A day at the wetlands with clients from the USA.

Back in early May I spent a delightful day with a fabulous couple from the USA.  David and Dale were on a European cruise, and had planned to go birding in some of the places where they were stopping off at.  One such place was Valencia.  I collected them from the cruise terminal at the port, and then we made the short journey to the coastal wetlands.  We began with a quick coffee stop where we discussed some of the target species that I wanted them to see.  These included White Headed Duck, Collared Pratincole and Audouin´s Gull, all of which have established breeding grounds here in Valencia.  Our strategy was to go for quality views of some key species rather than go for a super-long list.

Our walk along the coast took us past a couple of lagoons where we enjoyed great views of White Headed Duck.  Since this trip, I´m delighted to say that many pairs have successfully bred at this site.

As we continued our walk, we saw plenty of Audouin´s Gulls flying over the beach.  Marsh Harriers were hunting at the back of the reserve and Zitting Cisticolas were busily calling and moving around the reeds.  A Spotted Flycatcher and a Pied Flycatcher were squabbling with each other in a nearby tree.  We also had distant views of a Passing Short Toed Eagle.

We then turned our attention to an area of coastal scrub and low bushes.  This rewarded us with good views of Stonechat, Whinchat, Corn Bunting, Wheatear, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler.

The same area usually gives excellent views of Collared Pratincoles, and today was to be no exception.  With a little patience but without getting too close to the birds and risking disturbance, we enjoyed some great views of these exceptionally pretty birds.

Time was marching on so we moved on to visit the Tern colony.  Early May is a very busy time here, with plenty of movement and noise!  We had good views of Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Whiskered Tern and Little Tern.  We were fortunate enough also to see one of the pairs of breeding Elegant Terns that had once again returned to Valencia.

Whilst enjoying the terns, we also saw Mediterranean Gulls and Black Winged Stilt.  Our walk back down the coast was wonderful, giving sightings of Woodchat Shrike, Bonelli´s Warbler and Turtle Dove.

Our last stop by a lagoon brought the day to a lovely close with sightings of Little Bittern, Little Grebe and Purple Heron.  We enjoyed a coffee in a bar by the beach before driving back to the cruise terminal.  The time seemed to have passed very quickly but we´d seen some fantastic birds.  It had been a great pleasure for me to meet such lovely people and to share this little piece of Spain with them.

The species list for the day included…

House Martin, Greenfinch, Little Egret, Collared Dove, Barn Swallow, Reed Warbler, White Headed Duck, Grey Heron, Mallard, Coot, Marsh Harrier, Yellow Legged Gull, Audouin’s Gull, Black Headed Gull, Zitting Cisticola, Spotted Flycatcher, Purple Swamphen, Glossy Ibis, Night Heron, Common Pochard, Pied Flycatcher, Swift, Short Toed Eagle, Red Crested Pochard, Wheatear, Whinchat, Magpie, Shelduck, House Sparrow, Stonechat, Corn Bunting, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Collared Pratincole, Spotless Starling, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Whiskered Tern, Elegant Tern, Mediterranean Gull, Woodchat Shrike, Black Winged Stilt, Bonelli’s Warbler, Turtle Dove, Purple Heron, Goldfinch, Little Grebe, Little Bittern, Gadwall, Kestrel.

 

Written by David Warrington.

Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.