Travelling to Scotland – even to photograph a few birds – is one of the easiest trips you could organize (assuming you’re speaking English – but what would you be doing here if you don’t?) Scottish people are definitely pleasant and bookings are easy to organize from afar (hotels, B&B, boat cruise or guided tour) just by browsing on the Internet and using the many available search engines.
So, we did plan our own trip there and I would like to add a few useful tricks to help you find the best spots and bring the nicest pictures.
- You want birds and you don’t know where to go? Jump to the RSPB Scotland web site (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) which contains everything you need. Better! All the sites attractive to amateur ornithologists are protected and clearly identified by RSPB Scotland.
- You can’t miss the blue sign at the road side. If you see the sign and you did not know there was a reserve, it is mostly worth stopping and checking the location (we were never disappointed by this approach).
- When you book a boat trip (to a specific island tour), I would suggest you book the 1st one in the morning and keep an option for the second one afterwards. If you’re happy with what you saw first, you may want to jump into a second cruise
- The weather must be with you Scotland it not the sunniest country in Europe. So, make sure you succeed and come to Scotland in April or May. When there is less rain (but there could be a lot of wind).
- That is good: April-May is at the height of bird mating parades or nesting (depending on species, of course). A lot of activity to observe.
- July-August is top-tourist season, but outside of Edinburgh, you should never be bothered by tourist crowds anyway.
With this, you may visit plenty of nice location only a few hours from London or Paris.
Leave a Reply