Bird watching Albufera de Valencia - Page 15 of 24 - Valencia Birding

3 Day Birding Break

February of this year proved to be a very busy month, with many clients from Northern Europe having organised winter birding trips with us. The combination of a little sunshine, some fascinating winter visitors and the anticipation of early spring migrants can make late February a very attractive time to visit the Valencia region. One of our trips was provided for the Ornithological Society of Northern Ireland. We had designed a 3 day trip that took in diverse habitat including steppe, coastal wetlands and the Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia. They had spent a few nights at the beautifully converted farmhouse of L´Alqueria del Pilar in the village of Banyeres de Mariola in inland Alicante. On our first day, from there we made the easy journey up to the highland steppe of Castilla de la Mancha. Day 1 – Steppe At over 900 metres above sea level, this can be a very cold region to explore in winter but with adequate clothing and planning it makes for a wonderful birding venue. One of our first species was the magnificent Great Bustard, specifically a group of over 20 males. We stopped…

Birding and nature photography trip

Last week I provided a birding and nature photography trip for a family from Maine, USA. They were visiting Valencia for the first time and they also wanted to discover the nature and birdlife close to Valencia and photograph some of the fabulous bird species of the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park. At this time of the year, the bird life in l´Albufera is distributed in different areas of the park, depending on which rice fields have been ploughed, thus influencing food availability. So, our first stop was in the western part of the Natural Park, where we found an amazing sight – over 2,000 flamingos, plus thousands of gulls, egrets, herons and glossy ibis. After this wonderful spectacle, we kept driving through the rice paddies where we found a magnificent biodiversity with spectacular species such as Little Stint, Black-tailed Godwit and Peregrine Falcon. Next stop was in a high road that has great views to a ravine where we enjoyed fantastic views of Purple Swamphens and Marsh Harriers. Next stop was in the Devesa forest, a natural native Mediterranean pine forest. We watched and photographed many passerines…

Birding at Albufera de Valencia

The forth and final day of Charles´trip saw us birding at Albufera de Valencia. This internationally important wetland holds something of interest throughout the year, be it for its breeding habitats for summer visitors, its location as a stopping point for migrating birds or as a wintering ground for species that return each year from northern Europe and beyond. We started the day at a specially protected reserve area, where we visited a hide that looked onto a small lagoon. This gave views of Black Tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Avocet and Black Winged Stilt. We then turned our attention to the wildfowl that over winter in Albufera in huge numbers. We enjoyed views of Shelduck, Pintail, Shoveler, Teal, Pochard and Red Crested Pochard. Charles was keen to see the famous egrets of Albufera so we then headed across the rice fields that provide critical feeding grounds for thousands of herons, egrets and waders. We parked by an irrigation channel and enjoyed close views of Little Egret, Cattle Egret and Great Egret. We had to push on as we´d been invited to attend a ringing session in another protected reserve,…

Birding trips for families in Valencia

We always are keen to provide birding trips for families in Valencia. Last Friday Dave and I had the pleasure to provide a guided bird watching trip to Albufera de Valencia for a family from England. Steve is an experienced birder, and he and his wife were visiting his son Adam in Valencia where he is studying. After we collected them from their apartment we went to Albufera de Valencia Natural Park as they interested in seeing the bird life of the region´s wetlands. First stop was in a reserve area, after a short walk through the forest we were in the hide with great views of hundreds of waders, Black-winged Stilts, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Grey Plovers… all of which suddenly took flight when a Marsh Harrier came in low over the lagoon. The next hide was located in front of another lagoon that held plenty of waterfowl including Teal, Red Crested Pochard and Shoveler. We also had a great view of a Black-necked Grebe. Before leaving the centre we decided to climb the observation tower to enjoy greats views of l’Albufera lake and the Devesa forest. Next stop was…

Bittern in Valencia

This video of a Bittern in Valencia was taken during a guided birding trip to Albufera de Valencia with clients of USA. It is fantastic to see this endangered species thriving here in this internationally important wetland.

White Stork in Albufera de Valencia

Here´s a brief clip of a White Stork in Albufera de Valencia. The spring and autumn migration periods are fascinating here as the site is located right on a major fly-way. Each year, some fascinating species drop in to rest and feed on their journeys to and from Africa…