Bird watching holidays Spain - Page 6 of 24 - Valencia Birding

A stormy day at the Valencian Coastal Wetlands

Last week, just before moving to our home in the mountains for the coming months, I had the pleasure of providing another trip for Jeff and Dee. They had previously been on a trip to Albufera de Valencia with me and this time wanted to visit another of the area’s wetlands. The weather had been quite stormy during the week and the day of the trip was also a little unsettled, so based on the forecast, we opted to begin a little later than planned to allow the rain to pass through first. Having met in central Valencia, we were still at the wetlands by before 11am. We could see rain fronts away to the south but so far we were dry! On our previous trip, Jeff had been eager to see Audouin’s Gull, and by coincidence, this was the first bird that we saw today! We had great views of a pair, preening on the beach. Sandwich Tern, Common Tern and Whiskered Tern were all making feeding forays and Swifts and Barn Swallows were around in good numbers. Whiskered Tern The sky had begun to darken, so we opted…

A Spring Day on the Steppe

As part of this trip crosses the border between the Valencian Community and Castilla la Mancha, it’s been a while since we’ve been able to enjoy it as regions had previously closed their boundaries as a Covid security measure. It was therefore with much anticipation and eagerness that John and I made the trip up onto the steppe, beginning the day with a coffee in a village bar that for obvious reasons we’d not been to for a long time. It was good to see the owner again and to catch up on what’s been going on. As we drank our coffee in the morning sunshine, we watched House Martins and Swallows that were nesting in the village. Swifts were also around in good numbers, feeding overhead. Upon leaving the village, a Marsh Harrier flew alongside the car, patrolling a small area of reeds by a floodwater lagoon. We headed across the plains to our first lookout point. As we got out of the car, we heard and then saw Crested Lark and then Corn Bunting. A raptor appeared, which turned out to be a Booted Eagle. As we scanned…

A day exploring the wetlands of Valencia.

Last week, I spent a very enjoyable day with Rod, Anita, Rudolf and Harrie, exploring the coastal wetlands of Valencia. The trip was organised as a way to celebrate Anita’s birthday, so had an extra special touch. It was their first time at this particular site, so I was determined to try and get the most from the day for them. As soon as we left the car, we saw a Serin in a roadside tree and then heard a Nightingale singing in the bushes. Our first quality view of a bird was actually of one of the day’s target species – the very elegant Audouin’s Gull. Audouin’s Gull As we began our walk alongside a series of coastal lagoons, we enjoyed views of Purple Heron, Red Crested Pochard, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe and Glossy Ibis. We opted to remain at an observation point for a while and to wait to see what would appear. Within a few moments we had views of singing Great Reed Warbler and a pair of Marsh Harriers in flight over the reeds. Movement in a small island of tall vegetation revealed a Little…

An early spring morning in the mountains of Valencia

Early spring is an exciting time – migration is underway so summer visitors are arriving on a daily basis. Some of the region’s winter visitors are still here, and as the Valencia region is located right on a major migration flyway, passage migrants are regular occurences too. The weekend prior to my trip to the mountains saw big numbers of Short Toed Eagles passing over Valencia, so this was a bird I was on the look-out for. I had only just left the outskirts of the city when I saw a raptor from the car, flying low over orange fields. It was indeed a Short Toed Eagle! My first of the spring. After little under an hour’s drive from Valencia, I was parking beside a river with pine woods and high crags on either side. Upon leaving the car I immediately heard Chaffinches and Serins in full song, and a few Long-tailed Tits were flitting between trees next to me. I quickly scanned the crags, whose shapes and profiles are long since familiar to me. That’s why I instantly noticed a different shape on the skyline – a magnificent Griffon…

An unusually misty morning in Valencia

When sea mist and grey mornings are rare events, they take on a whole new level of attraction. That´s exactly what happened on Monday, after a sudden change in wind direction, the clear blue skies that had been with us all weekend were replaced with a light grey cloud cover and the coastal wetland that I visited was lightly cloaked in mist that was rolling in off the suddenly stormy Mediterranean. Audouin´s Gull The first bird that I saw was an Audouin´s Gull, standing on top of a pile of pebbles, looking out to sea, seemingly also surprised by the sudden change in weather! A few Cormorants were braving the waves and diving for fish and in the bushes behind the dunes, Chiffchaffs and Sardinian Warblers were moving around, feeding on insects. A Cetti´s Warbler briefly came into the open, singing its explosive song and giving unusually good views. The light mist gave a sense of peace, and the large gatherings of Shovelers and Teals gently floated across a lagoon, snoozing on the still water. A Pintail flew by, and a Marsh Harrier glided low over the reeds. Before I…

Storm Filomena and its effects on birding in Valencia

The first days of the new year here in Spain brought disruption, destruction and tragically death, all due to Storm Filomena. The entire country was affected – the south was hammered by gale force winds, huge waves and 20% of the usual annual rainfall in a single day. With the exception of the coastal areas, almost all of the nation was blanketed in snow. Up to 50cm fell in Madrid, resulting in hundreds of blocked roads, as well as the closure of the airport and the cancellation of rail services. In the Picos de Europa mountains in the north of Spain, records were broken for the coldest recorded temperature, with a weather station logging a nightime low of -35.6 degrees C! All of this brought huge impacts to all aspects of daily life for millions of people, much of which has been written about elsewhere. But what effects did it have on birdlife? Here in the Valencia Region we witnessed some very interesting results… Much of the coastal region of the Comunidad Valenciana is well protected by the mountain ranges to the west. Much of the region has a flat…