Latest Birding News and Sightings - Bird Watching in Spain

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,…

2 Day Bird Watching Break: Steppe and Coastal Wetlands

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of providing a 2-day birding break to the steppe and to the coastal wetlands for returning clients from UK. Joy and Margaret are experienced birders who had been birding with us before at Albufera de Valencia and they wanted to explore new habitats and areas close to Valencia City where they were staying. Day 1 – Steppe Having collected them from their hotel in the city, we made the journey inland and up onto the high steppe area close to Valencia. After a morning coffee stop and a briefing on the species that we were likely to see, we headed across the rolling plains where had great views of Crested Lark and Hoopoe. But what was surely by far the most impressive was a Golden Eagle flying directly over us. The lagoons were magnificent, with White-headed Ducks and Black-necked Grebe. On the way to the high steppe area we spotted a Lesser Kestrel recently arrived from Africa, and a good sized flock of Calandra Lark. Of course the goal of the day was the Great Bustard and we managed to see plenty…

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]

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…

5-Day Birding Holiday

We recently provided a 5-day birding holiday for a group of RSPB members from Northern Ireland. It was made more special by the fact that the leader of the group had previously attended a trip with us and had recommended us to her local group. We´d worked with Pat to design a tailor-made trip, focussing on habitat diversity, a few special target species and authentic and traditional accommodation. As such, we put together a 2-centre break. They arrived at Alicante airport on an evening flight from Belfast, where we were waiting to welcome them. After their arrival we made the easy journey up into the rural interior of Alicante Province and to their guest house for the first half of the trip, L´Alqueria del Pilar, a converted farmhouse in the village of Banyeres de Mariola. After a good night´s rest and a leisurely start we began our first day : Day 1 – Mountains The first day was designed to include very little travelling, and a walk in the mountains of the Sierra de Mariola Natural Park. The plan for the morning was a circular walk of some 5kms, through high…