West Latvia Weekend

29th April - 3rd May 2010 

Spring is an excellent time to visit this country with some of the wintering species still around and also a sprinkling of migrant breeding species. In Janis Kuze we have the services of one of Latvia's best birdwatching guides and co-author of the excellent 'Birds of the Kemeri National Park'. He will expertly lead us through varied woodland and coastal habitats of the region he has lived and worked for most of his life.

The two main areas we will concentrate on during the long weekend will be :-

• Kemeri National Park for possibly Three toed, White backed, Grey headed, Black, Great, Middle & Lesser spotted Woodpecker, Pygmy & Tengmalm's Owl, White tailed & Lesser Spotted Eagle, Hazel Hen, and other woodland species.

• Cape Kolka for major concentrations of passage migrants heading along the Baltic coast to this excellent peninsular with possible birds including Red throated Diver, Velvet & Common Scoter, Long tailed Ducks, with a number of raptors (Rough legged Buzzard, Goshawk, & Sparrowhawk) following the flocks of passerines moving north.

Day 1 :- We fly into Riga Airport and after we are met by Janis we head for our hotel , the excellent Jaunmokas Castle - where we stay for all four nights. We hope to get a chance to do some birdwatching in the afternoon around the accommodation before our first evening meal at this fantastic location.

Day 2 :- A pre-breakfast visit to Kemeri National Park looking for woodpeckers as this is when they are most active and vocal. The main target is Three toed Woodpecker, but could also include White backed, Grey headed, Great, Middle & Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. Then after breakfast we again return to Kemeri N P for the rest of the day spending several hours walking through the extensive mixed woodland at a relaxed and easy pace. Our targets are Pygmy Owl, more woodpeckers, Hazel Hen, White tailed Eagles, Goshawk, Nuthatch, Common Redpoll, Marsh & Borealis Willow Tits. Mammals could feature with Fox, Roe Deer and Beaver all occuring in good numbers.

Day 3 :- Another early start we shall drive north along the Baltic coastline to Cape Kolka to catch the best of the day's migration. At Kolka Point we should see Red throated Divers, Velvet & Common Scoters, Goldeneye, Long tailed Ducks, Great Black backed & Herring Gulls offshore. However it's the visible migration that will be the highlight of the visit with flocks of finches, pipits, tits, and pigeons passing overhead and out to sea. If the weather is calm then raptor migration could also be impressive with good numbers of Sparrowhawks, Kestrels and Common Buzzards, but also chance of Lesser Spotted Eagle, Rough legged Buzzard, and Goshawk. The return journey will be puntuated with another stop on the coast at Emgures where it is possible to find Bewick's & Mute Swans, more seaduck and waders. If time allows we may to head for Svete a converging of two rivers where we should find Whooper Swans, White fronted, Taiga Bean & Greylag Geese, Pintail, Teal, Wigeon, Goosanders, and Marsh Harriers.

Day 4 :- An optional pre-breakfast walk around the grounds of Jaunmokas Castle could prove productive with a chance of seeing Hawfinches, Great Spotted & Grey headed Woodpeckers, Fieldfare, Redwing, Tree Sparrows, and Yellowhammer. In the morning we may take a good walk through the a 'raised bog' full of White & Black Alder to the Sumragu Peninsular. This trail can be good for finding woodpeckers, Hazel Hen, White tailed Eagles, Goshawk, northern Long tailed Tits, Eurasian Treecreeper evidence of the scarcer mammals such as Wolf, Elk, and Red Deer. In the afternoon we may try Sliteres N.P. another small reserve that can produce more woodland species such as the very scarce Nutcracker, Black & Grey headed Woodpeckers, Woodcock, and Green Sandpiper. We will return to the hotel in good time for dinner because tonight we will listen for the elusive Tengmalm's Owl but this will depend on the local weather conditions.

Day 5 :-  Due to the previous evening's late finish breakfast will be taken at a normal time with again the option of a stroll round the grounds looking for birds. Today's itinerary will be based on the target species we may still require but it is highly likely to involve more areas within the Kemeri N P. However should the weather conditions be favourable we may decide to return to Cape Kolka to witness more spectacular raptor and passerine migration.

Day 6 :- After breakfast we shall load the mini-bus in preparation for the airport. Depending on flight times we may have a little time to do some sight-seeing and present-buying around Riga before heading for the airport and our flight back to Britain.

Flights are from London Gatwick to Riga with airBaltic - find them HERE

 "What's been said"

Hi Jules, Just a quick note to say thanks so much for a really great trip to Latvia. As usual you went all out to make sure we had a great holiday and arranging for it to be dry weather was truly remarkable! We hadn’t realised what a beautiful country it was going to be, wonderful skies, countryside and of course great birds too. Please thank Janis for us for taking us to some wonderful places and also his expertise which was exceptional, what a great ambassador for Latvia too, who could fail to be charmed by him? Oh and we will shortly be introducing fives and threes to unsuspecting friends in Bath!. All the best and once again thanks a million, hope you like the photos. M & S Pryor

Jules, a million thanks for last week, we all had a fantastic time, visiting some beautiful places and seeing some great birds and eating some good food - which continued in Riga, of course. G. Turner

Dear Jules, thanking you both for an excellent trip.  So many great memories - so many great birds!  I loved the country, thought it was absolutely amazing.  Kemeru and Cape Kolka in particular were outstanding.  Food superb (diet time now!) and I really enjoyed everyone's company, it was a fun group.   Your joint leadership was excellent, and you really took the trouble to ensure that we all had a really great time.  Thank you so much. A. Skiffington

Hi Jules, Many thanks, an absolutely brilliant trip. Saw every bird we wanted and a few more besides. There are plenty of happy memories that I will not forget for a long time, but the bog-snorkelling is not one of those. Looking forward to reading the trip report, we had some laughs. Janis was excellent, many compliments to him. My photos didn't work that well either but attaching an attempt at a Pygmy Owl. A. Bates   

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