Firetail Safaris 2026 - A Magical Start

Sun 3rd May, 2026

On the 30th April and 1st May I met my first Firetail Safari groups at 7am in Helmsley. On this day I was assisted by Holly-Marie Smith a Zoology student, great birder and excellent guide.

YCN Firetail Group - North Yorkshire Spring 2026

Starting early makes a huge difference. Within 30 minutes we were watching Common Snipe singing from a stone wall, Eurasian Curlews displaying and Northern Lapwings twirling in the air. Behind us on the moorland two Common Cuckoos were singing and Red Grouse displaying. On the 1st May we added Wheatear and Stonechats on the same patch. When we arrived at the Common Redstart wood, we were already full of great birding experiences.

Common Redstart male - North Yorkshire Spring 2026 © Richard Baines

A week before my first Firetail guiding trip, I had spent many happy hours finding all the good sites. This meant I could be confident everything would fall into place. But of course, there is always the unknown factor in natural history…This nervous energy always creates such a thrill when everything falls into place.

The landscape of sound in and around this ancient woodland was wonderful. There were some very special birds singing and calling; Green Woodpecker, Cuckoos, Curlew, Redstarts, Pied Flycatchers, Tree Pipits and Redpolls. In the sky above the wood on the 30th April the birding show was improved further by a Red Kite drifting on the breeze.

YCN Firetail Group - North Yorkshire Spring 2026

Best of all the Redstarts of course which were showing very well. Locating a nest site at a safe distance, we were able to watch in detail how the pair start their breeding season. On the 30th April our main male was singing occasionally but, on the 1st, May we didn’t hear a sound from the male in over an hour. At the same time the female was busy nest building on both days, she was very active bringing feathers, small sticks and leaves to the nest.

Common Redstart male - North Yorkshire Spring 2026 © Richard Baines

This quiet but very busy activity from both birds was contrasted by a nearby separate male singing almost constantly for an hour. Maybe this bird had yet to find a female and start a nesting cycle, holding territory but not as advanced as our main pair.

Common Redstart male - North Yorkshire Spring 2026 © Richard Baines

Every time the male and female flashed their orange tails, I enjoyed the excited reaction from the group. These jewels travel so far from Africa each spring they deserve a couple of excited Wows!

Duke of Burgundy - North Yorkshire Spring 2026 © Richard Baines

In the afternoon of both days, we took a lovely walk to a nearby site to see the very special Duke of Burgundy butterflies. Surrounded by blue skies, singing Cuckoo and Tree Pipits and amazing butterflies we all felt very privileged to be enjoying such great days.

YCN Firetail Group - North Yorkshire Spring 2026

As I write this there are still a few places left on two of my Firetail trips here: CLICK HERE

Richard Baines

Director & Wildlife Guide, Yorkshire Coast Nature