Bird watching Albufera de Valencia - Page 2 of 24 - Valencia Birding

3-Day Birding Trip from Valencia

April 2024 Early this month, I planned a 3-day birding trip for Jason, an experienced birder from the USA who was spending some time with his wife near Valencia and wanted to include a birding trip in their plans. Day 1 – Albufera. Our first day together was spent at Albufera de Valencia, a huge wetland and rice growing area just to the south of the city. We spent the morning at a reserve where we enjoyed the sights and sounds of a mixed breeding colony that included Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull and Slender Billed Gull. Whiskered Terns were also feeding on the wing and Cetti’s Warbler were singing from the nearby scrub. Shorebirds included Pied Avocet, Black Winged Stilt, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Redshank and Glossy Ibis. Sandwich Terns, Mediterranean Gulls, Slender Billed Gull and Black Headed Gull In the afternoon, we moved closer to the coast where visited a small lagoon and enjoyed views of Purple Heron plus other shorebirds such as Kentish Plover, Little Stint and Little Ringed Plover. Audouin’s Gull were also around in good numbers, obviously preparing to nest. The…

Two more January days in the wetlands of Valencia

I’ve spent the past two days out in the field with clients, both at the wetland site of Albufera de Valencia. I was honoured to spend these days with two lovely couples, from Sweden and the UK respectively. Flooded rice fields and big, blue skies provide typical Albufera winter scenes Greater Flamingos At this time of year, the majority of the rice fields are flooded, and many of them contain huge gatherings of Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egrets, Little Egrets, Lapwings and mixed flocks of gulls, namely Lesser Black Backed, Black Headed and Yellow Legged. Perhaps the most striking of these spectacles however, are the Flamingos which gather in their thousands! Marsh Harrier We also enjoyed great views of some of the area’s wintering species, including Water Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Bluethroat, Crag Martin and Marsh Harrier. The latter is present in small numbers throughout the breeding season too, but the population rockets in winter, when central and northern European birds move south to spend the cooler months here. Slender Billed Gull A stroll along the beach gave us views of Crested Lark, Stonechat, Sardinian Warbler and Black Redstart in the scrub…

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…

Day 3 & 4 of a 4-day birding break

Having being based in the beautiful old town of Xativa for the first half of their break, Alan and Jeanette now moved to Valencia for a few days where they stayed in the historical quarter of the city. We had two more days of birding together, and as the wetland site of Albufera de Valencia is so huge, we opted to spend both days there, focussing on different parts (and therefore habitats) each day. Spoonbill On day one we focussed on the rice fields and canals first which gave us the chance to see Spoonbill, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Great Egret and huge numbers of Glossy Ibis. We also had the pleasure of watching large flocks of Greater Flamingo flying across the park. A small lagoon that we visited held Purple Swamphen. Cattle Egret In the afternoon we spent some time beside the Albufera Lake where highlights included Audouin’s Gull, Whiskered Tern and Sandwich Tern, all of which breed here in Valencia. Audouin´s Gull On our final day we visited one of the park’s reserve areas where we had great views of Mediterranean Gull which were within a mixed colony…

A morning at Albufera de Valencia

14th February 2023 Earlier this week I was able to fit in a morning´s birding at Albufera de Valencia for Ted who was visiting his family in Valencia. As we drove from the city centre past the port, a Booted Eagle glided over the car, surely a good omen for the day ahead! Our first stop was at a nature reserve with a couple of hides that looked over lagoons and reed beds. Chiffchaffs were flitting around in the scrub in huge numbers, as is usual here in winter. Black Redstarts seemed to be everywhere we chose to look! A pair of Stonechats were feeding on insects in flight, and a Cetti’s Warbler made a brief appearance too. Black Redstart The first lagoons held Shoveler, Shelduck, Teal, Avocet, Black Winged Stilt and good numbers of Black Tailed Godwits. A Marsh Harrier caused a panic amongst them as she passed low over the islands where they were resting. Black Tailed Godwits in flight We then headed out across the lanes between the now-flooded rice fields. Large groups of Glossy Ibis were feeding together with Black Headed Gulls, with a few Lesser…

2-Day Trip : Albufera & Mountains

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of meeting Martin and Jessica again. Both very keen and well travelled birders, they spend a large part of their lives in Spain. Martin is also an author of various works relating to birding. Our first day was to be spent at Albufera where we began our trip in a hide from where we saw good numbers of Greater Flamingo, Teal and Shelduck as well as Stonechat and Kingfisher. The next hide gave views of shorebirds on a small island, including Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt and Snipe. Greater Flamingo & Black Winged Stilt After a brief coffee stop, we drove across the ricefields to another reserve, where we enjoyed views of Wood Sandpiper, Great Egret, Glossy Ibis, Buzzard and Booted Eagle. Most of that was whilst having lunch in a hide! Meadow Pipit, Tree Sparrow, Cetti’s Warbler, Spotless Starling and Common Starling were soon added to the list. Booted Eagle – not a great shot but it clearly shows the “landing lights” The light was fading a little so we headed back towards the coast where we focussed some time…