International Bird Watching

If you're a keen bird watcher, an incomparable holiday to try is a world tour, travelling to some of the world's best bird watching locations.

Starting with the United States, many of the states have bird sanctuaries and aviaries where you can go, so if you're a resident of the USA, you should have no problem at all finding somewhere for a spot of twitching. Everyone houses innumerable species of indigenous avian life, and assures a unique experience.

If you choose to go farther afield, here are a some of the more outstanding global sites you may wish to travel to:

South America - the jungles of South America are the natural habitat of thousands of exquisite birds. Bird watching hotspots in South America include the Itatiaia National Park in Brazil, which is home to approximately 350 different species of birds native to the Amazon. The Iguazu National Park is the foremost natural reserve in Argentina, with over 400 varieties of indigenous birds. Other excellent areas to check out in South America are the Hato Pinero and Hato Cedral ranches in Venezuela, which are particularly favourites for bird watching.

Europe - there are heaps of popular places in Europe for bird watching. In Britain alone, there are hundreds of bird watching areas. If you're considering going to Britain, something to look out for is the yearly bird fairs and conventions held in several local districts. Scotland and Ireland are also popular bird watching areas, as the many lakes and islets around these two countries are home to numerous disparate forms of bird life that are specific to these islands.

The Carribean - the Carribean Islands, while normally associated with water orientated vacations , are in reality another good area to visit on a bird watching world tour. In the Bahamas, Grand Bahama Island is the most popular place to go for bird watching. Bermuda is another beautiful island to travel to, as there are seven major natural reserves there sponsored by the Audubon Society. In Jamaica, the Rocklands Bird Sanctuary is a favourite since the birds there are so tame they literally perch on the birders and eat out of their hands.

Asia - if you're able to roam that far afield, Asia is a marvellous place to go for bird watching as many differing species live there that have no counterparts in the West. Japan alone is home to approximately 600 species of birds with Lake Utonai and Tateyama Bird sanctuaries being the most outstanding wildlife reserves where you can see many of them. China is not only attractive to serious bird watchers for its native species of birds, but for the fact that certain places like Beidaihe are migratory hubs for far-ranging birds from across the whole of Asia. Another good place to visit for bird watching is Thailand's Doi Inthanon International Park, which features 382 nonmigratory species.