A few weeks ago, I was delighted to provide a birding trip to Albufera of Valencia Natural Park for two couples from England. One couple were experienced birders who wanted to introduce their friends to the pleasure of going birding during their holidays.
They were keen to discover the birdlife of the Valencian wetlands, so after I collected them, we drove a few minutes to the main reserve area of the natural park. After visiting the centre to understand the different ecosystems and birdlife of the area, we went to the observatories which is where we saw the first species of interest… Black-winged Stilt, Red-crested Pochard as well as an Osprey that flew over
Next stop was in a green filter and reserve area. It took us a few minutes to drive through the rice paddies and just before we entered the reserve, a flock of Spoonbills flew over and we enjoyed great views.
Purple Swamphen
We arrived to the observatory tower where we had amazing views of some of the target species of the day… Purple Swamphen, Great White Egret and Marsh Harrier.
The day was going pretty well so they decided to have a break and to enjoy a traditional meal.. a Paella in the village of El Palmar.
After lunch we agree to end the day in another special place.. a lake beside the sea where we hoped to enjoy good views of Audouin’s Gull, Slender-billed Gull, Little Stint, Kentish Plover and Black Tern, and we succeded!!
Audouin´s Gull
It had been a relaxing and interesting birding trip with great company.
The species list of the day includes…
Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Greater Flamingo, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Common Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Water Rail, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Western Swamphen, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Little Stint, Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Slender-billed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Audouin’s Gull,Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black Tern, Sandwich Tern, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis, Osprey, Booted Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Common Kingfisher, Common Kestrel, Common Magpie, Barn Swallow, Common House Martin, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Cetti’s Warbler, Willow Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, European Robin, European Pied Flycatcher, Eurasian Blackbird, Common Starling, Spotless Starling, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow