Birding in Valencia - Page 31 of 49 - Valencia Birding

Birding in the Valencian wetlands in Spring

A few days ago, I provided a day of guided bird watching for two clients from Ireland. The trip was a gift from their daughter Ann Claire. Her dad is an experienced and knowledgeable birder and wanted to see the diversity of the birdlife that exists here in Valencia. We decided upon a specific wetland area as right now there are colonies of breeding species that provide some super opportunities for observation, all without the risk of disturbance. After a short drive to the reserve, the first stop was in an observatory platform where we enjoyed lovely views of Red-crested Pochard, Whiskered Tern, Coots feeding their chicks and a magnificent Great Reed Warbler. We walked on to another lagoon where we had superb views of Whiskered Tern, Little Tern, Common Tern and Sandwich Tern. We were also fortunate to see a Shag and two Black-necked Grebes, unusual for this time of the year in this reserve… Collared Pratincoles and Little Terns were also breeding in the vicinity, and gave great views both on the ground and in flight. After a picnic lunch we a headed inland, despite the warm weather,…

7-Day Bird Watching Trip for the Northern Ireland Ornithologists´Club.

Early this month we were privileged to have designed and provided a tailor-made 7-day trip for a fabulous group of birders from the Northern Ireland Ornithologists´Club. This was the forth trip that we´ve provided for members of this club, and we´re always delighted to welcome them back to Valencia. We´d previously designed a plan that would hopefully maximise habitat and species diversity specific to this time of the year. Their flight arrived late into Alicante airport so we collected the group and drove to the village of Banyeres de Mariola where the guesthouse Alqueria del Pilar would be their base for the next 4 nights. Day 1 – Coastal Salt Marshes. Our first day was to be spent exploring the coastal saltmarshes of the Alicante province, which at this time of year hold some very interesting species. After a drive of just under an hour we arrived at our first spot, and stopped to enjoy great views of Slender Billed Gull, Little Tern and Turnstone. We also saw White Winged Black Tern, Whiskered Tern and a huge group of Great Crested Grebe. We then turned our attention to waders, and enjoyed…

7-Day Birding & Bird Photography Holiday.

Last month we were delighted to design and provide a tailor-made 7-day trip for two clients from Northern Ireland. This was their first birding trip to the Valencia region, and bird photography was to be the central theme of their visit. After communicating with them, we came up with a plan that would include many habitats and a great selection of species that our region can offer at this time of year. Day 1 – Coastal Salt Marshes. For the first half of the trip, Dave was to be their guide, before handing over to Yanina for the remaining days. They had an early flight into Alicante so on day 1, after collecting them from the airport we visited two local salt marsh sites. Our first stop gave excellent views of one of their target species, Slender Billed Gull, as well as White Winged Black Tern and Whiskered Tern. We also had great views of a beautiful Curlew Sandpiper in its breeding plumage. After a coffee break we moved on to the next site where we had a lunch whilst enjoying good views of Red Rumped Swallow, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart…

Birding the Coastal Wetlands in Spring

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of providing a trip to the coastal wetlands of Valencia for two experienced birders from Scotland. After I collected them from Valencia city where were staying, we drove to a nearby reserve area. This time of the year is magnificent in terms of diversity of species. We began the day with a walk by the sea crossing several brackish lagoons where we saw Red-crested Pochards, Little Grebes and lots of Whiskered Terns displaying and fishing. The first stop was on a platform where we had great views of a Little Bittern and White-headed Ducks and large flocks of Glossy Ibis in flight. We continued our walk to the next hide, where we enjoyed views of some very special birds such as Collared Pratincole, Avocet, Flamingo, Little Tern, Garganey and many more. After a picnic lunch by the beach enjoying lovely views of Audouin’s Gulls, we walked into the inland area of the reserve. Here we had fantastic views of Booted Eagle, Purple Heron, Purple Swamphen and Marsh Harrier. We ended the day with a short drive through some local farmland,…

Birding during migration time in Valencia.

We feel very fortunate this year to have already welcomed back many returning clients, and today was such a day. Rab and Jan had spent a couple of days with us last year and had returned this year with a friend to discover the bird life of one of our wetland reserves. They drove up from the Costa Blanca and met us close to Valencia, from where we made the short drive to the reserve. After a morning coffee by the beach, looking out onto a very calm Mediterranean, we began our walk through the reserve. This was to be a day when we could see migration in progress! It´s always a very special time of year as we can see late departing winter visitors, arrivals of summer visitors and passage migrants that often stop at our wetlands to feed before moving further north. The day began with sightings of Audouin´s Gull, Blackcap, Zitting Cisticola, Yellow Wagtail (both the iberiae and cinereocapilla sub-species) and Sardinian Warbler. We then enjoyed watching wildfowl including Tufted Duck, Red Crested Pochard, Shoveler and Gadwall. As we were quietly looking over an area of reed…

Spotted Crake in Valencia

The spring migration period is fascinating here in Valencia. There are currently so many fabulous species arriving for the breeding season or just passing through on their journey north. This week we´re seeing Purple Heron, Collared Pratincole, Reed Warbler, Alpine Swift, Red Rumped Swallow all arriving at our local sites. Passage migrants seen this week include Osprey, Garganey and this beautiful Spotted Crake. …and here´s a brief video clip of the same bird : [wpdevart_youtube]cVlA3Hx58go[/wpdevart_youtube]