The fabulous Golden Oriole is widespread across Europe during the northern summer. It is a shy bird though and difficult to see well, let alone photograph, hence this image, taken by Steve Fletcher, is remarkable.
EUROPE
Lists such as this one are of course highly subjective but the destinations listed and linked below are the ones we believe are the best in Europe. They have been chosen very carefully and for a multitude of reasons, but mainly based on our experience of some of them, and on dreams of visiting the others, dreams resulting from what we have heard, read or seen.
Top destinations that didn't quite make it include the Scottish Highlands, Sweden, Belarus, Portugal, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece. If there are any other destinations you think should be on the list below then please Email us.
For each destination there is a very brief summary. For more details click on the destination name.
For more information click on Top 100 Birds, Top 100 Other Wildlife and Top 50 Other Natural Wonders.
Destinations
Spitsbergen
Polar Bear, Walrus and birds such as Ivory Gull, Little Auk and summer-plumaged Grey Phalarope, as well as a chance of Beluga and Bowhead Whale, in some
of the most spectacular settings in the world, including pack ice, fjords, glaciers and steep mountains (‘spits’). Cruises usually sail from June to
August with late June to early July the best time for birds and late July to early August the best time for Polar Bears.
Iceland
A chance of Blue, Humpback, Killer and Minke Whales, as well as Arctic Fox, and birds including Great Northern Diver, Harlequin Duck and Barrow's
Goldeneye, all of which nest nowhere else in Europe, as well as White-tailed Eagle and Gyr Falcon, nesting shorebirds such as Grey and
Red-necked Phalaropes, and some of the world's most spectacular seabird cliffs with colonies of birds such as Puffins and Brunnich's Guillemots, all in
some of the wildest scenery in the world, where ice caps, glaciers and snow-capped volcanoes rise above boiling mud pools, geysers and waterfalls. Late
June to early July in the northern summer is the peak time for birds but the northern winter is the best time to see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).
Scottish Islands
A chance of Killer and Minke Whales, as well as dolphins, Otter and Basking Shark, with birds such as White-tailed and Golden Eagles, Corn Crake,
Red-necked Phalarope and Great Skua, and some of the world's most spectacular seabird cliffs, notably on St Kilda, where the highest sea cliffs in
the British Isles, which rise to 430m (1410 ft), help support over half a million birds. Mid-May to July is the best time to experience such incredible
sights, as well as the flower-rich machair of the Outer Hebrides which is usually at its best during the first half of June.
Finland and Arctic Norway
A good chance of seeing Brown Bears from hides at night in almost 24-hour daylight, and a chance of Wolverine, in addition to the greatest diversity of
owls in Europe, including Eagle, Great Grey, Ural, Tengmalm’s and Pygmy Owls, with Hawk and Snowy Owls also possible, and plenty of other spectacular
and localized birds such as White-tailed Eagle, Gyr Falcon, King and Steller’s Eiders, White-billed Diver, Red-necked Phalarope, Brunnich's Guillemot,
Siberian Jay, Red-flanked Bluetail and Bohemian Waxwing, all in some of the wildest country in the region, from taiga forests to tundra inside the
Arctic Circle. To see bears, owls and the widest variety of other birds late May is probably the best time to be there.
Estonia
A good chance of seeing Brown Bears from hides, as well as Flying Squirrel, Elk and Beaver, with birds such as Great Snipe (at lek), White-tailed and
Lesser Spotted Eagles, Common Crane, White and Black Storks, Black Grouse (at lek) and some of the hundreds of thousands of migrating ducks, geese and
swans, all in some fine forests and wetlands inland from the long Baltic coastline. Bears usually emerge from hibernation from mid-April onwards and
May is a good time to look for them because this coincides with the best time for most birds, including lekking Great Snipe.
Poland
Parts of Poland are like Europe as much of it once was, with the finest remaining tract of original lowland forest and the largest inland wetland left
on the continent, habitats which support all of Europe’s woodpeckers and a superb selection of waterbirds including Great Snipe and Aquatic Warbler, as
well as White-tailed and Lesser Spotted Eagles, Common Crane, and White and Black Storks. Mammals, which include European Bison, are much more difficult
to see. The best time for the greatest variety of birds is usually the second half of May.
Southern France
A wonderful combination of wetland and mountain birds in the Camargue and Pyrenees, which include Greater Flamingo, White Stork, herons, shorebirds such
as Black-winged Stilt, Lammergeier, Black and Griffon Vultures, Wallcreeper, Alpine Accentor, and Citril and Snow Finches, as well as Eagle Owl,
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Bee-eater and Roller, all in some superb scenery, not least the Pyrenees where the immense Cirque de Gavarnie is one of the top
natural wonders of the world. The Greater Flamingo colony in the Camargue is usually at its most active during May and the second half of May is
arguably the best time for birds in general around the Camargue, as well as orchids in Cevennes.
Northern Spain
A very good chance of Wolf, as well as Spanish Ibex and birds such as Lammergeier, Spanish Eagle, Great Bustard, White and Black Storks, Eurasian
Eagle-Owl, Wallcreeper and (Iberian) Azure-winged Magpie. The best times to visit are mid-February to April and the second half of October for wolves,
mid-March to mid-April for displaying bustards, mid-April to early June for birds, and mid-June to early July for butterflies and flowers in the
Pyrenees.
Southern Spain
A good chance of Iberian Lynx, and Killer and Pilot Whales, and dolphins, as well as such birds as Greater Flamingo, Spanish and Golden Eagles, Black
and Griffon Vultures, Black-shouldered Kite and Azure-winged Magpie, all at the same time as the most spectacular visible migration of storks and
raptors in Europe. The greatest numbers and variety of storks and raptors migrating over the Strait of Gibraltar usually occurs in early
September.
Azores
A good chance of Sperm Whales and Bottlenose, Common, Risso's, Spotted and Striped Dolphins, and a lesser chance of several other whales including Blue,
Fin, Sei, Pilot and Cuvier's Beaked, as well as Loggerhead Turtle and a few seabirds such as Cory's Shearwater. On land the few birds do
include Canary and the endemic Azores Bullfinch. Sperm Whale and most dolphins are resident but best looked for in August-September when Sperm Whales
have calves and Spotted Dolphin, a summer visitor, is also usually present. Large whales such as Blue usually pass through in March-April.
Romania
Brown Bear and birds such as White-tailed Eagle, White and Black Stork, Eurasian Nutcracker, Wallcreeper and waterbirds including pelicans in the
Danube Delta, the largest wetland in Europe by far. The best times to look for bears are early May and the second half of September, which almost match
the peak times for birds; early May and early September, whereas the peak time for wild flowers in the Carpathians is usually mid-June to mid-July.
