8th & 9th April 2022
Since I established Valencia Birding over eleven and a half years ago, I’ve been blessed with many clients who have returned time and again, and have become friends. They all know who they are and it’s a privilege to know them and to design and provide trips for them.
Last week I did just that for Andy and Saffia from the UK. I think it’s fair to say that they fell in love with the city of Valencia during their initial visits, and as their previous trip was cancelled as the Covid pandemic hit, it was even more special to see them this time. Andy had a list of target species which provided me with a welcome challenge, and something to design their two day birding trip around.
Day 1 – Southern Wetlands.
Andy was particularly keen to see Marbled Teal and Red-knobbed Coot, and this area is one of the best in Europe for these species. After a morning coffee we began our walk into a reserve, where we immediately saw Garganey, Redshank, Avocet and Glossy Ibis. Swifts, Barn Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins were passing overhead and Corn Buntings were singing in the nearby fields.
Glossy Ibis
As we walked by a lagoon, we had exceptional views of Red-knobbed Coot, including a few that had chicks. Whiskered Tern were feeding on the wing, and Purple Swamphens were also showing well on the water’s edge.
Red Knobbed Coot
The first hide indeed gave views of Marbled Teal, together with Red Crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Shoveler and Little Grebe. Later, we spent some time in another hide where we saw the first of the day’s Black Necked Grebe as well as Collared Pratincole, Marsh Harrier and Purple Heron.
Marbled Teal
We enjoyed our packed lunch overlooking another small lagoon where we had the luxury of some fabulous views of Squacco Heron, Hoopoe and yet more Marbled Teal and Purple Swamphen. And to think that people pay to go to fancy restaurants!!
Squacco Heron with Marbled Teal in the background
We began the afternoon in another hide, this time looking over a much larger lagoon with extensive reed beds surrounding it. This gave some much better views of Black Necked Grebe as well as plenty of White Headed Duck and Greater Flamingo.
Black Necked Grebe
It was time to head back north, so we returned to the car, but we added another stop on the way to check out some salt marshes. This proved to be a productive measure, which gave us views of Slender Billed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Sandwich Tern and to finish the day, an Iberian Grey Shrike.
Slender Billed Gull
It had been a long day but well worth the effort, and above all it had been wonderful to spend it with Saffia and Andy. The next day our plan was to head into the mountains, but for now our species list included…
Glossy Ibis, Black Winged Stilt, Avocet, Redshank, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Garganey, Common Swift, Common Coot, Moorhen, Green Sandpiper, Red Knobbed Coot, Grey Heron, Whiskered Tern, Shelduck, Sand Martin, Mallard, Red Crested Pochard, Marbled Teal, Common Pochard, Black Tailed Godwit, Marsh Harrier, Black Headed Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Shoveler, Purple Swamphen, Little Egret, Crested Lark, Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaff, Kestrel, Corn Bunting, White Headed Duck, Little Stint, Greater Flamingo, Slender Billed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Sandwich Tern, Blackbird, Iberian Grey Shrike, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, House Sparrow, Hoopoe, Black-necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Magpie, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Squacco Heron, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Collared Pratincole, Purple Heron.
Day 2 – Mountains of Valencia.
The key target species for today was Egyptian Vulture, so we headed for the mountains in the interior of Valencia. In keeping with tradition, we had a brief coffee stop in a local village before taking a stroll through a small forest. Keeping an eye on the sky gave us a nice start to the day with views of Short Toed Eagle, Booted Eagle, Raven and the day’s first Griffon Vultures.
Short Toed Eagle
The forest gave views of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Serin and Sardinian Warbler, and a little time spent scanning a nearby crag revealed a pair of Black Wheatear.
We then headed up into the higher mountains where we were fortunate to see Egyptian Vulture almost immediately. We had superb views of more Griffon Vulture as well as Peregrine Falcon, Chough, Crag Martin and Crested Tit.
Egyptian Vulture
After lunch we headed across highland pastures before making our way back to valley level for a break and a very welcome ice-cream! We’d been saying that some species were a little late in arriving, and that for example, Bee Eaters were expected at any time. Then, as we strolled through the village back to the car, a familiar sound caught my attention. Instinctively I looked to the sky, where there were indeed my first Bee Eaters of the year passing over!
We headed back towards Valencia, but there was one more spot I wanted to visit. Initially, it seemed very quiet, with only a few Crag Martins flying around. We were almost ready to leave when a couple of Griffon Vultures glided into view, along the skyline of surrounding cliffs. This was enough to trigger a spectacular finale to the day as a Bonelli’s Eagle suddenly appeared, diving and attacking the vultures in flight! What a way to end the trip!
Griffon Vulture
More than happy with the day, we headed back to Valencia where we enjoyed a drink together in a square before reluctantly saying goodbye. It had been so special to see Saffia and Andy again, to catch up on two years of news and to share some wonderful birding moments together.
Our species list for day-2 included…
Kestrel, White Wagtail, Collared Dove, House Martin, Booted Eagle, Short Toed Eagle, Serin, Chaffinch, Stonechat, Sardinian Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler (h), Black Wheatear, Raven, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Crested Tit, Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, Chough, Crag Martin, Jay, Corn Bunting, Black Redstart, Bee Eater, Bonelli’s Eagle
Written by Dave Warrington.