Back in May I enjoyed a super day with a wonderful client from Austria. Gudrun, who was visiting friends in Valencia, had previously met Yanina at a bird fair and had contacted us to arrange a trip. After collecting her from the historic quarter of Valencia, we drove to one of the region´s coastal wetlands.
As we began our walk, we watched both Common and Great Reed Warbler and heard the familiar song of Cetti´s Warbler. On the first lagoon that we visited we saw White Headed Duck, a species that I was keen for Gudrun to see, and in a nearby tree we saw Turtle Dove, which stayed for a while giving us nice views.
Turtle Dove
A pair of Marsh Harriers were flying low over the reeds, and we were then delighted to see a Moustached Warbler. A small flock of Glossy Ibis flew over and on a small island in the lagoon we watched Little Ringed Plover. A Little Bittern made several passes to and from a small island of reeds. Our walk continued along the beach, where we had great views of Audouin´s Gull. A little patience was rewarded with fabulous sightings of Collared Pratincole.
Collared Pratincole
We arrived at a hide where we enjoyed watching the colony of terns that were busy nesting and rearing young. This included Common, Sandwich, Whiskered, Little and a pair of the Elegant Terns that had one more returned to Valencia. The lagoon also gave us views of Mediterranean Gull, Redshank and Avocet.
Having spent a good while watching from the hide, we began our walk back along the beach, stopping on the way to enjoy a picnic lunch whilst watching terns diving for fish. The trees and scrub just behind the beach gave us views of Stonechat, Whinchat and Tree Sparrow.
Stonechat
We decided to spend the afternoon exploring the interior of the reserve, which comprises pastureland and a few smaller lagoons with surrounding reedbeds. The drive across the fields gave us great views of Cattle Egret feeding with Glossy Ibis. We parked the car and walked through the fields where we saw Cattle Egrets once more, this time on the backs of a flock of sheep and goats.
Cattle Egret
Sand Martins were feeding overhead and then we heard the familiar call of Bee Eater, which we eventually saw. This was complimented by another popular and colourful species, the Hoopoe.
The day ended at another hide that looked over a small lagoon. Here we enjoyed views of Red Crested Pochard and Purple Heron.
Purple Heron
It had been a pleasure for me to meet Gudrun and to not only spend the day with her but to introduce her to the fabulously diverse birdlife of the Valencian wetlands. The day had passed extremely quickly, but we´d seen some great birds and had enjoyed some beautiful Spring sunshine. I hope to welcome Gudrun back one day soon.
The species list for the day included….
Grey Heron, Barn Swallow, Little Egret, Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler (h), White Headed Duck, Moorhen, Little Grebe, Common Pochard, Collared Dove ,Turtle Dove, Marsh Harrier, Glossy Ibis, Moustached Warbler, Coot, Little Ringed Plover, Black Winged Stilt, Swift, House Martin, Whiskered Tern, Audouin’s Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Elegant Tern, Redshank, Avocet, Stonechat, Tree Sparrow, Black Headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Shelduck, Little Bittern, Cattle Egret, Kestrel, Red Crested Pochard, Gadwall, Whinchat, Common Sandpiper, Sand Martin, Bee Eater, Purple Heron, Hoopoe, Magpie, Buzzard, Wood Pigeon, Spotless Starling.
Written by David Warrington.
Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.