Bird watching holidays Spain - Page 9 of 24 - Valencia Birding

The Lives of Griffon Vultures.

Griffon Vultures – Magnificent Birds of the Spanish Mountains Often misunderstood, or at least badly portrayed! Spain is home to around 17,000 pairs of Griffon Vultures. That sounds like quite a lot, but the sobering thought is that this figure accounts for approximately 75% of the World´s population. The wingspan of an adult bird is almost 3 metres, and they can live for over 30 years. They are often seen as “flying planks” high in the blue skies of Southern Europe. But what of the lives of these mystical creatures? “Vultures!” is often a phrase, an insult indeed for someone who preys on the vulnerable, the weak, for their own easily gotten gains. No wonder then, that this carries over to the image of these most noble of birds. I beg to plead in their defence! Firstly, on a “personal” basis, they are monogamous, usually pairing for life. As these photos show, they breed on mountain crags, building their nests from sticks. The lay a single egg, which is incubated for 50-60 days. Four months after hatching, the chick is fledged and can fly, but usually needs further care and…

Whiskered Tern – Chlidonias hybrida

Here´s a short piece and a brief video on the Whiskered Tern (scroll down to see the video). This is largely a migratory species, typically wintering in Africa, for which the extensive coastal wetlands of the Valencia region provide ideal breeding habitat. They nest in colonies, often close to gulls and feed on crustaceans, insects, small fish and amphibians. In adult breeding plumage, one of the key ID features is the grey breast as well as the dark red stubby bill which is a little shorter on female birds. They have a black cap and white cheeks, the latter said to resemble white whiskers when the bird is in flight, hence the name – although maybe a little imagination is required here! I have spent many happy times watching these graceful birds feeding by catching small fish from just below the surface of the water. They also use the perching poles that have been placed in many of our local reserves as places to rest and preen.

Urban Birding in Valencia

As previously detailed, here in Spain, we´re now enjoying a little more freedom as the Covid-19 lockdown is being gradually eased. We have a short time-slot in the mornings and again in the evenings when we´re able to go for a walk within a 1km radius of home. I´m not yet able to make the short trip to my local wetlands, beach or to the mountains that I can see from home, but the new situation has given me the opportunity to look much closer at the bird life that´s on my doorstep. Only last night, whilst strolling around the neighbourhood, I heard a singing Nightingale, saw hundreds of Swifts, a Kestrel and a Glossy Ibis in flight. But the point of this article is to outline in a little more detail my outing last Sunday morning. Our neighbourhood of Benimaclet enjoys what you could term as the “best of both worlds” in that it was once a village, separated from the city of Valencia, so still has many of the original houses, narrow streets and church square. It´s very much a family orientated residential area, and is within a…

First time out for seven weeks!

For the past seven weeks, my birding has been confined to what I can see from the balcony. Although, as detailed in previous articles, this has often revealed a few surprises, it´s obviously been very limited. I also have to say that I don´t feel too comfortable standing there with a pair of binoculars in case it causes unease or discomfort amongst the neighbours. However, a few days ago, whilst reading in the living room, a bird song caught my attention. After searching through the trees that fill the square below the balcony, I found it – a Willow Warbler! When it was announced last week that we could eventually go out once per day within specific hours and within 1km of home, I decided to dedicate some time to something that I´ve been meaning to do for a while, and to look closer at the birdlife that´s right on my doorstep. This revealed more than a few surprises. We´re fortunate enough to live in a very friendly neighbourhood on the north-eastern edge of the city of Valencia, which whilst being only 7 minute´s Metro ride away from the city…

A short “birding break” in Valencia.

I´ve often said and written that it´s a real privilege to welcome back returning clients, and last week was one of these special occasions. I´d first met Alexia from Sweden a couple of years ago when she booked a day´s birding with us. She subsequently returned a year later, this time in Spring and with her friend Lena, and we enjoyed a fabulous day in the mountains and a day at the wetlands. This was her third time with us, and she´d carefully designed a break to include a couple of days in the historical town of Xativa and a short stay in the city of Valencia as well as two days of birding with us. As we´d planned to visit the steppe, I collected Alexia from her hotel in the historic quarter of Xativa as it´s on the way from Valencia. It was such a pleasure to welcome her back! We continued the journey and after a quick coffee stop, we began exploring. Numerous flocks of Linnet were flitting around, and we also had good views of Crested Lark, Black Redstart, Stonechat and Rock Sparrow. Some scanning of…

Two fabulous trips to the steppe and the wetlands with Margaret from Canada.

Last week, we enjoyed some beautiful weather here in the Valencia region. Clear skies, no wind and temperatures hovering around 22 degrees. Perfect conditions for birding on the steppe, which is a high and vastly open area that in more wintry conditions can be challenging! So, for my first trip with Margaret, a very keen Canadian birder, the steppe was our destination. She was very eager to see Great Bustards above all, but we also added Black Bellied Sandgrouse, Calandra Lark and Rock Sparrow to our target list. Having collected her from her accommodation close to Valencia´s fascinating Central Market, we drove up onto the steppe. Our first spot was a view point overlooking the surrounding cereal fields and vineyards. The usual passerines were around – Crested Lark, Stonechat, Corn Bunting and Goldfinch. A little effort of scanning the fields gave us good views of a flock of Calandra Lark, their dark underwing showing clearly against the blue sky. A favourite spot next to an old farm was our second stop, and today it proved positive. We spotted a lone Golden Plover, Rock Sparrows on a stone barn, an Iberian…