Valencia Birding - Guided Bird Watching in Spain Valencia Birding Blog

Kicking off 2024 at Albufera de Valencia

It was great to begin the New Year with a trip to Albufera with Sally and Pete, a couple of clients who have a home in this region and wanted to explore the lesser known corners of this huge wetland. We met close to their base in the village of Pego and made the comfortable journey to the south side of the park where we began the day amongst the rice fields. When the fields are recently ploughed and partially flooded, they are riven with shallow gullies and therefore need to be closely scanned to reveal the smaller birds that are present. Our first stop indeed gave us views of plenty of Meadow Pipits and White Wagtails that were feeding, and closer attention revealed a small flock of Snipe. Further away, we scoped a large mixed group of Golden Plover and Lapwing. Distant shot of a Golden Plover with Lapwing (taken through scope with mobile) As we returned to the car and drove along more tracks, a large bird to our distant left side caught our attention. We stopped to wait for it to fly closer, which indeed it did,…

Bringing 2023 to a close up on the steppe.

I’d like to begin this post by wishing everyone a very happy, healthy and bird packed 2024. Last year was something of a record for Valencia Birding, with more clients than any year since our foundation in 2011, so I feel very grateful to all for such support, and very much look forward to the coming year. Over the next few months, we’ll be adding some new trips and birding breaks, so please watch out for that. As always, we continue to offer a range of “standard” trips, but often provide specially designed outings and holidays depending on the clients’ needs, wishes and preferences. More on that later. Steppe scenery – huge plains dotted with lagoons. This area is situated to the south west of our region. The final two trips of 2023 were both to the steppe, one for a returning client and friend from the UK, and one for a Spanish family who were visiting the region from their home in Madrid. We were blessed both days by great weather, with blue skies and thankfully very little wind. The moment having found and watched the Great Bustards, with…

Albufera is Spectacular in Winter!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of providing a number of trips to Albufera for some lovely people from the UK, USA and Austria. All trips were different, but a common theme was the huge gatherings of Flamingos and Glossy Ibis that were absolutely spectacular. Greater Flamingos bred at this site in 2023 for the first time, and it’s very likely that they’ll do so again in 2024. Watch this space for news on that. The population of Gloosy Ibis has rapidly increased in recent years too, to such an extent that they often appear to whirl around in a similar fashion to Starling murmurations! Whilst scanning through a flock of Glossy Ibis, we found this Sacred Ibis, which has been present at various wetland sites throughout the region for quite some time. It’s good to see that it’s surviving. Other winter favourites are Bluethroat, which are one of the first wintering birds to arrive. This autumn has also been great for passing waders, with clients enjoying sightings of Temminck´s Stint, Little Stint, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Dunlin, Turnstone and much more. Other highlights…

Osprey Reintroduction Project

The team in Scotland, the day before the chicks were translocated to Spain.

Since the spring of this year, I’ve been proud and honoured to be a collaborator and to form part of the support team of the Osprey Reintroduction Project to the Pego-Oliva Marsh Natural Park in the Valencian Community of Eastern Spain. This incredible journey has involved two trips to the Scottish Highlands with Itzy Colodro Sainz and later with Carlos Torralvo, both of Fundación Migres, where we worked very closely with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. During the second trip, 12 Osprey chicks were carefully selected and taken from suitable nests, all under strict licensing conditions, and were subsequently housed, monitored and fed, using stringent bio-security measures and protocol. At RSPB Loch Garten in the Scottish Highlands, the home of Osprey Conservation in the UK We had the pleasure of forming a very close-knit team with Ian Perks, constantly supported by Natalie Perks and a few other “unsung heroes” whose tireless input and determination kept the project moving forwards. Despite a few difficulties along the way, mainly to do with beaurocracy and quite complex legal documentation, the team worked as one to overcome any obstacles, and 12 Osprey chicks were…

Alicante Wetlands in the Summer

Today´s trip was my first since my illness caused by the tick bites that I suffered in June, so it felt good to be back in the field with clients, especially as Bruce and his son Archie were returning clients, so we already knew one another. As Red Knobbed Coot was on their list of priority species, we headed for the southern wetlands of Alicante, one of the best areas in Spain to see this bird. Birding in Alicante is often surprising, and it’s also home to some of Spain’s most successful conservation projects. After a quick coffee, we got straight to work, looking across a small lagoon that held Squacco Heron as well as a pair of Moustached Warblers that were flitting around at the base of the reeds. Within minutes we had our first views of Red Knobbed Coot – a pair with young. Red Knobbed Coot A stroll across a raised boardwalk gave us views of Purple Swamphen, Greater Flamingo, Black Winged Stilt and Glossy Ibis, all extremely regular species throughout the region. Although it was quite hot, there seemed to be some quite good bird activity,…

TICK BITES – A Personal Health Scare and a Warning to Others

I’m writing this post having just spent almost two weeks in hospital. I can honestly say that I’ve never felt so ill in my life. Prior to this episode, I was fit, strong and healthy. I will return to being so, but I want to share my story with you all. Why? Because the same could happen to anyone, but with some prior knowledge and safety measures, it can be avoided. The problem – A TICK BITE. A few weeks ago, I was in Scotland, collaborating in a conservation project. With only a few days left of the trip, I woke one morning to find two ticks attached to my body. They were quite large, round and had obvioulsy been feeding on my blood for a while. I carefully removed them, and cleaned the bite areas but didn’t think much more about it, and decided not to mention anything about them to my partner. The rest of the trip passed without any problems, and no rash nor marks appeared on my body. A tick feeding on human blood – extreme care is needed when removing such We’d been back in…