Last week I was delighted to provide a guided birding trip in Valencia for a family group from USA. They were visiting one of their daughters who is studying in Valencia and they wanted a day in Albufera to discover the Mediterranean birdlife. It was their first time birding in Europe, so most of the bird species were new for them and the were very excited.
The day was cloudy but not windy, promising good views of many bird species, Albufera in Autumn is always fantastic.
After I collected them from their apartment in Valencia city, we arrived at our first stopping point within a protected reserve area and spent a good time in a hide watching Glossy Ibis, Black Tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt, Shelducks, Shovelers and Teals.
On our way to the picnic lunch area we stopped in a bar in the village of El Palmar to buy a sandwich to take with us. We were heading to the picnic area when we stopped after a Marsh Harrier flew right in front of the car and landed in the rice fields.
Once inside the green filter reserve area we had picnic lunch looking to a small lagoon enjoying magnificent views of Purple Swamphen, Great White Egret, Booted Eagle, Gadwall, Kingfisher and Crag Martin.
Next stop was in the southern rice paddies, where we were looking for large flocks of Glossy Ibis and Flamingos. These species come together in large numbers to spend the winter and feed in the flooded fields of Albufera natural park every year.
Glossy Ibis with a Ruff
During the evening it started to rain but despite that we decided to end the day by a lake beside the sea… fantastic views of Black-necked Grebes and Audouin’s Gulls made a great end to the day.
It had been a day with many nice birds and even nicer people. I hope to welcome them back soon.
The species list for the day included…
Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Common Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Northern Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Green Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Whiskered Tern, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, , Glossy Ibis, Booted Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk,Common Kingfisher, Common Kestrel, Iberian Grey Shrike, Common Magpie, Crested Lark, Eurasian Crag Martin, Common Chiffchaff, Zitting Cisticola, Eurasian Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, European Robin, Black Redstart, European Stonechat, Common Starling, Spotless Starling, White Wagtail (alba), Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, European Goldfinch, European Serin, House Sparrow.