Birding in Valencia - Page 32 of 49 - Valencia Birding

Birding at the Valencian Coastal Wetlands

Last week, I enjoyed a fabulous day of birding at the Valencian Coastal Wetlands with returning clients from UK. Although chilly and quite breezy, we enjoyed a truly wonderful day. As we only had one day, we aimed to maximise habitat diversity, taking in coastal scrub, dunes, beach, sea, farmland, reed beds and fresh water lagoons. As both John and Jackie are owl lovers, the first planned stop was to see Little Owls and Barn Owls, although we were delayed by 8 Booted Eagles which were flying around very close to us. After a short drive, we started a pleasent walk beside the sea, where we had good views of Audouin’s Gull and as soon as we arrived at the first hide a Dartford Warbler stopped just in front of us. Little Grebes and many waterfowl species plus a freshwater turtle made it a very special stop. We then walked to another hide from which we had good views of Kentish Plover, Common Sandpiper and two Hoopoes. Next stop was the most exciting for Jackie as she wanted to see Purple Swamphen, and we were fortunate to enjoy great views of…

Winter birding at Albufera de Valencia

Yesterday, I enjoyed a fabulous day of birding at Albufera de Valencia with returning clients from the Netherlands. Although chilly and quite breezy, we enjoyed a truly wonderful day. As we only had one day, we aimed to maximise habitat diversity, taking in coastal scrub, dunes, beach, sea, rice fields, reed beds and fresh water lagoons. The day began at a reserve area where we scanned the main Albufera lake for wildfowl. We enjoyed views of Pintail, Teal, Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Shoveler and Wigeon. We moved on to watch a smaller lagoon where we saw Black Tailed Godwit, Black Winged Stilt, Ruff and the spectacular Booted Eagle. This raptor has in recent years become a resident of the Valencia region and can often be seen in Albufera and other coastal wetland sites. Our next stop was an area of coastal scrub and grassland where we had good views of Meadow Pipit, Red Legged Partridge, Black Redstart and Sardinian Warbler. A short time spent sea watching gave views of Gannet, Razorbill, and Yellow Legged Gull whilst on the beach we enjoyed watching a small flock of Sanderling feeding by the…

A superb day at Albufera de Valencia.

A couple of weeks ago, just before the much needed rain storms that we´re currently enjoying, I provided a trip to Albufera de Valencia for a couple of regular clients. As they are frequent clients, we opted to spend the morning in just one reserve area and focus on what we could see there. The day began with a treat as hundreds of Greater Flamingoes passed low overhead, providing a real spectacle. They were soon followed by a Buzzard and then a small group of Booted Eagles, both pale and dark phase. The lagoons held Purple Swamphens in good numbers, as well as Glossy Ibis and Great Egret. Despite it being late November, we also watched a few Barn Swallows feeding with House Martins over the water. The reeds contained Zitting Cisticola, Reed Bunting, Kingfisher and Chiffchaff. Then as we were approaching the edge of another lagoon, we were delighted to enjoy great views of a Bittern, perhaps the highlight of the day! After lunch by a small canal where we had views of Little Bittern, we moved to the south side of the park, where we´d heard of reports of…

Birding from Alicante

I recently designed and provided a 2-day bird photography trip for a client from Norway. Svein was staying in the south of our region and wanted to organise a couple of days birding from Alicante. We opted for a day at the area´s premium wetland reserve followed by a day on the steppe. That way he would see two completely different habitats. One day 1 we met up and drove to the wetlands where we started the day with a walk through the reserve. The day began with views of Little Grebe, Little Stint, Dunlin, Avocet and Greater Flamingo. We had good views of Glossy Ibis in flight, then of Booted Eagle passing overhead. Although we weren´t able to get quality photos, we were very fortunate to enjoy views of one of the over-wintering Spotted Eagles, a huge raptor that migrates from Eastern Europe each year. After a picnic lunch by a small lake where we enjoyed views of Wood Sandpiper, Red Knobbed Coot and Purple Swamphen, we took a short walk during which we had great views of a Black Stork. We then visited a couple of hides from…

Autumn birding in Valencia

I recently enjoyed a great day´s autumn birding in Valencia with a couple from Holland. Both experienced and well travelled birders, they were interested in seeing the region´s bird life, and especially wanted to photograph the Hoopoe. After collecting them from their hotel in the city, we made the short drive to Albufera de Valencia where we began the day in a protected reserve area. We saw both Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-winged Stilt and Dunlin. The next hide gave quite brief but excellent views of Kingfisher. We then moved onto another restricted reserve where we spent more time, enjoying great views of waders and aquatic birds including Little Stint, Ringed Plover, Spoonbill, Glossy Ibis, Purple Swamphen and Great Egret. After lunch we travelled to a favourite spot for Hoopoe, hoping to get good enough views to allow for photographs. After a little patience and searching, we succeeded. This spectacular bird is always very popular with visitors from northern Europe. The day was brought to an end with a visit to a small coastal lagoon where we had great views of Kentish Plover, Sanderling, Greenshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Audouin´s Gull and…

2-Day Guided Birding Trip

We recently had the pleasure of designing and providing a 2-day guided birding trip for some clients from UK. They were staying on the Costa Blanca and wanted two days with us, taking in two very different habitats. Day 1 – Albufera de Valencia. On day one, Yanina guided them through the fabulous wetland reserves of Albufera de Valencia. This time of year is especially interesting as there are still some summer visitors around, such as the Little Bittern and Squacco Heron. However, many wintering species, especially waders are already here, so the species list can be extensive. Indeed, the list of waders was excellent, including Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover and both Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit. Wildfowl were also seen in good numbers, including Teal, Red Crested Pochard, Gadwall and Shelduck. The species list for the day included… Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Purple Swamphen, Moorhen, Coot, Little Bittern, Squacco Heron, Great Egreat, Grey Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Great-crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Mallard, Teal, Shoveler, Red-crested Pochard, Gadwall, Shelduck, Great Cormorant, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Ruff, Spotted…