4 Day Birding Trip around Alicante.

Just before our summer break, I was delighted to design and provide a 4 day birding trip around Alicante for two clients from the UK.  Robin and Simon are both experienced and very well travelled birders.  Robin was on a quest to see all the European bird species and prior to the trip, he had less than 30 species left to see!!

His key priorities were Red-knobbed Coot, White Headed Duck and Red-necked Nightjar, but we also added Iberian Green Woodpecker (Picus sharpei) to that.  Their flight arrived in Alicante in the afternoon, so once I´d met them there, we made the most of the few hours that we had by exploring the local salt marshes and coastal lagoons.

We enjoyed good views of plenty of Greater Flamingoes, Little Tern, Whiskered Tern and Audouin´s Gull.  We then moved to a hide overlooking a scrape from where we spotted a Kentish Plover on a nest.  The large colony of Slender Billed Gulls also gave us great views.

Although we´d only had a few hours, we´d made a good start.  We drove to their hotel in central Alicante which was only a short walk from the marina.  I then left them there for the night, looking forward very much to our first full day.

Day two saw us exploring the area´s premium wetland site which was to give us the best opportunities for some of the target species.  As soon as we arrived, we enjoyed views of Black-winged Stilts in a small lagoon and Red-rumped Swallows feeding overhead.  We made our way into the reserve area where we were delighted to get fabulous views of both Red-knobbed Coot and Marbled Teal…two of the very few species that remained on Robin´s list!

Great Reed Warblers were around in good numbers, and we also enjoyed watching Collared Pratincoles.  Gull-billed Tern, Mediterranean Gull and Sardinian Warbler were soon added to the list.

From a hide we had distant but positive views of a male White Headed Duck, but as this was one of the key species, I was keen to get much better sightings.  As we made our way to the next hide, we saw Little Bittern, Purple Swamphen and Reed Bunting.

After a picnic lunch spent watching yet more Red-knobbed Coots we went to the other side of the reserve, where I was hoping to get much better views of White Headed Duck.  On the way, something on a telegraph cable caught our attention.  Bringing the car to an impromptu stop, we were soon enjoying views of a magnificent Roller!

After a further short drive and a pleasant walk through reed beds, we arrived at the hide.  We got ourselves comfortable and waited.  A Marsh Harrier was quartering the reeds, Black Necked Grebes were on the water in front of us and more Whiskered Terns were feeding nearby.  Then, after a short while we were rewarded with great views of White Headed Duck – success!

On day 3 we decided to make getting quality views of Iberian Green Woodpecker our top priority.  It was going to prove an interesting ambition!!  We began the day by walking through vineyards towards a small wooded area next to a large lake.  This gave us views of Woodchat Shrike, Pallid Swift, Hoopoe and Turtle Dove.

Once at the shore of the lake we saw Avocet, Kentish Plover and Audouin´s Gull.  The surrounding trees gave excellent views of an Iberian Grey Shrike.  All the time, we were hearing not too distant calls of Iberian Green Woodpecker but so far hadn´t seen it.  However, a walk into the woods did reward us with views of a Ladder Snake.

As we were walking back to the car, an Iberian Green Woodpecker suddenly flew out from a stand of trees, flying above us before disappearing over the brow of a hill.  It was a positive sighting but still not a quality view.  We opted to go for lunch and discuss tactics…

As the target was so specific, we opted to sacrifice sightings of other species in favour of focussing on good views of the Woodpecker.  Therefore, I suggested driving half an hour north to an area where I know they are reliable.  We arrived and started by a visit to a hide from where we saw more Purple Swamphens and Red Crested Pochard.  Having enjoyed these, I suggested that we went for a walk.  Time was marching on and I was keen to get our bird.  As we arrived at the top of a small hill, an Iberian Green Woodpecker suddenly landed in a tree right in front of us, before instantly flying away!  It was as if it had become a game for them too!  We rested at a view point from where we had great views of Bee Eaters and a Great White Egret before continuing our walk.

We briefly saw the Woodpecker flying around but none of the views were great.  Although it was getting late, I remained hopeful and determined.  Then, as we were not far from the end of the trail, one came to rest in a dead tree, right next to a Turtle Dove.  We quietly set up the scopes to afford cloe views, and were soon smiling and feeling very relieved!  The bird stayed there for a long time, allowing us to get fabulous views of the face markings that distinguish it from it´s central/northern European counterpart.

