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Nature Reserves: ​Where to go Birding with Optisan Optics in 2025 - our pick of the best UK reserves to visit

15 November 2024
​​Sponsored Feature By James Hamilton
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A possible Bittern sighting is a major draw to a UK nature reserve for birders

​As 2024 draws to a close, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a head start on your 2025 birding adventures with a 'Top 10 List' of some of the most beautiful and diverse nature reserves to visit in the UK.
 
From coastal bird sanctuaries to lush woodland reserves, the UK has diverse natural areas that become even more breathtaking with a reliable optic companion. Exploring the UK's best nature reserves with a pair of Optisan binoculars can make for an unforgettable wildlife viewing experience. Optisan Optics are known for their high-quality binoculars and spotting scopes and offer remarkable clarity and precision for nature lovers looking to immerse themselves in the landscape and spot even the most elusive creatures.

One of the top destinations for nature watching in the UK is RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk. This nature reserve is famous for its variety of bird species, especially during migratory seasons. With Optisan binoculars, you’ll have a close-up view of rare species like marsh harriers, avocets, and nightingales, enhancing the whole bird-watching experience. The lightweight design of Optisan's products, such as the Optisan LR ED 8x34 which Bird-Watchers.com recently reviewed with a 9/10 score also makes them easy to carry along the diverse trails, from reed beds to coastal paths, providing comfort for a full day of exploring.

In Scotland, the Abernethy Forest is a must-visit. One of the largest and most inspiring reserves, It stretches from the River Nethy to the top of Ben Macdui, high on the Cairngorm plateau. Abernethy NNR encompasses one of the largest remnants of Caledonian pinewood, as well as moorland, wetlands and mountains. It is home to a host of specialist pinewood and upland plants and animals and will give you the chance to see animals such as red deer, Scottish wildcats, and even golden eagles.

If you prefer coastal settings, Bempton Cliffs, on the spectacular Yorkshire coast, is home to one of the UK's top wildlife spectacles. Around half a million seabirds gather here between March and August to raise a family on the towering chalk cliffs that overlook the North Sea. This gives you the opportunity to digiscope gannets, puffins and razorbills, as Philip from Optisan did in July, making it possible to watch their fascinating behaviours in detail.
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1. Minsmere
One of our all-time faves. Sunset at the RSPB reserve of Minsmere on the Suffolk coast is a magical time and place. Here you will see marsh harriers, avocets, nightingales and all manor of other species. The stretch between Aldeburgh and Southwold on the Suffolk coast is a more or less continuous nature reserve, mostly reedbeds, pools and open water on one side with sand dunes and sea on the other. There are permanently open footpaths across much of this, with the great RSPB reserve of Minsmere at the heart of it all.

2. Rutland Water
Rutland Water is a huge patch of open water that has the great benefit of being a day trip for an awful lot of England because it is geographically more or less bang in the middle. At Rutland Water, ducks and geese are always about, and the place has one superstar species: osprey! Ospreys were reintroduced to Rutland more than 30 years ago and fish in the most breathtaking fashion. You won't want to miss this!

3. Bass Rock
​Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth, near East Lothian, is one of the most beautiful wild places in the world and you can get there by taking a train and walking across a golf course. It looks a bit like a giant wedding cake but the white colour is neither icing nor bird droppings. It’s the birds themselves: 150,000 or so gannets! You can enjoy them from the shore and there are many boat trips with guides. Some involve landing on the rock when the weather is OK.
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4. London Wetlands Centre
London Wetlands Centre is a bird magnet in the middle of a bustling city, a place that feels wild even though the horizon is filled with skyscrapers. This place, full of reeds, pools and open water has breeding birds that include great crested grebes, lapwings and common terns: nice birds to see anywhere but jewels beyond price in London. You can even do a little birding from the cafe. There’s a generous car park, and you can walk or take a bus from Barnes station. There are often helpful volunteers in the hides, and guided walks.

5. Flamborough Cliffs
Flamborough Head has one of the most important seabird colonies in Europe. In summer the cliffs are packed with tens of thousands of breeding auks, gannets, gulls and puffins, creating a memorable experience. The chalk grassland, especially in Holmes Gut, is rich in flowers, attracting butterflies and a number of uncommon moths. This marvellous Yorkshire birding hotspot, starts to fill with life from March. It is your best chance of seeing puffins without having to get on a boat, though the most dramatic part of it is the cliffs of nesting guillemots: you will remember the sight, the sound and the smell forever. The visitor centre is very popular and there are lots of paths to explore.

6. Isle of Mull
​There are two absolute superstar species to look out for here - the white-tailed eagle and the golden eagle.
They say that If you are on the Isle of Mull and the sky blackens, don’t worry, it’s just another eagle!
See them by boat or watch from an RSPB look-out. Otters can also be spotted along the coast. It’s a very fine place for a stay of a few days with the whisky distillery at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull another reason to add a day on!

7. Cley Marshes 
Norfolk is a wonderful county for birds, especially along the north coast, which is one of our national treasures. There are numerous places we could have chosen, but Cley has a special place in our hearts. Here you can see avocet, spoonbill, ringed plover, redshank, lapwing, bittern, marsh harrier and bearded tit. There’s good walking, and you can travel in the lovely silence of a hired electric boat. Guided walks are also available at Cley Nature Reserve.

8. Abernethy Forest
In the ancient Caledonian forest at Abernethy, you might (if you're very lucky) spot the mesmerising, capercaillie. Almost as big as a turkey, they can weigh up to 16 lb (7kg). At Abernethy, the forest that once covered much of Scotland is still cherished and is being restored. Look out for golden eagles and red squirrels on your journey through the forest aswell as smaller woodland birds. If you have time, do drop down to Loch Garten, the place where the ospreys returned to breed in the 1950s after a long absence.

9. Amwell
Amwell supports internationally important numbers of wintering wildfowl, along with outstanding communities of breeding birds and of dragonflies and damselflies. All nineteen species of dragonfly and damselfly resident in Hertfordshire have been recorded, making this the county’s best site for dragonflies. Amwell is perhaps best known for bitterns and they have ‘bittern bays’ in the reedbed to help visitors see the elusive bird from the Bittern Pool viewpoint. Spring and autumn passage migrants benefit from HMWT’s reed bed management and the majority of the reserve’s birds can be seen from the high vantage point of the main viewpoint.

10. Bempton Cliffs
Bempton Cliffs is a tremendous Yorkshire seabird colony that starts to fill with life from March. The huge white chalk cliffs at Bempton are impressive at any time of year, but plan your visit between April and July, and you'll find them transformed into England’s largest seabird city with Puffins, Gannets, Kittiwakes and Guillemots living life on the edge! But it’s not all about the cliffs, as you'll also have the chance to see Corn Buntings, Skylarks and Linnets as they breed in the grassland and scrub where land meets the sea, while Kestrel and Barn Owls hunt under wide open skies, often joined in winter by Short-eared Owls.

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Bird-Watchers.com recently tested and rated the Optisan LR ED 8x34 on a visit to the Lea Valley Regional Park
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