Great Reed Warbler - Valencia Birding - Guided Bird Watching in Spain

A Day in the Mountains

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…

A Spring Day at the Valencian Wetlands

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…

A fabulous species list and a mystery Tern

Last week, I provided a day of guided birding for a mother and daughter from Belguim. The daughter lives here in Spain and her mother was visiting for a week. Both were very keen and experienced birders and were eager to see the wetlands of Valencia, especially at this fabulous time of the year when the breeding season is well underway. The day turned out to be very interesting, and resulted in a fabulous species list and a mystery Tern! As they had made a big effort to drive to Valencia from the interior of Alicante, I opted to combine part of Albufera with another wetland area as a way of optimising the day. Our first stop was at a reserve area within the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park. As well as wanting to see the colony of Sandwich Terns, there had been reports of a mystery Tern, originally thought to be an Elegant Tern (a species usually found in Mexico and the Pacific). However, the bird had been successfully identified, by blood testing and DNA analysis as a hybrid. Its parent species were Lesser Crested Tern and Sandwich Tern….

Birding at Tancat de la Pipa.

One of the venues that we often visit on our guided bird watching trips to Albufera de Valencia is the protected nature reserve Tancat de la Pipa. Much more than a reserve, Tancat de la Pipa is essentially an open air living laboratory where a huge amount of scientific research takes place, all of which is aimed at the conservation of plants, insects, reptiles, fish, amphibians and bird life. As a result of the ongoing work by the team at Tancat de la Pipa, not only have they created exceptional habitats that provide both breeding and wintering grounds for a vast range of birds, but the water quality and ecosystems of the entire Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia have benefitted enormously. The staff work tirelessly to constantly improve the habitat at the reserve and they´re always extremely helpful, welcoming and knowledgeable and have gladly provided fascinating presentations to many of our groups. With that in mind, Valencia Birding recently arranged a “Bird Walk” around our home valley, aimed at raising money for this extremely worthy cause. Rather than it being a sponsored event, each attendee made a voluntary…

Bird Watching at Albufera de Valencia.

On Saturday 23rd June, we provided a day trip to Albufera de Valencia for a group of four clients. All levels of abilities are made equally welcome and our trips are tailored to suit, so whilst today´s group were not “mad-keen” birders, all four were keen nature lovers so the trip was designed to provide a blend of birding, habitat and environment, and local culture. Our first stop was at a protected bird reserve within Albufera. We spent a little time watching Cattle Egrets, Little Egrets and Squacco Herons before walking into the reed beds. From there we had great views of Great Reed Warbler, Fan-Tailed Warbler then whilst looking across a lagoon we had views of Avocet, Black Winged Stilt and one of the day´s highlights, the Night Heron. A little later we had superb views of Marsh Harrier, Gull-Billed Tern, Purple Heron and another favourite, the Glossy Ibis. An informal presentation on the habitat and ecology of the Natural Park was followed by a short drive the village of El Palmar where we enjoyed a traditional Valencian Paella lunch. Once rested and refreshed we then took a…

Bird Watching in Valencia

On 27th April, we enjoyed a great day of birding at the Valencian Coastal Wetlands with a group of British birders. After the obligatory morning coffee by the sea, we set out along the dunes where we enjoyed good views of Moustached Warbler in the adjoining reeds and a Turtle Dove on a telephone wire. The first lagoon provided nice views of White Headed Duck and Little Bittern and a little further along the track we stopped to watch a Great Reed Warbler sat up in the reeds in full view. Our next stopping point beside another lagoon gave good views of Spotted Redshank, Dunlin, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover and the beautiful Collared Pratincole. As we walked through more reedbeds we saw Common Reed Warbler, Savi´s Warbler, Fan Tailed Warbler and Marsh Harrier – all classic birds of this trip. We soon added Corn Bunting and Yellow Wagtail to the list too. The mosquitos were becoming a little annoying so we didn´t linger at the next lake for too long but we did have time to enjoy views of Shelduck, Wood Sandpiper, Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis and Spotted Flycatcher….