Last week, I was pleased to guide a couple of clients from New York, USA. They were experienced birders who wanted to discover the birdlife close to Valencia City.
After I collected them from their apartment, we drove directly to the first reserve area. After a short walk, we arrived at the first observatory where we enjoyed nice views of Garganey, Black-tailed Godwit and Avocet.
Then we moved to the next hide from where we had great sightings of Booted Eagle and Marsh Harrier.
On the way to the next stop and reserve area, we had good views of Meadow Pipit and were able to compare the differences between it and a Water Pipit. A special bird for Linda, as it was a lifer and one that she was able to identify by herself.
In the next reserve we enjoyed good views of Wood Sandpiper, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt and Purple Swamphen.
Purple Swamphen
We decided to finish the day in the northern rice paddies area, which was a great choice as we spotted a beautiful Red Throated Pipit, Caspian Gull and thousands of Glossy Ibis, Ruff and Flamingos.
It had been an amazing day with some very special birds.
The species list for the day included…
Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Garganey, Pintail, Mallard, Shoveler, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Shelduck, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Coot, Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Little Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Great-crested Grebe, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Redshank, Greenshank, Dunlin, Ruff, Common Snipe, Little Ringed Plover, Whiskered Tern, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Audouin’s Gull, Caspian Gull, Starling, Spotless Starling, Magpie, Hoopoe, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Water Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Swift, Pallid Swift, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Sardinian Warbler, Great Tit, Black Redstart, Chiffchaff, Cetti’s Warbler, Robin, Serin.