Last Thursday I had pleasure of providing a day of guided bird watching at Albufera de Valencia for two clients from England. As nature lovers and experienced birders, they are members of The Wild Trust and also volunteers of the RSPB. Whilst here in Spain, they were keen to discover the bird life of the wetlands that surround Valencia.
After I collected them from their holiday apartment, we went to a protected reserve area where we enjoyed great views of waterfowl species. We were also fortunate enough to watch 3 Booted Eagles soaring and hunting above the reserve.
On the way to our next venue, we stopped in a car park where there had been reports of a Dotterel, obviously resting and feeding whilst on passage.
Next stop was a very special restricted reserve area, where we spent most of the morning and had lunch in an stunning hide in front of a lagoon.
We enjoyed views of a large flock of Greater Flamingo and Glossy Ibis. An Osprey, another species that often stops at Albufera whilst on passage, had appeared to “befriend” the Ibis and happily spent the afternoon with them!
The third stop was in the forest, where Pied Flycatcher, Sardinian Warbler, Short-toed Treecreper, Serin, and Hoopoe welcomed us, giving great opportunities to photograph them.
To end the trip we drove back to Valencia through the rice paddies where we were treated to views of Squacco Heron and Turtle Dove.
It had been a special “Albufera day”, with a species list that included…
Osprey, Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Common Kestrel, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Garganey, Lesser black-backed Gull, Audoin’s Gull, Common Tern, Whiskered Tern, Little Tern, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Squacco Heron, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Moorhen, Coot, Purple Swamphen, Little Grebe, Great-crested Grebe, Dotterel, Lapwing, Ruff, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Collared Pratincole, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Stint, Redshank, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Southern Grey Shrike, Hoopoe, Magpie, Wood Pigeon, Turtle Dove, Kingfisher, House Martin, Barn Swallow, Great Reed Warbler, Reed Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Cetti’s Warbler, Willow Warbler, Sardinean Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Serin, Firecrest, Treecreeper.