Bird Watching Vacation

Planning your own bird watching vacation certainly has its advantages over a pre-planned tour. First, you can save a lot of money and second, you are in control of what you do and when you do it. Sure, it's going to take more time and effort, but you will be rewarded in the end.

To help with your plans, here are a couple of well-reviewed bird watching vacation books:

Birdfinder: A Birder's Guide to Planning North American Trips (American Birding Association Birdfinding Guide)

"after a field guide, this should be your 2nd bird book"

"This book is a 20 ct. diamond. I have used it for four years to plan birding trips. If you want to go where the birds are, this book is a must. It not only tells you where to go, it also gives you a detailed itinerary, tells you when to go, and tells you how many day to plan for your trip. If that isn't enough, it refers you to other more detailed birding books to help you plan your trip."   -customer review

National Geographic Guide to Birding Hot Spots of the United States

This book is organized into thirteen regions from New England to the Southwest, providing details of the best bird watching locations.

Entries give clear directions to major sites along with notes on the birds you're likely to find there, the best seasons and time of day to see them, frequent sidebars on subjects of particular interest, and much more.

Research your Birding Destination

Go to your destination's travel bureau site which usually has information about outdoor activities, including birding. For example, I went to Utah's state travel website and found an entire section devoted to bird watching. They give descriptions to popular bird watching locations and what birds you are likely to see there.

Make your Travel Arrangements

To get the best deal, try to book your flight, lodging and car rental for your bird watching vacation all together at one of the online discount travel sites, like Priceline (Save up to $325 on Vacation Packages! ).  You can save a lot this way. If you have some flexibility in your travel dates, check the "my dates are flexible" box. You will be given prices over a selected period of time and be able to see when the cheapest flights are.

Make an Itinerary

After deciding where you want to go, make a detailed daily itinerary just like a birding tour company would do. This way you can see what you'll need every day as far as directions and maps, what bird books and/or checklists you need and you can research local favorites for birding spots, restaurants, lodging, etc..

Pack your Bags with Birding Essentials

It might seem obvious, but make a list of bird watching equipment and supplies you wish to take on your trip: binoculars, scopes, bird field guides, camera, birdpod, bird song cds (we recommend Birding By Ear - they have both east and west versions), field journal, bird checklists, etc..

Some birders also like to take along a GPS. This can help with finding birding locations (nowadays, birding books often give gps coordinates for directions) and your way around unfamiliar areas, in general. You can also mark your favorite birding coordinates to remember for your next visit and share them with fellow birders. Birders often share favorite spots online and you can enter them into your GPS as waypoints.

We wish you safe travels and birding bliss on your next bird watching vacation. Be sure to come back and tell us all about it!

Insider Hotspots with Birdingpal

I found this website where you can contact fellow birders all around the world. You contact a local birdingpal where you will be vacationing or touring and see if they can meet up with you one day to take you to all the best bird watching spots in their location.

Bird Watching Tour Companies

If you want someone else to take care of all the details, then follow the link below to some of the best bird watching vacations offered by birding tour companies from around the world.

Bird Watching Tours - Listed by region and type.

Birdwatching Bliss Home Page