Dear all,
I´d like to begin this Bulletin by sending my sincere and best wishes to you all. 2020 has provided trying times for us all, and I hope that you are all well and that you continue to remain safe and healthy. The lockdown that we all endured only served to reinforce the importance and uplifting effects of having birds around us. Like many, in the early days of the pandemic, I was confined to birding from our balcony for many weeks, and later only in the immediate neighbourhood, before being finally granted the permission to travel further. On that note, I´d like to extend my thanks to all who wrote during this time to share details of their bird sightings. This helped to bring positivity and to underline the fact that we´re all in this together! My local birding experience revealed a few surprises, including the number of raptors that passed over the city of Valencia on Spring migration, including Marsh Harriers, Short Toed Eagles and Lesser Kestrel. I found a pair of Whitethroats that were nesting right next to our apartment, and saw huge numbers of Zitting Cisticolas that had taken up residence on the patches of waste ground and urban allotments of the neighbourhood.
Covid 19
So, with all that in mind, I feel I should begin by discussing the situation here in Spain with regard to Covid-19, what measures have been put in place, and a few thoughts of my own…
I have to say that I have been generally very impressed by the response of the vast majority of the Spanish public who I have come into contact with both here in Valencia and in the rural highlands of Alicante where I spend the summer. Everyone wears masks, respects distances and seems to have a healthy respect for others. Having said that, Spain has suffered an extremely high infection rate and tragically, a very high number of fatalities too. I can´t help but put this down to the social nature of society here, and also the frequency of family gatherings. Family is central to most people´s lives.
At the time of writing, the UK Government is advising against non-essential trips to Spain, and there is still a requirement to self-isolate upon return to the UK. With this in mind, it is unlikely that we´ll see many clients from the UK before the end of the year, but it´s important for me to outline a few more details here.
Firstly, I´d like to repeat my over-riding message that I have published online as well as in emails to individual clients. This is that the single most important element of Valencia Birding as a business is the client. I cherish the human relationships that have been built over the past nine years and place these above all when managing this business. Why do I say this now? Because, as and when travel restrictions are eased, I guess that there will be high impact advertising campaigns seen right across the tourism sector, including nature tourism. Understandable of course, given the sector´s importance to our economy. However, I wish to repeat my key message of patience and understanding. I will be here, ready and waiting to keenly welcome everyone, with all the key safety measures firmly in place. Indeed, Valencia Birding has been accredited with the seal of Responsible Tourism by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. This is in recognition of the work done to implement the Security Protocols into our operating procedures. A summarised copy of such protocols can be found at the end of this Bulletin. However, I fully understand that every individual client has their own personal circumstances to take into consideration, and should never be pressured into travelling before they feel absolutely comfortable to do so. Many people have written to me, saying that they will make bookings as soon as they are able to. I greatly appreciate this, and I long to be out in the field with clients, for human and economic reasons, but as a responsible person and business owner, I´d much rather send out facts rather than pushy promotional material. As and when you feel comfortable to travel, I´ll be here, ready to share some very special places and great bird life. It´s that simple.
Looking Ahead
Despite the current difficulties, I have my eyes fixed firmly on the future, and have been working hard, specifically on new ideas and improvements. Here´s some news on a few such developments…
Improvements to the Spring & Summer Mountain Bird Life Trip
This trip has been an extremely popular choice from the moment of its creation and I´ve had many happy days with clients who have enjoyed the magnificent birds that can be seen on this outing. However, I´m always looking to improve and evolve and as such, I´ve spent a number of days exploring some new areas around the general vicinity of the sites where this trip takes us to, with a view to adding more habitat diversity.
I´m delighted to say that this trip is now even better than before, taking in a very pretty area of cereal fields and olive groves that often hold birds such as Hoopoe, Corn Bunting, Stonechat, Black-eared Wheatear and Bee Eater. We then head over high mountainous territory where it´s not unusual to see raptors such as Bonelli´s Eagle and Golden Eagle. Such improvements have been applied to the trip without affecting the price.
