Bird watching holidays Spain - Page 21 of 23 - Valencia Birding

Autumn birding in Valencia

I recently enjoyed a great day´s autumn birding in Valencia with a couple from Holland. Both experienced and well travelled birders, they were interested in seeing the region´s bird life, and especially wanted to photograph the Hoopoe. After collecting them from their hotel in the city, we made the short drive to Albufera de Valencia where we began the day in a protected reserve area. We saw both Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt and Dunlin. The next hide gave quite brief but excellent views of Kingfisher. We then moved onto another restricted reserve where we spent more time, enjoying great views of waders and aquatic birds including Little Stint, Ringed Plover, Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis, Purple Swamphen and Great Egret. After lunch we travelled to a favourite spot for Hoopoe, hoping to get good enough views to allow for photographs. After a little patience and searching, we succeeded. This spectacular bird is always very popular with visitors from northern Europe. The day was brought to an end with a visit to a small coastal lagoon where we had great views of Kentish Plover, Sanderling, Greenshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Audouin´s Gull and…

2-Day Bird Photography Trip

Last week I was delighted to provide a 2-day bird photography trip for a Dutch client who lives in Madrid. We had communicated at length and had designed a bespoke trip for him, taking in some very specific locations, in search of some key target species. His priority was wading birds, gulls and Water Rail. On day-1 we made the short trip from the beautiful city of Valencia to the internationally important wetland of Albufera. We made a brief stop to admire a family of Booted Eagles that were flying low overhead, searching a nearby rice field for prey. We then moved on to visit a special, restricted reserve which in autumn is excellent for waders. It was quite a windy morning, so we spent a little time thinking of how we could best position the vehicle to afford maximum shelter and best light conditions whilst not risking any disturbance of the birds. We enjoyed some fabulous views of some great wading birds including Bar-Tailed Godwit, Black-Tailed Godwit, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Greenshank and Dunlin. Having spent a good while at the first lagoon we then took shelter in a…

2-Day Guided Birding Trip

We recently had the pleasure of designing and providing a 2-day guided birding trip for some clients from UK. They were staying on the Costa Blanca and wanted two days with us, taking in two very different habitats. Day 1 – Albufera de Valencia. On day one, Yanina guided them through the fabulous wetland reserves of Albufera de Valencia. This time of year is especially interesting as there are still some summer visitors around, such as the Little Bittern and Squacco Heron. However, many wintering species, especially waders are already here, so the species list can be extensive. Indeed, the list of waders was excellent, including Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover and both Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit. Wildfowl were also seen in good numbers, including Teal, Red Crested Pochard, Gadwall and Shelduck. The species list for the day included… Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Purple Swamphen, Moorhen, Coot, Little Bittern, Squacco Heron, Great Egreat, Grey Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Great-crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Mallard, Teal, Shoveler, Red-crested Pochard, Gadwall, Shelduck, Great Cormorant, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Ruff, Spotted…

The wetland reserves of Albufera de Valencia

This week, I was delighted to design and provide a trip for a couple of clients from UK. Kelvin and Kate had previously travelled to Spain on bird watching trips but had never visited Valencia, so were very keen to see what the area has to offer. As Kelvin is an employee of the RSPB, and is involved in work on reserves in the south of England, we designed the trip such that he could gain a detailed understanding of how some of our reserves operate. Having made the short journey from Valencia, we visited one of Albufera´s green-filter reserves. Once inside this protected area, together with one of the reserve´s biologists we gave a presentation on the history, objectives and functionality of the reserve. We focussed on the scientific aspects of the eco-systems and how they actually serve to improve the water quality of the area, providing excellent wetland habitat. We then went to one of the viewing stations, from which we had great views of an Osprey that had chosen to rest and feed on the reserve whilst on its migration route to Africa. We also enjoyed watching Spoonbill,…

2-day birding trip from Valencia

During this summer, we had the pleasure of providing a 2-day birding trip for a couple of clients from Germany. Kerstin had arranged the trip for her and her mother, and together we´d worked to design something that would maximise species diversity. Day one was spent at Albufera de Valencia, an internationally important wetland right next to the city of Valencia. As well as visiting the rice fields of this vast Natural Park, we spent most of the day inside a couple of specially protected restricted reserves. Mid summer is not usually the best time for birding here in Valencia but today proved otherwise. There were still plenty of summer visitors, including the beautifully graceful Collared Pratincole, but many winter visitors and passage migrants were also to be seen, White Stork being among them. Perhaps the highlight of the day was the long list of waders that we enjoyed, particularly Temminck´s Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Kentish Plover and Green Sandpiper. Species list Albufera: Marsh Harrier, Booted Eagle, Kestrel, Mallard, Shoveller, Teal, Shelduck, Sandwich Tern, Whiskered Tern, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, White Stork, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Grey Heron, Night Heron,…

Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence!

After a fabulous summer, we´d like to begin the “new season” with some great news. Thanks to the support of our clients, Valencia Birding has been awarded the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence. Sincere thanks to all those who made this happen. We genuinely appreciate your support and time taken to post such kind reviews. Dave & Yanina.