The steppe zone that´s located to the south west of the region is an area of extremely high, open plains that in winter can be subject to gale-force winds and sub-zero temperatures. However, last Friday was an exceptional day, with clear blue skies, virtually no wind and temperatures touching 20 degrees C! The birding trip had been arranged by a local lady for her husband John, as a Christmas present, and after a chat on the phone, we’d decided on the steppe.
The day began as usual with a coffee stop in a small farming village before we headed across the fields in search of birds. Our first stop, a vantage point with huge views, saw large flocks of Linnets, a few Crested Larks and a Spotless Starling that posed nicely for a photo.
Spotless Starling
We then moved to an old farm whose outbuildings provide nesting spots for colonies of sparrows. We actually saw three species – House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow and Rock Sparrow, including a leucistic House Sparrow that was almost uniformly white. Buzzards were circling above us in the warming air, and Corn Buntings were calling from neaby telegraph poles. We scanned around the surrounding fields in search of Great Bustard, and eventually found a large group, taking shelter in the shade of a stand of trees. Although a little distant, we had superb views through the scope, watching as a large male began his courtship display.
Great Bustards
Driving off-road, we made another stop to scan around, enjoying views of Hoopoe, Iberian Grey Shrike and a Skylark. A little further along the track, a raptor caught our eye so we made an abrupt stop and got out of the car for a closer look. It’s huge, upturned wings and markings revealed it to be a Golden Eagle, which soared over the surrounding hills before finally disappearing into the distance.
Our first lagoon of the day gave views of a mixed flock of Ruff and Lapwing, Greater Flamingo and Black-winged Stilt as well as wildfowl including Shelduck, Shoveler and Teal. The next lagoon held good numbers of Black-necked Grebe, already in their splendid breeding plumage, as well as Little Grebe, White-headed Duck, Red Crested Pochard, Common Pochard and Gadwall.
White Headed Duck (male above, female below)
Our exploration of the higher steppe gave further views of Great Bustard, this time on flight, as well as a Little Owl. Finally, we stopped at another lagoon which is a regular wintering ground for Common Crane. On my last visit, we saw in excess of 50 birds. Today this was reduced to 25, but we were still able to enjoy views of these magnificent birds through the scope.
John scoping across the fields
After a comfortable journey home, we arrived back in Valencia around 7pm, having had a super day. It had been a pleasure to meet John and to spend the day birding with him, and I hope to get out into the field with him again soon. The species list for the day included…
Carrion Crow, Linnet, Spotless Starling, Rock Sparrow, Crested Lark, , Linnet, House Sparrow, Buzzard, Great Bustard, Stonechat, Corn Bunting, Goldfinch, Tree Sparrow, White Wagtail, Iberian Grey Shrike, Red-legged Partridge, Magpie, Skylark, Golden Eagle, Greater Flamingo, Shoveler, Lapwing, Ruff, Mallard, Shelduck, Teal, Yellow-legged Gull, Black-winged Stilt, Kestrel, Coot, Great Tit, Collared Dove, Serin, Common Pochard, Little Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Gadwall, White-headed Duck, Black-headed Gull, Red Crested Pochard, Cetti’s Warbler (h), Common Starling, Little Owl, Common Crane.
Written by David Warrington.