New Bird Photography Hides
For keen bird photographers, we already have a wide range of professional photography hides available. I´m extremely excited to announce that we have added a new hide to our selection – one where it´s possible to photograph Golden Eagle! This new, fully legally certified hide, has proved itself to be sufficiently reliable for us to proudly add it to our range.
Our selection of photography hides now includes :
- Goshawk
- Bonelli´s Eagle
- Golden Eagle
- Mediterranean Passerines
- Crag Dwelling Passerines
For more details, including prices, please visit : https://valenciabirding.com/photographic-hide-trips/
Investments
Also with an eye to the future, we´ve made a few careful investments in the business. These include adding to our collection of binoculars for the use of clients who prefer not to travel with their own and also making visual and technical improvements to the website, ensuring that it´s in good shape. The biggest investment however is that of replacing our vehicle with a hybrid model, an important step in reducing the carbon footprint of our activities.
New Trip Coming Soon!
Multi-day Birding Break from Alicante including a trip to a marine reserve island
One of my current ongoing projects is putting the finishing touches to an exciting new multi-day birding break for clients who wish to arrive and / or depart by Alicante airport. The Alicante region holds many hidden gems, including coastal wetlands, rugged highlands in its interior, rocky peaks and some fabulous natural coastline. Clients will be able to choose to stay in a hotel by the beach or in a small traditional village in the rural interior.
The trip that I´m working on will include :
Premium Coastal Wetlands. Depending on the time of year, target species could include White Headed Duck, Marbled Teal, Red Knobbed Coot, Purple Swamphen, Roller and Bluethroat.
Highlands. The rugged interior of Alicante is virtually unknown by visiting birders but holds some fabulous birds including Griffon Vulture, Golden Oriole, Crested Tit, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear and much more.
A Marine Reserve Island. Only 20 minutes by boat from the coastal town of Santa Pola lies the island of Tabarca, a designated Marine Reserve. This is of particular interest during migration periods, when it becomes a regular feeding and resting spot for thousands of passerines. Marine species can also include Shag, Balearic Shearwater and Audouin´s Gull.
Steppe. For a complete change of habitat, we can also spend a day on the high steppe that can be reached very easily from the Alicante region. Great Bustard, Little Bustard, Black Bellied Sandgrouse, Calandra Lark and Thekla´s Lark are amongst the target birds of this area.
I´ll forward more, specific details and will publish this trip on-line once I´ve made the finishing touches. I hope it proves to be an exciting option for the coming year.
Keeping in touch
During these times of restrictions, and until we can physically get together once more, I´d love for the “Valencia Birding Community” to keep in touch. I have recently dedicated more time to writing, some articles have been published externally, but most can be found on the blog page of the website. The link to the blog page is : https://valenciabirding.com/blog/
Below you can find links to a few recent articles that may be of interest…
Greater Flamingo breeds in Alicante for the first time in 37 years : https://valenciabirding.com/2020/06/10/fabulous-news-greater-flamingo-breeds-successfully-in-alicante/
“A note from the hills of Alicante” : https://valenciabirding.com/2020/07/12/a-note-from-the-hills-of-alicante/
A reflective piece on birds that always seem to be present in our lives : https://valenciabirding.com/2020/07/24/there-seem-to-be-some-birds-that-are-always-with-us/
Re-introduction of Ospreys to the Valencia Region : https://valenciabirding.com/2020/09/09/re-introduction-of-ospreys-to-the-valencia-region/
You can find these articles, plus much more on the Facebook Page of Valencia Birding too. Here´s the link, where you can visit and “like” the page : https://www.facebook.com/ValenciaBirding We always welcome comments and love to hear of your birding stories and sightings. Please feel free to visit and tell us about what you´re seeing.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this bulletin, which I hope has been of interest. Please do keep in touch through whatever means you prefer. I wish you all the very best during these strange times and hope that you and your loved ones stay safe and well.
Happy birding!
Dave Warrington