Latest Birding News and Sightings - Bird Watching in Spain

Guided bird watching trip to the Valencian wetlands

A few days ago I was delighted to provide a birding trip to the Valencian wetlands for Richard and Jackeline Fortey. It was a big honour for me to be guiding one of the best known paleontologists of these times. The day was extremely windy, but despite that we managed to have a great day birding in the wetlands. After I collected them from their hotel in Valencia City, we drove straight to a reserve area beside the sea. In the first brackish lagoon it was nice to see a Night Heron roosting in a tree, Audouin’s Gulls flying over our heads followed by Little, Common and Sandwich Terns. Although the wind didn’t make the day easy for us, we were determined to enjoy it as much as we could. So after a walk we arrived at the main hot spot of the reserve area… the seabirds and waders’ colony. Our efforts were finally rewarded with great views of Collared Pratincoles, Mediterranean Gulls, Little Terns, Avocets and Black-winged Stilts. It was an amazing experience seeing all those species struggling against the wind to find food for their mates and chicks….

2-Day Birding Trip from Valencia.

We recently provided a 2-day birding trip from Valencia for a group of three experienced bird watchers from the USA and UK. They were on a wider tour of Spain and wanted to discover the habitats and bird life of our region. On day 1, Yanina provided a trip to the huge wetland site of Albufera de Valencia, whilst on the second day, I took them up into the mountainous interior. Day 1 – Albufera de Valencia. The first stop was in a reserve area that is home to a breeding colony of Terns. Here, they had views of Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Whiskered Tern and the very special Elegant Tern. Pallid Swift were also seen feeding in flight above the reserve whilst Sardinian Warbler and Cetti´s Warbler were very active in the undergrowth. After a brief stop to collect sandwiches, they moved on to another restricted reserve area which is one of the park´s birding hotspots. Here they enjoyed great views of Gull Billed Terns. Waders included Black Tailed Godwits, Wood Sandpiper and Temminck´s Stint. After lunch they moved to a coastal lagoon where they saw Slender Billed Gull,…

Birding the Valencian Coastal Wetlands in Spring.

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a very happy day with a great couple of clients from the UK. Michelle and David were spending a few days in the city of Valencia and were keen to include a day´s birding in their stay. They were happy for the trip to involve a walk, so we opted to visit the coastal wetlands of Valencia. Birding the coastal wetlands in Spring is a delight as all the summer visitors are here and there´s plenty of activity as birds jostle for nesting spaces, particularly the terns, gulls and Collared Pratincoles. After a short journey from the city we began the walk along the beach, watching over a series of coastal lagoons. Michelle spotted a small bird perched low in the branches of a tree, which on closer inspection was found to be a Spotted Flycatcher – a nice start to the day. A pair of Turtle Doves then flew over us. The song of Cetti´s Warbler and the call of Zitting Cisticola seemed to be everywhere. We spent a while watching over a lagoon which gave us fine views of Red Crested…

3 Day Birding Break in Valencia.

Over the weekend Yanina and I provided a 3 day birding break in Valencia for a group of four people from the UK. Like many of our clients, they wanted to combine a cultural stay in this enchanting city with guided birding to some very diverse habitats, all of which are within easy reach of the city. Day 1 – Albufera de Valencia. One day one, Yanina provided a trip to the Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia. This huge site comprises a freshwater lake, rice fields, reed beds, forests, dunes and a saltwater lagoon, so is extremely species rich. They spent the morning in a couple of special reserve areas where they particularly enjoyed watching a tern colony. Specific tern species included Little, Gull-billed, Caspian, Whiskered, Common and Sandwich. They also enjoyed great views of many waders, including Kentish Plover, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Stint, Green Sandpiper and Spotted Redshank. Almost all of our summer visitors are here by now, and it was great for them to see and hear some of the recently arrived passerines such as Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Nightingale and Great Reed Warbler. The…

Mountain birding trip in early spring

A few days ago, I was delighted to provide a mountain birding trip for two of clients from Scotland. They were experienced birders and after few days visiting Valencia City, they wanted a day out in the mountains to discover the birdlife of the area. After I collected them from their hotel, we drove less than an hour to this beautiful mountain area. On the way, we had to speed down to enjoy a flock of Glossy Ibis and a pair of Short-toed Eagles displaying. Ones in the area, our first stop a family of Serins catch our attention, suddenly the first Griffon Vultures started to show up with the background’s call of Sardinian Warbler. In the Second stop, the distinctive call of the frogs didn’t take our concentration on spotting the majestic Egyphtian Vultures, we were extremely luck to see them mating and displaying. Further on the gorge, we had nice views of Firecrest and Crag Martins flying everywhere. It took us some time to arrive to the Griffon Vultures’ colony, an amazing spot at the end of the gorge where also Peregrine Falcon and Egyphtian Vulture use for…

The mountains of Valencia in Spring.

Last week I was fortunate enough to enjoy a super day with a couple of new clients from UK. Valerie and Roger had only recently taken up bird watching but their knowledge is growing fast and they wanted to take their first guided trip. It would have been easy to take them to a wetland site where the species diversity is huge, but I didn´t want them to miss the “specialist” species that visit the mountains of Valencia in Spring. Most of the target species for this trip are summer visitors, and as Valerie and Roger may make a return trip in the autumn, it made sense to take the opportunity to spend a day in the mountains this month. After the drive from Valencia, and a brief coffee stop we parked the car and had a short walk alongside a river. This is one of the few sites in the area where Dipper breed, so we opted to sit still for a while, hoping that one would appear. A couple of very fast “fly pasts” confirmed their presence, but after ten more minutes, one came to rest, giving us…