The plan for the day was to leave the lovely guest house L´Alqueria del Pilar in Banyeres, spend the day on the high steppe of Castilla de la Mancha and then travel onwards to Valencia, where the group would spend the next 3 nights.
It was quite a windy and cold day although this is to be expected in February and at such altitude. Most of the area that we were to visit is above 900 metres above sea level.
Our first stop beside an area of flood water gave views of Snipe, Little Ringed Plover and Lapwing. Spotless Starlings were perched on some nearby wires and a Water Pipit was feeding along the shoreline.
Our next lagoon gave views of Shoveler, Pintail, Gadwall and Red Knobbed Coot. The surrounding farmland held Rock Sparrow, Skylark, Crested Lark and Corn Bunting.
We then moved on to another lagoon that often has a surprise in store. We were indeed fortunate again in this super spot….as well as the usual Flamingoes, Marsh Harrier and Little Grebes, we had great views of a Golden Eagle as it passed low overhead.
Great Bustards
Happy with our species tally from the lagoons, we headed up onto the high steppe in search of the specialty birds that this fabulous habitat holds. We had some superb views of Great Bustard, the highlight of which was a group of over 25 males, all is superb plumage condition.
Iberian Grey Shrike
We also had good views of Calandra Lark, Iberian Grey Shrike and a herd of Cranes that overwinter here. The highest area of steppe gave views of Stone Curlew and good but brief views of Black Bellied Sandgrouse and yet more Great Bustards.
As we neared the end of our exploration of the steppe, our day was brought to a close with great views of a spectacular male Hen Harrier in flight.
The City of Arts & Sciences Complex, Valencia
We then made the journey east to the city of Valencia where we delivered our clients to the Tryp Oceanic, a smart hotel next to the famous City of Arts and Science Complex.
Our species list for the day included…
Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Avocet, Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail, Teal, Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Gadwall, Coot, Moorhen, Red Knobbed Coot, Rock Sparrow, House Sparrow, Greenfich, Goldfinch, Spotless Starling, Water Pipit, Corn Bunting, Crow, Magpie, White Wagtail, Hoopoe, Skylark, Calandra Lark, Crested Lark, Great Bustard, Red Legged Partridge, Crane, Stone Curlew, Buzzard, Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Golden Eagle, Iberian Grey Shrike, Kestrel.