Witnessing the age-old roosting behaviour of thousands of starlings felt pretty special, yet epic wildlife displays like this are commonplace in the UK. Television series such as Spring Watch and Autumn Watch have helped raise the profile of local wildlife, capturing the imagination of young and old, and thanks to organisations such as the Wildlife Trusts, Natural England and the RSPB, British wildlife is now more accessible than ever. Just off the Pembrokeshire coast, Skomer Island and neighbouring Skokholm Island, for instance, are home to the world’s largest concentration of Manx shearwater (related to albatrosses), as well as the largest breeding puffin colony in southern Britain – a great way to see them is on an evening boat cruise from Martin’s Haven (pembrokeshire-islands.co.uk).
In Scotland, a great place to see wildlife is at the Aigas Field Centre (aigas.co.uk) where you can stay in one of several lodges on a B&B basis and use it as a base to foray into the wildlife-rich outdoors. There are lots of wildlife hides and a network of nature trails around lochs and moorland, where you can see red squirrels, field voles, red and roe deers, slow worms and a variety of birds, including several birds of prey.
If you’re looking for something more active, one of my favourite birdwatching trips is to go kayaking along the Ebro – Spain’s longest
river, flowing 565 miles south from the Cantabrian Mountains to the Mediterranean at the shimmering delta south-west of Tarragona, Catalonia. I kayaked along a peaceful stretch of the river between Garcia and Móra d’Ebre with a guide from En Blau (enblau.cat) – a small, family-run outfit – where you may be treated to sightings of dazzling blue-plumed kingfishers and house martins swooping around the Garcia bridge. We saw lots of moorhens and coots lurking in the reeds alongside the bank and several species of egret and herons, including the delicately pink squacco heron with milk-white underwings.
Remember that with any interaction with nature, there’s a balance between marvelling at wildlife and not disturbing it, so that the experience is good for you and for nature. At the end of last year, Wildlife Heritage Areas launched. It’s a global benchmark organised
by World Animal Protection and World Cetacean Alliance, working with a coalition of responsible travel businesses and wildlife charities to highlight responsible wildlife watching. There are currently eight Wildlife Heritage Areas including the Apennines Marsican Bear Heritage Area in Italy, the Madeira Whale Heritage Area in Portugal, and Whitsundays Whale Heritage Area in Australia. There are plans for many more areas globally so keep an eye out for more wonderful opportunities for well-managed wildlife watching on its website. Happy Green Travelling!