A few months ago we were contacted by two experienced birders from England who were interested in birding in Valencia, not far from the city where they were going to spend their holidays.
After we designed a suitable trip and they made the reservation, they discovered that we were going to Rutland Bird Fair. So Brian and some friends stopped by to say hi at the stand where were promoting Valencia Region.
Finally, last week arrived the day of the bird watching trip to Albufera Natural Park, thankfully it was a nice sunny day after a week of rain and storms!
I collected them from their hotel in Valencia city and we drove straight to the first stop in a protected area beside the sea. Despite the harsh sunlight we had great views of Black Tern, Little Tern, Audouin’s Gull, Kentish Plover and Black-necked Grebe. Brian particularly liked the views of Black Terns, which were already in winter plumage.
Next stop was the main reserve area inside the Natural Park, where we joined Dave and two clients also from England. As they arrived first we had part of the work done, in fact, as soon as we got into the hide Dave spotted a Zitting Cisticola waiting for us. We spent some time there enjoying good views of Wood Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt and Little Stint.
It was time to move to the next stop but first we decided to have a break in a bar in El Palmar to have a soft drink and get a sandwich to take with us. For lunch we stopped in a picnic area beside the reserve, and as might be expected we were birding whilst having our sandwiches…Marsh Harrier, Osprey and Booted Eagle flying over.
Booted Eagle
After lunch we had a short walk to the observatory tower of the reserve, our targets were Flamingo, Glossy Ibis and Purple Swamphen. We did quite well, and counted more than 900 hundred Glossy Ibis, and although Purple Swamphen just appeared for few seconds we could add it to the list!
To end a great day we headed to the Northwest area of the rice fields where we saw Purple Heron, Squacco Heron, Collared Pratincole and many more waders, making a lovely ending of to fantastic day – with great birds and even better company.
The species list of the day included…
Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Greater Flamingo, Great Crested Grebe, Common Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Pallid Swift, Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Black-winged Stilt Avocet, Kentish Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Sanderling, Dunlin, Little Stint, Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Collared Pratincole, Slender-billed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Audouin’s Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Tern, Black Tern, Whiskered Tern, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Squacco Heron, Glossy Ibis, Osprey, Booted Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Hoopoe, Common Kingfisher, Common Kestrel, Iberian Grey Shrike, Common Magpie, Barn Swallow, Great Tit, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Eurasian Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Common Whitethroat, European Pied Flycatcher, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow.