some of the 15 species of orchid we found on the drive up the Sani Pass, into Lesotho, on our first full day of #WildlifeTravelling in the #Drakensberg Disa thodei Eulophia zeyheriana Brownleea macroceras Satyrium cristatum

some of the 15 species of orchid we found on the drive up the Sani Pass, into Lesotho, on our first full day of #WildlifeTravelling in the #Drakensberg Disa thodei Eulophia zeyheriana Brownleea macroceras Satyrium cristatum

We've got our hands full this January, with groups currently in New Zealand, Costa Rica and South Africa #WildlifeTravelling #OutOfOffice

stop scrolling, start planning wildlife-travel.co.uk/africa/kalah...

If you want to see what it's really like on a Wildlife Travel holiday, we have photo galleries aplenty over on Flickr recent updates include @sarahlambert7.bsky.social's pictures from our trip to Cyprus over Christmas Check www.flickr.com/photos/wildlifetravel/albums/ for these & many, many more.

January definitely isn't prime botanising time in Bhutan, but just to show willing... a couple of bizarre members of the Lamiaceae: the nectar-rich shrubby Leucosceptrum canum and the red-flowered vine Holmskioldia sanguinea Buddleja asiatica & Primula denticulata #WildlifeTravelling in #Bhutan

back to the beginning... I started my #Bhutan trip with a roadside Ibisbill just outside Paro, and 10 days later I'm back, just a stone's throw away from a male Wallcreeper: two monotypic families within sight of each other. Winter in Bhutan... beats Storm Goretti any day! #Ibidorhynchidae

a Bhutanese photographic pheasant phoursome completed this morning with a whole load of Khalij Pheasants feeding (on grit?) at the roadside above Punakha. not at all bad for a "pheasants aren't easy outside of the spring" winter recce suffice to say, we will be back #VisitBhutan with us in 2027

Ward's Trogon, a right little weirdo, and haunter of the tall, middle-altitude Quercus lanata forests of Bhutan #VisitBhutan with us in 2027

The future looks bright for one of the world's rarest birds thanks to the success of a reintroduction project in Cape Verde:

we will be returning to Bhutan in spring 2027 All this, plus blooming rhododendrons, spring bird song and butterflies aplenty: a trip not to be missed #VisitBhutan

Apochima flabellaria - thanks to @swaystevek.bsky.social for the ID. An absolutely bizarre looking Geometrid!

all the #oof used up for today, with a hyperactive group of Fire-tailed Myzornis (Myzornises?) at Latong La, Bhutan well, that's the colour scheme for the spare room sorted! #NotARealJob #BirdsArentReal

gotta love a funky Dunnock Maroon-backed and Rufous-breasted Accentor both performing magnificently in #Bhutan (I'll let you work out which is which) #FunkyDunnock

Bhutan is full of exciting, exotic, near mythical birds: Himalayan Monal, Beautiful Nuthatch, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Ibisbill, Ward's Trogon... but the bird I most wanted to see was this one, White-crested Laughingthrush, a feature of childhood nature books and zoo visits #DreamBird #JobDone

#WildlifeTravelling in #Bhutan

another couple for the Redstart fans White-throated Redstart (hiding his white throat) and Plumbeous Redstart (minus any red at all) Bumthang, Bhutan

We're delighted that our friends @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social have made #NewYearPlantHunt a #12DaysWild activity! Find out how to take part & learn more about how our wild plants are responding to a changing climate & what this means for all our wildlife: www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/guest/j...

consider that gob well and truly smacked the first thing my guide did when I arrived in Bhutan, was manage my expectations. Spring is the time for pheasants: maybe we will find Blood Pheasant, Kalij perhaps, but for the others... no chance. a male Satyr Tragopan ambling calmly across the road wow

well there's a thing I never thought I'd see: not one but two Critically Endangered White-bellied Herons, of which perhaps no more than 60 birds exist, and even that is thought to be an optimistic count Bhutan is probably the best last hope for this stately bird #VisitBhutan #BhutanBirdTours

and at last the temperatures rose high enough to get some butterflies on the wing #WildlifeTravelling in #Bhutan #ButterfliesOfBhutan #VisitBhutan with @langurecotravelsbhutan and @tourismbhutan

Bhutan day 4: travelled down from Trongsa into the foothills, spending time with this characterful crew along the way jst in case it hasn't become immediately obvious, we will definitely be bringing a group to #Bhutan. Get your name on the list for spring 2027: you won't regret it! #VisitBhutan

and I'm not the only one stalking these Bhutan roadsides... came round the corner this morning to see a pack of Dhole, who quickly put some distance between us and the same stretch of road had some very fresh Tiger pug marks #MammalWatching and #WildlifeTravelling in #Bhutan

a wing-flicking Wallcreeper, just before lunch road verges are a bit different in Bhutan! #VisitBhutan #WildlifeTravelling in #Bhutan

a covey of 14 Blood Pheasants along the old Pele La road #WildlifeTravelling in #Bhutan

