Bermuda

“The Cahow Experience”

A 12-day trip to Bermuda for one of the rarest seabirds in the world, Bermuda Petrel, plus an impressive range of North American migrants.

This special tour led by internationally renowned seabird expert Bob Flood provides keen birders with a rare opportunity to look for the one of the rarest birds in the world, the highly endangered Bermuda Petrel or “Cahow”.

Bob has been visiting Bermuda on a regular basis for over a decade and the centrepiece of this trip will be a visit to Nonsuch Island. Access to this location is normally highly restricted but our group has special permission to visit, and we expect to be able to watch as researchers carry out their work which should include seeing several birds in the hand.

The tour also includes four short-range pelagic trips to observe Bermuda Petrels at sea (subject to weather and sea conditions) and we can expect good to excellent views as the birds gather offshore in the late afternoon before heading to the colony after dark.

Bermuda is also a fantastic place to explore for North American migrants and the tour will include five days of land-based birding excursions. We could potentially see up to twenty species of North American ‘wood warblers’ with the possibilities including Orange-crowned, Blue-winged, Nashville, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Magnolia, Black-and-White, Hooded, Swainson’s, Worm-eating, Palm and Yellow-throated Warblers, as well as Northern Parula, Common Yellowthroat and Northern Waterthrush. There will also be a great range of other species to look for including cuckoos, sapsuckers, waxwings, vireos, tanagers, orioles and grosbeaks and we also plan to explore wetland and shoreline habitats where we can expect to see a good selection of North American waders and waterfowl.

Tour Dates & Prices

Thu 13th November 2025

Mon 24th November 2025

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Tour Cost: 12 Days from £4995 excluding flights

Deposit: £1250 Single Supp: £1495 Group Size: 10 Leader: Bob Flood

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What's Included?

WildWings Tour Leader
10 nights accommodation on a twin-share basis on Bermuda, staying at a very comfortable hotel
All meals from dinner on Day 1 until lunch on Day 11
Five days of birding excursions with visits to birding sites which are within walking distance of our hotel on the mornings of the pelagic trips.
Pelagic trips and visit to Nonsuch Island (subject to weather and sea conditions)
All excursions, entry fees and permits
All tour-based tips and taxes
Checklist of birds for the tour

Cost Excludes

International flights, insurance, lunches, drinks, airport and in-flight meals and snacks and other items of a personal nature.

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Additional Information

The Land Only Tour Cost is the amount you will pay WildWings.

Despite the end of pandemic restrictions, we have taken the decision to continue to price our holidays as excluding international flights.

To keep the process as simple as possible, we are working very closely with a dedicated agent at Travel Counsellors, Sacha Barbato, who is essentially now our “in house” flight consultant.

Sacha is a highly experienced independent ATOL bonded travel agent, and his contact details are as follows: [email protected] and 01603 360099

He will be able to advise you which flights we are recommending for each holiday and will be able to book these for you.

This will also sometimes give you the option to travel from a regional airport if you prefer.

Tour Highlights

Visit to Nonsuch Island where Bermuda Petrels breed. Meet with the research team and watch on as they carry out their work on the petrels. Enjoy a tour of Nonsuch Island which is a ‘living museum’ of endemic flora and fauna and quite unlike the rest of Bermuda.
Four short-range afternoon/early evening pelagic trips to look for Bermuda Petrels (subject to weather and sea conditions) during which we should get good to excellent views of the birds at sea.
Five days of excursions to look for North American migrants and other birds with decent chances of seeing up to twenty species of warblers and a fantastic range of other species.
Ten nights at a very comfortable hotel.
Expertly led by WildWings guide Bob Flood.

Outline Itinerary

Depart London Heathrow for Bermuda on the direct British Airways flight. Arrive and transfer to the hotel. Night Grotto Bay Hotel, Bermuda
Our itinerary will be flexible due to sea and weather conditions, however, our plan is to offer four short-range pelagics plus a visit to Nonsuch Island where the petrels breed. Five days exploring the island looking for migrants and other landbirds. Nine further nights Grotto Bay Hotel, Bermuda
Some final ‘landbirding’ before we make the short transfer to the international airport for our overnight flight back to the UK.
Arrive in UK.

Overview

Itinerary

Trip Info

Bermuda Petrel in the hand on Nonsuch Island © Kirk Zufelt

Bermuda Petrel is one of the rarest seabirds on the planet and the centrepiece of this special tour is a visit to Nonsuch Island where the birds breed. Access to this location is normally highly restricted but our group has special permission to visit the island due to the longstanding relationship that WildWings guide Bob Flood has with the research team. The visit to Nonsuch includes a tour of this ‘living museum’ that preserves some of the pre-colonial Bermudan flora and fauna which is now lost on the main island.

