Date Cost Availability Deposit Single Supp	17 Oct - 24 Oct 2027 £2850.00 3 Spaces £550.00 £600.00 Book Now

Leader

Julian Sykes

Day 1	Meet at our hotel in time for our evening meal 7 nights at Tickton Grange, Beverley
Days 2-7	Visit local Reserves to enjoy the autumn visitors and resident species at a relaxed pace. These include Filey Brigg, Bempton Cliffs, RSPB Blacktoft. Far Ings National Nature Reserve, North Cave Wetlands, plus a visit the Yorkshire Wolds and the Robert Fuller Art Gallery
Day 8	After breakfast we say our farewells

Weather	Can be extremely variable at this time of year, so come prepared for everything from rain and wind, to calm autumnal sunshine!
Walking	Mostly easy short walking on level paths
Meals	All included from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 8
Insects	Unlikely to be a problem at this time of year, but you may wish to bring repellent
Accom	Double, twin and single rooms all ensuite
Transfer	A transfer to the hotel can be arranged from York train station
Group	6

The Humber Estuary is a significant roosting and feeding site for species moving from the arctic and sub-arctic to their wintering grounds. Numbers can reach an astounding 140,000.

	*   Spectacular sites along the Humber Estuary including RSPB Blacktoft and SOC Far Ings
	*   Visit less well known inland birding sites but equally charming and productive
	*   Visit this area when there’s a lot of bird movement, so lots to see, but at a slow pace!
	*   Visit artist Robert Fuller’s gallery in the stunning Yorkshire Wolds
	*   Great single centre accommodation
	*   Visit Yorkshire’s autumn migration hotspots, including Bempton, Flamborough and Filey
	*   Enjoy birding at a leisurely pace, no late nights, no early mornings!

Day 1	We meet up at our hotel in time for dinner and a chance to discuss the coming week. Our ‘well-placed’ accommodation means that most of the sites we shall visit are an average of an hour away.
Days 2-7	The Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coasts are a thrilling place at any time of year, but in autumn thousands of birds are making their journeys south for winter and use the Humber Estuary as a stop-off point. We are going to visit some of our favourite locations and explore some new locations as well. In this bird rich area anything can turn up and at this time of year it could even be a Short-eared Owl, a Glossy Ibis or a Yellow-browed Warbler. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire have some fabulous Reserves with great habitats, wetlands, cliffs, forest, coast and estuarine marsh. We’ll visit Blacktoft Sands, where the wetlands and reedbeds are superb at this time of year. Wader passage will include common species such as Dunlin, but could also include Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit and Ruff. In autumn, wherever we go there will always be something to see; the spectacle of thousands of waders in flight with the majestic Humber Bridge as a backdrop, or starlings in spectacular murmuration. The skeins of Pink-footed Geese on the Humber Estuary are breathtaking. The extremely healthy population of Bearded Tits, Marsh Harrier and Bittern means there’s never a dull moment around the reedbeds, even with the local residents. One afternoon we’ll visit a harrier roost, where in 2024 over 70 Marsh Harriers were recorded! In the reeds, flocks of Bearded Tits can be seen and heard ‘pinging’ and if we are very lucky, perhaps a Water Rail or Bittern will appear. East Yorkshire has become renowned as the place to witness autumn migration and has several sites from which to experience this massive annual movement of birds. We shall be able to relax and enjoy the plethora of birdlife that flocks to this area including large numbers of common migrants such as pipits, thrushes, finches, Robins and Goldcrests and often plenty of scarcer species too. Filey Brigg and Flamborough Head provide excellent sea watching opportunities. We’ll look out for Manx and Sooty Shearwaters, Arctic, Long-tailed and Pomarine Skuas, divers, flocks of seaduck and maybe even enjoy an ice cream!. These sites can also be the first landfall for high numbers of birds, with thrushes and Bramblings coming in off the sea. At Bempton Cliffs, the huge seabird colonies will have departed, but some of the thousands of Gannets that nest here will still be present and we experience some very close encounters with these stunning birds. This spectacular place can also provide the chance to see migration and amongst the common migrants, we’ll be on the lookout for shrikes, flycatchers, or scarcer warblers. We shall also introduce you to some newer and less well known, but equally impressive, birding sites on our daily outings, where we can enjoy peaceful hides and gentle strolls along easy footpaths, whilst enjoying the wildlife around us. East Yorkshire is a varied county, with rich agricultural land providing ideal feeding grounds for large numbers of Lapwing and Golden Plover. The subtly rolling hills of the Yorkshire Wolds provide habitat for Barn Owls, Skylarks, Red Kite and Brown Hare, so we plan to visit Robert Fuller’s wildlife art gallery and get a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of some of the ingenious ways he spies on his local wildlife. His paintings sell all over the world and his trademark, highly-detailed images, have been adopted by the RSPB and the National Trust. We can’t promise rarities but we can promise that this is going to be a bird-filled experience, with plenty of variety and some beautiful scenery in wide open spaces.
Day 8	After breakfast on our final day we say our farewells. You may wish to extend your holiday by spending time in one of Yorkshire’s historic towns, or explore further up Yorkshire’s east coast, to places such as Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay.

Just some of what we hope to see..

Brambling	Woodcock	Tawny Owl
Redwing	Water Rail	Golden Plover
Fieldfare	Bittern	Ruff
Redstart	Red-throated Diver	Gannet
Bearded Tit	Pink-footed Goose	Whooper Swan
Marsh Harrier	Velvet Scoter	Lapwing
Manx Shearwater	Spoonbill	Red-backed Shrike
Spotted Redshank	Glossy Ibis	Snow Bunting
Barn Owl	Pintail	Cetti's Warbler
Little Owl	Barnacle Goose	Fieldfare
Short-eared Owl