4 Day Birding Break in Alicante and Valencia

The recent weeks have been especially fulfilling as we´ve been fortunate enough to welcome back many returning clients and friends.  Alastair and Christine had previously spent a few days birding with us and this time they were looking for a 4 day birding break in Alicante and Valencia.

They had enjoyed visiting the cultural sites in Alicante including the castle, museums, roman sites and art galleries and wanted to follow this with 4 days of birding and later a few days in the historical centre of Valencia…a great combination!

On day one I collected them from their hotel in Alicante and we made the short drive to one of the region´s inland sierras.  The previous week had seen temperatures plummet and a little snowfall but despite being cold, today had dawned bright and with very little wind.  They were keen to see Alpine Accentors, a very popular bird for clients who visit in winter.  Having stopped for a morning coffee and to collect sandwiches, we started our walk.

We made our way up through a forest where we saw Coal Tits and Long Tailed Tits.  A Mistle Thrush swooped up into a tree and Sardinian Warblers were flitting around in the bushes.  As we approached the summit we began to search for the Alpine Accentors.  We´d been successful on recent trips so I was confident of success.  Indeed, within just a few moments we found a small flock of four birds, sitting in the winter sun and feeding on the ground in front of us.

We spent a good while enjoying excellent views and taking photographs of these fabulous little birds.

A Griffon Vulture then circled very close overhead, and whilst admiring that, another bird in flight caught my eye.  As it flew from across the valley we recognised it as a Peregrine Falcon.

We began our walk back down the mountain, enjoying great views of Raven, Crested Tit and Firecrest on the way down.

We then spent a couple of hours exploring a deep gorge, which is usually a great spot.  However, it seemed as if the extreme cold of the past few days had driven the birds down to lower levels, so we had a short walk just to see what remained.  We had more good views of Griffon Vulture plus Blackcap in the lower vegetation.

As we were watching a group of vultures in flight, Christine spotted a smaller raptor above them.  It was quite high but once we could track it in the scopes we had good enough views to ID it as a Bonelli´s Eagle – a fitting end to our first day!

Happy with the day, and with most of our target species seen, we headed to the village of Banyeres de Mariola where Christine and Alastair were to spend the next two nights at the rural guesthouse Alqueria del Pilar.  The weather forecast for the next day was quite poor for the higher ground so we headed to the coast, to explore the wetlands and saltpans of Alicante.

Our first stop was within a protected reserve area where we had good views of Red Knobbed Coot, Red Crested Pochard and Marbled Teal.  We also had sightings of many Purple Swamphens, another local conservation “success story”.

Our walk through the marsh and lagoons gave us fabulous views of thousands of Crag Martins feeding in flight.  I´d mentioned that we might see some early Swallows, and closer examination of the birds in flight revealed not only Barn Swallow but a few Red Rumped Swallows.

A Southern Grey Shrike was hunting from a fence post, and Crested Larks were present in a nearby farmland.  We were then treated to superb views of a Booted Eagle in flight as it circled for a good while above us.  Whilst sitting in a hide watching Black Necked Grebes we were also entertained by a Water Vole feeding just in front of us.

We returned via an area of saltmarsh and low vegetation where we had views of Zitting Cisticola, Dartford Warbler, Stonechat and a Snipe.

After lunch we moved to the coast to check out an area of saltpans and lagoons.  The first stop gave us good views of a splendid Greater Flamingo and a group of Kentish Plover.  Our next point proved a fabulous spot to end the day and we enjoyed fine views of Slender Billed Gull, Audouin´s Gull, Little Stint, Avocet and Sandwich Tern.

We headed back up into the hills to spend another night in Banyeres de Mariola, well placed to move further inland to visit the steppe the next day.

Our third day was another cold one so we dressed accordingly and headed for Castilla de la Mancha.  Our first stop was an area of farmland next to a small lagoon.  Here we enjoyed views of Rock Sparrow, Corn Bunting and Lapwing.  A large flock of Linnet was moving around between the bushes and Spotless Starlings were perched on the telegraph wires.

The previous days snow had made some of the farm tracks quite demanding in terms of driving, but we headed out across open country, searching the vast fields.  We saw a small group of birds way into the distance but they were too far to ID.  We attempted to get closer in the vehicle with limited success but whilst we were trying to do so we spotted two Black Bellied Sandgrouse in flight.  Quite brief views but close enough to enjoy them.

