I have recently come to the end of a great little trip that I designed together with a couple of clients from the UK. Alan and Jeanette were looking for a birding trip that could include a few free days during which they could enjoy some cultural sites. Therefore, we designed something that included a stay in the historical town of Xativa followed by a few nights in the city of Valencia. This all worked out beautifully and our birding trips included steppe, mountains, forest and wetlands.
Day 1 – Steppe
We left Xativa on our first day together and made the comfortable journey up onto the steppe. Here we saw the first Swifts of the year, both Common and Pallid, as well as Red-Rumped Swallow and Sand Martins. The fields held quite a few Northern Wheatears as well as a Black-eared Wheatear.
Black Eared Wheatear
Other highlights included a pair of passing Black-bellied Sandgrouse that flew above us, and a flock of Great Bustards, one of which was displaying. The old farm buildings held Rock Sparrow and the cereal fields gave us fabulous views of Calandra Lark and Red-legged Partridge.
Red Legged Partridge
We stopped at a number of lagoons which gave us the chance to enjoy views of Greater Flamingo, White Headed Duck, Shelduck, Shoveler and Teal. A shallow body of water that we visited towards the end of the day held an amazing variety of waders including Avocet, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Little Stint, Dunlin, Snipe and Redshank!
White Headed Duck
Our first day together had been a pleasure, and after a relatively short drive, we were soon back in Xativa, where I left Jeanette amd Alan at their hotel in the narrow streets of the historical quarter of the village. The next day we had plans to visit the mountains of inland Alicante.
The species list for the day included…
Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Serin, Spotless Starling, Sardinian Warbler, Swift, Buzzard, Northern Wheatear, Barn Swallow, Red Rumped Swallow, Black Bellied Sandgrouse, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Crested Lark, Hoopoe, Black Eared Wheatear, Great Bustard, Pallid Swift, Tree Sparrow, Rock Sparrow, Corn Bunting, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Common Pochard, White Headed Duck, Grey Heron, Black Winged Stilt, Mallard, Iberian Grey Shrike, Calandra Lark, Goldfinch, Wood Sandpiper, Greater Flamingo, Avocet, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Kentish Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Little Stint, Dunlin, Snipe, Redshank, Green Sandpiper, Collared Dove, Wood Pigeon, Teal.
Written by Dave Warrington