Birdwatching Holidays in Europe

The Netherlands

If you fancy travelling a little further afield without the necessity of long-haul then why not try the Netherlands? Under local expert guidance, you can simply take your pick of summer or winter, as both offer exciting birds and an excitingly different experience.

Covering all the best sites, such as the vast estuary of the Waddenzee, our summer trip takes in a vast array of both common and rarer waders, featuring everything from ruff to red-necked phalaropes. And in addition to the wetland birds, opportunities also exist to track down bluethroats, red-backed shrikes and Montagu’s harriers.

And if you fancy going ‘Double-Dutch’, then winter is a tremendous time for geese and wildfowl. Along the coast we hope to find huge flocks of wildfowl, waders and of a quartet of wintering geese, in the form of pink-footed, white-fronted, brent and barnacle. While scanning the flocks, there's also every chance of picking out a rarer goose - anyone up for the challenge of spotting a red-breasted or lesser white-fronted?!

Spain

For Spain, the wilderness of Extramadura should be at the top of your must-visit locations. The region’s rolling plains offer the opportunity to spot bustards and sandgrouse, while the mosaic of mountains, forests and lakes hold healthy populations of Spanish imperial eagles, black-shouldered kites and black storks. 

Poland

But for an opportunity to see Europe’s only primeval-remaining habitat then your best (and only) option is Poland. The country is proud two hold two truly world-class locations - the ancient forest of Bialowieza and the vast marshes of Biebrza. For collared and red-breasted flycatchers and all of central Europe’s woodpeckers you’ll need to head for the trees, while the wetlands offer displaying ruff, marsh sandpipers and all three of Europe’s marsh terns.

Slightly further off the birding beaten track are the relatively under-explored, but highly underrated destinations of Slovakia and Estonia.

Slovakia

Offering everything from beautiful coniferous forests and mature beech forest to dramatic limestone gorges, Slovakia is capable of delivering a quartet of quality owls: Ural, eagle, pygmy and Tengmalm’s. And when not either owl or woodpecker spotting, you should also keep an eye out for fabulous forest birds like nutcracker and hazel grouse.

Estonia

Equally under the birding radar is Estonia, and a long weekend to the Island of Saaremaa hosts the most important wintering area for Steller’s eider. But this is much more than just a ‘one bird trip’, as you’ll have the opportunity to polish up on other sea ducks, while additionally spending time in the region’s forests to look for the enigmatic hawk owl.

Romania

Finally, if you like your birding with a few mammals thrown in for good measure then look no further than the historic region of Transylvania. Covering the Carpathians on this epic week-long trip we’ll not just be catching up with bears, but in Dracula’s spiritual home we’ll also be searching for sought-after continental specialities like black woodpeckers, rock thrushes and rock bunting.

View all our nature holidays to Europe or browse our extensive portfolio of birdwatching holidays around the world. To start planning your next trip contact us.