birdwatching in valencia - Page 6 of 29 - Valencia Birding

Christmas Eve Birding in Alicante

What a better way to get Christmas underway than by birding with friends Jolien and Silvia in the wetlands of Alicante?! Just under an hour´s drive from our home in the mountains, the system of coastal wetlands is a birder´s paradise at any time of year, and today´s trip gave us some excellent sightings. After a quick morning coffee in a small village, we walked into the first reserve and scanned across a small lagoon. Shoveler and Teal were on the water in good numbers, and the shoreline held Snipe, Black-winged Stilt, Common Sandpiper, Glossy Ibis and Purple Swamphen. Crag Martins were feeding overhead and a Sardinian Warbler called from the bushes. A small flock (or “clattering”) of Jackdaws passed over, followed closely by a Booted Eagle. A Dutch birder asked what the raptor was, and then doubtfully asked if we knew the name in Dutch – Jolien was on hand to help thanks to her Flemish heritage! We then turned our attention to a group of Terns. Most of them were Whiskered Terns but closer attention revealed a White-winged Tern too. White-winged Tern with Whiskered Terns There then followed…

Pre-Christmas Birding in Valencia

This week I very much enjoyed a day´s birding around the wetlands of Valencia with Simon and Sarah from England. They were staying in the historical quarter of Valencia, combining the rich culture of the city with a guided birding trip to make an ideal pre-Christmas break. They were both keen birders and lovers of the outdoors, so we make a few tweaks to the wetlands trip to include a little more walking. The day began quite cloudy with a cold northerly breeze, so after the short drive from Valencia, we wrapped up and headed out along the beach. The first thing that caught our eye were the Marsh Harriers that were gliding over the huge reed beds, above which were great numbers of Crag Martins feeding on the wing. Stonechats and Chiffchaffs were more than abundant and a Black Redstart make a brief appearance too. Then we had quality views of one of the day’s target species – Audouin’s Gull. Audouin’s Gull Continuing along the beach, Sarah spotted a Cetti’s Warbler flitting around in the reeds as well as a small flock of Reed Buntings. The first lagoon held…

60th Wedding Anniversary Birding!

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of providing a trip for a couple from Orkney who, together with their family, wanted a day of guided birding as a way of celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary! What a privilege for me to be part of such a special day, and how wonderful that they opted for a birding trip as a means of celebrating it! They were staying at a hotel by the coast in Denia on the Costa Blanca, and as they were a group of five people, I had the help of my good friend Bea, who is not only a knowledgable birder, but has also worked extensively in bird conservation programs. We headed south to the wetlands of Alicante, stopping first at a spot where we hoped to see Marbled Teal. We sat together in a large hide, overlooking a small lagoon. Our first birds were a trio of grebes – Little, Great Crested and Black-necked. Crag Martins were feeding on the wing in good numbers, and we spotted a few Barn Swallows in amongst them too. Then, a small flock of much larger birds in flight caught…

A fabulous autumn day on the steppe.

The steppe area of our region is an ever-changing environment of rolling cereal fields, vineyards, arable land, lagoons and scrub. In the scorching heat of midsummer, almost all of the lagoons dry up, after the cereal harvest the land is ploughed bare, and in the winter, temperatures plummet to well below freezing. These dramatic changes mean that the bird life of this environment can also be very fluid, and one has to “learn” the area in order to get the most from it. As with anything, the required effort makes the prize yet more valuable and the steppe area seldom fails to reward. From our base in the interior of Alicante province, it’s a short and easy drive to get there, and last week I spent a day up there with my good friend Bea, carrying out a recce as I have bookings from clients in the coming weeks who want to visit this area. Following the long, hot summer, the lagoons of the high steppe once again contain plenty of water The morning began with the hills that surround home shrouded in a thick mist, but as the sun…

Field photography trip to the wetlands of Alicante

I recently provided a bespoke trip for Tony, a client who lives in the Alicante region and wanted to discover a few places where he can visit to photograph birds in the field. As we only had one day, we decided to focus on wetland sites, visiting four hides throughout the area. After a morning coffee and a chat about his priorities etc, we made the short journey to the first hide which overlooked a large lagoon. We saw Reed Warbler and Cetti’s Warbler in the reeds, as well as Black-necked Grebe, White Headed Duck and Marsh Harrier. Black-necked Grebe (non-breeding plumage) Tony having got some nice shots, we enjoyed a short walk to the next hide which was also built over water. The morning mist was beginning to clear by now and we were able to get closer views of Marsh Harrier and Greater Flamingo. The view from the hide, across one of Alicante’s many wetland reserves to the mountains of the interior As the priority was that of showing Tony a few “new” places, we returned to the car and headed to another hide closer to the coast,…

2 days birding and a cultural break in Valencia

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Hans and his family from the Netherlands. We had previously spoken about their intended trip to Valencia and they’d decided to include two days birding within their week-long break in the city. Day 1 – Albufera de Valencia. On our first day, we visited the vast wetland site of Albufera de Valencia, less than 30 minutes drive from the city centre. This was their first visit to Albufera, and Hans had previously explained that they would like to include an element of culture and history into the day. With that in mind, we began the day at the visitor centre where I provided a brief talk on the heritage, natural history and the cultural aspects of the area. We then went to the first hide where we had views of Greater Flamingo, Little Ringed Plover, Black-winged Stilt and Little Egret. A Kingfisher also made frequent appearences, darting across the lagoon in front of us. Wildfowl included Mallard, Shoveler and Shelduck. Juvenile Black-winged Stilt A short walk through the forest gave us views of Long-tailed Tit and Cetti’s Warbler as well as plenty…