I recently had the pleasure of welcoming back to Alicante Caroline and Jonathan from my home city of Sheffield. They have been on many trips with me over the years so it was very special to see them again.
Day 1 – Alicante Wetlands
We chose rural Alicante as a base, and on our first day we spent some time exploring the vast wetlands of the region. The day began with a flurry of species including Wood Sandpiper, Redshank, Spotted Redshank and a rarity – Lesser Yellowlegs!
Purple Swamphen
As we walked through the reserve, we had excellent views of Red Knobbed Coot, Whiskered Tern and a flock of Gull Billed Tern. A male Hen Harrier passed over and a pair of Little Bittern moved through the reeds. Purple Swamphens were feeding close by and Great Reed Warblers and Cetti’s Warblers were singing all around us.
Cetti’s Warbler
From the hides we saw Marbled Teal, Collared Pratincole, Avocet and a Black Tailed Godwit in its breeding plumage (we normally only see them here in winter in their much duller winter plumage).
Black Tailed Godwit, Avocet & Collared Pratincole
After lunch we spent the afternoon watching over another lagoon that gave us views of Greater Flamingo, Black Necked Grebe, White Headed Duck and an Osprey that was feeding on a fish on a platform.
White Headed Duck
Day one had been a fabulous start to the trip, with species including…
Greater Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Black Winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Little Egret, Swift, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Redshank, Lesser Yellowlegs, Red Crested Pochard, House Sparrow, Grey Heron, Snipe, Squacco Heron, Gull-billed Tern, Blackbird, Kestrel, Green Sandpiper, Reed Warbler, Hen Harrier, Spotted Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Shelduck, Little Bittern, Whiskered Tern, Great Reed Warbler, White Headed Duck, Red Rumped Swallow, Common Pochard, Barn Swallow, Black Headed Gull, Marbled Teal, Sardinian Warbler, Collared Pratincole, Avocet, Black Necked Grebe, Great White Egret, Black Tailed Godwit, Slender Billed Gull, Cattle Egret, Osprey, Marsh Harrier, Sand Martin, Pallid Swift, Little Grebe.
Day 2 – Saltmarshes & Coast
The morning of our second day was dedicated to achieving quality views of some of the key target species of the trip, including Marbled Teal, White Headed Duck and Red Knobbed Coot. Caroline was keen to capture some quality photos of these species.
Northern Wheatear
Our first stop achieved all three objectives as well as giving us views of Woodchat Shrike, Little Owl, Northern Wheatear, Little Bittern and Red Rumped Swallow.
After lunch we moved to an area of coastal saltmarsh where we added Slender Billed Gull, Collared Pratincole, Audouin’s Gull, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Mediterranean Gull, Black Tern and Kentish Plover to our list.
Slender Billed Gull
The day was brought to a successful ending when we finally manged to locate an Elegant Tern that was within a huge colony of Sandwich Terns!
Searching for (and finding) Elegant Tern!
The species list for day-2 included…
Red Knobbed Coot, Marbled Teal, Coot, Red Crested Pochard, Mallard, Little Grebe, House Martin, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, House Sparrow, Red Rumped Swallow, Little Egret, Swift, Blackbird, Sardinian Warbler, Cormorant, Kestrel, Whiskered Tern, Yellow Legged Gull, Little Bittern, Grey Heron, Reed Warbler, Goldfinch, Avocet, Collared Pratincole, Black Headed Gull, Black Winged Stilt, Greater Flamingo, Slender Billed Gull, Spotless Starling, Wood Pigeon, Water Rail, Hoopoe, Little Owl, Northern Wheatear, Woodchat Shrike, Greenfinch, Skylark, Iberian Grey Shrike, Great Crested Grebe, Night Heron, Gadwall, Audouin’s Gull, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Common Tern, Mediterranean Gull, Black Tern, Kentish Plover, Elegant Tern, Sandwich Tern.
Day 3 – Steppe
Our third and final day of birding was spent on the steppe, and our first stop was to enjoy views of a colony of Lesser Kestrels that frequent a ruined farmstead. After that, we made a brief coffee stop before heading along farm tracks that took us across the plains. This gave us views of Tawny Pipit, Whinchat, Great Bustard and Rock Sparrow.
Typical Lesser Kestrel territory
We spent some time by a lagoon that we very productive, giving us the chance to enjoy views of Black Necked Grebe, White Winged Black Tern, Whiskered Tern, Gull Billed Tern and Bee Eater.
Our day ended with a drive across the high steppe where we had great views of yet more Great Bustard as well as Calanda Lark, Black Bellied Sandgrouse and Stone Curlew.
Calandra Lark
It had been a real pleasure to see Caroline and David again, and it was with some sadness that we drew the trip to a close, albeit with warm memories of yet more great times.
Scanning for Black Bellied Sandgrouse
The species list for our third day included…
Hoopoe, Corn Bunting, Lesser Kestrel, Barn Swallow, Red Legged Partridge, Rock Sparrow, Crested Lark, Raven, Tawny Pipit, Buzzard, Swift, Kestrel, Goldfinch, Whinchat, Great Bustard, Marsh Harrier, Linnet, White Headed Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Pochard, Black Necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Coot, Greater Flamingo, White Winged Black Tern, Gull Billed Tern, Whiskered Tern, Black Winged Stilt, Black Headed Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Shelduck, Bee Eater, Lapwing, Avocet, Calandra Lark, Black Bellied Sandgrouse, Stone Curlew.
Written by Dave Warrington.