For keen birders, a species ‘life list’ is only half the story – the other is knowing how to put yourself in the right place, at the right time, for a tick-worthy sighting. But even if you’re a casual birdwatcher, seeing our feathered friends in their natural habitat offers a connection to nature that few other activities can match. So, to help you wing it to your next adventure, we’ve rounded up 18 places to visit if you’re into birding, from the edge of Antarctica to the Arctic’s front door – and some of the standout rainforests, wetlands, savannahs and islands in between. And while this roundup is by no means exhaustive, you might like to think of it as a different kind of ‘life list’ – one for the journeys you’ll remember long after the binoculars are back in their case.
1. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador – Blue-Footed Boobies and Unique Endemics
Shaping Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, the Galápagos’ 14 species of finch are just some of the 50-plus native birds these Pacific Ocean islands are known for. The comical blue-footed booby serves as an unofficial ambassador, but equally prized by twitchers are the Endangered Galápagos penguin, flamingos, great and magnificent frigatebirds, the Critically Endangered waved albatross, and the endemic flightless cormorant – a textbook example of the islands’ unique evolution patterns. Located just 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador, the best way to explore the Galápagos Islands is with a combination of land-based tours and cruises.
2. Rift Valley, Kenya – Flamingos and African Bird Diversity
Lakes Bogoria, Nakuru, and Elementaita form part of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Kenya Lake System, where alkaline waterways, acacia woodlands, and surrounding escarpments offers prime birding all year round, with each lake just a few hours’ drive from Nairobi. Lake Nakuru alone records around 450 bird species, from pelicans to lilac-breasted rollers, pied kingfishers, ruffs, and African fish eagles. But the region’s main drawcard is its colossal flocks of lesser flamingos which are drawn to the cyanobacteria-rich shallows in their millions – often joined by smaller numbers of greater flamingos foraging for invertebrates.
3. Malaysian Borneo – Hornbills and Riverine Species
More than 400 bird species thrive in the riverine and swamp forests of Sabah’s Lower Kinabatangan River region, part of Malaysia’s largest Ramsar site. All eight of Borneo’s hornbill species are found here – including the striking rhinoceros hornbill, with its casque-amplified call and bright yellow horn, and the Critically Endangered helmeted hornbill – along with colourful broadbills, kingfishers, and pittas. Scope them out for yourself on Adventure World’s 14-day Authentic Borneo journey, which includes jungle safaris in the Kinabatangan, visits to the orangutan and sun bear rehabilitation centres, and a host of cultural and wildlife adventures that MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® .
4. The Falkland Islands – Penguins and Seabirds
Two main islands and more than 740 smaller islets make up this sub-Antarctic wildlife hub, roughly 480km east of South America’s Patagonian coast. Five penguin types breed here in large colonies – gentoo, king, Magellanic, macaroni, and southern rockhopper – and the islands also support about 70 per cent of the world’s black-browed albatross population. Also keep an eye out for giant petrels, wandering albatrosses, sooty shearwaters, white-chinned petrels, thin-billed prions, imperial and rock shags, Red-backed Hawks, straited caracaras, turkey vultures, and brown skuas. Small-ship expedition cruises are the most practical way to island-hop in this far-flung part of the South Atlantic Ocean.
5. Costa Rica – Home of the Resplendent Quetzal
Classified as Near Threatened and easily identified by its iridescent emerald-and-red plumage and flamboyant tail streamers, it’s easy to see why Pharomachrus mocinno is the only bird on earth with ‘resplendent’ in its common name. This revered local symbol of freedom and fertility is famously monogamous, with breeding pairs nesting in tree hollows during the dry-season months of March to June. Feeding largely on wild avocados and other native fruits, it plays a key role in seed dispersal within Costa Rica’s high-elevation cloud forests, including Los Quetzales National Park.
6. India – Bharatpur, Kaziranga, and the Himalayas
UNESCO World Heritage-listed Keoladeo Ghana National Park – near Bharatpur and northern India’s Golden Triangle – holds more than 360 bird species across its wetlands, grasslands, and woodlands. In winter, tens of thousands of migratory bar-headed geese, greater flamingos, and, on rare occasions, endangered Siberian cranes arrive. But the stellar birding opportunities extend right across this vast country, home to more than 1,300 species. Other hotspots include Kaziranga National Park in Assam, which supports roughly 490 species, among them the great hornbill, swamp francolin, greater adjutant, and Bengal florican. And in the Indian Himalayas around Leh (Ladakh) and Dehradun (Uttarakhand), high-altitude habitats are home to Himalayan monal, lammergeier, snow partridge, and various rosefinches.
