I recently provided a bespoke trip for Tony, a client who lives in the Alicante region and wanted to discover a few places where he can visit to photograph birds in the field. As we only had one day, we decided to focus on wetland sites, visiting four hides throughout the area.
After a morning coffee and a chat about his priorities etc, we made the short journey to the first hide which overlooked a large lagoon. We saw Reed Warbler and Cetti’s Warbler in the reeds, as well as Black-necked Grebe, White Headed Duck and Marsh Harrier.
Black-necked Grebe (non-breeding plumage)
Tony having got some nice shots, we enjoyed a short walk to the next hide which was also built over water. The morning mist was beginning to clear by now and we were able to get closer views of Marsh Harrier and Greater Flamingo.
The view from the hide, across one of Alicante’s many wetland reserves to the mountains of the interior
As the priority was that of showing Tony a few “new” places, we returned to the car and headed to another hide closer to the coast, where in the spring it is easy to see breeding species such as Whiskered Tern, Slender-billed Gull, Collared Pratincole and Kentish Plover. Today we saw huge numbers of Avocet together with Black-winged Stilt and a few Black-tailed Godwits. We also had great views of an Iberian Grey Shrike.
Iberian Grey Shrike
Very happy with the progress that we were making, we then drove across the salt-pans of Santa Pola to another, smaller reserve where we had the luxury of having a large hide to ourself for the remaining hours of the day. The afternoon light was spectacular, and we managed to photograph some common species such as Cattle Egret, Common Coot and White Wagtail as well as the extremely rare Marbled Teal.
Cattle Egret, still showing some amber tones of its breeding plumage
Common Coot feeding on aquatic plants
Marbled Teal
Very happy with the day, its locations, photographic opportunities and the pleasure of being able to dedicate some time to watching and photographing some wonderful birds, we headed back to the car. I´m sure that Tony got some fabulous shots and I hope the trip will help him to enjoy plenty more rewarding days out in the field.
Written by Dave Warrington.
Owner and Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.