Albufera de Valencia - Page 4 of 10 - Valencia Birding

Guided bird watching trip to Albufera of Valencia

A few months ago I was delighted to provide a guided bird watching trip to Albufera of Valencia for Rene from Denmark. He was on a business trip to Spain and he had a day off so wanted to spend it birding in one of the Valencian wetlands. He is an experienced birder who wanted to discover the diversity and ecosystems of Albufera Natural Park. After I collected him from a meeting point agreed in advance in Valencia city, we drove straight to the natural park. First stop was in the main pier of the Albufera Lake to enjoy good views of Sandwich Terns and Marsh Harrier. Next stop was in the main reserve area of the park, after a short visit to the visitor centre we headed into forest. Immediately we were stopped by the call of a Sardinian Warbler, after a few minutes trying to have a clean view we succeeded, it was a beautiful male. Also Cetti’s Warbler – a tricky bird to see in the open was happy to show up. Once we arrived to the restricted area, we spent a long time scanning with the…

3 day Spring birding break.

In late April I was delighted to welcome back Justin from Sheffield. We did a trip last summer whilst he was on holiday with his family and had discussed the possibilities for a return visit. This time he travelled alone on a short break that we´d designed together, his trip being timed to enjoy the Spring migration. Day 1 Easter this year was a complete wash-out on much of the Mediterranean coast, and in the Valencia region it was the wettest in 74 years! The first day of Justin´s trip was timed to perfection as it was the first dry day after 5 days of torrential rain. We were hoping to see plenty of birds on the move, and indeed we did. It was as if the migration “plug” had suddenly being pulled and the flow of birds was spectacular. We spent the first day at one of the region´s wetlands, which itself is on a flyway. The skies were full of House Martins, Barn Swallows and Swifts heading north. The first lagoon gave great views of White Headed Duck, Red Crested Pochard, Whiskered Tern, Great Reed Warbler and Zitting…

Birding and field photography trip to Albufera de Valencia

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to design a special trip for a couple from Belgium. Both are enthusiastic birders and Anne also is a photographer, who wanted a day of birding and field photography. Albufera de Valencia was the best choice to combine birding with bird photography. At this time of the year most of the rice paddies are being ploughed which provides the perfect scenery with plenty of Glossy Ibis, Egrets, Herons, Gulls and Waders feeding in the fields. After I collected them from a meeting point in Valencia City, we made a short journey to Albufera Natural Park where we stopped in the main pier of Albufera lake to photograph and enjoy great views of Sandwich Terns, Yellow-legged Gulls, Black-headed Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Our next stop was at the main reserve of the park, we headed to the observatories looking onto the brackish lagoons with plenty of Black-winged Stilt, Black-tailed Godwit and other waterfowl. We were enjoying fantastic views of all these birds when we witnessed the highlight of the day… a Booted Eagle´s failed attempt to take a Black-winged Stilt. The eagle…

Winter Birding in Albufera de Valencia.

Last week, I provided a day of winter birding in Albufera de Valencia for a client from England. Paul, a lovely man from Exeter was visiting his daughter here in Valencia and wanted to discover in more detail the bird life of the region. He was particularly interested in the wetland species and really wanted to see Bluethroat amongst others. After the short journey from the city, we made our first stop at one of the park´s reserves. Frosty mornings are a rare thing here at sea level, but today was an exception – cold, crisp, no wind and a beautiful clear blue sky providing excellent winter birding conditions. Here we began by a small lagoon where we enjoyed views of Black Tailed Godwit, Marsh Harrier, Black Winged Stilt, Teal and Shoveler, as well as a pair of Greylag Geese, not a common sighting this far south. As we walked back through the woods to the car we had views of Chiffchaff and a Hoopoe. We then had a little time to pay attention to the rice fields before our next visit to another reserve area. So, we drove along…

Birding and seawatching trip to Albufera of Valencia

I recently provided a birding trip to Albufera de Valencia for two clients from England who as experienced birders had travelled to Spain many times but never to the Valencia region. After I collected them from their accommodation in the city centre, we made the short journey to Albufera Natural Park where we stopped in the main pier of the Albufera lake to enjoy nice views of Sandwich Terns and Marsh Harriers. Our next stop was in the main reserve area of the park, and after a short visit to the information center we headed to the observatories in a restricted area where we were surprised by a juvenile Night Heron. We realized it was injured so I manage to catch it to take it to the recovery center. After this episode we continued birding in the reserve. From one of the observatories we had views of an Iberian Grey Shrike, Flamingos and Zitting Cisticola. Later from the observatory tower we enjoyed good views of thousands of Red-crested Pochard, Pintail and many waterfowl that winter in this area. Our next stop was planned to be in the Village of El…

Birding trip to Albufera of Valencia

A few weeks ago, I was delighted to provide a birding trip to Albufera of Valencia Natural Park for two couples from England. One couple were experienced birders who wanted to introduce their friends to the pleasure of going birding during their holidays. They were keen to discover the birdlife of the Valencian wetlands, so after I collected them, we drove a few minutes to the main reserve area of the natural park. After visiting the centre to understand the different ecosystems and birdlife of the area, we went to the observatories which is where we saw the first species of interest… Black-winged Stilt, Red-crested Pochard as well as an Osprey that flew over Next stop was in a green filter and reserve area. It took us a few minutes to drive through the rice paddies and just before we entered the reserve, a flock of Spoonbills flew over and we enjoyed great views. We arrived to the observatory tower where we had amazing views of some of the target species of the day… Purple Swamphen, Great White Egret and Marsh Harrier. The day was going pretty well so they…