Earlier this month, I was delighted to provide a day of guided birding in Valencia for a family group who have been such regular clients that they´ve become firm friends. Such days are always special, so I´d been looking forward to seeing John, Amanda and Spencer since they booked the trip earlier in the year.
Birding at Albufera de Valencia during migration time is always fascinating as there´s usually a surprise sighting, and the species diversity is fabulous. We arrived at our first stopping point within a protected reserve area and spent a short time in a hide watching Glossy Ibis, Black Tailed Godwit, Marsh Harrier and some recently arrived Teals.
Dunlin
The next hide gave views of Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Dunlin and a juvenile Shelduck. As we left the reserve, we had views of Long Tailed Tits and Zitting Cisticola. Before moving to the next spot, we stopped briefly for a morning coffee and to buy a few things for the picnic lunch. Fully stocked and refreshed, we then stopped by a coastal lagoon where we sat in the shade and scanned the surroundings.
Slender Billed Gull
We were delighted to see a Caspian Tern and juvenile Black Tern. Little Terns were diving for food and a Greenshank was feeding nearby. The shoreline gave views of Kentish Plover whilst on the lagoon itself were Black Necked Grebe and Slender Billed Gull. The surrounding bushes held Cetti´s Warbler and Sardinian Warbler.
Black Necked Grebe
As we drove to our final spot of the day, Amanda did a great job of spotting an Iberian Grey Shrike in a roadside tree, so a quick u-turn gave us great views of this very smart bird!
Iberian Grey Shrike
We then headed for the last stop of the day where we were joined by Yanina who had spent the morning in meetings so was happy to be out in the field! We parked on a farm track close to some flooded fields which had recently been ploughed over to provide an ideal feeding spot for waders and passage migrants. Here we had fantastic views of Curlew Sandpiper, Snipe, Ruff, Little Stint, Green Sandpiper and Whiskered Tern.
Little Stint
The day drew to a close all too quickly, but once again we´d enjoyed a great day´s birding together – fabulous species and lovely company making the trip very special.
The species list for the day included…
Zitting Cisticola, Wood Sandpiper, Black Winged Stilt, Little Stint, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Mallard, Teal, Marsh Harrier, Magpie, Cetti’s Warbler (h), Glossy Ibis, Black Tailed Godwit, Grey Heron, Greater Flamingo, Dunlin, Shelduck (juv), Common Sandpiper, Wood Pigeon, Long Tailed Tit, Black Tern (juv), Little Tern, Greenshank, Caspian Tern, Black Necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Kestrel, Kentish Plover, Sardinian Warbler, Slender Billed Gull, Great Egret, Squacco Heron, Wheatear, Iberian Grey Shrike, Green Sandpiper, Cattle Egret, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Spotless Starling, Snipe, Ruff, Whiskered Tern, Curlew Sandpiper, House Sparrow.
Written by Dave Warrington.
Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.