7. Peruvian Amazon – Macaws & more
The Peruvian Amazon harbours around 1,000 bird species, from tiny hummingbirds to predators like the harpy eagle, but macaws are the highlight. More than a dozen species – including the scarlet, blue-and-yellow, and red-and-green macaw – gather in their hundreds at clay licks during the July to September dry-season peak. You’ll find them and more in the Tambopata National Reserve, a vital research hub for macaw behaviour, breeding, and conservation where 274,690ha of Amazonian forest, river, and oxbow lake habitats also support jabirus, black skimmers, hoatzins, umbrella birds, and sunbitterns. You can get hands-on at the Tambopata Research Centre with Adventure World on a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experience where you’ll contribute to a vital citizen science conservation project.
8. Kakadu, Australia – Unique wetland species
Around 280 bird species inhabit Kakadu National Park’s World Heritage floodplains, billabongs, mangroves, woodlands, and sandstone escarpments, earning it a reputation as one of Australia’s top birding hotspots.
This 19,804km2 Northern Territory site is a three-hour drive east of Darwin and offers a range of seasonal sightings. In the dry months (April to October), receding wetlands and shrinking waterholes at Mamukala and Yellow Water see vast flocks of magpie geese, comb-crested jacanas, brolgas, and jabirus. Then migratory shorebirds like oriental pratincoles, little curlews, and common greenshanks arrive in the wet season (November to March). Parrots such as red-tailed black cockatoos, rainbow bee-eaters, and azure kingfishers also add splashes of colour, and great bowerbirds, white-bellied sea-eagles and sulphur-crested cockatoos are among the other year-round residents.
9. Kruger National Park, South Africa – Raptors and the ‘Big Six’
In the far north-east of South Africa, the Greater Kruger area covers around 20,000km², including the legendary national park and its adjoining private reserves. The ‘Big Six’ birds here are the martial eagle, lappet-faced vulture, saddle-billed stork, kori bustard, southern ground hornbill, and Pel’s fishing-owl. But more than 500 bird species occur here, from the striking lilac-breasted roller to the yellow-billed hornbill (aka the ‘flying banana’) – and rarities like the bateleur. Kruger also supports Africa’s highest density of breeding pairs of raptors too, especially the African hawk-eagle, tawny eagle, and white-backed vulture. Private conservancies such as Kapama and Sabi Sabi offer the same avian diversity as the public park, but often with fewer vehicles, night safaris, and on-site hides.
10. Everglades National Park, USA – Wading Birds and Wetland Species
This birding hotspot is about an hour’s drive from Miami in southern Florida. Its vast sawgrass marshes, mangroves, and coastal estuaries support more than 360 bird species, with roseate spoonbills, great egrets, wood storks, white ibises, tricoloured herons, and rare snail kites among the standouts. Winter (December to March) is prime time for spotting mixed flocks feeding in the shallows, and the park is best explored via the Anhinga Trail boardwalks or boat tours.
11. Westman Islands, Iceland – Puffins and Seabird Cliffs
Also known as Vestmannaeyjar, this volcanic archipelago just off Iceland’s south coast is home to the world’s largest Atlantic puffin colony – estimated at around 1.1 million birds, or roughly a fifth of the global population. More than 30 other seabird species also nest among the cliffs, including guillemots, northern gannets, black-legged kittiwakes, and northern fulmars. If you’re self-driving, Heimaey – the only inhabited island – is reached by a 40-minute ferry from Landeyjahöfn, which is conveniently connected from the Ring Road.
12. Rakiura, New Zealand – Kiwis and More Endemics
Also known as Stewart Island, New Zealand’s third-largest isle lies about 30km off Bluff on the South Island, accessible by both a short flight or ferry. And it’s well worth the journey: the island supports an estimated 15,000 Stewart Island tokoeka (southern brown kiwis) – making it the world’s best location to see these emblematic birds not only in the wild, but in a region where they very much outnumber humans (only 400 people live on the island).
13. Sri Lanka – Endemics and Rainforest Species
Sri Lanka’s varied terrains – ranging from coastal wetlands to highland cloud forests – are home to around 510 bird species, including 33 endemics such as Sri Lanka junglefowl, Sri Lanka blue magpie, and red-faced malkoha. Wilpattu National Park is renowned for its diversity, with highlights including the Malabar pied hornbill, lesser adjutant, and woolly-necked stork, plus northern migrants such as garganey, Eurasian wigeon, and northern pintail. Horton Plains – part of theUNESCO-listed Central Highlands – are known for their montane species like yellow-eared bulbul and Sri Lanka whistling-thrush; Gal Oya’s reservoir and forests support visitors like the Indian pitta; and Yala National Park delivers dry-zone species headlined by the greater racket-tailed drongo. Get the complete overview of this nationwide open-air aviary with Adventure World’s 11-day Wildlife of Sri Lanka holiday – a customisable journey through five key national parks.
14. Curi-Cancha Reserve, Costa Rica – Cloud Forest Birding
Curi-Cancha Reserve, near Monteverde, protects around 83ha of primary and secondary cloud forest and more than 200 bird species, including the Endangered bare-necked umbrellabird, resplendent quetzal, three-wattled bellbird, orange-bellied trogon, keel-billed toucan, Lesson’s motmot, and various hummingbirds. In between spotting winged highlights, keep an eye out for the reserve’s furry residents, among them Hoffmann’s two-toed sloths, white-faced capuchin monkeys, Central American agoutis, white-nosed coatis, and elusive ocelots.
15. Colca Canyon, Peru – Andean Condors and High-Altitude Birds
The high Andes are the backbone of western South America and it’s here you’ll find lifer species like the Andean condor, torrent duck, and rufous-bellied seedsnipe. Peru’s Colca Canyon – two to three times deeper than the Grand Canyon – spans about 70km across the Colca River gorge, just northwest of Arequipa. It’s home to high-altitude species like the giant hummingbird, Andean flicker, and puna ibis, along with highland species like the Andean gull, but its steep walls and strong thermals make it one of the world’s best places to spot condors – especially from the Cruz del Cóndor lookout, where you can see them soar high above pre-Inca terraces as part of Adventure World’s fully customisable Insider Peru holiday. Further afield, keep an eye on the skies over the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu.
16. Uganda – Shoebill and Albertine Rift Endemics
For birders, Uganda is East Africa’s standout, with around 1,060 confirmed bird species – roughly 10 per cent of the world’s total. The iconic shoebill – an XL prehistoric-looking stork – is slow-moving, non-migratory, and unique to the region, and the Mabamba Swamp (near Kampala) offers the best chance of sighting them. Still, you might also get lucky in Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo national parks. Back from the water’s edge, Uganda’s central Albertine Rift montane forests also support 24 endemic species, including the Grauer’s broadbill and Rwenzori batis; World Heritage–listed Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park offer excellent opportunities for sighting them.
17. Cape Town, South Africa – African Penguins
Located in Simon’s Town on the Cape Peninsula, about 30km from Cape Town, Boulders Beach is one of only two mainland breeding colonies of endangered African penguins (the other one is at Stony Point, Betty’s Bay). This colony began with just two breeding pairs in the early 1980s and has since grown to more than 2,000 pairs today. Adventure World’s fully customisable 12-day Authentic Southern Africa itinerary includes a visit to this important colony so you can MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® – and witness a true conservation success story firsthand.
18. The Gambia – Riverine Birdlife and Easy Viewing
With around 580 recorded species, The Gambia in West Africa is a birder’s dream. The banks of the Gambia River offer diverse, easily accessible habitats for the sought-after Egyptian plover, African finfoot, Black-crowned crane, black-bellied Bustard, and pygmy long-tailed sunbird, along with forest faves like the Senegal parrot and lavender waxbill. Start your search at the Abuko Nature Reserve, just outside Banjul, and the Tanbi Wetland Complex – a Ramsar site with more than 360 bird species, including Pel’s fishing owls and blue-bellied rollers. The country’s compact size – it’s only 200km long – means birdwatching hotspots are rarely more than an hour’s drive apart.
Final Tips for Planning a Birding-Focused Trip
- MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® by uploading your bird sightings to the eBird website or app. This global checklist program allows twitchers to share their sightings, sound recordings and photos with the global community in real time, and the data’s used to support research and conservation programs.
- Research the migration patterns of your target species, so you’ll have a better idea of where they’ll be, and when. Along with eBird, websites like BirdCast and Audobon Bird Migration Explorer are excellent starting points.
- Dress for the terrain. Birdwatching is often slow and sedentary, and the right gear can help you stay present and patient. There’s no need to go all out with a ghillie suit, but even if you’ll be spending time in a purpose-built hide, it’s important to blend in – go for colours in natural tones, wear long sleeves (for sun and insect protection), and opt for technical fabrics suited to the terrain (think fabrics that wick away sweat and keep you cool in warm environments, and layers of merino, fleece and Gore-Tex in the cold).
- Nail the optics. While many wilderness lodges will loan you binoculars, ‘Bring-Your-Own’ means you’ll always have them handy. Look for models designed to work well in low light, have good weatherproofing and are light enough for travel. Standout brands include Nocs, Swarovski and Warmax.
- Remember, birds rarely have their habitats to themselves – wetlands, rainforests, savannahs, and coastal cliffs teem with wildlife. So, do some homework on what else you might find while you’re out in the field, and you could end up with a sighting worthy of a brand new ‘life list’.