WildWings

What WildWings does

WildWings, trading as Birds and Wildlife Limited, is a privately held UK specialist tour operator based in Long Ditton, Surrey, that designs and sells guided birdwatching and wildlife tours plus expedition cruises to remote global destinations. Founded in the early 1990s by John Brodie Good and acquired in early 2021 by Chris Collins, the company offers land-based escorted itineraries (such as Ladakh Snow Leopard tours and Colorado grouse leks trips) and expedition cruises (including the Birding Down Under voyage to the New Zealand Subantarctic islands, Brazil Amazon cruises aboard the Iracema, and Svalbard Polar Bear expeditions), with pricing ranging from approximately £4,695 to over £12,000 per person and small group sizes of 7-18.

The business is asset-light and service-based rather than technology-based: there is no proprietary platform, with bookings taken through the WordPress-based wildwings.co.uk website, by phone, and via a partner flight consultant at Travel Counsellors. WildWings acts as a UK sales agent for ship-based products operated by partners such as Heritage Expeditions. The firm holds ABTOT Member 5539 and ATOL Protected 12628 status for consumer financial protection, is PCI DSS Level 1 compliant for payment processing, and operates under GDPR.

WildWings serves individual enthusiast travelers (birdwatchers, mammal-focused wildlife tourists, and conservation-minded travelers) primarily in the UK, with tour offerings spanning eight global regions. Distribution combines direct website and phone sales, email newsletter, social media (Facebook, Instagram), printed brochures, and the annual Global Birdfair, where WildWings holds the Main Conservation Sponsorship. Sister brand Limosa Holidays, also owned by Birds and Wildlife Limited, cross-promotes complementary birding holidays under a shared leadership team.

Name

WildWings

Legal name

Birds and Wildlife Limited

Website

https://wildwings.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WildWings is a UK specialist tour operator (Birds and Wildlife Limited) offering guided birdwatching and wildlife tours plus expedition cruises to remote global destinations, serving individual enthusiast travelers primarily in the UK. Sister brand Limosa Holidays operates under the same holding company.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Tourism Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land (48711), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (4872), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Safari & Wildlife Travel Agencies (THAKAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wildlife & Safari Tour Operators (THAKADAG), Wildlife Viewing & Birdwatching Tours (THAAAEAB), Wildlife & Nature Interpretation Guides (Birding, Photography, Naturalist) (THAAALAE), Safari & Wildlife Adventure Tour Operators (Land-Based) (THAAADAD)

Keywords

• Guided birdwatching tours
• Wildlife expedition cruises
• Bird and mammal tours
• Small group wildlife holidays
• Remote wildlife destinations

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Ditton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tour Package Sales: WildWings generates revenue through selling guided wildlife tour packages. Customers pay tour costs that include accommodation, meals, transport, guide services, and entry fees. Pricing varies by tour duration and destination, with deposits required at booking and final balances due before departure.
2. Brochure and Newsletter Distribution: The company distributes printed brochures and email newsletters to prospective customers, monetized through tour bookings that result from these marketing channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WildWings is a UK-based specialist travel agency that sells escorted bird and wildlife tours and expedition cruises to remote global destinations. Tour packages include accommodation, meals, transport, guide services, park/landing fees, and tips, and are led by expert leaders to locations such as Antarctica, the Arctic, Amazon, Subantarctic islands, Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe. The company operates under the legal entity Birds and Wildlife Limited, alongside sister brand Limosa Holidays.

Product overview

WildWings, operated by Birds and Wildlife Limited, is a specialist bird and wildlife tour operator offering guided tours and expedition cruises worldwide. The company operates two core product lines: land-based guided wildlife tours (such as the Ladakh Snow Leopard tour, Colorado Grouse Leks tour, and India wildlife tours) and expedition cruises (including the Birding Down Under subantarctic voyage, Brazil Amazon cruises aboard the Iracema, and Arctic Svalbard expeditions). The company also owns sister brand Limosa Holidays which offers complementary birding holidays. Tours range from multi-day land-based holidays with expert guides to multi-week expedition voyages aboard chartered vessels, with pricing from approximately £4,695 to over £12,000 depending on destination and duration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Limosa Holidays: Sister brand offering complementary birding holidays, also owned by Birds and Wildlife Limited

Products and services

• Guided Bird and Wildlife Tours

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Limosa HolidayscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWildWings and Limosa Holidays are both owned by Birds and Wildlife Limited. The brands cross-promote tours and share leadership resources, with Limosa offering complementary birding holidays to WildWings. Shared tour leaders include Chris Collins.
• Heritage ExpeditionscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWildWings sells cabin space on Heritage Expeditions' vessel Heritage Adventurer for Birding Down Under voyages to New Zealand and Australian Subantarctic islands. WildWings acts as agent for the ship operator.
• Sacha Barbato (Travel Counsellors)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDedicated flight consultant recommended by WildWings for booking flights on expedition cruises. Handles international and domestic flight arrangements from regional airports when available.
• Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task ForceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWildWings is the main Conservation Sponsors of Global Birdfair which supports the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force. This conservation partnership helps fund international efforts to save the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Sunbird (Sunbird Tours): UK birdwatching holiday specialist running worldwide birding tours with expert leaders. Comparable UK base, small-group premium tours, and enthusiast birder target market.
• Rockjumper Birding Tours: Global birding tour operator running guided small-group birding trips worldwide. Comparable small-group leader-led model, expedition-style itineraries, and target birder customer.
• Birdquest: Long-established UK birding tour operator offering guided worldwide birdwatching trips with expert leaders. Closely comparable product, customer, and small-group premium model.
• Limosa Holidays: Sister brand under Birds and Wildlife Limited offering complementary birding holidays. Shares leadership (e.g., Chris Collins) and is the most direct comparable in product, geography, and target customer.
• Heritage Expeditions: New Zealand-based expedition cruise operator whose Heritage Adventurer WildWings charters for Subantarctic voyages. Comparable expedition cruise product, remote-destination itineraries, and birder/naturalist customer base.
• Naturetrek: UK-based wildlife tour operator running guided bird and natural history holidays worldwide. Most directly comparable peer by geography, customer base, and escorted tour model.
• Eagle-Eye Tours: North American birding tour operator offering small-group birding trips worldwide. Comparable small-group leader-led birding model targeting serious birdwatchers.
• Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT): Pioneering US-based birding and nature tour company running worldwide leader-led birding tours. Closely comparable product, guided format, and target enthusiast birder customer.
• Avian Adventures: UK birdwatching holiday specialist offering escorted global birding tours led by experienced leaders. Comparable target market (UK birders), product structure, and small-group tours.

Regional players

• Wrybill Birding Tours: New Zealand-based birding tour operator focused on NZ and Pacific birding. Comparable birding-tour product, but primarily serves a different geography (NZ domestic and regional) rather than directly competing for the same UK-led tours.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wildwingstravel
• Instagraminstagram.com/wildwingstravel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wildwings

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WildWings