Guided Bird Watching Valencia - Valencia Birding

March Full of Wetland Trips

The month of March was packed with trips principally to the region’s wetlands. I was delighted to spend time with clients from the Netherlands, the UK and the USA. I did a couple of single day trips for clients who arrived in Alicante on cruise ships and wanted to spend their time birding. I also enjoyed trips to the various wetlands of Valencia for clients who had chosen to base themselves in this elegant and historical city. One of Valencia’s many wetlands The month of March brough even more signs that spring is very much with us, with the Alicante wetlands holding Red Knobbed Coot with chicks already swimming around the lagoons, large flocks of Pallid Swifts feeding over the reed beds, and Little Ringed Plovers arriving in good numbers. Little Ringed Plover Other lagoons in Alicante held plenty of White Headed Duck, the male with the distinguishing bright blue bill, and Black Necked Grebe in full breeding plumage. White Headed Duck Black Necked Grebe In Valencia´s wetlands, Audouin’s Gull were beginning to colonise their regular breeding grounds. Passerines including Redstart, Nightingale, Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler and Willow Warbler…

A Return to Albufera After the Devastating Floods

21st December 2024 The huge wetland of Albufera lies directly between the towns that were devastated by the recent flooding and the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, its northern and western sectors have suffered a serious environmental impact. Although there has been a huge clear-up operation, much remains to be done. Many rice fields still contain debris, wrecked cars and mud that was washed down the rivers and canals, and some nature reserve areas have suffered serious damage to their facilities and infrastructure. However, the southern and eastern areas have escaped the worst of the effects, and hold plenty of birds. The southern rice fields of Albufera As previously commented, Albufera has being the subject of environmental impact in the past, and has recovered. It will do so again, but only thanks to a relatively small group of dedicated souls. Walking throiugh the elegant city of Valencia, one could be forgiven for being under the impression that nothing has happened, but as for the towns that were hardest hit, the destruction is hard to describe in written word. The conditions that people continue to live under are something akin to a disaster…

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,…

A Day in the Mountains

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…

A day at the coastal wetlands of 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…

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…