I recently provided a birding trip to Albufera de Valencia for two clients from England who as experienced birders had travelled to Spain many times but never to the Valencia region.
After I collected them from their accommodation in the city centre, we made the short journey to Albufera Natural Park where we stopped in the main pier of the Albufera lake to enjoy nice views of Sandwich Terns and Marsh Harriers.
Our next stop was in the main reserve area of the park, and after a short visit to the information center we headed to the observatories in a restricted area where we were surprised by a juvenile Night Heron. We realized it was injured so I manage to catch it to take it to the recovery center.
After this episode we continued birding in the reserve. From one of the observatories we had views of an Iberian Grey Shrike, Flamingos and Zitting Cisticola. Later from the observatory tower we enjoyed good views of thousands of Red-crested Pochard, Pintail and many waterfowl that winter in this area.
Iberian Grey Shrike
Our next stop was planned to be in the Village of El Palmar where we were to buy picnic lunch although we managed to stop before in a rice field that was full of waders… hundreds of Avocet, Black-Tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt, Green Sandpiper and Snipes were resting in the sunshine.
We enjoyed lunch in a quiet place in the middle of the rice paddies, which is a great place for Bluethroat.. one of the target birds of the day for Alison. After we finished lunch, we walked to an observatory tower for another one of the day´s target birds…Purple Swamphen.
Purple SwamphenFor our last stop we decided to go sea-watching. At this time of the year large concentrations of Balearic Shearwaters are seen close to the Valencian coastline where they feed and rest. Apart from amazing views of the Balearic Shearwaters, we spotted a Great Northern Diver – another highlight of the day.
It had been a fantastic sunny day with amazing birds and even nicer company.
The species list of the day included…
Common Shelduck, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Greater Flamingo, Little Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Common Woodpigeon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Western Swamphen, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Great Northern Diver, Balearic Shearwater, Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Glossy Ibis, Booted Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Common Kingfisher, Iberian Grey Shrike, Common Magpie, Long-tailed Tit, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Zitting Cisticola, Sardinian Warbler, European Robin, Bluethroat, Black Redstart, European Stonechat. Common Starling, Spotless Starling, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Common Chaffinch, European Goldfinch, European Serin, Common Reed Bunting, House Sparrow.