Turtle Doves, Glossy Ibis. Superb views of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse in flight & on the deck. Lesser Kesterls, Pallid & Common Swifts, Black Redstarts, Black-winged Stilts & much more!! Come & join us.

18/04/2026

Armenia Birdwatching Trips Tour Day 9
A very early start! We met at 4.30am for coffee & cake & headed out just before 5am in three 4x4’s. A rough & in places steep track took us into the mountains in the dark. Climbing up & up we eventually reached the spot just as light was coming. Scanning the vast mountains we saw our target bird the awesome Caspian Snowcock - a mixture of elation & relief after not being able to reach the Caucasian Snowcocks in Georgia due to heavy snow. But even this was exceeded by the sighting of European brown bears! So lucky to see these wonderful animals in this beautiful habitat, a real wow moment! Also here Horned Larks, Twite, & Peregrine all new for our trip.
On the way down more birds were added with Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, singing Wood Larks, Western Rock Nuthatches, Blue Rock Thrushes, Rock Buntings, Syrian Woodpecker, Golden Eagle, & Black Redstarts not bad before breakfast!
Breakfast back at the guest house went down very well indeed! We then packed our bags & headed back to the Armash Fish Ponds. Just a quick look today before we headed up to a nearby gorge.
Even a quick visit to this special place can be amazing. A few of the highlights included a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater wow, 70 White Pelicans, Slender-billed Gull, Spur-winged Lapwing, masses of Common Swifts & Barn Swallows.
We then switched again to 4x4’s who took us to a beautiful gorge. Sadly construction work was going on exactly where we had hoped to bird. Not surprisingly not many here! But we did enjoy Semi-collared Flycatcher, Common Redstarts, Isabelline, Finsch’s, Eastern Black-eared Wheatears, Western & Eastern Rock Nuthatches, Little Owls, Peregrine.
We then headed to our lovely hotel, a long but very rewarding day!

14/04/2026

Georgia to Armenia Birdwatching Trips Tour Day 6
A travel day as we leave Georgia & headed south into Armenia - a new destination for Birdwatching Trips.
Pre-breakfast birding at our lovely Tbilisi Hotel produced Booted Eagle, Steppe Buzzed, 5 Eurasian Sparrowhawks moving north. Also the resident Black-crowned Night Herons & Little Egrets.
After an excellent breakfast we packed up & headed for the Armenian border. Just over an hours drive.
Smooth border crossing, we walked across “no man’s land” to the Armenian passport control then met our new minibus driver & set off.
Very few birds seen on the drive but some spectacular scenery & lots of snow as we climbed up to over 6,000 feet.
We stopped for delicious lunch at a very posh restaurant then did a little birding in a deciduous woodland. Familiar birds here, but new for the trip, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Nuthatch, Common Treecreeper, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, & Song Thrush. We also had great views of Hawfinches.
Then on over a snow covered pass to reach the vast Lake Seven, surrounded by snow covered mountains! A few birds seen on the lake, mostly Armenian Gulls huge numbers, also Great Crested Grebes, Great Cormorants, Eurasian Coots, Northern Shoveler, Tufted Ducks, & best of all beautiful Black-necked Grebes!
We have just one night here. A mouth watering array of birds await tomorrow….

