Birding in Alicante - Bird Watching in Alicante Guided Tours

Birding at the Wetlands of Alicante

I recently spent a very special day with two great clients from Scotland. Brian and Maria were staying close to Alicante on a short break, and wanted to include a day’s birding. The day was especially important as it was Brian’s birthday and he’d asked if it would be possible to see three specific species. He’s a very experienced and well travelled birder, and was eager to see White Headed Duck, Red Knobbed Coot and Greater Spotted Eagle. One of Alicante’s many coastal wetland sites. We spent the day at one of Alicante’s many wetland sites, which always provide excellent birding, and began with a walk around one of the reserves. The sightings began however before we even got out of the car, with an Iberian Green Woodpecker that flew in front of us into a stand of trees. Iberian Grey Shrike. As we strolled between reed beds and lagoons, the surrounding scrub held Black Redstart, Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaff and Stonechat. Crag Martins were feeding on the wing, and a couple of Barn Swallows flew by, my first of the year. A nearby bare tree provided a perch for an…

Two more January days in the wetlands of Valencia

I’ve spent the past two days out in the field with clients, both at the wetland site of Albufera de Valencia. I was honoured to spend these days with two lovely couples, from Sweden and the UK respectively. Flooded rice fields and big, blue skies provide typical Albufera winter scenes Greater Flamingos At this time of year, the majority of the rice fields are flooded, and many of them contain huge gatherings of Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egrets, Little Egrets, Lapwings and mixed flocks of gulls, namely Lesser Black Backed, Black Headed and Yellow Legged. Perhaps the most striking of these spectacles however, are the Flamingos which gather in their thousands! Marsh Harrier We also enjoyed great views of some of the area’s wintering species, including Water Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Bluethroat, Crag Martin and Marsh Harrier. The latter is present in small numbers throughout the breeding season too, but the population rockets in winter, when central and northern European birds move south to spend the cooler months here. Slender Billed Gull A stroll along the beach gave us views of Crested Lark, Stonechat, Sardinian Warbler and Black Redstart in the scrub…

Kicking off 2024 at Albufera de Valencia

It was great to begin the New Year with a trip to Albufera with Sally and Pete, a couple of clients who have a home in this region and wanted to explore the lesser known corners of this huge wetland. We met close to their base in the village of Pego and made the comfortable journey to the south side of the park where we began the day amongst the rice fields. When the fields are recently ploughed and partially flooded, they are riven with shallow gullies and therefore need to be closely scanned to reveal the smaller birds that are present. Our first stop indeed gave us views of plenty of Meadow Pipits and White Wagtails that were feeding, and closer attention revealed a small flock of Snipe. Further away, we scoped a large mixed group of Golden Plover and Lapwing. Distant shot of a Golden Plover with Lapwing (taken through scope with mobile) As we returned to the car and drove along more tracks, a large bird to our distant left side caught our attention. We stopped to wait for it to fly closer, which indeed it did,…

Albufera is Spectacular in Winter!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of providing a number of trips to Albufera for some lovely people from the UK, USA and Austria. All trips were different, but a common theme was the huge gatherings of Flamingos and Glossy Ibis that were absolutely spectacular. Greater Flamingos bred at this site in 2023 for the first time, and it’s very likely that they’ll do so again in 2024. Watch this space for news on that. The population of Gloosy Ibis has rapidly increased in recent years too, to such an extent that they often appear to whirl around in a similar fashion to Starling murmurations! Whilst scanning through a flock of Glossy Ibis, we found this Sacred Ibis, which has been present at various wetland sites throughout the region for quite some time. It’s good to see that it’s surviving. Other winter favourites are Bluethroat, which are one of the first wintering birds to arrive. This autumn has also been great for passing waders, with clients enjoying sightings of Temminck´s Stint, Little Stint, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Dunlin, Turnstone and much more. Other highlights…

Osprey Reintroduction Project

The team in Scotland, the day before the chicks were translocated to Spain.

Since the spring of this year, I’ve been proud and honoured to be a collaborator and to form part of the support team of the Osprey Reintroduction Project to the Pego-Oliva Marsh Natural Park in the Valencian Community of Eastern Spain. This incredible journey has involved two trips to the Scottish Highlands with Itzy Colodro Sainz and later with Carlos Torralvo, both of Fundación Migres, where we worked very closely with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. During the second trip, 12 Osprey chicks were carefully selected and taken from suitable nests, all under strict licensing conditions, and were subsequently housed, monitored and fed, using stringent bio-security measures and protocol. At RSPB Loch Garten in the Scottish Highlands, the home of Osprey Conservation in the UK We had the pleasure of forming a very close-knit team with Ian Perks, constantly supported by Natalie Perks and a few other “unsung heroes” whose tireless input and determination kept the project moving forwards. Despite a few difficulties along the way, mainly to do with beaurocracy and quite complex legal documentation, the team worked as one to overcome any obstacles, and 12 Osprey chicks were…

Alicante Wetlands in the Summer

Today´s trip was my first since my illness caused by the tick bites that I suffered in June, so it felt good to be back in the field with clients, especially as Bruce and his son Archie were returning clients, so we already knew one another. As Red Knobbed Coot was on their list of priority species, we headed for the southern wetlands of Alicante, one of the best areas in Spain to see this bird. Birding in Alicante is often surprising, and it’s also home to some of Spain’s most successful conservation projects. After a quick coffee, we got straight to work, looking across a small lagoon that held Squacco Heron as well as a pair of Moustached Warblers that were flitting around at the base of the reeds. Within minutes we had our first views of Red Knobbed Coot – a pair with young. Red Knobbed Coot A stroll across a raised boardwalk gave us views of Purple Swamphen, Greater Flamingo, Black Winged Stilt and Glossy Ibis, all extremely regular species throughout the region. Although it was quite hot, there seemed to be some quite good bird activity,…