Last week Dave and I had the pleasure of providing a 2 day birding trip in Valencia for a client from Australia.
Russel is an experienced birder and marine biologist who was in Valencia for a conference and was eager to make the most of his time here and to enjoy some European species.
On day 1, I collected him from his apartment in central Valencia. We then drove to the mountains of inland Alicante where we met Dave. After a coffee and review of the species we were looking for, we enjoyed a short walk during which we succeeded in seeing some classic species including Griffon Vultures, Black Wheatear and Blue Rock Thrush.
After a picnic lunch we travelled back to Valencia where we called in at l’Albufera Natural Park. We made a short stop in some rice paddies where we were fortunate to see a diverse array of waders including Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Stint, Dunlin and Collared Pratincole. It made a perfect end to a great birding day.
On the second day, we visited the Valencian Coastal Wetlands, a reserve area that hosts some amazing birdlife.
We had great views of Marsh Harrier, Water Rail and White Headed Duck to name but a few. After a very pleasant walk around the reserve we ended the day with a brief trip to a forest where we found one of Russel´s target species, the Hoopoe.
It was a pleasure to share these birding days with Russel and we hope to see him again in the near future.
Species list: Total 81
Griffon Vulture, Booted Eagle, Black-shouldered Kite, Marsh Harrier, Common Kestrel, Northern Shoveler, White-headed Duck, Mallard, Chough, Yellow-legged Gull, Audoin’s Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Tern, Whiskered Tern, Little Tern, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Squaco Heron, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Moorhen, Coot, Purple Swamphen, Water Rail, Little Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Collared Pratincole, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Stint, Redshank, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Southern Grey Shrike, Cuckoo, Golden Oriole, Hoopoe, Magpie, Wood Pigeon, Turtle Dove, Bee Eater, Kingfisher, Pallid Swift, Swift, House Martin, Crag Martin, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear, Great Reed Warbler, Reed Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Savi’s Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Sardinean Warbler, Whitethroat, Dartford Warbler, Whinchat, House Sparrow, Black Redstart, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Log-tailed Tit, Serin, Linnet.