Birding in the mountains of Valencia - Page 3 of 4 - Valencia Birding

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…

Mountains, Vultures and Alpine Accentors!

Last Friday I enjoyed a fabulous day in the mountains of Valencia with Wendy McNeill, hoping to spend some time closely watching Griffon Vultures as well as looking for Alpine Accentors which are winter visitors to the peaks of our region. The day dawned bright with clear blue skies and almost no wind, so just to be out in the field was a pleasure. We began with a brief walk past some semi-ruined farm buildings where we found a male Black Redstart feeding on insects on the roof of an old barn. The crags behind the farm gave views of Black Wheatear and as we continued our walk through some woods, we saw Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Sardinian Warbler and Serin. As we moved on towards the higher crags, a Kestrel came to rest in a tree in front of us. Kestrel We drove further into the mountains, before choosing a viewing point from where to scan the cliffs where in the breeding season, there is a sizeable colony of Griffon Vultures. As we arrived, it was fairly quiet, but within just a few minutes, more and more vultures flew in, many…

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…

A Birding Break from Valencia.

I recently provided a 2-day trip for Gordon and Heather from the UK. They are very experienced birders who we met at the British Bird Fair last year. They had planned a trip in their motorhome and wanted to include two days of birding with us when they were in the Valencia region. We agreed on a day in the mountains and a day on the steppe. First, to the mountains… After I collected them at their campsite beside the beach we made the relaxed drive to our first stop in a quarry surrounded by natural crags too. Our targets were Blue Rock Thrush, Black Wheater, Rock Sparrow and Bonelli’s Eagle. We did succeed with most of them except for the eagle. We decided to keep going and try again on the way back. Then, after a drive up to a high peak, followed by a short walk, we arrived on the summit of a 1,000m mountain. Here, our goal was Alpine Accentor. Sadly, they were nowhere to be seen, so we continued with our planned route, agreeing to return to the peak in the afternoon. When we did, they…

Birding and Cultural Break in Valencia.

In late March we enjoyed spending three days with Caroline and Lorna from England. We´d met at Rutland Bird Fair the previous year and discussed how we could design a birding and cultural break in Valencia. Having exchanged a few emails, we decided upon a week´s package with 3 full days of birding and 4 free days to explore this beautiful city. In order to maximise diversity, we opted for a day on the steppe, a day at the wetlands and a trip to the mountains. Their first day of birding was with Yanina who took them up onto the steppe. We were all able to meet for a coffee in a farming village as I was with another client and happened to be in the same area that day. The weather was ideal, not too much wind and clear skies. Their first foray onto the high steppe gave views of Black Bellied Sandgrouse and Stone Curlew. Before long, they succeeded in finding the first Great Bustards of the day and a stop by some farm buildings also gave views of Rock Sparrow, Linnet and Black Redstart. The surrounding fields…

Birding and Photography in the Mountains of Valencia.

I was delighted when we received an email from Stephen and Pennie to say that they were returning to Valencia and wanted another day out with us. We´d previously enjoyed two trips to Albufera de Valencia, during which we´d discussed the bird life of the mountains, especially during Spring. Stephen is a well travelled bird photographer whilst Pennie enjoys bird watching very much, so we arranged a day of birding and photography in the mountains of Valencia. After a pleasant journey from the city into the highland interior of the region, we stopped briefly for a coffee in a village bar. As we were walking back to the car, Pennie spotted a raptor soaring above us. We grabbed the binoculars and camera and were soon enjoying views of a Booted Eagle…a good start to the day! Our first stop was to look around some ruined farm buildings. This is a good place to see Black Wheatear, Serin, and Blue Rock Thrush. Today we saw all three species, and Stephen was able to get some shots too. A short stroll by the river was very pleasant, with Griffon Vultures gliding overhead…