Best Places to Visit for The Bird Lovers (2023)
If you enjoy observing birds, we advise you to fly to the best birdwatching locations of 2023 to kick off the new decade. And while there are many bird-watching places, we jotted the best for you.
To find the fascinating birding locations to visit this year, we combed the world, from the rainforests of Brazil to the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand to far Costa Rica. Read the section below to learn about these fantastic bird-watching places!
1. Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest should be your first pick for a bucket list experience if you wish to view the most wildly unique birds on the planet.
To go up the Rio Negro and into the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, we advise arranging an adventure on the Motor Yacht Tucano along with Amazon Nature Tours.
Brazil is home to the great chunk of the Amazon and one of the rich bird biodiversities on earth. And if you are starting your journey of birdwatching, then adventure to the great amazon should be something you should go for.
2. New Zealand
Next up, we have New Zealand. The reason New Zealand is at the top of the list is not just because it is possible to see some rather bizarre bird species inside the numerous Pacific islands that make up this stunning country.
Instead, it’s because New Zealand, as a country, stands in for the ideal spiritual haven and utopia for avian enthusiasts of all kinds of feathers and countries. And if you haven’t been to New Zealand, you should add this amazing country to your bucket list.
New Zealand is a bird lover’s paradise as it was inhabited solely by birds for thousands of years. Devoted conservationists return for a picture-perfect environment, which is already being recreated in ecosystems like Zealandia in Wellington, the nation’s capital.
Since there were no land mammals, flightless birds like the kiwi, New Zealand’s national bird, evolved and made the forest what it is. The ancient birds were also, appropriately, massive and are definitely worth watching.
Paleontologists in New Zealand have discovered the Squawkzilla recently. It is the largest parrot to have lived in New Zealand and is said to be the oldest citizen in New Zealand. And hence, if this astonishes you, imagine how amazing it would be to see this majestic bird in person.
We advise you to spend time trying to find each of the 245 bird species that have been identified as being native to the larger New Zealand islands. However, suppose it becomes difficult to schedule watching so many birds within a short period, we recommend you go for the most famous ones.
You can go for the Subantarctic Islands in addition to the North and South Islands, which are home to the yellow-eyed penguins of Dunedin and the Oamaru blue penguin colony, specifically if you are there on a short trip.
We recommend you to see the erect-crested penguin as well. Now even if you aren’t into birds that much, New Zealand itself has a lot to offer which we are sure you will love.
3. Scotland
If New Zealand was not your cup of tea, then maybe Scotland is! The Isle of Mull, the second-largest of the Inner Hebrides islands off Scotland’s stunning west coast, is a refuge for birders in the United Kingdom.
It has a mountainous interior, 300 miles of coastline, tidal and freshwater lochs, and various habitats for wading birds, moorland raptors, and pelagic seabirds.
The island’s golden and white-tailed sea eagles are particularly fascinating. Early in the 20th century, the latter was considered extinct in Britain, but it was successfully reintroduced on Mull in 1985.
Take the short hop over to Iona, an island renowned for its corncrake sightings, to catch a glimpse of another big rare. In addition, Mull offers a haven for numerous other wildlife species, including otters and red deer.
And if you have liked the idea of how majestic the birds of Scotland are, you can also look into other common birds found in UK for insight on common British birds.
4. Belize
After that on the list, we have Belize!From the Pacific to the Caribbean Sea: Belize, a Central American country, is our next choice. Belize is an underappreciated country; hence, we have given below all the reasons why Belize should be on your bucket list for bird watching.
Now, although the majority of Belize’s six hundred species of birds call country home, this lush tropical sanctuary is a haven for both snowbirds of the human sort and their avian counterparts.
We can’t blame them, to be honest. Belize has an astonishingly broad range of ecosystems. Belize contains beautiful mangroves and marshes the pine forests inside the deep forests in Belize that surround the Mayan Mountains.
Belize’s nature has so much to offer for a nation roughly the size of New Jersey. Belize is home to seven of the world’s top birding locations, including Man-o-War Caye, the Caracol Mayan Ruins, and the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary.
To see and experience the nation’s rainforest and the beautiful and exotic birds that are now staying in Belize, we recommend reserving a room at Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch Jungle Lodge in Cayo.
This is because having to experience the most in Belize will require time, and if you wish to see the birds and enjoy them simultaneously, it is important to go there when you are having a long vacation.
5. The Everglades
There is no other time than now to experience the Amazon Rainforest’s wilderness and majesty, which is one of the reasons we are giving it and the Everglades top priority.
To see roseate spoonbills instead of scarlet macaws, we are now traveling north to Florida’s Everglades National Park, which is home to over 300 distinct bird species.
Because of the dry season, which lasts from December to March, is the ideal time to come because birds are more likely to be found near stable bodies of water.
Travelers can even go south to the Florida Keys this fall to watch hundreds of Peregrine Falcons and various other migrating hawks if they miss the winter season in the Everglades.
You have a decent chance of seeing one because the Keys Hawkwatch recorded nineteen thousand raptors in two months in the fall of 2019.
6. Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a popular location for birdwatchers. This is mainly because of its reputation for being environmentally benign and having over 900 recognized bird species.
There are parks and reserves all around the country that promise amazing sightings, but the Monteverde Cloud Forest is unquestionably one of the most well-liked locations. The 26,000-acre reserve, which is situated in the northern interior, contains four distinct forest habitats, including its well-known cloud forest.
More than four hundred different kinds of birds find sanctuary in Costa Rica and hence is another amazing place for bird watching that you should add to your bucket list.
More than fourteen different hummingbird species, including several rarities, can be seen at Selvatura Park’s Hummingbird Garden.
7. The Galapagos Islands
As we go on to our next option, we’ll keep looking for penguins, but instead of looking for those in New Zealand’s Sub Antarctic Islands, we’ll look for those in Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands. Ecuador is home to approximately 1,660 different bird species. And it is more than both North America and Europe put together.
The Galapagos makes up for any lack of bird species richness, however, with the wonderful eccentricity of its inhabitants, including Magnificent frigates, red-footed boobies, Caribbean flamingos, and blue-footed boobies.
To make the most of your tour throughout the islands, we will recommend you get a room at Santa Cruz’s five-star Pikaia Lodge, a beautiful but environmentally friendly hotel.
In the Galapagos, the wildlife does not fear you, to put it simply. On a rock nearby, a group of blue-footed boobies will be watching you, and the yacht’s bow will be towed by a frigate. The penguins will dive and swim as if they weren’t even aware of the creature in khaki lurking next to them.
Conclusion
Many people love nature-related activities like watching birds. There are several avian species around the globe, each with different traits and beauty.
There are so many areas to explore, from the Arctic tundra to the tropical jungles of South America.
So prepare your binoculars, review your bird calls, and embark on a journey to see some of the most amazing winged creatures in the world.