All of us extremely happy, we celebrated with tea and cakes before heading back to Alicante!

On day 4 I wanted to change the habitat so we left the wetlands and the coast and headed up into the hills in the interior, where Robin and Simon would spend the final night of their trip.  Our first stop was an area of highland forest where we had views of Short-toed Treecreeper, Spotted Flycatcher, Serin, Firecrest and Bonelli´s Warbler.

We then moved into a spectacular mountain gorge where we initially had fine views of Griffon Vulture.  Although it was quite warm by now, we had a short walk into the canyon where we saw Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear, Raven and Black Redstart.  As we were making our way back to the car, we were delighted to see an Olivaceous Warbler singing in the scrub.

This was to be the last day of the trip as I had to return Robin and Simon to the airport the next morning, so I wanted to make the most of the time that we had left.  We stopped for lunch in a local village before dropping the luggage at the guesthouse.  Then, we made the short drive to an area of cereal fields which is a fabulous spot for Lesser Kestrel.  We were treated to some wonderful views, which were soon interupted by Simon who had found a Spanish Sparrow!  This was a fabulous sighting as this is not a bird that we usually find in this part of Spain!

As we were planning to go out that evening to look for Red-necked Nightjars we decided to go back to my house where we rested for a while in the garden, drinking tea and watching Coal Tits and Crested Tits.  Just as we were about to leave, I received a call from a friend to say that a Red-necked Nightjar had flown into and become trapped in an animal enclosure in the sanctuary where she works!  Although not the original intended method of seeing the bird, this immaculately timed opportunity was too good to miss!  So, off we raced to see it.  Upon our arrival it was indeed still there.  Without causing too much disturbance, steps were taken to make its escape much easier and after a short while, it extended its long, slender wings and flew out into the surrounding heath.

It was now almost dark so we headed up a rough track to an area where Eagle Owl nest.  June is already too late to be sure of seeing them but it was worth a try.  Sadly, they had already left the valley, but we reflected on what had been an eventful, successful and very happy trip.

The next morning we made the comfortable drive to Alicante airport where we said our good-byes.  It had been an absolute pleasure to provide this trip and to spend these days with such great clients.

The species list for the trip included…

Little grebe, Great crested grebe, Black-necked grebe, Little bittern, “Squacco heron, Cattle egret, Little egret, Great egret, Purple heron, Grey heron, Glossy ibis, Greater flamingo, Common shelduck, Mallard, Shoveler, Marbled teal, Red-crested pochard, Pochard, White-headed duck, Griffon vulture, Marsh harrier, Lesser kestrel, Common kestrel, Red-legged partridge, Moorhen, Purple swamphen, Common coot, Red-knobbed coot, Black-winged stilt, Avocet, Stone curlew, Collared Pratincole, Kentish plover, Audouin’s gull, Yellow-legged gull, Mediterranean gull, Black-headed gull, Slender-billed gull, Whiskered tern, Common tern, Little tern, Sandwich tern, Rock (feral) dove, Wood pigeon, Turtle dove, Collared dove, Little owl, Red-necked nightjar, Pallid swift, Common swift, European bee-eater, Common roller, Hoopoe, Iberian green woodpecker, Crested lark, Sky lark, Crag martin, Swallow, Red-rumped swallow, House martin, Yellow wagtail, White wagtail, Iberian grey shrike, Woodchat shrike, Robin (h), Nightingale, Black redstart, Stonechat, Black wheatear, Blue rock thrush, Blackbird, Reed warbler, Great Reed warbler, Sardinian warbler, Bonelli’s warbler, Cetti´s warbler (h), Firecrest, Fan-tailed warbler, Olivaceous warbler, Spotted flycatcher, Coal tit, Crested tit, Great tit, Blue tit, Short-toed treecreeper, Chaffinch, Serin, Greenfinch (h), Goldfinch, Reed bunting, House sparrow, Spanish sparrow, Spotless starling, Golden oriole (h), Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Raven.

 

Written by David Warrington.

Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.