Kicking off 2024 at Albufera de Valencia

It was great to begin the New Year with a trip to Albufera with Sally and Pete, a couple of clients who have a home in this region and wanted to explore the lesser known corners of this huge wetland. We met close to their base in the village of Pego and made the comfortable journey to the south side of the park where we began the day amongst the rice fields. When the fields are recently ploughed and partially flooded, they are riven with shallow gullies and therefore need to be closely scanned to reveal the smaller birds that are present. Our first stop indeed gave us views of plenty of Meadow Pipits and White Wagtails that were feeding, and closer attention revealed a small flock of Snipe. Further away, we scoped a large mixed group of Golden Plover and Lapwing. Distant shot of a Golden Plover with Lapwing (taken through scope with mobile) As we returned to the car and drove along more tracks, a large bird to our distant left side caught our attention. We stopped to wait for it to fly closer, which indeed it did,…

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A Day in the Mountains

Raptors in Spain

19th May 2023 My second day with Maria and Jane was spent in the mountains of Valencia. We made the comfortable journey into the highland interior, stopping for a coffee and to pick up sandwiches before we enjoyed a walk along a wooded riverside path. Searching for Golden Oriole! A raptor soon flew into view before circling above us, and turned out to be a dark-form Booted Eagle. A Black Wheatear made a brief appearance before disappearing into a nest crevice on a crag above the woods. We then heard the wonderful song of Golden Oriole, my first of the year. These stunning birds, despite their bright colours, have an amazing ability of disappearing once they fly into the treetops! However, we were determined to find them, and eventually succeeded. Our walk continued, the woods full of the song of Nightingale and Wren, both of which we saw. A Spotted Flycatcher was catching insects in flight before returning to its perch, and Blackcaps were flitting through the undergrowth. Spotted Flycatcher We returned to the car and drove up into the mountains from where we enjoyed some fabulous views of Griffon…

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A day at the coastal wetlands of Valencia

Birding in Valencia

22/4/23 Today I had the pleasure of meeting Michael and Paula from the UK, who were spending some time in Valencia and had previously booked a day with me. As they were happy to include a walk in the trip, we decided to spend the day at one of Valencia´s coastal wetlands. Once parked by the reserve, we began our walk and the day got off to a great start with almost immediate views of Little Bittern, Night Heron and Greater Flamingo. We headed along the coast, looking across a series of lagoons and reed beds that held White Headed Duck, Black Winged Stilt, Zitting Cisticola and Purple Heron. Night Heron Our first observatory gave us the opportunity to enjoy views of Moustached Warbler, Collared Pratincole, Squacco Heron and Audouin’s Gull. We walked further along the coast to a hide from where we saw Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Great Reed Warbler, Avocet and Ringed Plover. Collared Pratincole After enjoying our picnic lunch, we strolled through an area of scrub and pasture towards another lagoon. This held Purple Swamphen, Wood Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank and a Garganey. We caught sight of a…

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3-Day Bird Photography Trip in Alicante

January 2023 For the first time since the pandemic, I was delighted to welcome back Stephen from the UK. An experienced and well travelled wildlife photographer, he was keen to make another trip to the Valencia Region, this time to focus largely on Golden Eagles in the mountains of Alicante. I collected him from Alicante Airport in the afternoon and we drove into the mountains where he checked in to a small hotel in the historical village of Biar. Biar, Alicante The next morning we made a relatively early start to ensure that we were in the photography hide as soon as reasonably possible. Spain was gripped by winter weather, with cold air moving from the north east, so we ensured that we were well prepared. After a few hours waiting, the male Golden Eagle suddenly came into sight, before landing in front of the hide, seemingly to feed. He stayed for only around 20 minutes, but we managed to get some quality shots. I noticed that he was calling to the female bird during his stay, and he didn´t actually take any food. After he’d flown, we waited a…

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A bird filled day at Albufera

18th November 2022 For many reasons, I have recently spent more time than usual at the huge wetland site of Albufera de Valencia, and one thing that has stood out is that no two days are ever the same, even two consecutive days. Our first stop of the day Today´s trip was for Dave from the south of England who was enjoying a short break in Valencia with his wife, and wanted to include a day of birding in his plans. Our first stopping point immediately greeted us with a lagoon full of birds – especially Flamingo, Shelducks, Black Winged Stilts and Glossy Ibis. Stonechat A pair of Stonechats were feeding in front of the hide, and a Buzzard suddenly passed low overhead. We moved onto the next hide which gave us superb views of Marsh Harrier, Sardinian Warbler and a couple of Collared Pratincoles that have been lingering around the area for a few weeks. A short drive across the rice fields to another reserve gave us plenty of Cattle Egrets, Black Headed Gulls and Glossy Ibis following a tractor that was ploughing, and obviously revealing food! We also…

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An Early Autumn Day at Albufera de Valencia

Birding in Valencia

Last weekend I provided a day trip to Albufera de Valencia for two lovely and very interesting people from Scotland, who also have a home in the Valencia Region of Spain. The trip was bought by Red for his wife Lorna´s birthday and had been planned for a while. The timing was designed such that the heat of the summer should be behind us and the early autumn migration should provide us with some interesting sightings. Having collected them from Valencia´s very elegant “Valencia Nord” railway station, from where we made the short journey to Albufera, we began the day in a hide from which we saw Greater Flamingo, Avocet, Black Winged Stilt and Common Sandpiper. As we were about to leave, a Green Sandpiper flew into view too. A good start to the trip! Greater Flamingo We strolled through the reserve, listening to Sardinian Warbler and Cett’s Warlber and arrived at the next hide which gave us excellent views of Black Tailed Godwit, Ruff and Shelduck. Lorna and Red were interested to learn more about how this huge wetland was formed, so we returned via the visitor centre where…

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