A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to design a special trip for a couple from Belgium. Both are enthusiastic birders and Anne also is a photographer, who wanted a day of birding and field photography.
Albufera de Valencia was the best choice to combine birding with bird photography. At this time of the year most of the rice paddies are being ploughed which provides the perfect scenery with plenty of Glossy Ibis, Egrets, Herons, Gulls and Waders feeding in the fields.
After I collected them from a meeting point in Valencia City, we made a short journey to Albufera Natural Park where we stopped in the main pier of Albufera lake to photograph and enjoy great views of Sandwich Terns, Yellow-legged Gulls, Black-headed Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
Our next stop was at the main reserve of the park, we headed to the observatories looking onto the brackish lagoons with plenty of Black-winged Stilt, Black-tailed Godwit and other waterfowl.
We were enjoying fantastic views of all these birds when we witnessed the highlight of the day… a Booted Eagle´s failed attempt to take a Black-winged Stilt. The eagle had to swim to the shore of the lagoon to safety and then spent more than an hour drying itself before it could fly again!
The rest of the day we spent in the Northern rice paddies where we saw Marsh Harriers, Glossy Ibis, Great White Egrets, Kestrels as well as tractors ploughing the land followed by hundreds of Black Headed Gulls.
It had been an exciting day with many good birds and even nicer company. I look forward to welcoming them back one day.
The species list for the day included…
Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Eurasian Teal, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Greater Flamingo, Common Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Eurasian Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Common Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Great Cormorant, Grey Heron, Cattle Egret, Western Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Hoopoe, Common Kingfisher, Common Kestrel, Common Magpie, Eurasian Crag Martin, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Sardinian Warbler, European Robin, Black Redstart, European Stonechat, Eurasian Blackbird, Common Starling, Spotless Starling, White Wagtail (alba), Meadow Pipit, Common Reed Bunting, House Sparrow.