Once on the island, we plan to meet the researchers and will watch as the team carry out their vital work and this should include seeing several birds in the hand.

Subject to weather and sea conditions, we also intend to make four short-range pelagics with the goal being to see the petrels at sea. These gather offshore in the late afternoon before heading to the colony after dark, so we stand a great chance of some good to excellent views of the birds.

Flexibility will be very important on this tour as the boat is only able to go to sea in reasonable conditions so Bob will keep you appraised on a day-by-day basis what the plans are and there is the possibility these could change at short notice. That said, in Bob’s ten previous trips to Bermuda, it has always been possible to go out for the four pelagics but these cannot be absolutely guaranteed to take place, however, we will still be able to look for the birds from land should the conditions be unfavourable.

As all these boat trips take place in the afternoon, during the morning there will be optional birding excursions on foot from our hotel as there are several excellent locations just a short walk away.

On our remaining five full days on Bermuda, we will explore more widely as the island is an excellent place to look for North American migrants in November. On his previous visits, Bob has recorded up to twenty species of ‘wood warblers’ and the possibilities including Orange-crowned, Blue-winged, Nashville, Cape May, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Magnolia, Black-and-White, Hooded, Swainson’s, Worm-eating, Palm and Yellow-throated Warblers, as well as Northern Parula, Common Yellowthroat and Northern Waterthrush.

A good range of other species should also be present and those we could see include Great Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, Killdeer, Wilson’s Snipe, American Herring Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, American and Least Bitterns, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Wood Duck, American Purple Gallinule, Sora, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Hudsonian Whimbrel, White-rumped and Least Sandpipers, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Belted Kingfisher, Buff-bellied Pipit, Tree Swallow, Yellow-throated and White-eyed Vireos, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Grey Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, Red-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, Eastern Bluebird, Savannah Sparrow and Dickcissel.

Important Information about the Pelagics and Nonsuch Island visit

It is vital to appreciate that it is a special privilege to visit Nonsuch Island and the welfare of the petrels is obviously the most important factor, so all participants will need to strictly follow the instructions of our guide and the researchers.

Our plan is for the tour to include four short-range pelagics which depart in the afternoon. Safety of the vessel and participants is obviously critical, and these trips can only go ahead when sea and weather conditions are suitable so plans may change at relatively short notice. If this occurs, we will offer land-based birding options as an alternative, although on all his previous visits, WildWings guide Bob Flood has been able to undertake four trips so we do hope to be able to achieve this, albeit it cannot be guaranteed.

Day 1

Depart London Heathrow for Bermuda on the direct British Airways flight. Arrive and transfer to the hotel. Night Grotto Bay Hotel, Bermuda

Days 2-9

Our itinerary will deliberately be kept flexible to take account of sea and weather conditions as our pelagic trips can only operate when it is safe to do so. Our intention, however, is to offer four short-range pelagics which will depart mid-afternoon to look for Bermuda Petrels at sea. On the mornings of these trips, there will be birding excursions to various birding locations which are within easy walking distance of our hotel.

A major highlight of the tour is a visit to Nonsuch Island where we will meet the researchers and watch as they carry out their work on the petrels before heading offshore to observe the birds at sea.

On the remaining five full days we have on Bermuda, we will explore the island looking for migrants and other landbirds. Nine further nights Grotto Bay Hotel, Bermuda

Day 10

We will need to leave for the airport in the late afternoon (subject to flight times) so there will be time for some final ‘landbirding’ before we make the short transfer to the international airport for our overnight flight back to the UK.

Day 11

Arrive in UK.

Group Size

Maximum of ten participants and one leader.

What To Expect

The focus of this tour is to look for Bermuda Petrel with the intention being to offer four short-range pelagics and a visit to Nonsuch island. On the other days, we will explore a number of birding sites on Bermuda to look for landbirds with this being a combination of vehicle based excursions and visits to a number of locations which are within walking distance of our hotel.

The hotel itself (Grotto Bay) is a good quality hotel with comfortable rooms. All meals are included in the tour price from dinner on Day 1 to lunch on Day 11. We plan to have breakfast and dinner at the hotel, however, on some days we will have a packed lunch if we are going to be away from the hotel in the middle of the day.

Transport

The transport for the land-based birding excursions will be a combination of a comfortable, air-conditioned minibus and local taxis depending on the particular sites we plan to visit.

For the pelagics, we will be travelling on a specially chartered vessel which has a good-sized cabin and plenty of outside deck space for viewing.

Weather

The daytime temperature in November is likely to be in the range of 19-24C, however, the weather is not predictable and there is the possibility of rain (and or wind) which can make it feel cooler.

Photos

Photographic opportunities should be good to excellent and we would expect us to get close views of a number of species.