Day 1 – Mountains
A few days ago, I was delighted to provide a 2-day bird watching break to the mountains and to Albufera de Valencia for two experienced birders from USA. They were keen to discover some of the habitats and birdlife of our region.
Having collected them from their apartment in central Valencia, we drove for less than one hour to a great gorge in the mountains to search for some target species.
As soon as we parked, we had an amazing welcome from a Blue Rock Thrush standing on top of a ruined building controlling its territory. A few minutes later, many Griffon Vultures were circling around.
Griffon Vulture
Walking through this amazing gorge we enjoyed great views of Black Wheatear, Sardinean Warbler, Crag Martin, Black Redstart and also a pair of Raven.
Black Redstart
It was a fantastic trip where we had good sightings of some target species. The list for the day included…
Griffon Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, Raven, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Crag Martin, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Robin, Black Redstart, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, Stonechat, Song Thrush, Serin, House Sparrow.
Day 2 – Albufera de Valencia
The second day was designed such that we could see wetland species, so we headed to Albufera de Valencia.
The first stop was in a reserve area where we had great views of Booted Eagles and Marsh Harriers.
Booted Eagle
Also we enjoyed a beautiful views of Kingfisher and Little Grebes.
Kingfisher
After a picnic lunch, we drove through the rice paddies to a small lake where we enjoyed interesting views of many waders feeding there on invertebrates.
It had been a pleasure to guide Kimberly and Karen in Valencia, and we hope to see them back soon.
Species list of the day:
Kestrel, Booted Eagle, Marsh-Harrier, Shelduck, Gadwall, Mallard, Pintail, Teal, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Moorhen, Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Grey Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Dunlin, Little Stint, Common Snipe, Common Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Red-legged Partridge, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Little Grebe, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Black-headed Gull, Audouin’s Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Common Wood-Pigeon, Kingfisher, Magpie, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Fan-tailed Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Datford Warbler, Robin, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Blackbird, Starling, Spotless Starling, White Wagtail, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Tree Sparrow, Reed Bunting.