Valencia - Page 3 of 6 - Valencia Birding - Guided Bird Watching in Spain

Alpine Accentors!

Today´s outing was not specifically a birding trip and more of a walk to the top of one of our local mountain peaks. Such is the beauty of the route, it´s one that we enjoy two or three times per year and today´s trip was timed to coincide with the visit of one of my favourite and most character-full of mountain birds, the Alpine Accentor. The initial walk up through the steep forest gave good views of Chaffinch, Long Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Robin and the beautifully marked Firecrest. This area is also a frequent haunt of Blue Rock Thrush although we didn´t see any today. As we emerged from the tree line we rested in the sunshine on a shoulder just below the summit ridge. Within minutes, we were rewarded with views of 3 Alpine Accentors perched on a rock on the skyline. As we watched, further individuals flew in, apparently interested in whether they could share our lunch! As we sat there, we were joined by up to 20 of these stocky little birds, their red-brown flanks and white throat patches flecked with black showing clearly. After the…

A morning at Albufera de Valencia.

On 3rd January we spent a few hours at the Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia, a coastal wetland site just south of the city of Valencia. This site is of significant European importance and provides both critical breeding and wintering grounds for a vast range of species. Today´s trip was not so much an intensive day´s birding, in fact we only had a couple of hours as the main purpose of the visit was a meeting with the management team of a relatively new bird reserve within the park. On the way, we made a brief stop at one of the nearby beaches where we were fortunate enough to watch a passing flock of Balearic Shearwaters, a bird that we´ve seen on a number of occassions over the winter. Our first stop was to scan the (flooded) rice fields that surround the main lake. We saw the main three Egret species; Little, Cattle and Great White plus hundreds of Shoveler in amongst which were Shelduck. Yellow Legged, Lesser Black Backed and Black Headed Gulls were present in good numbers too. We then moved on to a hide overlooking a smaller, sheltered…

A Christmas Present of a Birding trip to the Valencian Coastal Wetlands.

During the Christmas break, I had the pleasure of providing a trip for a lady who despite having an interest in the natural world, is new to bird watching. The trip was bought for her as a Christmas present by her husband. We enjoyed a super day and were treated to some beautiful sights. After the trip, she very kindly provided this account…. A couple of days ago, I had a wonderful day out bird watching in Valencia – something that none of my family thought I would do (let alone enjoy the experience). Well, it was a revelation! Probably like most women, I tend to get caught in the house during the Christmas period, barely able to escape from the constant round of meals, entertaining and tidying up. And then, of course, there are the children to keep happy and my husband occupied (not that he always appreciates it!). It all means that I end up having little time to myself to relax. However, to my amazement, this year my husband bought me a day out with Nature Trail Spain, who run bird watching tours in Valencia! A LONE…

An Afternoon at Albufera de Valencia

As we had business to attend to in Valencia today, the opportunity to spend a couple of hours looking what was around Albufera couldn´t be missed. We started at the main hide, where we were greeted by a group of school children on a day trip! Although not the quiet environment that we expected, it has to be remembered that this is where the future of conservation lies. We soon attracted a small group of kids who were curious to see what the telescope was and soon had a small queue forming to watch the Flamingoes that were resting at the far side of the lagoon. A few others were fascinated to see the beautifully coloured Teal through binoculars which at first glance to them, appeared to be just “boring brown ducks”! Once their teacher called time and moved them on and out of the hide, we settled down to see what else was around. As mentioned, Teal were present in good numbers. A group of 6 Black Winged Stilt did a good job of trying to conceal a lone Avocet amongst them. We spend a little time waiting and…

Bird Watching at Santa Pola & La Mata Alicante.

Bird Watching Alicante – Guided Bird Watching in Spain. Although a little further South than our usual haunts, as we had an appointment in Alicante in the morning, we decided to make the most of the day by taking a slight detour and spend the afternoon bird watching at Santa Pola and La Mata. The forecast for heavy rain thankfully proved to be pessimistic. Although we expected to be watching from the van, we were fortunate enough to be greeted with patchy cloud and sunny spells. We scanned the lagoons at Santa Pola first, where we enjoyed views of hundreds of Greater Flamingoes and Yellow Legged Gulls. Scoping across the water revealed Sandwich Tern, Shelduck and Avocet, all in good numbers. A few Little Ringed Plovers scurried along the shallow banks whilst a Marsh Harrier passed low over the reedbeds. As we explored the reedbeds a little more, we had good views of Black Redstart, Zitting Cisticola and a male Cirl Bunting. As we made our way back to the van a pair of Turnstones ran out of the vegitation on the shoreline. A final scan gave us views of…

Diary of Bird Life in the La Drova Valley

Here is a brief summary of what goes on in “our valley”. Together with fellow birder Ian, we regularly watch our patch and from now on will use this blog to post brief records of what happens. Full species list can be seen on the specific post. January 25th Things are a little more lively this morning. The Meadow Pipit has become a regular garden visitor of late, as are a pair of Chiffchaffs. It´s only 1015am and in the garden we´ve already had a pair of Blackcap, a family of Long Tailed Tits, Great Tits, Spotless Starlings, a Sardinian Warbler and a female Crossbill on the bird bath. January 12th This morning, a pair of Meadow Pipits have joined the Chiffchaffs that regularly feed on my lawn. Another new garden visitor for this week has been a Coal Tit. Still no sign of Siskins though which is strange… December 9th Following a slightly unsettled spell of weather, normality has been restored and we´re now enjoying some beautiful winter sunshine. This week has seen the first of this year´s early morning frost and the nights are beginning to feel a little chilly, although…