2 Day Birding Trip from Valencia.

Last week, Yanina and I were delighted to provide a 2 day birding trip from Valencia for a great couple of experienced birders from Sheffield.  Jonathan and Caroline wanted to combine a few days exploring the cultural and historical sites of the city of Valencia with two days of bird watching – an increasingly popular option for visitors.

After some discussion about the best sites for the time of year, we opted for the wetland site of Albufera de Valencia and a day in the inland mountains of Alicante.

Yanina was the guide for the first day and after collecting Jonathan and Carolina from the city, they made the short journey to Albufera.  The northern rice paddies gave views of Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis and Whiskered Tern.

They then moved to a restricted reserve area where they enjoyed views of Black-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Greater Flamingo and Kentish Plover.  Whilst moving to a suitable spot to enjoy a picnic lunch, they were treated to views of Booted Eagle, a raptor that moves down from its mountainous breeding grounds to the wetlands in the autumn and winter.

A tour of the southern rice fields eventually gave good views of one of the day´s target species, Purple Swamphen which numbered 30 individuals.

The day drew to an end with a visit to a coastal lagoon.  Here, they had great views of Audouin´s Gull, Slender Billed Gull, Black Tern, Little Stint and Black Necked Grebe.

The day had been very successful with a great species list that included….

Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Greater Flamingo, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Common Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Western Swamphen, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Grey Plover, Kentish Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Stint, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black Tern, Whiskered Tern, Sandwich Tern, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Booted Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Hoopoe, Common Kingfisher, Common Kestrel, Common Magpie, Crested Lark, Common House Martin, Great Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, Cetti’s Warbler, Willow Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Eurasian Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, European Robin, European Pied Flycatcher, Common Redstart, Eurasian Blackbird, Spotless Starling, Western Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail (alba), European Greenfinch, European Serin, House Sparrow.

The second day of the trip was designed to focus on a few specialist species that inhabit the highland forests and mountain peaks of inland Alicante.  We made the journey south west into the beautiful inland sierras of the region and stopped first of all at a forested area high in the hills.  After a quiet start, our walk soon provided views of some of the target species that we were hoping for.  A high pitched call gave away the location of a small flock of Firecrest, busily feeding in the trees.  A little patience was rewarded by some great views of this beautiful little bird.

Caroline was also interested in insects and reptiles so we stopped to take a look at an Iberian Wall Lizard as it climbed out of a gap in a fence.

Further exploration gave us our first views of the day of Crested Tit and Short Toed Treecreeper plus more common species including Blue Tit, Great Tit and Coal Tit.

We then travelled to a mountain gorge where we initially set up the telescope and scanned the surroundings.  We were soon enjoying fabulous views of a male Blue Rock Thrush, the autumn sunlight showing off the colours of his plumage beautifully.

We then had some fabulous views of Griffon Vultures, both in flight and resting in caves high up on the huge mountain walls.

As we began our walk into the gorge, we had views of both male and female Sardinian Warbler in the undergrowth as well as large flocks of Crag Martins darting around feeding on flying insects.  A single Red Rumped Swallow passed by.  Once higher into the gorge we began our search for another of the day´s target species – Black Wheatear.  Our initial efforts proved fruitless, but eventually we found one perched on a small rocky peak.  It treated us to good long views, both whilst perched and in flight.

Our walk back out of the gorge provided further views of Griffon Vulture and a pair of Ravens.

Our day ended with a pleasant walk in semi wooded farmland which immediately gave views of Red Legged Partridge feeding in a field.  As we walked along the path, a large insect caught our attention.  It was a Saddle Backed Bush Cricket, devouring a locust.  Although usually plant eaters, they quite often eat other insects, and this poor individual was providing a feast!

Apart from the more common smaller passerines, we didn´t see anything unusual.  Then, as we were watching a Kestrel, a large raptor came into view quite a long way off.  We were stood by the car so decided to get in quickly and attempt to get closer to the area where it was heading.  We succeeded in getting much closer and parked on a track which proved to be a great viewing spot.  We were thrilled to enjoy fantastic views of what turned out to be an adult Golden Eagle!  A fabulous end to a great day!

The species list for the day included…

Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Crested Tit, Firecrest, Short Toed Treecreeper, Crag Martin, Red Rumped Swallow, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear, Sardinian Warbler, Wren, Raven, Red Legged Partridge, Kestrel, Griffon Vulture, Golden Eagle.

Both Yanina and I had thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with Jonathan and Caroline and we hope to be able to welcome them back to Valencia soon.