2-Day Birding Break in Valencia.

I recently provided a 2-day birding break in Valencia for a couple from the south coast of England who wanted to combine a cultural visit to this beautiful city with two days of bird watching.  We decided to spend a day at Albufera de Valencia, as September is always an interesting month for straggling summer visitors, early winter arrivals and passage migrants.  We also planned a day on the high steppe as Great Bustard was one of Geoff and Sharon´s key target species.  Both experienced and well travelled birders, they were keen to see what the region held.

On day one we made the short journey from the city to Albufera where we made our first stop at a protected reserve area.  The first couple of hides gave good views of Wood Sandpiper, Little Stint and a very obliging Zitting Cisticola which perched right in front of the viewing hatch.  Yanina joined us briefly with a couple of clients from UK who we´d been lucky enough to meet at Rutland Bird Fair the previous month.

An Osprey passed overhead, and a Sardinian Warbler was seen flitting around in the undergrowth.  We then moved on to our next point, a coastal lagoon that usually holds some good birds.  Here we enjoyed views of Slender Billed Gull, Little Tern, Whiskered Tern and Black Necked Grebe.  Further scanning revealec Black Tern, Kentish Plover and Sandwich Tern.  A short walk through the forest gave us Pied Flycatcher, Chiffchaff and Kestrel.

After a picnic lunch and a coffee break we headed for another site which had recently been a great feeding spot for waders and passage migrants.  Here we were delighted to see a group of juvenile Collared Pratincoles as well as Greater Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Snipe, Cattle Egret, Avocet and Curlew Sandpiper.  Although quite far, we had views of a female Hen Harrier in flight plus a passing Turtle Dove.

The day was already coming to and end but we wanted to make the most of the remaining light by visiting another protected reserve area where ecologist Sharon was keen to learn of the work that takes place here.  After a short walk through the reserve and a presentation at the visitor centre, we spent some time at the viewpoint from where we saw Purple Swamphen, Great Egret, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebe and Kingfisher.

We´d had a great day and I was looking forward to spending another day with Geoff and Sharon later in the week.

The species list for the day included…

House Sparrow, Mallard, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Shelduck, Osprey, Little Grebe, Moorhen, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler, Iberian Grey Shrike, Slender Billed Gull, Little Tern, Whiskered Tern, Black Winged Stilt, Black Necked Grebe, Dunlin, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Kentish Plover, Black Tern, Yellow Legged Gull, Cormorant, Sandwich Tern, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Pied Flycatcher, Chiffchaff, Kestrel, Greater Flamingo, Ruff, Black Tailed Godwit, Snipe, Cattle Egret, Squacco Heron, White Wagtail, Curlew Sandpiper, Marsh Harrier, Wood Pigeon, Spotless Starling, Collared Pratincole, Glossy Ibis, Hen Harrier, Collared Pratincole, Avocet, Turtle Dove, Magpie, Collared Dove, Purple Swamphen, Coot, Great Egret, Gadwall, Cetti’s Warbler, Great Crested Grebe, Kingfisher.

Our second day was focussed largely on getting views of Great Bustard, so we made the journey up onto the steppe of Castilla la Mancha.  After a morning coffee in a local village we made our first couple of stops at farmland sites where we saw Hoopoe, Buzzard and a Little Ringed Plover by an area of floodwater.

Our second stop gave us our first views of a small group of Great Bustards, and although we needed to use the scope, we all enjoyed quality views.

We spent a while at one of the areas lagoons, where we had lunch whilst scanning the surroundings.  This gave us fine views of White Headed Duck in good numbers plus Little Grebe, Greater Flamingo and Common Pochard.  Barn Swallows and House Martins were passing through, as were Swifts.

We then drove across the steppe, which provided a little adventure as we ran into an area of unusually deep mud.  Some determination coupled with strategic stone placement by Geoff got us out and we were soon on our way again!  However, it was worth the effort as we had further sightings of Great Bustard as well as Wheatear, Yellow Wagtail, Crested Lark and Rock Sparrow.

The species list for the day included…

Hoopoe, Spotless Starling, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Little Ringed Plover, House Martin, Kestrel, Buzzard, Great Bustard, Coot, Little Grebe, White Headed Duck, Pochard, Carrion Crow, Greater Flamingo, Mallard, Moorhen, Goldfinch, Wheatear, Yellow Wagtail, Rock Sparrow, Crested Lark.

It had been a pleasure to spend these days in such good company, with interesting conversation, a lot of laughs and some great birds.

 

Written by Dave Warrington.

Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.