Summary For Birding Adventures
Overall rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ – 3 adventure travel stars (rounded up)
Birding adventures (also referred to as bird watching) is a popular adventure travel experience that can take you all over the world. And if you’re looking for something that the whole family can do together, you should give it a try.
Birding adventures are a great way to take in nature’s beauty, breathe fresh air and experience some incredible brushes with nature at its most unpredictable.
Imagine sitting by a river bank in an Amazon jungle waiting to catch a glimpse of a colorful Hoatzin (with that wild head feather arrangement) when you see the eyes of a caiman slowly appear in the water as howler monkeys sound off in the trees. That’s a birding experience you won’t soon forget.
Birding adventures are great fun with a big adventure upside and pretty much anyone can do it. The risk is minimal and fairly easy to control, and you don’t need to be all that skilled if you want to go with an experienced guide.
Tie it into a business trip or tack in onto a vacation. Bird watching adventures are a lot of fun.
Risk Factor
Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ – 2 adventure travel stars
The risk involved with birding adventures is normally minimal. However, the risk is sometimes dependent on where you go and what you have to do to get there.
As an example, if you’re deep in a tropical jungle where there are snakes and big cats and other critters that bite, then that does have its associated risks. Also, if you have to climb and trek some dangerous terrain, well, add another star to the risk factor.
You are out in the wild where unexpected things can happen, so be mindful of any hazards within your chosen environment, and you’ll be just fine.
Skill & Physical Factors
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ – 3 adventure travel stars
While it’s true that anyone can grab a pair of binoculars and a camera and then find a spot to watch some birds fly around, if you want to get the most out of birding adventures you’ll need to develop some skills.
For instance, you’ll need to know the best times of year and the best places to find the birds you’re after. If you have an ear for recognizing different bird calls and know their behaviors, that will help you out as well. You’ll also need to understand how the weather affects the behavior of the birds that interest you.
Well, there is a shortcut to having to learn all of the aforementioned skills. Just find an experienced bird watching guide.
Technology makes it much easier to enjoy the birding experience with the advent of point and shoot cameras and image stabilization for both still photography and shooting videos, so you don’t necessarily need to be an expert with optical gadgets.
Where the physical factor is concerned, you can simply choose a birdwatching holiday that suits your physical condition. Some are about as easy as walking through a park and others involve considerable treks or maybe a backpacking excursion. Take your pick.
Fun Factor
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ – 3 adventure travel stars
Birding adventures are a great activity to get you out of the house and into the arms of Mother Nature for some fun in the great outdoors. The experience combines the thrill of the chase with a little hide-and-seek action as you hunt for interesting and exotic birds with your camera before you scratch them off your list.
Anyone can join in the fun, and you’ll learn about nature and eco systems along the way. There are even competitions to see who can find more types of birds in a given area over a limited amount of time according to a set of rules.
Birding adventures are a wonderful social activity with all the clubs and associations around the world. Chances are there’s one in your area.
Popular places for birding adventures
- Aveiro, Portugal
- Eilat, Israel
- Everglades, Florida, USA
- Falsterbo, Sweden
- Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
- Goa, India
- Khao Yai National Park, Thailand
- Tatras National Park, Slovakia
- The Camargue, France
- Tucson, Arizona, USA
- Turrialba, Costa Rica
- Wollongong, Australia