Valencia Birding - Guided Bird Watching in Spain Valencia Birding Blog

Spring birding at the wetlands with clients from Canada.

The month of April continued to be very busy, with high demand for trips to the wetlands. The Valencia region boasts a vast network of coastal wetland sites which not only serve as breeding grounds but are located right on a major migration flyway so in Spring and Autumn can make for some very interesting trips. Today I was delighted to provide such a trip – spring birding at the wetlands with clients from Canada. Blair and Anne had originally booked this trip but a little later Anne´s brother and his wife arranged to join them in Valencia so elected to come along too. The group was not only very friendly and a delight to be with, but collectively held a great deal of birding experience. After a morning coffee during which we discussed the key target species of the day, we headed out along the beach. A Marsh Harrier was quartering the reed beds and a pair of Red Crested Pochards were on the first lagoon. The sky was full of Barn Swallows, Swifts, House Martins and Sand Martins. We were soon enjoying quality views of White Headed Duck,…

Birding at the wetlands with clients from the USA.

In early April I spent a great day birding at the wetlands with clients from the USA. Laura and Brad, from Arizona were on a tour of Spain and had built in a stay in Valencia that included a day of birding with us. As it was their first time in the region, I was eager to show them some of the classic species of Valencia. After a short drive and a morning coffee, we began our walk along the beach. Early Spring was quite cool by our standards, and the day had begun with a breeze blowing off the sea, making for a drastic contrast to Arizona! Migration was happening before our eyes with big numbers of Swifts, Barn Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins passing through, the flocks often including a few Red Rumped Swallows. A Night Heron was sitting in the reeds and from deeper within we could hear Common Reed Warbler and Cetti´s Warbler. Before long, one of the day´s target birds appeared – a fly-past of Audouin´s Gull. This very elegant gull is doing very well along the Valencian coastline. The first lagoon held Black Winged…

Bird Photography in Early Spring.

Thanks to the continuing support of our client base, this Spring has been an exceptionally busy time for us here at Valencia Birding. Therefore, there are still many trip reports to write which I´m sure will bring back some very happy memories for Yanina and I. However, here´s a brief report on a multi-day trip that we provided for a returning client who wanted to enjoy some bird photography in early Spring. Stephen has been on many trips with us so knows the area well. This time he wanted a combination of field and hide photography. The highlights of the trip included a long day of field photography in the Alicante area. Here, he was most interested in species including White Headed Duck, Red Knobbed Coot, Marbled Teal and Purple Swamphen. It was a long day but very worthwhile. Despite rain during the journey from Valencia, by the time we arrived in the south of our region, the weather had dried up and we were able to get some great photos. We started the day by getting shots of Purple Swamphen before moving to Red Knobbed Coot and Marbled Teal….

Birding and Cultural Break in Valencia.

In late March we enjoyed spending three days with Caroline and Lorna from England. We´d met at Rutland Bird Fair the previous year and discussed how we could design a birding and cultural break in Valencia. Having exchanged a few emails, we decided upon a week´s package with 3 full days of birding and 4 free days to explore this beautiful city. In order to maximise diversity, we opted for a day on the steppe, a day at the wetlands and a trip to the mountains. Their first day of birding was with Yanina who took them up onto the steppe. We were all able to meet for a coffee in a farming village as I was with another client and happened to be in the same area that day. The weather was ideal, not too much wind and clear skies. Their first foray onto the high steppe gave views of Black Bellied Sandgrouse and Stone Curlew. Before long, they succeeded in finding the first Great Bustards of the day and a stop by some farm buildings also gave views of Rock Sparrow, Linnet and Black Redstart. The surrounding fields…

Birding and Photography in the Mountains of Valencia.

I was delighted when we received an email from Stephen and Pennie to say that they were returning to Valencia and wanted another day out with us. We´d previously enjoyed two trips to Albufera de Valencia, during which we´d discussed the bird life of the mountains, especially during Spring. Stephen is a well travelled bird photographer whilst Pennie enjoys bird watching very much, so we arranged a day of birding and photography in the mountains of Valencia. After a pleasant journey from the city into the highland interior of the region, we stopped briefly for a coffee in a village bar. As we were walking back to the car, Pennie spotted a raptor soaring above us. We grabbed the binoculars and camera and were soon enjoying views of a Booted Eagle…a good start to the day! Our first stop was to look around some ruined farm buildings. This is a good place to see Black Wheatear, Serin, and Blue Rock Thrush. Today we saw all three species, and Stephen was able to get some shots too. A short stroll by the river was very pleasant, with Griffon Vultures gliding overhead…

Birding and cultural break in Valencia

We recently provided 3 days of guided birding for a couple of clients from Leeds. Alli and Anne were not only lovely people but very experienced and well travelled naturalists. For this trip they wanted to combine birding with a cultural break in Valencia. We´d designed the birding element of their trip so that after they´d enjoyed the famous Fallas fiestas, they could recover from the party atmosphere in Valencia by spending some peaceful days birding in its rural surroundings! It was indeed a pleasure to meet mother and daughter Alli and Anne and to spend time with them. On day one, I took them up onto the steppe, and after a morning coffee we began scanning the fields. Our first birds of the trip were Crested Lark and Calandra Lark. Stopping by some farm buildings gave us views of Rock Sparrow, Linnets, Spotless Starlings and a passing Common Buzzard. Our exploration of the higher steppe eventually rewarded us with views of both Great Bustard and Black Bellied Sandgrouse plus a fairly brief view of Stone Curlew. We ended the day with views of Little Owl and Lesser Kestrel before…