Last Thursday I was delighted to provide a guided bird watching trip to Albufera de Valencia for two experienced birders from England. They wanted to discover the birdlife of what is one of the most important wetlands in Spain.
After I collected them from their hotel, we drove to the first stop in one of the main reserves of the natural park, where we had lovely views of hundreds Flamingos, a beautiful Booted Eagle, Black-winged Stilt, Little Stint, Gadwall and lots more waders and waterfowl.
Booted Eagle
The next stop was in a restricted reserve and green filter area, where the habitat and water quality are being greatly improved, in turn enhancing the biodiversity of the area. More than 2000 Glossy Ibis where in one of the fields, sharing it with lots of Ruff, Avocets, Curlew Sandpiper, and many more waders that benefits from the food supplied from this ecosystem.
Albufera de Valencia is home to thousands of Glossy Ibis
During the afternoon we made two more stops in some special places, a sports field and a lake, where we had amazing views of Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Black-eared Wheatear, Kentish Plover and Red Knot.
Crested Lark
It had been a great day with a superb list of species, including…
Montagu’s Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Booted Eagle, Kestrel, Shelduck, Mallard, Teal, Shoveler, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Purple Swamphen, Moorhen, Coot, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Squacco Heron, Little Egret, Great Crested Grebe, Collared Pratincole, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Ruff, Ringed Plover, Little-ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Temminck’s Stint, Little Stint, Baird’s Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Snipe, Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Whiskered Tern, Kingfisher, Magpie, Wood Pigeon, Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Spotless Starling, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Cetti’s Warbler, Sardinean Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Willow Warbler, Great Tit, House Sparrow, Serin.