This week I provided a day trip for a brother and sister from the Netherlands. They were in Valencia for a short break and had contacted us previously to arrange a day of guided bird watching in Albufera de Valencia.
Our first albeit brief stop was in a reserve area where had views of Red Crested Pochard, Black-winged Stilt, Marsh Harrier and Booted Eagle. We then moved to a lagoon that is always worth a visit as at this time of year it can provide great views of waders. We saw Little Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Kentish Plover and Greenshank to name a few. We also enjoyed watching Black Necked Grebe on the water.
Dunlin with Sanderlings, Ringed Plover and Kentish Plover
Our next stop was at a restricted reserve area where we relaxed and spent the a good while exploring the lagoons and reed beds. This was a great visit and among the many sightings that we had there were Temminck´s Stint, Caspian Tern, Purple Swamphen, Night Heron and Audouin´s Gull.
We´d enjoyed some fabulous views of some great species, but wanted to end the day with a drive across the rice fields. This gave views of Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egret, Great Egret and Little Egret. The rice fields support thousands of herons and egrets as they are such rich feeding grounds, especially when flooded.
Albufera de Valencia is an ever changing environment, influenced largely by the rice growing cycle. This usually means that every trip to this huge wetland site is different and often involves a few surprises. Today had been no exception.
The species list for the day included…
Common Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Booted Eagle, Kestrel, Shelduck, Shoveler, Pintail, Mallard, Gadwall, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Greater Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Black-necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Great-crested Grebe, Night Heron, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Purple Swamphen, Moorhen, Coot, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Ruff, Redshank, Greenshank, Little Stint, Temminck’s Stint, Dunlin, Sanderling, Kentish Plover, Little-ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Audouin’s Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Caspian Tern, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Spotless Starling, Common Starling, Magpie, Kingfisher, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Great Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Stonechat, Redstart, Sardinian Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, House Sparrow.