Birding in Alicante - Bird Watching in Alicante Guided Tours

2-Day Trip : Steppe & Albufera de Valencia.

Just before Christmas, I had the pleasure of welcoming Larry and David from the USA back to Valencia. I met them last winter and we spent a day at the coastal wetlands of Valencia. This year, Larry spent a day with me on the steppe, followed by a day at Albufera when David also joined us. Day 1 – Steppe We had originally planned to go to the steppe the previous year, but bad weather had forced a change of plan. So, when the day dawned bright and with no wind, it was somewhat a relief! Our first stops on farmland gave us views of the usual suspects including Red-legged Partridge, Rock Sparrow, Crested Lark, Black Redstart and Spotless Starling. Then, as we were scanning across the fields, a beautiful male Hen Harrier came into view. It made a few passes, giving us fantastic views, before it eventually disappeared behind some low hills. Rock Sparrow We drove cross-country to a couple of lagoons where we had views of Greater Flamingo, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull and wildfowl including Shoveler, Gadwall and White Headed Duck. In the afternoon, we turned our…

A bird filled day at Albufera

18th November 2022 For many reasons, I have recently spent more time than usual at the huge wetland site of Albufera de Valencia, and one thing that has stood out is that no two days are ever the same, even two consecutive days. Our first stop of the day Today´s trip was for Dave from the south of England who was enjoying a short break in Valencia with his wife, and wanted to include a day of birding in his plans. Our first stopping point immediately greeted us with a lagoon full of birds – especially Flamingo, Shelducks, Black Winged Stilts and Glossy Ibis. Stonechat A pair of Stonechats were feeding in front of the hide, and a Buzzard suddenly passed low overhead. We moved onto the next hide which gave us superb views of Marsh Harrier, Sardinian Warbler and a couple of Collared Pratincoles that have been lingering around the area for a few weeks. A short drive across the rice fields to another reserve gave us plenty of Cattle Egrets, Black Headed Gulls and Glossy Ibis following a tractor that was ploughing, and obviously revealing food! We also…

Enjoying migration time at Albufera.

21st October 2022. I’ve spent many days over the past weeks at Albufera, and have been fortunate enough to do so with some wonderful people from all over the world. Today’s trip was for two very experienced birders from Denmark, who had chosen to include a day’s birding into their short break in Valencia. The day of our trip was quite warm for the time of the year, but with light cloud cover and no wind. We began to see an overlap of summer visitors, winter visitors, passage migrants and resident species as soon as we began – namely Collared Pratincole, Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin and Black Winged Stilts respectively. Black Winged Stilts resting and preening Teal added to the wintering birds, and a Kingfisher came to perch before us, giving excellent views. Raptors then began to show, firstly a female Marsh Harrier gliding low over the reeds, soon followed by a pale morph Booted Eagle circling high above the reserve. Kingfisher We moved on to our next stop where we enjoyed views of Black Necked Grebe, now in winter plumage, Greenshank, Audouin’s Gull and Great Crested Grebe. Seemingly to…

Another productive autumn day at Albufera de Valencia

7th October 2022 At this time of year, our wetlands are particularly interesting as many migrants, especially shorebirds, are passing through the region on their voyage from Europe to Africa. Today’s trip was for Mary from New Mexico, who was visiting Valencia with a friend and was keen to fit in a day’s birding whilst here. It was another grey day, as storm fronts had been moving through for a few days, but we succeeded in staying dry throughout the trip, despite being surrounded by sharp, localised showers. Marbled Teal Our first spot, at a reserve area, gave us a couple of very welcome surprises – Marbled Teal and a Collared Pratincole (October is relatively late for both, although Marbled Teal can often be seen in the south of the region). As we were sitting in the hide, a Kingfisher made a brief appearance, perching beautifully in front of us for a minute or so, before flying off into the reeds. Kingfisher Careful scanning then revealed a Teal, probably recently arrived as this is a winter visitor here, a Grey Plover and a Common Sandpiper. The next hide gave views…

Avoiding the storms at Albufera de Valencia

6th October 2022 It had been some time since Paul, a retired farmer from the UK, had contacted me to arrange a day’s birding at Albufera so it was a pleasure to finally meet him. He was taking a break with family and friends in the city of Valencia and was keen to include a birding trip in his plans. The long, hot summer is finally coming to an end, and as always in early autumn, we´ve had a few storms lately. The forecast for the day of our trip included an amber warning for heavy rain, but knowing that such weather can be very localised, we opted to meet as planned. I collected Paul from his hotel under a grey sky, and as we made the short drive to Albufera, it did indeed rain quite heavily. However, as soon as we parked the car and got out, the rain stopped! Common Sandpiper Our first site – a small, protected wetland reserve gave us views of Dunlin, Little Stint, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Black Winged Stilt and Greater Flamingo. Wildfowl included Shelduck and Shoveler. This is a great time…

An Early Autumn Day at Albufera de Valencia

Last weekend I provided a day trip to Albufera de Valencia for two lovely and very interesting people from Scotland, who also have a home in the Valencia Region of Spain. The trip was bought by Red for his wife Lorna´s birthday and had been planned for a while. The timing was designed such that the heat of the summer should be behind us and the early autumn migration should provide us with some interesting sightings. Having collected them from Valencia´s very elegant “Valencia Nord” railway station, from where we made the short journey to Albufera, we began the day in a hide from which we saw Greater Flamingo, Avocet, Black Winged Stilt and Common Sandpiper. As we were about to leave, a Green Sandpiper flew into view too. A good start to the trip! Greater Flamingo We strolled through the reserve, listening to Sardinian Warbler and Cett’s Warlber and arrived at the next hide which gave us excellent views of Black Tailed Godwit, Ruff and Shelduck. Lorna and Red were interested to learn more about how this huge wetland was formed, so we returned via the visitor centre where…