birding holidays Spain - Page 5 of 8 - Valencia Birding

A Cloudy Day in Alicante Revealed Some Great Birds

The past couple of weeks have been exceptionally wet in the east of Spain, with some areas receiving a year’s worth of rain in around ten days! Although this bodes well for the coming spring, as water levels were unseasonally low, it hasn’t provided great conditions for birding! So, with a change of plan, last weekend I headed to the wetlands of Alicante instead of the high steppe. The trip was for David, a regular client from the UK, who I always look forward to seeing. Almost all of the region was subject to rain, but we chose a little corner of Alicante that looked to be cloudy but with very little rainfall. We expected quite a lot of mud, so after the drive to the coast, we put on wellingtons and headed out across the reserve. We immediately heard and then saw Corn Buntings, and then with an eye on the skies, enjoyed views of passing Red-rumped Swallows, Barn Swallows and House Martins, together with my first Common Swifts and Alpine Swifts of the year. Migration was well and truly underway! Red-knobbed Coot As we walked along the shore…

Golden Eagle Photography Hide

As can be seen on our website, we offer trips to a carefully selected range of bird photography hides, all within very easy reach of Valencia. These sessions are suitable for all levels of photographer, from casual beginner to expert, and offer the opportunity to capture stunning images of some magnificent wild birds in their natural surroundings. I recently provided a trip to the Golden Eagle hide which is located in the highlands of the interior of Valencia, but easily reached within around 60 minutes drive of the city centre, making for a very comfortable day. After a couple of hours waiting in the hide, the eagles arrived. We were thrilled not only to see one, but to see both the male and female birds as well as the juvenile. The experience of being so close to these incredible wild animals is one that’s never to be forgotten. I’ve included below a very small selection of photos that I took during the session. Visits to these hides can be easily arranged, either as individual day trips or forming part of a bespoke birding and / or bird photography multi-day trip….

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…

Birding at a Marine Island Reserve

I’ve recently been putting the finishing touches to a new 5/6 day spring birding trip that will be launched soon, and have been spending time at some of the “new” sites that it will visit. Last weekend, we spent the day at the small island of Tabarca, a designated marine reserve just off the coast of Alicante. At less than 2km in length and only 400 metres wide, it’s very small, but holds some fabulous bird life. In winter it’s a good sea-watching spot, but it’s main attraction for birders is argueably it’s ability to attract migratory birds on passage. After the 15 minute crossing by fast launch, we arrived at the tiny port and began the day with a coffee at a small bar overlooking the beach. Little Terns were diving into the crystal clear sea, catching fish and a large flock of Yellow Legged Gulls were gathered on the beach. Overhead were Common Swifts, Barn Swallows and House Martins. We began our walk along the coastal path to an area of small rocky islets where we had good views of Shag. We then visited an old stone built…

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…

Sometimes you just have to look under your nose!

Earlier in the week, I had a couple of hours free one morning. That didn´t give me the time to drive to my local wetland or to get to the mountains, but it did give me the time to take another look at a canal that flows past the nearby agricultural town of Alboraya into the Mediterranean. The surroundings are not particularly attractive, one side is bordered by an industrial estate, but the other side is farmland, largely vegetable fields. At the end of the canal, one reaches the beach, where a tiny estuary is formed. So, within the distance of only a few kilometres, the habitat changes dramatically, and all his right next to the city of Valencia. Traditional farmland on the northern city limits of Valencia I began my walk along the footpath, which was busy with walkers and cyclists, all of them oblivious to the fact the only a few metres away from them was a pair of Purple Swamphens, indeed with a chick which one of the parents was feeding. It was almost a surreal moment to see this incredible creature successfully breeding practically next door…