This is an eight-day tour to this delightfully rural Central European country, which despite recently joining the EU still remains largely unexplored by many British birdwatchers. Its beautiful landscape hasn't changed much over the years and is a mix of gentle forested hills, meadows and small traditional farms. We'll be visiting three areas, starting with the Sumava National Park in southern Bohemia, an area of upland forest and peat bogs and home to many sought after species of owls & woodpeckers. Next we'll stay a few nights in Trebonsko, with its mosaic of woodlands and fishponds, many dating back to the middle ages. Our final base will be in Southern Moravia where the climate has more of a Mediterranean feel, which is reflected in the species found here.

Day 1
Meet at the airport for a direct flight to Prague. After meeting with our driver we'll head straight to our first base in The Šumava National Park. Bordering Austria and Germany, this entire area was depopulated in the soviet era and closed to visitors for 40 years, this proved to be of great benefit to the local wildlife. Once there we'll check in to our hotel before meeting with our local guide Jenda Havlícek who will escort us into the forest close to our hotel for an evening in search of Pygmy, Tengmalm´s and Ural Owls.

Day 2
The whole day will be spent in the Šumava NP, again accompanied by Jenda. Before breakfast we will drive a short distance from our hotel to observe lekking Black Grouse on the large meadows in the Vltava River valley, an early start is essential here as it is almost impossible to observe these shy birds after 9 am. After breakfast we'll visit the Boubín Primeval Forest, which is probably the most interesting natural reserve in the national park. It is situated in the southeast foothill of Mt. Boubín and covers an area of 666 hectares, at an altitude of 920-1110m. Our target birds here are Three-toed and White-backed Woodpeckers, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Black Stork, Hazel Hen and Nutcracker.

We will also walk near the Vltava River through the reserve Mrtvy Luh searching for Dipper and Grey-headed Woodpecker amongst others, while Lesser Spotted Eagle is occasionally seen in the area. In the evening we will again search for Ural, Pygmy and Tengmalms Owls near our hotel. More then 1000 nest boxes have now been erected for Tengmalms Owls, and it is hoped our guide will be able to show us some of the currently occupied and easily accessible ones, providing an excellent opportunity to observe this owl during daylight hours. Note in some year no accessible boxes are used.

Day 3
After a few hours birding close to our hotel in search of any of the above species still missing, we'll head to our next base in the Trebon region, visiting Ceský Krumlov on route for lunch. This castle city has preserved its medieval centre as no other town in the region and for this reason it entered the UNESCO register of monuments of world significance in 1992. While here we'll visit the castle park, which not only offers great views of the castle but is also home to Hawfinch and Green, Grey-headed and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. After lunch we'll visit one of the many fishponds along our route, where we should add a selection of wildfowl including Red-crested Pochard and Black-necked Grebe. Finally we arrive in Trebon, our base for the next three nights.

The Trebon region is a man-shaped landscape near the Austrian border, with c 460 fishponds and an interconnecting network of canals, some dating back to the 14th century.  The international importance of the fishponds and lakes of the area is acknowledged by its status as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Day 4
We'll start with a walk from our hotel in Trebon to the Svet Pond, where both Middle Spotted Woodpecker and Collared Flycatcher should give good views along the Oak covered dam wall. The nearby park holds Grey-headed and Black Woodpeckers, with the latter giving exceptional views at the nest on our 2009 tour. Later we'll visit some of the most rewarding ponds and lakes in the area where we should encounter Black Kite, Black & White Stork, Spoonbill, Bluethroat, Penduline Tit and Icterine, Marsh and River Warblers. White-tailed Eagle is a resident breeder in the area with a healthy population, and it is not uncommon to see ten or more of these magnificent birds in a day.

Day 5
Today we will be joined by Slávek Kloubec, a renowned local guide in the Trebon area who will escort us to many of the less well known sites in the region in search of any species we missed the previous day. In addition he will have the vital local knowledge as to which ponds may have been drained recently, thus creating a perfect habitat for migrating waders.

In the evening Slávek will take us out amid the stands of wetland pine close to our hotel to look for Woodcock, Tengmalm ´s and Pygmy Owls .

Day 6
Today we move to South Moravia stopping on the way for lunch in the beautiful town of Telc. This small town, dating back to the middle of the 13th century is famous for its historical square, which features on the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List and is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the country.

On arrival at our next hotel, the beautiful Hranicní zámecek (Little Border Chateau) located on the shore of the Hlohovec Pond, we will check in and have some time to relax in this beautiful setting. The Chateau was constructed for the Liechtenstein family and was completely renovated in 1995-1996 when it too was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list. After our short rest we will head out into the hotel grounds and lake where we will meet our last local guide Dr Josef Chytil. Here we should find Purple Heron, Shelduck, Marsh Harrier, Wryneck, Syrian Woodpecker, Nightingale and a selection of warblers including Icterine, Marsh, Savi's, Reed and Great Reed.

Day 7
Will be spent birding, again with Josef whose friendly and relaxed approach and incredible knowledge of the regions birds and history will greatly add to our day in South Moravia. Syrian Woodpecker will be searched for, bringing the possible total of woodpecker species to ten. This area is also excellent for raptors with Saker, Peregrine, Hobby, Honey Buzzard, Goshawk, White-tailed Eagle and Eastern Imperial Eagle all possible. We will visit the Lednice Park, home to the country's largest Black-crowned Night Heron colony with c250 pairs nesting annually. Other birds likely to be encountered during the day may include Bittern, White Stork, Garganey, Turtle Dove, Wryneck, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Hoopoe, Bee-eater, Collared Flycatcher, Short-toed Treecreeper, Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike, Penduline Tit and Serin.

Day 8
After an optional pre-breakfast walk in the hotel grounds we'll departure to Prague airport, concluding this tour.

To comply with Civil Aviation Authority
guidelines all flights are ATOL protected,
for more details see our terms &
conditions section 10.