Today's journey took us to Phobjikha Valley, home to Hodgson's Wagtail, Royle's Pika, swarms of Plain Mountain-Finches and at least 150 Black-necked Cranes Fingers crossed for closer crane encounters tomorrow... #WildlifeTravelling in #Bhutan #VisitBhutan #BhutanBirdingTours

today we drove east, from Thimphu, the capital, to Bhutan's largest protected wetland, the Phobjikha Valley, via two passes over 3,000m asl, some good looking redstarts and a couple of exciting Himalayan finches #VisitBhutan #BhutanBirdingTours

five minutes from the airport... a bird I first looked for 25 years ago, unsuccessfully, on the Kosi River with @birdingdad.bsky.social something tells me I'm going to enjoy Bhutan!

landing in Bhutan let's see what the next fortnight brings... #VisitBhutan #BhutanTourism

The final day of the @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Cyprus trip found us wending our way down from the Smygies ridge to the coast meeting new plants on the way including Sedum cyprium, Muscari inconstrictum, Hemionitis acrostica and Ophrys omegaifera ssp. israelitica. A perfect finale…

Boxing Day saw our @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Cyprus group ascend the Akamas Peninsula, with highlights incl'g the 1st flowering Ophrys omegaifera subsp. israelitica of the season, a cranky Sun Spider, & a fabulously spiny female Drilus (False Firefly) beetle on the hunt for snails in Neo Chorio

A feast of botanical treats from Christmas Day in Cyprus including intensely fragrant Narcissus tazetta, beautifully patterned Cyclamen persicum leaves and architectural seed heads of the endemic Onopordum cyprium… Merry Christmas to all! @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social @beardybirder.bsky.social

Merry Christmas from Cyprus! Our @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social festive group enjoyed a range of botanical treats as we explored the Latsi hillsides today, including carpets of the beautiful (& delicately scented) Narcissus tazetta & the very first few flowering Fan-lipped Orchids of the season.

Tiny jewel-like blooms on the floor of the warm and sweetly pine and juniper scented Pegeia Forest today - the best of Christmas gifts… Hyacinthella millingenii, Spiranthes spiralis, Colchicum pusillum and the stunning Romulea tempskyana. @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social

Botanical highlights from Mandria Beach included a beautiful patch of Aphrodite’s Dandelion (a south-west Cyprus endemic on my wish list for ages), masses of flowering Horned Poppy, Three-horned Stock and seed-pods of Sea Daffodil. @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social

Botanical highlights from Day 2 of the @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Cyprus trip - tiny spikes of Autumn Grape-Hyacinth, the diminutive Narcissus deficiens, an early-flowering Crown Anemone and autumn flowering Ranunculus cyathaerus -all at Tombs of the Kings, Paphos. @beardybirder.bsky.social

If you go down to the woods today you could be in for a big surprise... Our @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Cyprus group were lucky to discover several wonderfully large & hairy European Tarantulas hiding beneath carefully tipped rocks in Peyia Forest this afternoon. Absolutely fabulous spiders.

Christmas came early for our Cyprus @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social group in Peyia Forest today, as we encountered a wonderful array of flowering bulb species, including the tiny but statuesque Hyacinthella millingenii, the ephereal Colchicum pusillum, & the absolutely stunning Romulea tempskyana

A wonderful day spent exploring some of my old haunts east of Pafos whilst co-leading the @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social group, taking in some great birds (incl'g Pallid Harrier, Long-legged Buzzard, & Spur-winged Lapwing), a diminutive Kotschy's Gecko, & the SW Cypriot endemic Aphrodite's Dandelion

Stormy weather couldn’t dampen the spirits of the group currently spending Christmas in Cyprus with @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Fascinating plants, birds, invertebrates and geology - something for everyone… Details of species in ALT Great to be co-leading again with @beardybirder.bsky.social

The 2nd full day of the @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Cyprus trip was a fab mix of culture & wildlife, taking in Agios Neophytos, Tomb of the Kings, & Kato Pafos Archeological Park, plus the glorious Narcissus deficiens, Crown Anemone, Cone-headed Grasshopper, & several sublime Red-throated Pipits

It's great to be back in (a currently rather soggy) Cyprus, co-leading the long-running @wildlifetraveller.bsky.social Christmas trip with @sarahlambert7.bsky.social - this morning's invert highlights along the quiet Latsi roadsides included Winter Pearl moth & several attractive spider species

a trio of screamers, a full house of Anhimidae, for no reason other than because they're ace Horned Screamer in Ecuador Northern Screamer in Colombia and Southern Screamer in Brazil great, aren't they! #WildlifeTravelling

Kicking yourself that you didn't make it to #BIBConf25 yesterday? Don't worry! We recorded the talks for you & they'll be up on our YouTube channel very soon. We also have some great online winter talks & webinars lined up for you in the coming months! Check them out: bsbi.org/take-part/ev...

A morning filled with butterflies, in the dry forests just outside Cartagena oh, and a sloth #WildlifeTravelling in #Colombia

some more moths from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Cosmosoma achemon, Erebidae Neonerita bernardoespinozai, Erebidae Feigeria mycerina, Erebidae Pantherodes sp, Geometridae #MothsMatter

it may not be the most aesthetically pleasing bird of the trip, but a young Ring-necked Duck at a roadside wetland was a lifer for our guide, no small feat for a man who has seen 1502 species in Colombia. #WildlifeTravelling

#WildlifeTravelling in #Colombia

up early today, for our trip onto the San Lorenzo ridge up here, it seems almost everything, at least amongst the birds, is a Santa Marta endemic, found on this isolated Colombian massif and nowhere else #WildlifeTravelling in #Colombia