Bird Watching in Spain - Page 26 of 47 - Valencia Birding

January 2016 Bulletin

Introduction We´d like to begin this bulletin as usual by wishing everyone a very happy and safe New Year. We hope that 2015 was a good birding year for you all and that 2016 will bring even more pleasures. Although the time has passed extremely quickly, it´s now a year since Yanina joined Valencia Birding, and together we´ve made huge progress. We´d like to briefly review what´s been a great year for us and to provide you with an update of our news and developments. To help us to maximize the levels of service and experience that our clients enjoy, we´ve made some additional investments this year. This includes a recent new vehicle, as well as some upgrades to binoculars and cameras. As always, in 2015 we had the pleasure of meeting some great clients from all over the World, and have enjoyed some superb birding trips together. We´ve also been especially privileged to welcome back many returning clients, some for their third return visit. Trip Advisor Our clients are absolutely central to all that we do, and whilst we´re on that subject, we´d like to extend a heart-felt thanks…

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…

2 Day Birding Break in Valencia

Yanina and I have recently provided a couple of days of guided birding for clients from Paris. They had planned a winter break in this beautiful city and had previously contacted us to arrange a 2 day birding break in Valencia as part of their trip. We´d discussed the best options for this time of year, and had agreed upon a day in Albufera and the coastal wetlands, followed by a day exploring the steppe and lagoons of Castilla de la Mancha. They were well travelled and experienced birders and were eager to see what this area offers. The truth is that we had a couple of fabulous days…both of which held some amazing surprises! Day 1 – Albufera & Coastal Wetlands Having collected Christine and Alastair from central Valencia, we drove to Albufera where together with Yanina, we went into one of the park´s restricted reserve areas. Whilst driving through the flooded rice paddies, we had great views of Glossy Ibis, Great Egret and Southern Grey Shrike, indeed a good start to the day. Once in the reserve, we stopped to scan over a small lagoon and enjoyed views…

Bird Watching in Alicante

One vital aspect of our work as guides is to know intimately our area; what´s where and when. We´re operating constantly around the many sites that surround Valencia so we´re always “in touch”. However, we´ll soon be welcoming a small group who have booked a multi-day trip that will take in sites close to both Valencia and Alicante. Although the Alicante region is very familiar to us (we have a small operating base there), it´s been a few weeks since we were guiding there. So, in readiness for our next trip, last week Yanina and I spent a couple of days bird watching in Alicante, to update ourselves on what´s around, to chat to some of the rangers, and to check out a new hide. We´d also planned to drop in at a traditional guest house with whom we work to finalise plans for another group who are soon to stay there. It´s always a pleasure to operate in Alicante, especially in some of the region´s virtually unknown inland sites. Many of our clients opt for a bespoke multi-day trip that combines bird watching in Alicante followed by a few days…

Birding with clients from USA.

In our work as birding guides, we´re very fortunate to meet some wonderful and interesting people. This trip was no exception. Bob and Mona are from Iowa, USA and had planned a day with us as part of their trip to Spain. Normally, when we go birding with clients from USA there´s almost always new species involved for them. However, that was going to prove a little more challenging today, as Bob has over 70 years of birding experience and has travelled throughout the World watching birds! Having collected them from their hotel close to the City of Arts & Sciences in Valencia, we made the short trip to Albufera de Valencia Natural Park. We met up with Yanina and then headed into a restricted reserve area. As we walked through a small Mediterranean pine wood, we saw Black Redstart, Fan-tailed Warbler, Short-toed Treecreeper and Red-legged Partridge. Once in the first hide, we enjoyed views of Black-tailed Godwit, Black Winged Stilt and Little Grebe. We then moved on to another protected nature reserve where we had great views of some “classic” Albufera species, including Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Purple Swamphen, Wood…

Guided bird watching in Valencia for a family

Last week, Yanina and I provided a day of guided bird watching in Valencia for a family from Suffolk, UK. It was one of those special days with great weather, some fabulous birds and wonderful company. After we collected John and his family from the seaside apartment in Valencia, we decided to head for Albufera. We were originally thinking of visiting another coastal wetland, but our recent trips to Albufera had given some great sightings, so we opted to return. Our first stop was in a restricted reserve area, where we sat in a hide and enjoyed great views of waders including Little Stint, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Black-winged Stilt, Grey Plover and Curlew Sandpiper. The surrounding bushes held Sardinian Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and lots of Black Redstarts. We then decided to make the short trip across to the other side of the Natural Park, firstly stopping for a coffee break in the old village of El Palmar, the birthplace of Spain´s most famous dish, paella. As we drove between the rice fields we spotted a harrier feeding on recently caught prey. Although it was quite a long way off, we…