Half Day Trip to the Mountains of Valencia
On Tuesday, I took two local British birders on a half-day trip to the mountains of Valencia. Before we set off on the short walk, we stopped for a coffee and were entertained by a pair of Short Toed Treecreepers and a group of Long Tailed Tits in the pine trees by the road. We parked the van and set off into a beautiful rocky gorge. Within just a few minutes, we spotted a Black Wheatear, a special bird for today as it was a “life tick” for both of my guests. It sat around long enough for a few photos although it was quite a long way off. It was soon joined by at least 6 Black Redstarts and similar numbers of Blackcaps. As we made our way up the valley we were treated to stunning views of Griffon Vultures. It´s always incredible to see how such a huge bird can soar on the thermals seemingly without any effort whatsoever. We were fortunate enough to find a few at rest on the high cliffs so were able to get a few photographs. Whilst we were scanning the cliffs for…