Few clients have travelled as far as James to visit the region, so when he told me he was coming from Australia, I was keen to help him to design something special! As part of his longer stay in Spain, he wanted to visit the city of Valencia for a few days but to stay in a smaller, more relaxed place. After some discussion, we opted for a three night stay in Xativa, three days of birding in different habitats, and then I would leave him in Valencia after our third day so he could spend a few nights there.
The historical town of Xativa
Xativa is a very historical town, with a fascinating past. Its castle, museum and narrow streets are a delight and there’s a good selection of places to eat, as well as a beautifully restored guest house that I often use for visitors, Casa Aldomar.
The mountains of Alicante
Day 1 – Mountains.
I collected James from Casa Aldomar, which is located in the historical centre of the town on our first day, and we made the easy journey to the mountains in the interior of Alicante. After a coffee, we took a walk into a gorge where we saw Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear, Black Redstart, Sparrowhawk, and good numbers of Griffon Vulture.
Black Redstart
The weather was cool but with bright sunshine so we opted to take a stroll up to a small peak where we could have lunch and watch out for Alpine Accentors. The path up through the forest gave views of Coal Tit, Blackcap and Short Toed Treecreeper plus a couple of Ravens. We had lunch at a picnic spot, watching more Griffon Vultures in flight before going in search of Alpine Accentor. After a little searching, we were successful, and James managed to get a few great photos too.
Alpine Accentor
On our way back to Xativa we called in at a small wetland where we saw some of our first House Martins and Barn Swallows of the year feeding over a small lake.
Day 2 – Steppe
One our second day, we headed up to the steppe, where we were delighted to be met with blue skies and no wind! The first couple of stops were just to scan across the rolling fields, but we managed to see Crested Lark, Meadow Pipit, Lapwing, Rock Sparrow and a flock of Spotless Starling.
Crested Lark
Our first lagoon of the day held Shoveler, Avocet and Greater Flamingo as well as giving views of Marsh Harriers over the surrounding reed beds. Our lunch was taken by the side of another lagoon which gave us views of White Headed Duck and Purple Swamphen.
White Headed Duck
In the afternoon, we drove off road to explore the higher areas of the steppe. This was very interesting as our efforts were rewarded with sights of Little Owl, Iberian Grey Shrike, Hoopoe, huge flocks of Linnet and the grand finale of which was Great Bustard!
Great Bustards
Day 3 – Wetlands of Valencia
For our third and final day, we made the journey to the coast and enjoyed a birding day that involved a walk of around 6km around a wetland reserve. Audouin´s Gull was amongst the target species of the day, and we enjoyed some fabulous views of them at the beginning of the route.
Audouin´s Gull
The reeds around the next lagoon held Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler (recent arrivals), Chiffchaff and Stonechat. On the water we saw White Headed Duck, Red Crested Pochard, Black Winged Stilt and Little Grebe. We heard Water Rail and saw more Purple Swamphens plus a Snipe feeding on the shore.
Snipe
Our walk along the paths that lead through pasture gave us great views of Booted Eagle, flocks of Glossy Ibis, Cetti’s Warbler, Greenfinch and huge numbers of Crag Martins feeding in flight.
After the trip, I took James into central Valencia where he was to spend the following few days before returning to Australia. It had been a great pleasure to meet him and to spend these days together exploring the region and enjoying its diverse bird life.
Written by Dave Warrington.