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Birding – often mistakenly referred to as ‘birdwatching’ – is growing, and not only among older generations. Since the pandemic, birding is up by 19% from 12.8 million in the U.S. in 2019 to 15.2 million in 2020, according to Statista. It’s an activity that has enjoyed an “ascendant rise in popularity since the start of the pandemic,” according to an Inside Hook report.

Outdoor activity is also taking flight with younger people. “Over the last year and a half, younger millennials and members of Gen Z seem interested in birding,” according to the editors at Inside Hook.

Paisley Turner, a travel intelligence analyst at Global Rescue and a novice birder and bird photographer, is new to birding. “I saw puffins and kestrels in Scotland. I was there during puffin breeding season when they gather at nesting sites usually found in burrows located on grassy clifftops. I was fortunate to spot kestrels since nearly two-thirds of Scotland’s breeding population of kestrels has vanished in the past few decades.”

Need more evidence? Three major news outlets have published recent articles listing the best binoculars for birding, including Forbes, The New York Times and Popular Science magazine.

Whether you’re a novice or avid birder, you probably have a bucket list of rare birds you dream of seeing one day. But like any bucket list, the distance between dreaming and doing can feel more significant than the distance a Bar-tailed Godwit travels while migrating, especially when an element of risk is involved.

The following destinations, though home to some of the rarest, most breathtaking birds on earth, might give even the most daring birder pause, especially given their travel advisory status from the Global Rescue Intelligence Delivery system, which is informed by the most recent and relevant resources, including the U.S. Department of State.

And yet, these trips are not impossible. With intelligent research h and planning, an abundance of persistent awareness, emergency travel risk and security protection, and courage, you can realize those birder bucket list dreams.

Unsurprisingly, Australia is very safe for travelling, but you would need to embark on daring adventures to spot the Night Parrot, only found in the Outback once the sun sets. Similarly, Brazil has a moderate risk level for safety, but that increases as you travel through forests and encounter tropical birds like Lear’s Macaw or the Scaled ground cuckoo.

Bird Spot lists Bhutan as one of the top birding destinations in the world. “Unlike many other countries in the Himalayas, which have undergone massive deforestation programs, the kingdom of Bhutan has protected large areas of forest, which means many species of birds thrive here that do not elsewhere,” according to Bird Spot. Bhutan is a low-risk country, but the mountainous, remote nature of the region and scarce medical resources make it risky if you want to see several endangered bird species like the Baer’s Pochard, the Black-necked Stork, or the Beautiful Nuthatch.

Peru gets more dangerous the more remote you are, and you will need to get remote to see the more than 1,800 birds native to this South American birding paradise, said Nicholas Lund, expert birder and writer. “Peru has one of the largest species lists of any country on Earth,” he said. “But to see them, you must travel to every region of the country, traversing the Humboldt Current, the Andes Mountains and the Amazon Basin.” With luck, you will spot the Sunset Lorikeet, the Bronze Parotia of the Foya Mountains and the Dulit Frogmouth.

Senegal is the only country that does not have a “do not travel” risk level where you may be able to spot the Shoebill Stork, White-crested Turaco, and Blue-bellied Roller.

Crime levels are high in Guatemala. Although medical services are available in Guatemala City, emergency medical care would be spotty on a remote trip to find the Resplendent Quetzal, which lives in the mountainous tropical forests of Central America and is the national bird of Guatemala. Bella Falk for BBC’s Discover Wildlife reports that the quetzal is highly elusive, and to see it in Guatemala, “you have to go to one of just four protected cloud forest reserves, which means getting up before dawn and hiking for several hours into the jungle.”

Of course, you don’t have to travel worldwide to see spectacular avian life. For example, if you’re within the United States or its territories, there are plenty of hot spots to enjoy birding. Global Rescue’s Supervisor of Member Services, Jess Minard, loves watching Bald eagles and Ospreys in New Hampshire or the parrots of El Yunque National Forest when she travelled to Puerto Rico. “I was amazed at how vibrant their colours were and how graceful they were in flight. I had to remind myself that seeing them in the forest is natural – they aren’t just pets kept in a cage.”

Should You Stay or Should You Go?

As you plan your next birding trip, always consider the risks involved. Planning with travel risk experts will help you identify and understand the potential dangers of a trip anywhere and help you prepare to minimize the risks involved.