Holidays - Alicante - Valencia - Bird Watching Tours

2 Day Birding Break in Valencia

I recently provided a 2 day birding break in Valencia for a couple of returning clients from my home town of Sheffield. It was fantastic to welcome Jonathan and Caroline back to Valencia and to spend these days together with them. They first came last autumn when they visited the wetlands of Albufera de Valencia and the mountains with us. They were keen to see Albufera again, but in winter and also wanted to visit the steppe, in particular to see Great Bustards. This time they were visiting with friends and were combining a cultural city break with a couple of days of birding. On day one, we made the short trip to Albufera, and started birding as soon as we began the journey by watching a Booted Eagle who has made Valencia port his winter home this year. We then visited a reserve area where we sat in a couple of hides for a while and enjoyed views of Shelduck, Teal, Marsh Harrier and more Booted Eagles. We then spent a little time watching a rice field that held plenty of Snipe and in the surrounding reeds we saw Tree…

Winter Birding in Albufera de Valencia.

Last week, I provided a day of winter birding in Albufera de Valencia for a client from England. Paul, a lovely man from Exeter was visiting his daughter here in Valencia and wanted to discover in more detail the bird life of the region. He was particularly interested in the wetland species and really wanted to see Bluethroat amongst others. After the short journey from the city, we made our first stop at one of the park´s reserves. Frosty mornings are a rare thing here at sea level, but today was an exception – cold, crisp, no wind and a beautiful clear blue sky providing excellent winter birding conditions. Here we began by a small lagoon where we enjoyed views of Black Tailed Godwit, Marsh Harrier, Black Winged Stilt, Teal and Shoveler, as well as a pair of Greylag Geese, not a common sighting this far south. As we walked back through the woods to the car we had views of Chiffchaff and a Hoopoe. We then had a little time to pay attention to the rice fields before our next visit to another reserve area. So, we drove along…

Winter Birding in the Mountains of Valencia.

Yesterday, I was delighted to kick-off the new year at Valencia Birding with a trip for a fantastic couple of clients from Germany. Olaf and Marina are experienced and well travelled birders and had requested a day of winter birding in the mountains of Valencia as part of their new year break. The weather forecast was perfect – cool but sunny and with little or no wind. After a comfortable journey from their apartment in Valencia, we arrived at our destination and once fuelled with coffee we began our walk. The first twenty minutes of the route that lead up through semi-open mountain forest was fairly quiet, but after that we were soon enjoying great views of Crested Tit, Coal Tit and Long-tailed Tit. As we approached the high point of the route, we paused to check out some movement in a pine tree and were rewarded with views of Firecrest. A few more minutes walking took us to the summit of a rocky peak where we were hoping to see Alpine Accentors, one of the day´s key target species. A little searching revealed two birds, feeding on a rocky…

2019 New Year Bulletin.

We´d like to begin this short bulletin by wishing everyone a bird-packed, happy and healthy New Year. Thanks to the ongoing support of our clients and friends, 2018 was a busy year for us at Valencia Birding. We were fortunate enough to introduce an array of new clients to the delights of birding in the Valencia region as well as having the privilege of welcoming back many returning clients and friends. We enjoyed some great trips too, making the most of the wide range of habitats that the Valencia region offers. Mountains, forest, steppe, Mediterranean desert, saltmarsh, wetlands, sea and coast, rice fields, olive groves and farmland all provide their own speciality species. This diversity, coupled with the eastern Spain migration flyway that we´re lucky to have on our doorstep, gave us some amazing sightings throughout the year. Looking ahead to the New Year, we´re already busily taking bookings. These days, our reservations tend to fall into one of three types: Day trips for those who wish to combine bird watching with a cultural visit to the beautiful Mediterranean city of Valencia. This option is increasing in popularity as the blend…

Birding with returning clients in Albufera de Valencia

A few weeks ago I was especially pleased to provide a day of birding in Albufera de Valencia for returning clients from the UK. Once again, they arrived in Valencia by cruise ship and didn’t have a full day so they decided to visit again Albufera de Valencia. They were keen to see this wetland site in the autumn. Eric is 83 years old has been birding all his life and is always happy to see Mediterranean species. They wanted a relaxed birding trip and that’s what we did.. After I collected them from the cruise ship terminal we headed to the Devesa forest, early that morning I had seen a Yellow-browed Warbler close to my home and Eric was keen to see it. A few seconds after we parked we heard it calling and finally Eric had a good view. A great start to the day!! Next stop was at the main reserve of the natural park – autumn in Albufera is excellent for enjoying waterfowl… a few minutes after we visited the visitor center, we were in the observatory enjoying great views of Red-crested Pochard, Shelducks, Teal, Shovelers…

Birding trip to Albufera of Valencia

A few weeks ago, I was delighted to provide a birding trip to Albufera of Valencia Natural Park for two couples from England. One couple were experienced birders who wanted to introduce their friends to the pleasure of going birding during their holidays. They were keen to discover the birdlife of the Valencian wetlands, so after I collected them, we drove a few minutes to the main reserve area of the natural park. After visiting the centre to understand the different ecosystems and birdlife of the area, we went to the observatories which is where we saw the first species of interest… Black-winged Stilt, Red-crested Pochard as well as an Osprey that flew over Next stop was in a green filter and reserve area. It took us a few minutes to drive through the rice paddies and just before we entered the reserve, a flock of Spoonbills flew over and we enjoyed great views. We arrived to the observatory tower where we had amazing views of some of the target species of the day… Purple Swamphen, Great White Egret and Marsh Harrier. The day was going pretty well so they…