13/04/2026

Georgia Birdwatching Trips Tour Day 5
Pre-breakfast and “our” Red-breasted Flycatcher showed off well from the hotel veranda. Also 3 Common Sandpipers, many Black-crowned Night Herons, Little Egrets, some big flocks of Chaffinch moving north.
After another great breakfast we headed out to a steppe lake. On the way, crossing an area of grassland, we realized many birds were feeding here & stopped to look. Amazing numbers of birds, where to look! Montagu’s, Pallid, Hen & Marsh Harriers were all hunting here, so many Common Kestrels, a Merlin shot by, Eurasian Sparrowhawks swept over the grassland, Steppe Buzzards, Long-legged Buzzards, Booted & Short-toed Snake Eagles were higher up, Black Kites wheeled low over the ground. Isabelline Wheatears were common & Northern Wheatears were scarce! Hoopoes every few hundred yards. A White Stork strode around. Thousands of Barn Swallows & Common Swifts poured overhead. Crested Larks & Water Pipits here in good numbers. All this in beautiful morning sun & little wind, perfect!
We continued to a large lake & set up the scopes on the shore & began scanning. Again, where to look first! Great Crested Grebes were displaying just offshore, Common Pochard dived for food near the grebes. A flock of Black-crowned Night Heron stood hunched under some small trees & a Purple Heron flapped slowly past. The flat calm water & beautiful light made for wonderful birding. Julie spotted a DalmatianPelican resting on the bank of the lake amongst dozens of Great Cormorants. Great & Little Egrets along with Grey Herons strode through the shallow waters. Jayne picked out a Slender-billed Gull close to our position & we enjoyed super views of this unexpected bird! Next Sarah-Jane picked out a beautiful breeding plumaged Black Tern hawking for insects amongst thousands of Barn Swallows - what an amazing sight. A Black Stork flapped low over distant fields, raptors were constantly in view including Eastern Imperial Eagle, Booted Eagles, so many harrier Marsh, Pallid, & Montagu’s, Steppe Buzzards, Eurasian Sparrowhawks, Common Kestrels, & our first Osprey of the trip. Garganey & Northern Shoveler were loafing on the calm water as gangs of Common Sandpipers ran along the shoreline what a fantastic place! It wasn’t easy to leave!
Driving towards our second destination we crossed an area of “post industrial grassland” & roadside birding produced a magnificent White-tailed Eagle overhead yet another new raptor! Also Gull-billed Terns, Purple Heron, many harriers, Steppe Buzzards, Cattle Egrets & more!
We then headed to the lake we visited on Saturday, as it was so good, could it deliver again?
Simple answer yes! Despite a stiff wind, luckily we used the minibus as a windbreak, so many birds. It was fantastic to scan through the array of birds using this shallow corner of the huge lake. The highlight here was a brute of a Pallas’s Gull aka Great Black-headed Gull roosting with Armenian, Caspian, & Mediterranean Gulls - what a thrill to see this awesome gull. The Pallas’s Gull stayed around throughout our time here so we had plenty of time to enjoy it. We ate a wonderful buffet style picnic lunch here, rather late as so much time at the first lake! The good birds just kept coming making lunch a very slow process indeed. A breeding plumaged Whiskered Tern wowed us. An adult Little Gull dropped into the gull roost. Hundreds of Garganey here & we played spot the Eurasian Teal amongst them. Common Shelduck was new for our trip & great to see more Ruddy Shelduck. Waders included Marsh, Green, & Common Sandpipers, Common Greenshank & Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit. Citrine, Black-headed & Blue-headed Wagtails added splashes of colour. Pygmy Cormorants, Purple Herons, Great Egrets & so much more! Just fantastic.
Eventually we dragged ourselves away & headed back to our lovely hotel in Tbilisi & enjoyed a lovey dinner.

12/04/2026

Georgia Birdwatching Trips Tour Day Four. Got off to a great start with a male Red-breasted Flycatcher in the bushes at our hotel pre-breakfast!
Another delicious breakfast then out, heading west to a steppe lake. Plenty of raptors from the minibus as we drove. Fun to see Istanbul come up on the sign posts, over 1,000 km away.
We headed up a dirt track towards the lake but after recent heavy rains the track soon became mud. With wheels spinning we decided best to walk in. This proved a great idea so many raptors on the move. The prize here was a ghostly pale male Pallid Harrier that drifted slowly past - wow!! At least three Pallid Harriers here along with Hen, Montagu’s, & Marsh Harriers. Short-toed Snake Eagles hovered like giant Kestrels, Long-legged Buzzards also got in on the hovering trick. Steppe Buzzards stared from low bushes, Black Kites just moved slowly north. Corn Buntings were numerous & their simple songs filled the air. Linnets & Common Stonechats were new for our trip list. At the lake it was rather disappointing, distance & heat haze made it tricky - Great Crested Grebes, Ruddy Shelduck, Greenshanks, & a Great Egret the best.
Back at the minibus we enjoyed watching a stunning male Black-headed Wagtail amongst a flock of White Wagtails.
We then headed to a monastery but it was closed for Easter! We had a look around the cliffs nearby seeing Cinereous& Griffon Vultures, Western Rock Nuthatches, Alpine Swifts & more. We had our picnic lunch here.
Just down the road we stopped to watch a big flock of “yellow” Wagtails along with some 30 Water Pipits.
A roadside stop for our first Little Owl of the trip also produced 3 Montagu’s Harriers, a female Goshawk, and a Booted Eagle.
Another monastery this one perched high above a huge valley. Lots of people being Easter here & at first few birds. We kept scanning & picked out Alpine Swifts, Long-legged & Steppe Buzzards, Short-toed Snake Eagles, a distant Egyptian Vulture & a lovely male Blue Rock Thrush. Just as we were about to leave a superb Steppe Eagle flew really low overhead!! What an amazing view of this huge bird.
On the way back to Tbilisi we stopped for a traditional Georgian meal.

