Last week I was delighted to provide a birding trip to Albufera of Valencia for a couple from England. Both experienced birders who were keen to discover and enjoy the birdlife of the wetlands close to Valencia City.
After I collected them from their hotel in Valencia we drove straight to the main reserve area inside the Natural Park, although we stopped briefly in the pier of Albufera Lake to enjoy fantastic views of Booted Eagles and Sandwich Terns.
A few minutes later we were visiting the information centre, a good way to start understanding why it´s so important to protect this area and why birds are present at the different times of the year.
Then after a short walk we arrived at the observatory where we enjoyed fantastic views of Black-winged Stilt, Greenshank and many other waders wintering in the area as well as waterfowl… Teals, Shoveler, Shelduck, Red-crested Pochard, Pintail and more.
Picnic lunch was at a springwater reserve area where we had nice sightings of Little Grebe and Booted Eagle.
After a refreshing break and tasty meal we had a lot to do during the afternoon, so we a headed straight to a lake beside the sea… Audouin’s Gulls, Black-necked Grebes and Crested Larks were waiting for us.
It had been a very interesting day with lovely people.
The species list of the day includes…
Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Red-crested Pochard, Greater Flamingo, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Common Woodpigeon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Western Swamphen, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Common Greenshank, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Western Marsh Harrier, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Eurasian Hoopoe, Common Kingfisher, Common Kestrel, Common Magpie, Eurasian Crag Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, Eurasian Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, European Robin, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail (alba), House Sparrow.