Albufera de Valencia - Page 8 of 11 - Valencia Birding

2 Day Birding Break in Valencia

Last week we were delighted to provide a 2-day birding break in Valencia for a group of 3 clients with whom we´ve been in touch with for a while. All living apart (France, England and Wales) they had arranged to meet up in Valencia and to include in their holiday a 2-day guided birding trip with us. We´d been fortunate enough to meet one of the group at Birdfair in the UK in August, so were really looking forward to welcoming them to Valencia. To provide two very different trips, we´d decided to spend one day at the extensive wetland site of Albufera de Valencia and the second up on the high steppe. Very different habitats indeed. On day one, I collected the group from their apartment in the city and we made the short journey to Albufera, discussing their wishes and priorities for the trip. We drove into the Natural Park and made our first brief stop by some rice fields where we discussed the rice growing cycle whilst watching Cattle Egrets and Marsh Harriers. A Lesser Black Backed Gull passed over us and a large flock of Spotless…

Guided bird watching in Albufera de Valencia.

This week I provided a day trip for a brother and sister from the Netherlands. They were in Valencia for a short break and had contacted us previously to arrange a day of guided bird watching in Albufera de Valencia. Our first albeit brief stop was in a reserve area where had views of Red Crested Pochard, Black-winged Stilt, Marsh Harrier and Booted Eagle. We then moved to a lagoon that is always worth a visit as at this time of year it can provide great views of waders. We saw Little Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Kentish Plover and Greenshank to name a few. We also enjoyed watching Black Necked Grebe on the water. Our next stop was at a restricted reserve area where we relaxed and spent the a good while exploring the lagoons and reed beds. This was a great visit and among the many sightings that we had there were Temminck´s Stint, Caspian Tern, Purple Swamphen, Night Heron and Audouin´s Gull. We´d enjoyed some fabulous views of some great species, but wanted to end the day with a drive across the rice fields. This gave views of Glossy…

Birding in Albufera de Valencia.

Last week I was delighted to welcome back returning clients Bill and Maureen, this time with Bill´s brother and sister-in-law, John and Maggie. It was great to see them again, and this time our detination was the Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia. Their previous trip with us was to a different wetland site, so they were very interested to see what birding in Albufera de Valencia held in store… Having met close to Valencia we made the short journey into the park where we began our trip at one of the area´s restricted nature reserves. We made several stops here, very quietly setting up the scopes to scan across the lagoons. Our first stop gave us views of Great Egret, Spoonbill and Lapwing. Then suddenly a Booted Eagle passed overhead. Male, female and juvenile Marsh Harriers were quartering the surrounding reed beds, giving excellent views. We then moved to a shallower lagoon that provides great habitat for an array of waders at this time of year. We enjoyed great views of Wood Sandpiper, Snipe, Ruff, Black-winged Stilt, Glossy Ibis and Greenshank. Migration was taking place right before us, with…

A very busy few days!

The past few days have been very busy here at Valencia Birding! Yanina has been working hard at the Delta Birding Festival in Cataluña, whilst I´ve had the pleasure of guiding some fabulous clients from around the world. These have included a gentleman from New Zealand, a couple from UK and one of Argentina´s leading bird photographers. Each day was very different and extremely rewarding. We´ll be publishing reports on all these trips during the next few days, but here are a few shots of some of the many birds that we saw…. Thanks to you all for making the past days so enjoyable, and thanks to Yanina for flying the flag at the Delta! Dave.

Summer Bird Watching in Valencia

This week I had the pleasure of guiding two experienced birders from Denmark. Although high summer is not the best time of year, it´s very interesting in terms of viewing Mediterranean breeding species. Our clients were also keen on bird life photography, so after I collected them from their hotel in Cullera we drove a short distance through the rice paddies to a field where Collared Pratincoles were breeding. From a safe distance, as not to disturb them, we enjoyed great views and were able to get some nice photographs of these stunning birds. Meanwhile Gull-billed Terns where feeding in the rice paddies. We enjoyed fantastic views of them in flight. Glossy Ibis were also around in good numbers. Next stop was in a reserve area which is carefully managed to provide habitat for sea birds, waders and waterfowl. Thanks to that we enjoyed amazing views of four Marbled Ducks and one duckling. We also saw Greater Flamingo, Whimbrel, Avocets, Black-winged Stilt and many more waders. The most interesting sighting of the day was of an Elegant Tern. Our next stop was in another reserve area. A little patience was…

Guided bird watching in Albufera de Valencia

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to organise a guided bird watching trip for two clients from England. They were keen to discover the bird life of the Valencian wetlands. After I collected them from the historical quarter of Valencia city we drove to the Albufera Natural Park. I´d organised a visit to a restricted reserve area which always holds a wide variety of species. To get there we drove through the rice paddies, an ecosystem that in itself is a hot spot for herons, egrets, Glossy Ibis and Marsh Harriers. Once inside the reserve, we carefully and quietly explored each lagoon. The water levels are carefully controlled to provide habitats for various bird species. A huge variety of herons, gulls, terns, ducks and waders were all showing very well, together with Greater Flamingo and Glossy Ibis. It´s always very exciting to see new species and to enjoy a colony of hundreds of Collared Pratincoles was one of the highlights of the trip. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in a hide that looks onto a lagoon so we could enjoy fantastic views of Whiskered Terns, Little Bittern and…