11/04/2026

Day 3 Birdwatching Trips Tour in Georgia. The road to the mountains remains impassable due to heave snow but our superb local guide Alex didn’t miss a heart beat & had an amazing array of birds for us to enjoy.
We headed east out of Tbilisi & then on to a minor road across rolling steppe landscape.
A male Pallid Harrier, what a bird, drifted over the grassland causing an emergency stop! Piling out we saw there were two of these graceful ghostly raptors. Back on the minibus & got all of three hundred meters when “Cranes stop!” A flick of Demoiselle Cranes were walking sedately across the plain. We got out slowly & quietly, moved cautiously forward & enjoyed a thrilling encounter with these oh so beautiful birds. There two flocks totaling some 50 birds & we soaked up frame filling views as Calandra Larks & Skylarks pour their songs down above us - awesome! A Lesser Spouted Eagle, another Pallid & five Montagu’s Harrier floated past & Corn Buntings were on nearby bushes.
On across the steppe pausing to watch Long-legged Buzzards, Steppe Buzzards, a Booted Eagle, Black Kites, Griffon Vultures, Hen, Montagu’s & Pallid Harriers.
We reached an area with wetlands either side of the road & of course investigated this promising looking spot. Ruddy Shelduck, Garganey, & Norther Shoveler here. Around the edge of the larger pool were lots of waders. A Kentish Plover was unexpected amongst Little Ringed Plover. A flock of Ruff fed in the shallow water along with a Marsh Sandpiper, Green & Common Sandpipers, lots of Greenshank, a single Black-tailed Godwit was our first of the trip. A Long-legged Buzzard came down to drink, a Merlin dashed through a huge flock of Common Starlings, Water Pipits whizzed about & raptors were constantly in view! Just as we were dragging ourselves away a flock of Gull-billed Terns dropped in! Fantastic birding.
On to an ancient monastery where we walked up to this beautiful historic building. Great birds kept coming with a pair of Western Rock Nuthatches, Chuka Partridges, Black Redstarts, Hoopoe, Alpine Swifts all enjoyed. Raptor passage continued with all three harriers seen again, Cinereous & Griffon Vultures & even three Egyptian Vultures cruising overhead against the blue sky!
We enjoyed a wonderful picnic lunch in the warm sun washed down with coffee & delicious chocolates many thanks Alex!
We retuned over the steppe seeing many of the species again.
Back to the main road & headed back towards Tbilis.
We stopped at an area of woodland & walked the track. At first very little to see a few European Jays & Hooded Crows. Then real reward for keeping the faith - Semi-collared Flycatchers!! A big target bird & after a little frustration enjoyed stunning views of two males. At the same spot we had a pair of Red-breasted Flycatchers the male being a real looker! Raptors were passing over including our first Hobby of the trip, a Goshawk fighting with a Hooded Crow, a Booted Eagle, another Lesser Spotted Eagle. Hawfinches posed in the tree tops. We had hoped for woodpeckers but no joy.
As we turned to leave a Middle Spotted Woodpecker called & luckily we soon located it. This was quickly followed by great views of Syrian & then Green Woodpecker as a Black Woodpecker called in the distance - a mad 15 minutes! We almost made it back to the minibus before it poured down, no one minded we were on a birding high!!! What a great day.

