Latest Birding News and Sightings - Bird Watching in Spain

Another reason to look even closer at our garden birds.

As those who know my philosophy of birding will already be aware of, I place great emphasis on looking closely at and paying particular attention to the bird life that surrounds us, even the most common species. In a recent article, I mentioned this as having particular relevance during the Corvid-19 lockdown, when most of us are confined to birding in our gardens. It can not only help us to appreciate the beauty of our more common birds, but also helps us to easily spot something that maybe a little out of the ordinary. Well, today I´d like to bring to your attention another reason, ironically and perhaps cruelly linked to our own current situation. Suttonella Ornithocola I would urge you to look even closer than usual at the tit family. As recently reported by various media, including BirdGuides.com, in some European countries, this family of birds appear to be suffering from a bacterium called Suttonella Ornithocola. (It has not yet been found in any other family of garden birds). This bacterium causes lung disease, typically with pneumonia like symptoms. Before I continue, I should be absolutely clear in stating…

The Bee Eaters are back!

This has been the first post for a while, so before I begin, I´d like to say that I hope that you´re all keeping safe and healthy and wish you all the very best as we make our way through these tough times. For more than obvious reasons, I can´t write much about any recent birding trips! However, it´s always interesting to see what´s passing through in the skies above Valencia and what´s about in the area immediately surrounding our apartment. I hope that you´re all enjoying the bird life that´s close to you, be it in your gardens or on your daily walk. I´m really enjoying the photos on social media of what people are seeing each day. This week a Zitting Cisticola appears to have taken up residence in a small area of what we tend to call “waste ground” close to our apartment. Especially now, these patches of undisturbed vegetated ground can prove to be excellent feeding areas or even nesting sites. Despite its roadside location, this little patch has also given me views of Cattle Egret, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Sardinian Warbler, White Wagtail, Spotless Starling,…

A short “birding break” in Valencia.

I´ve often said and written that it´s a real privilege to welcome back returning clients, and last week was one of these special occasions. I´d first met Alexia from Sweden a couple of years ago when she booked a day´s birding with us. She subsequently returned a year later, this time in Spring and with her friend Lena, and we enjoyed a fabulous day in the mountains and a day at the wetlands. This was her third time with us, and she´d carefully designed a break to include a couple of days in the historical town of Xativa and a short stay in the city of Valencia as well as two days of birding with us. As we´d planned to visit the steppe, I collected Alexia from her hotel in the historic quarter of Xativa as it´s on the way from Valencia. It was such a pleasure to welcome her back! We continued the journey and after a quick coffee stop, we began exploring. Numerous flocks of Linnet were flitting around, and we also had good views of Crested Lark, Black Redstart, Stonechat and Rock Sparrow. Some scanning of…

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…

2 Day guided birding break from Valencia

A few days ago I had the pleasure to provide a 2 day guided birding trip for Norman from the UK and Urszula from Poland. Last year, Norman had visited the Valencia Region Stand at Rutland Bird Fair and after that he contacted us to book a trip. During the Bird Show we had the opportunity to talk about the different habitats and bird species , so it was easy to send him a proposal for the areas and species he was looking for. We planned to do Albufera de Valencia and the Steppe and Inland lagoons, but unfortunately they had a flight delay due to the storms that were affecting most of northern Europe. Therefore I collected them from the airport and we headed directly to Albufera! We were determined to have a fantastic day with many lifers… and that’s what we did!! First stop was in the main reserve area of the Natural Park where we enjoyed amazing views of Flamingos, Glossy Ibis and two stunning Booted Eagles Next stop was in an observatory tower which looks over the lake and to a small reserve area. After a…

Two fabulous trips to the steppe and the wetlands with Margaret from Canada.

Last week, we enjoyed some beautiful weather here in the Valencia region. Clear skies, no wind and temperatures hovering around 22 degrees. Perfect conditions for birding on the steppe, which is a high and vastly open area that in more wintry conditions can be challenging! So, for my first trip with Margaret, a very keen Canadian birder, the steppe was our destination. She was very eager to see Great Bustards above all, but we also added Black Bellied Sandgrouse, Calandra Lark and Rock Sparrow to our target list. Having collected her from her accommodation close to Valencia´s fascinating Central Market, we drove up onto the steppe. Our first spot was a view point overlooking the surrounding cereal fields and vineyards. The usual passerines were around – Crested Lark, Stonechat, Corn Bunting and Goldfinch. A little effort of scanning the fields gave us good views of a flock of Calandra Lark, their dark underwing showing clearly against the blue sky. A favourite spot next to an old farm was our second stop, and today it proved positive. We spotted a lone Golden Plover, Rock Sparrows on a stone barn, an Iberian…