Last week, I provided a day of guided birding for a mother and daughter from Belguim. The daughter lives here in Spain and her mother was visiting for a week. Both were very keen and experienced birders and were eager to see the wetlands of Valencia, especially at this fabulous time of the year when the breeding season is well underway.
Nesting Black-winged Stilt
The day turned out to be very interesting, and resulted in a fabulous species list and a mystery Tern!
As they had made a big effort to drive to Valencia from the interior of Alicante, I opted to combine part of Albufera with another wetland area as a way of optimising the day. Our first stop was at a reserve area within the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park. As well as wanting to see the colony of Sandwich Terns, there had been reports of a mystery Tern, originally thought to be an Elegant Tern (a species usually found in Mexico and the Pacific). However, the bird had been successfully identified, by blood testing and DNA analysis as a hybrid. Its parent species were Lesser Crested Tern and Sandwich Tern. After careful scanning of the Sandwich Tern colony, we eventually (we being one of my clients!) found it, its long yellow bill distinguishing it from its neighbours.
The hybrid tern is just visible, it´s long yellow bill protruding above the heads of the surrounding Sandwich Terns
Whilst there we also had good views of Shelduck, Red Crested Pochard and Slender-billed Gull.
Shelduck
We then made the short journey to another super coastal wetland area, where we enjoyed a morning coffee by the beach before beginning our walk along the dunes and coastal lagoons.
We were rewarded with some great views of Night Heron, Little Bittern, Cattle Egret and Purple Heron. We also had a brief view of a Water Rail and a Turtle Dove.
Little Egret
We then devoted some time to one of my favourite spots, which is great for waders and terns at this time of year. We were delighted to see Avocet, Kentish Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Wood Sandpiper and Curlew Sandpiper. We opted to stay at the same spot for a while, patiently scanning the scrapes.
Greater Flamingoes
We were rewarded with some fabulous views of Little Stint, Dunlin, Glossy Ibis and perhaps the area´s “classic bird”, the Collared Pratincole.
Collared Pratincole
As we walked to the day´s final spot, we had views of passing Audouin´s Gull, as well as Great Reed Warbler and another surprise for the day – Bee Eater.
Redshank
The final lagoon of the day provided good views of one of our target species, the Purple Swamphen, plus other favourites including Greater Flamingo, Little Grebe and Whiskered Tern.
Whiskered Tern
It had been a fabulous day, and a pleasure for me to provide a trip for such enthusiastic birders. The day had included many highlights, and a super species list, including…
Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Mallard, Shelduck, Shoveler, Moorhen, Coot, Water Rail, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Purple Swamphen, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Whiskered Tern, “Hybrid” Tern, Slender-billed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Audouin´s Gull, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Glossy Ibis, Collared Pratincole, Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Ruff, Little Stint, Dunlin, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Night Heron, Little Bittern, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Turtle Dove, Magpie, Bee Eater, Goldfinch, Serin, White Wagtail, Stonechat, Fan-tailed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Cetti´s Warbler (heard only), Swift, Swallow, House Martin.
Written by Dave Warrington.
Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.