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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TICK BITES – A Personal Health Scare and a Warning to Others

I’m writing this post having just spent almost two weeks in hospital. I can honestly say that I’ve never felt so ill in my life. Prior to this episode, I was fit, strong and healthy. I will return to being so, but I want to share my story with you all. Why? Because the same could happen to anyone, but with some prior knowledge and safety measures, it can be avoided. The problem – A TICK BITE. A few weeks ago, I was in Scotland, collaborating in a conservation project. With only a few days left of the trip, I woke one morning to find two ticks attached to my body. They were quite large, round and had obvioulsy been feeding on my blood for a while. I carefully removed them, and cleaned the bite areas but didn’t think much more about it, and decided not to mention anything about them to my partner. The rest of the trip passed without any problems, and no rash nor marks appeared on my body. A tick feeding on human blood – extreme care is needed when removing such We’d been back in…

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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 Spring Day at the Valencian Wetlands

Birding in Valencia and Alicante

17th May 2023 Maria had contacted me the previous year in order to arrange a couple of days of guided birding as part of their holiday in the Valencia region. She’d managed to arrange a trip that involved a rail journey from the UK to Spain, stopping on the way to visit the Ebro Delta, before travelling onwards to Valencia. The trip was to celebrate her partner Jane´s birthday, so I was very keen to provide the best possible birding days for them. Squacco Heron After many email exchanges, we finally met in person, and travelled to our chosen wetland reserve, where after having a quick coffee, we began our walk. A Squacco Heron was the first bird of the day, soon to be followed by Greater Flamingo, Glossy Ibis and a pair of Marsh Harriers. Whiskered Tern The reed beds were full of the sounds of Zitting Cisticola, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler and Great Reed Warbler, and from our first observation platform we had good views of Whiskered Tern, Purple Heron, Night Heron, Little Bittern and Purple Swamphen. Purple Swamphen A walk along the coast gave us excellent views…

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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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Day 2 of a 4-Day Twin Centre Birding Break

Birdig in Alicante

Our day on the steppe was followed by a trip to the mountains in the interior of Alicante, so after a relatively short but comfortable drive from Xativa, we were soon drinking coffee in a village and discussing the plans for the day. Our first stop was a dramatic ravine with towering limestone cliffs. The bushes arond the parking area held Sardinian Warbler and plenty of singing Serins. We also enjoyed good views of Blue Rock Thrush, Black Redstart and Crag Martin. Blue Rock Thrush Perhaps the most spectacular bird of the morning was the Griffon Vulture. This area is home to a well established breeding colony, and we were abnle to see them both in flight and on their nesting ledges. Choughs were also very active, calling to each other in flight and swooping and diving over the peaks. After a short walk into the gorge and back, we drove up into a highland forest where we enjoyed lunch whilst watching Coal Tit, Blackcap and a Short-toed Treecreeper. We strolled back to the car and discussed the plan for the rest of the day, eventually opting to make a…

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