Albufera de Valencia - Page 4 of 14 - Valencia Birding

Birding and field photography trip to Albufera de Valencia

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to design a special trip for a couple from Belgium. Both are enthusiastic birders and Anne also is a photographer, who wanted a day of birding and field photography. Albufera de Valencia was the best choice to combine birding with bird photography. At this time of the year most of the rice paddies are being ploughed which provides the perfect scenery with plenty of Glossy Ibis, Egrets, Herons, Gulls and Waders feeding in the fields. After I collected them from a meeting point in Valencia City, we made a short journey to Albufera Natural Park where we stopped in the main pier of Albufera lake to photograph and enjoy great views of Sandwich Terns, Yellow-legged Gulls, Black-headed Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Our next stop was at the main reserve of the park, we headed to the observatories looking onto the brackish lagoons with plenty of Black-winged Stilt, Black-tailed Godwit and other waterfowl. We were enjoying fantastic views of all these birds when we witnessed the highlight of the day… a Booted Eagle´s failed attempt to take a Black-winged Stilt. The eagle…

Birding and seawatching trip to Albufera of Valencia

I recently provided a birding trip to Albufera de Valencia for two clients from England who as experienced birders had travelled to Spain many times but never to the Valencia region. After I collected them from their accommodation in the city centre, we made the short journey to Albufera Natural Park where we stopped in the main pier of the Albufera lake to enjoy nice views of Sandwich Terns and Marsh Harriers. Our next stop was in the main reserve area of the park, and after a short visit to the information center we headed to the observatories in a restricted area where we were surprised by a juvenile Night Heron. We realized it was injured so I manage to catch it to take it to the recovery center. After this episode we continued birding in the reserve. From one of the observatories we had views of an Iberian Grey Shrike, Flamingos and Zitting Cisticola. Later from the observatory tower we enjoyed good views of thousands of Red-crested Pochard, Pintail and many waterfowl that winter in this area. Our next stop was planned to be in the Village of El…

Birding in Valencia with a loyal client.

A few days ago I was delighted to provide a day of birding in Valencia with a loyal client. Gavin´s done many trips with us over the past few years and of course he has been to Albufera Natural Park before, but as he´s an experienced birder he knows that every day is different and birds can always surprise us. He was once again in Valencia on business but he managed to get a free day to go birding. Winter time is always exciting in Albufera as it´s an ever changing landscape. It was a sunny winter day and we were keen to get out and see what was around. The first stop was in the main reserve area of the natural park where we enjoyed the first good views of Booted Eagles, Garganey and a Hoopoe. From the observatory tower we had fantastic views of Red-crested Pochard, Wigeon, Pintail and many more waterfowl, it is a great spot where thousands of ducks spend the winter. Next we explored the southern rice fields to search for waders and the like. After a few minutes we found a tractor ploughing the…

Birding with returning clients in Albufera de Valencia

A few weeks ago I was especially pleased to provide a day of birding in Albufera de Valencia for returning clients from the UK. Once again, they arrived in Valencia by cruise ship and didn’t have a full day so they decided to visit again Albufera de Valencia. They were keen to see this wetland site in the autumn. Eric is 83 years old has been birding all his life and is always happy to see Mediterranean species. They wanted a relaxed birding trip and that’s what we did.. After I collected them from the cruise ship terminal we headed to the Devesa forest, early that morning I had seen a Yellow-browed Warbler close to my home and Eric was keen to see it. A few seconds after we parked we heard it calling and finally Eric had a good view. A great start to the day!! Next stop was at the main reserve of the natural park – autumn in Albufera is excellent for enjoying waterfowl… a few minutes after we visited the visitor center, we were in the observatory enjoying great views of Red-crested Pochard, Shelducks, Teal, Shovelers…

A Birding Trip on a Rainy Day

A few weeks ago I provided a birding trip on a rainy day to Albufera de Valencia for two clients from England. They were staying at El Parador Golf & Resort at El Saler which is inside the natural park and they were keen to explore the birdlife of the different ecosystems of the area. Despite the forecast, we were looking forward to the day. First, we drove to a small reserve area in the south of the park, to look for one of the target species of the day… Purple Swamphen and we succeeded, we enjoyed awesome views of many birds. We agreed we were going to have a challenging day trying to escape from the rain and luckily we had begun well. We continued driving to our next stop when we had suddenly to stop.. an Osprey was perched on a pylon, giving magnificent views. Next stop was at the main reserve of the natural park, it was early autumn so a great time for waders! After a short walk through the forest, we arrived at an observatory where we had amazing views of Black-tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt,…

Birding trip to Albufera of Valencia

A few weeks ago, I was delighted to provide a birding trip to Albufera of Valencia Natural Park for two couples from England. One couple were experienced birders who wanted to introduce their friends to the pleasure of going birding during their holidays. They were keen to discover the birdlife of the Valencian wetlands, so after I collected them, we drove a few minutes to the main reserve area of the natural park. After visiting the centre to understand the different ecosystems and birdlife of the area, we went to the observatories which is where we saw the first species of interest… Black-winged Stilt, Red-crested Pochard as well as an Osprey that flew over Next stop was in a green filter and reserve area. It took us a few minutes to drive through the rice paddies and just before we entered the reserve, a flock of Spoonbills flew over and we enjoyed great views. We arrived to the observatory tower where we had amazing views of some of the target species of the day… Purple Swamphen, Great White Egret and Marsh Harrier. The day was going pretty well so they…