Alex of 9 years old hits over 60 species in the day!

Birding in Valencia

14th April 2022 When Stuart contacted me to arrange a day´s birding for him and his son Alex, I immediately began to look forward to our trip. More than anything because Alex is just 9 years old, and it’s always a privilege to be able to support and inspire young birders. We met at one of Valencia’s many wetland sites, and after a chat about the plans for the day, began our walk. It was immediately clear that Alex was not only extremely enthisiastic, but that he knew his stuff too! The day got off to a great start as our first bird was a Woodchat Shrike, which perched nicely for us, allowing great views. Woodchat Shrike Our first small lagoon gave views of Purple Swamphen, and whilst on that theme, a Purple Heron flew by. Looking to the sky revealed plenty of Swifts, House Martins and Barn Swallows as well as a Marsh Harrier. A small bird caught our attention as it flicked up into a low bush. A little patient searching eventually gave us views of a Sub-Alpine Warbler, a new bird for Alex. We then looked out…

Continue reading

A very productive day in Valencia!

Birding in Valencia

11th April 2022 Earlier this week I provided a birding trip to the Valencian coastal wetlands for Wil, a very experienced ornithologist from the Netherlands. As I’ve written previously, migration this year is generally later than usual owing to freak weather conditions in March, so April is turning out to be a really interesting time for birding here in the Valencia region. Northern Wheatear Having made the short journey from the historical quarter of Valencia, we began our walk along the beach. As soon as we left the car, we had views of Audouin’s Gull on the coast and Tree Sparrows in a bush next to us. Barn Swallows, House Martins and Common Swifts were feeding on the wing above us and Zitting Cisticolas were around in good numbers too. Black-eared Wheatear We paid close attention to a strip of coastal scrub where we saw huge numbers of Yellow Wagtails, noting at least three sub-species. Amongst the wagtails were lots of Northern Wheatear, plus a few Black-eared Wheatear, both extremely smart-looking birds. Turnstone The reeds held Common Reed Warbler, and we also heard a Water Rail. After a while, we…

Continue reading

A sunny February day on the steppe.

Valencia Birding

The steppe zone that´s located to the south west of the region is an area of extremely high, open plains that in winter can be subject to gale-force winds and sub-zero temperatures. However, last Friday was an exceptional day, with clear blue skies, virtually no wind and temperatures touching 20 degrees C! The birding trip had been arranged by a local lady for her husband John, as a Christmas present, and after a chat on the phone, we’d decided on the steppe. The day began as usual with a coffee stop in a small farming village before we headed across the fields in search of birds. Our first stop, a vantage point with huge views, saw large flocks of Linnets, a few Crested Larks and a Spotless Starling that posed nicely for a photo. Spotless Starling We then moved to an old farm whose outbuildings provide nesting spots for colonies of sparrows. We actually saw three species – House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow and Rock Sparrow, including a leucistic House Sparrow that was almost uniformly white. Buzzards were circling above us in the warming air, and Corn Buntings were calling from…

Continue reading

A February Day at Albufera de Valencia with Judy

I recently had the pleasure of providing a day of guided birding at Albufera de Valencia for an Englsih lady called Judy, who has lived in southern France for many years. A very well travelled and experienced birder, she wanted to explore this huge wetland site and to experience at first hand the bird life that thrives here. Having collected Judy from her hotel, we made the short trip to one of Albufera’s key reserve area where we looked out over a small lagoon. Here we saw Greenshank, Dunlin, Black-winged Stilt, Teal, Shelduck and Common Pochard. A Zitting Cisticola called from nearby reeds and Chiffchaffs and Sardinian Warblers constantly flitted around, feeding on insects in the vegetation. We then stopped at a salt-water lagoon where we had quality views of Black-necked Grebe, Little Egret and Slender-billed Gull. Crag Martins were feeding on the wing in huge numbers, and whilst we were watching them, a Booted Eagle suddenly flew over, circling above us, giving excellent views. We then headed across the rice fields, stopping along the way to watch Marsh Harriers hunting over the reed beds. In the muddy rice paddies…

Continue reading

Pre-Christmas Birding in Valencia

Birding in Valencia

This week I very much enjoyed a day´s birding around the wetlands of Valencia with Simon and Sarah from England. They were staying in the historical quarter of Valencia, combining the rich culture of the city with a guided birding trip to make an ideal pre-Christmas break. They were both keen birders and lovers of the outdoors, so we make a few tweaks to the wetlands trip to include a little more walking. The day began quite cloudy with a cold northerly breeze, so after the short drive from Valencia, we wrapped up and headed out along the beach. The first thing that caught our eye were the Marsh Harriers that were gliding over the huge reed beds, above which were great numbers of Crag Martins feeding on the wing. Stonechats and Chiffchaffs were more than abundant and a Black Redstart make a brief appearance too. Then we had quality views of one of the day’s target species – Audouin’s Gull. Audouin’s Gull Continuing along the beach, Sarah spotted a Cetti’s Warbler flitting around in the reeds as well as a small flock of Reed Buntings. The first lagoon held…

Continue reading

A fabulous autumn day on the steppe.

Valencia Birding

The steppe area of our region is an ever-changing environment of rolling cereal fields, vineyards, arable land, lagoons and scrub. In the scorching heat of midsummer, almost all of the lagoons dry up, after the cereal harvest the land is ploughed bare, and in the winter, temperatures plummet to well below freezing. These dramatic changes mean that the bird life of this environment can also be very fluid, and one has to “learn” the area in order to get the most from it. As with anything, the required effort makes the prize yet more valuable and the steppe area seldom fails to reward. From our base in the interior of Alicante province, it’s a short and easy drive to get there, and last week I spent a day up there with my good friend Bea, carrying out a recce as I have bookings from clients in the coming weeks who want to visit this area. Following the long, hot summer, the lagoons of the high steppe once again contain plenty of water The morning began with the hills that surround home shrouded in a thick mist, but as the sun…

Continue reading