In our work as birding guides, we´re very fortunate to meet some wonderful and interesting people. This trip was no exception. Bob and Mona are from Iowa, USA and had planned a day with us as part of their trip to Spain. Normally, when we go birding with clients from USA there´s almost always new species involved for them. However, that was going to prove a little more challenging today, as Bob has over 70 years of birding experience and has travelled throughout the World watching birds!
Having collected them from their hotel close to the City of Arts & Sciences in Valencia, we made the short trip to Albufera de Valencia Natural Park. We met up with Yanina and then headed into a restricted reserve area. As we walked through a small Mediterranean pine wood, we saw Black Redstart, Fan-tailed Warbler, Short-toed Treecreeper and Red-legged Partridge. Once in the first hide, we enjoyed views of Black-tailed Godwit, Black Winged Stilt and Little Grebe.
The flooded rice fields of Albufera provide rich feeding areas for countless birds
We then moved on to another protected nature reserve where we had great views of some “classic” Albufera species, including Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Purple Swamphen, Wood Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover.
Whilst enjoying lunch in a hide overlooking a small lagoon, we enjoyed good views of Kingfisher, Marsh Harrier, Caspian Tern and the magnificent Booted Eagle.
We ended the day with an exploration of the recently harvested rice fields, particularly with raptors in mind. We were fortunate to have good views of Southern Grey Shrike, Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon and more Marsh Harriers.
Booted Eagle
A great view of the ever popular Hoopoe brought the day to an end. It had been a pleasure to share this special corner of Spain with two such experienced and enthusiastic birders! The species list included (hopefully at least one “new” species)…
Chiffchaff, Fan-tailed Warbler, Black Redstart, White Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Stonechat, Robin, Spotless Starling, Common Starling, Short-toed Treecreeper, Meadow Pipit, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Hoopoe, Kingfisher, Red-legged Partridge, Moorhen, Coot, Purple Swamphen, Little Grebe, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Grey Heron, Greater Flamingo, Avocet, Spoonbill, Wood Sandpiper, Snipe, Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt, Mallard, Teal, Shoveler, Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Kestrel, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon, Southern Grey Shrike, Booted Eagle.
Written by David Warrington.
Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.