Dorset
Coastal migrants and heathland specialities
Monday 5 - Thursday 8 May 2008 (4 days)
Join Bob Ford as we go back to our roots on a spring break in our wonderful home county of Dorset, at one of its very best hotels!
South Dorset with the Isle of Portland sticking out into the English Channel includes some of the best sites in Britain - and some would say Europe - to witness the spectacle of bird migration.
Each spring and autumn thousands of migrants break their journeys by resting on Portland's fields and shoreline. The fields and hedges at this time can be alive with warblers, chats and flycatchers, with Wheatears on the open fields. Offshore, seabirds such as skuas and shearwaters stream past the tip of Portland - the Bill - en route to their Arctic breeding areas. Some, such as the Puffin, stop to breed on Portland's high cliffs, along with a growing population of Peregrine Falcons and Ravens. Portland is also famous for producing a surprise or two!
Each spring and autumn thousands of migrants break their journeys by resting on Portland's fields and shoreline. The fields and hedges at this time can be alive with warblers, chats and flycatchers, with Wheatears on the open fields. Offshore, seabirds such as skuas and shearwaters stream past the tip of Portland - the Bill - en route to their Arctic breeding areas. Some, such as the Puffin, stop to breed on Portland's high cliffs, along with a growing population of Peregrine Falcons and Ravens. Portland is also famous for producing a surprise or two!
Price: £ 585
Single supp.: £ 115
Deposit: £ 100 per person
The price is per person, and is fully inclusive of 3 nights' accommodation, meals from Monday evening to Thursday lunchtime, transport, tips, admissions and the services of the leader.
The price excludes holiday insurance, drinks and other personal expenses.
Principal Leader: Bob Ford
The RSPB reserves at Radipole and Lodmoor are nearby with their breeding Bearded Tits and Cetti's Warblers. Dartford Warblers and Wood Larks are only a few miles further away on Dorset's heathlands.
Our base for the week is Moonfleet Manor, a Georgian manor house overlooking the waters of the Fleet, a saline lagoon between the mainland and Chesil Beach, and an excellent birdwatching spot in its own right.
Accommodation: Moonfleet Manor is one of Dorset's best hotels, and is superbly situated beside the Fleet lagoon. All rooms are en suite.
Travel: Rail travellers can be met at Weymouth station between 5 and 6 pm.