The previous flock had moved further uphill so we parked the car up a track and began our search on foot.  After a while searching and scanning we found them, so positioned ourselves in a sheltered spot and set up the scope.  We were delighted to see that they were in fact Dotterel, and in amongst them were Calandra Larks.

We returned to the car, very happy that our efforts had been rewarded, and began driving further across country enjoying the “big skies” that such open spaces display.  Whilst we were watching a Red Legged Partridge, a Hoopoe also flew into view and then a group of eleven Great Bustards flew over us.  We enjoyed fabulous views of them in flight, and fortunately for us they were heading in the direction that we were going, so we were hopeful of further sightings.

A brief stop by a pile of rocks gave us lovely views of a Little Owl, before we set out in search of the Bustards again.  After a few minutes driving along some very slippery muddy tracks, we found them strolling through a nearby field.  We were able to enjoy quality views from the warmth of the car!

Lunch by a lagoon gave us views of Marsh Harrier plus wildfowl including Wigeon, Shoveler and Gadwall.  Our return journey across the farmland provided a pleasant end to the day with views of Common Buzzard, Lesser Black Backed Gull, more Lapwing and Crested Larks.

We opted to stop at a service station to wash off the vast accumulations of mud from the car before the leisurely onward trip to Valencia where Alastair and Christine were to spend a few nights in this enchanting and historical city.

After a free day in the Valencia, Yanina collected them and took them for a day of birding to the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park.  Their first stop included some time scanning the main Albufera lake where they had views of Pintail, Gadwall, Red Crested Pochard, Shelduck and Teal.

Next stop was a protected reserve area which provided one of the many highlights of the day, a Jack Snipe.  They also enjoyed views of Black Winged Stilt, Avocet and Ruff.

A drive across the rice paddies gave views of Golden Plover, Water Pipit, Meadow Pipit and Bluethroat.

The day ended by a small coastal lagoon where they enjoyed watching Black Necked Grebe, Little Stint, Dunlin, Greenshank, Redshank and Audouin´s Gull.

We were delighted to have spent time with Christine and Alastair again and to welcome them back to Valencia.  Once more we´d been blessed with some fabulous birds, great habitats and wonderful company.

The species lists included…

Day 1 – Mountains.

Griffon Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, Raven, Alpine Accentor, Crested Tit, Coal Tit, Firecrest, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird,
Sardinian Warbler, Blackcap, Black Redstart, Robin, Bonelli’s Eagle.

Day 2 – Wetlands of Alicante.

Moorhen, Coot, Purple Swamphen, Kestrel, Stonechat, Crested Lark, Crag Martin, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Snipe, Black Winged Stilt, White Wagtail, Crested Coot, Red Crested Pochard, Mallard, Marbled Teal, Shoveler, House Sparrow, Teal, Yellow Legged Gull, Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Little Grebe, Cetti’s Warbler, Glossy Ibis, Iberian Grey Shrike, Black Necked Grebe, Pochard, Shelduck, Buzzard, Barn Swallow, Common Sandpiper, Greenfinch, Zitting Cisticola, Red Rumped Swallow, Spotless Starling, Dartford Warbler, Grey Heron, Greater Flamingo, Slender Billed Gull, Kentish Plover, Sandwich Tern, Little Stint, Cormorant, Avocet, Audouin’s Gull, Little Egret, Robin.

Day 3 – Steppe.

Snipe, Lapwing, White Wagtail, Rock Sparrow, House Sparrow, Corn Bunting, Reed Bunting, Linnet, Goldfinch, Magpie, Crow, Spotless Starling, Buzzard, Collared Dove, Calandra Lark, Black Bellied Sandgrouse, Dotterel, Red Legged Partridge, Hoopoe, Great Bustard, Little Owl, Stonechat, Crested Lark, White Wagtail, Coot, Greater Flamingo, Shoveler, Pochard, Wigeon, Little Grebe, Gadwall, Marsh Harrier, Lesser Black Backed Gull.

Day 4 – Albufera de Valencia.

Marsh Harrier, Booted Eagle, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Shelduck, Pintail, Gadwall, Red-crested Pochard, Mallard, Shoveler, Teal, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Coot, Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Little Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Great-crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Audouin’s Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Black-headed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Great Cormorant, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Jack Snipe, Snipe, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Golden Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Dunlin, Little Stint, Common Redshank, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Red-legged Partridge, Collared Dove, Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Spotless Starling, Common Starling, Kingfisher, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Sardinian Warbler, Stonechat, Bluethroat, Water Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Zitting Cisticola, Robin, Black Redstart, Serin, Cetti’s Warbler.