11/04/2026

Georgia 🇬🇪 day 2 of our Birdwatching Trips Tour. Early morning rain dampened pre-breakfast birding but plenty of Black-crowned Night Herons, also Little Egrets, & Great Cormorants on the river. A male Red-breasted Flycatcher put in a very brief appearance.
With the road to the mountains closed by heavy snow we needed to change plans, luckily Alex had a great plan.
After breakfast it was off to look for Kruper’s Nuthatch & it was very successful with excellent views enjoyed of this much wanted species.
A visit to a park on the outskirts of the city gave us rather distant views of both Griffon & Cinereous Vultures, migrating Steppe Buzzards, and in the park itself nice mix of birds including Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Jay, & Tree Sparrows.
On again to a huge expanse of short grassland doted with post industrial ruins - very odd place & we all thought why have we come here? Within moments we were watching a beautiful Eastern Imperial Eagle! This awesome raptor put on an amazing display, both in flight & on the ground just wow! But there was much more in this weird landscape - Short-toed, & Steppe Eagles, Long-legged & many Steppe Buzzards, gorgeous male Montagu’s Harrier, a stunning male Bluethroat, a pair of Caspian Stonechats, Calandra Larks, Water Pipits & more! We were astonished by the birds we enjoyed in this unpromising landscape.
On again to a huge lake with shallow shoreline teaming with birds! We could have spent all day just in this one spot so much to see. Just a few of the stars here included hundreds of Garganey, beautiful Northern Pintail, Ruddy Shelducks, displaying Great Crested Grebes, Ruff, Greenshank, Wood, Green, & Common Sandpipers, Citrine, Black-headed, & Blue-headed Wagtails, many Caspian Gulls, Armenian Gulls, Pygmy Cormorants, Purple Herons….
Also in this area much better views of both Griffon & Cinereous Vultures, another Eastern Imperial Eagle, so many Steppe Buzzards, many Hoopoes, Spanish Sparrows & much more!
In the evening Alex took us to a wonderful Georgian restaurant with dancers & singers oh and delicious food! A great night to end a great day!

09/04/2026

Georgia day 2 pre-tour. Dawn saw steady rain so no pre-breakfast birding. Breakfast was plentiful & the rain had stopped by the time we finished. Ventured out onto the flooded balcony over looking the river. Usual suspects - lots of Black-crowned Night Herons, small numbers of Little Egrets & Great Cormorants. Not a lot of visible migration at first a few Common Swifts, Steppe Buzzards, & a Black Kite. Then a distant raptor looked interesting, luckily the bird came closer. Harrier, small harrier, then as the bird came even close - male Montagu’s Harrier what fantastic bird!
We then took a minibus taxi to the Tbilisi Reservoir. It was very windy when we arrived & we set off to walk to the waters edge. We soon found ourselves in horrible thick mud that caked our boots, yuck! But we soldiered on with distant birds to see.
Crested Larks were on the “grass” & Steppe Buzzards battled the wind above us joined by our first Marsh Harrier of the trip. Close to the shore we scanned around & quickly found Water Pipits & Common Sandpipers on the mud. Further out we saw Tufted Ducks, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Teal, & Mallard. More scanning of the shore added 2 Jack Snipe most unexpected, Little Ringed Plover, 2 Dunlin, & 3 Green Sandpipers. But the highlight were two stunning male Citrine Wagtails that landed in front of us, wow!
As we slid our way back to the road two Issabelline Wheatears showed off on the “grass”. As we neared to road we came across a car stuck in the mud! The elderly driver looked at a loss as what to do. Two local chaps came to help & together we were able to get the car out but not before being sprayed with liquid mud from the wheels spinning!!
We then had to try & clean up before getting back in the taxi we were filthy! Taxi driver got a very good tip & seemed to see the funny side thankfully.
Back at the hotel a spectacular movement of Common Swifts took place late afternoon thousands & thousands poured past the hotel following the river valley just magical to watch. Alpine Swifts were amongst them too. We also more enjoyed Steppe Buzzards, another Marsh Harrier, Goshawk, Sparrowhawks, & Kestrels on the move along with a Serin, two huge flocks of Goldfinches. Quite a day!

07/04/2026

Georgia 🇬🇪 on my mind, heading off on latest Birdwatching Trips adventure. Looking forward to iconic birds in beautiful landscapes - my kind of birding. Have a terrific Tuesday. Take a moment to be kind. Guldenstadt’s Redstart in the stunning Caucasus Mountains. Taken on our last trip to this magical place.

06/04/2026

Start your week by watching birds. Birds make us smile & give us a much needed break from the madness. Right now migrant birds are arriving from Africa - so exciting! Like this Osprey, so look up! Be kind today, we can all choose to do this.

Birdwatching Trips

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