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 exploring the wetlands of Valencia.

Valencia Birding

Last week, I spent a very enjoyable day with Rod, Anita, Rudolf and Harrie, exploring the coastal wetlands of Valencia. The trip was organised as a way to celebrate Anita’s birthday, so had an extra special touch. It was their first time at this particular site, so I was determined to try and get the most from the day for them. As soon as we left the car, we saw a Serin in a roadside tree and then heard a Nightingale singing in the bushes. Our first quality view of a bird was actually of one of the day’s target species – the very elegant Audouin’s Gull. Audouin’s Gull As we began our walk alongside a series of coastal lagoons, we enjoyed views of Purple Heron, Red Crested Pochard, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe and Glossy Ibis. We opted to remain at an observation point for a while and to wait to see what would appear. Within a few moments we had views of singing Great Reed Warbler and a pair of Marsh Harriers in flight over the reeds. Movement in a small island of tall vegetation revealed a Little…

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2 Day guided birding break from Valencia

A few days ago I had the pleasure to provide a 2 day guided birding trip for Norman from the UK and Urszula from Poland. Last year, Norman had visited the Valencia Region Stand at Rutland Bird Fair and after that he contacted us to book a trip. During the Bird Show we had the opportunity to talk about the different habitats and bird species , so it was easy to send him a proposal for the areas and species he was looking for. We planned to do Albufera de Valencia and the Steppe and Inland lagoons, but unfortunately they had a flight delay due to the storms that were affecting most of northern Europe.  Therefore I collected them from the airport and we headed directly to Albufera! We were determined to have a fantastic day with many lifers… and that’s what we did!! First stop was in the main reserve area of the Natural Park where we enjoyed amazing views of Flamingos, Glossy Ibis and two stunning Booted Eagles Next stop was in an observatory tower which looks over the lake and to a small reserve area. After a…

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Yet another great day at Albufera.

Last week I was delighted to meet Albert, a scientist from Illinois, USA who had contacted us to arrange a day trip to the wetland site of Albufera de Valencia.  He wasn´t an avid lister, but had a passion for birds and as this was his first birding trip to Spain, we chose to aim for quality views of the most “important” species. We began our trip at a reserve area where we had great views of a male Sardinian Warbler, Black Redstart and Marsh Harrier.  We then moved to a different hide from where we watched Black Winged Stilt, Ruff, Teal and Crag Martins which were feeding in the air above us.  Our walk back through the forest gave views of Long Tailed Tit and Firecrest. We then headed across the rice fields, generally exploring the park.  This part of the trip included sightings of Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Glossy Ibis and a Green Sandpiper.  After a coffee break, we drove further into the park and made a brief stop to explore a flooded area.  From here we were really pleased to enjoy great views of a White…

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An autumn day at Albufera.

I´d been looking forward to welcoming back Stephen and Pennie since they´d booked yet another return trip to Valencia earlier this year.  We´d previously enjoyed many happy days together so it was great to see them here again.  Both keen birders, Stephen is also an experienced field photographer, and is very well travelled in pursuit of his hobby. We decided upon a return to Albufera de Valencia as this ever changing environment can differ greatly from month to month, plus Purple Swamphen was a key target bird for them both.  We began at a small protected reserve area where we had views of Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaff and Zitting Cisticola in the reeds.  The lagoon held good numbers of Black Winged Stilts that were in a mixed flock with wintering Black Tailed Godwits. The highlight of this stop was the regular views of Booted Eagle and Marsh Harrier in flight, providing Stephen with the chance to get some fabulous shots.  We also saw Dunlin, Ruff, Common Buzzard and Greater Flamingo. We fitted in a brief coffee break during which I was pleased to be shown some great photos from Stephen and…

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