bird holidays - Valencia Birding - Guided Bird Watching in Spain

Bespoke guided bird watching trip in Valencia

A few months ago we were contacted by two experienced birders from England who were interested in birding in Valencia, not far from the city where they were going to spend their holidays. After we designed a suitable trip and they made the reservation, they discovered that we were going to Rutland Bird Fair. So Brian and some friends stopped by to say hi at the stand where were promoting Valencia Region. Finally, last week arrived the day of the bird watching trip to Albufera Natural Park, thankfully it was a nice sunny day after a week of rain and storms! I collected them from their hotel in Valencia city and we drove straight to the first stop in a protected area beside the sea. Despite the harsh sunlight we had great views of Black Tern, Little Tern, Audouin’s Gull, Kentish Plover and Black-necked Grebe. Brian particularly liked the views of Black Terns, which were already in winter plumage. Next stop was the main reserve area inside the Natural Park, where we joined Dave and two clients also from England. As they arrived first we had part of the work…

Wildlife Photography for Beginners

In conjunction with naturalist and Albufera boatman “El Torrenti” and professional photographer Mabel Jover, we are delighted to launch a one-day wildlife photography course at Albufera de Valencia. By combining our diverse areas of expertise, this course will provide the opportunity to visit some of the lesser known areas of Albufera de Valencia, learn the correct photographic techniques for capturing images of its birdlife and landscape, and to learn much more about the bird species that this beautiful Natural Park provides home to. For further specific details please contact us by email NatureTrailSpain@gmail.com or telephone +34633117310

Bird Watching at Albufera de Valencia.

On Saturday 23rd June, we provided a day trip to Albufera de Valencia for a group of four clients. All levels of abilities are made equally welcome and our trips are tailored to suit, so whilst today´s group were not “mad-keen” birders, all four were keen nature lovers so the trip was designed to provide a blend of birding, habitat and environment, and local culture. Our first stop was at a protected bird reserve within Albufera. We spent a little time watching Cattle Egrets, Little Egrets and Squacco Herons before walking into the reed beds. From there we had great views of Great Reed Warbler, Fan-Tailed Warbler then whilst looking across a lagoon we had views of Avocet, Black Winged Stilt and one of the day´s highlights, the Night Heron. A little later we had superb views of Marsh Harrier, Gull-Billed Tern, Purple Heron and another favourite, the Glossy Ibis. An informal presentation on the habitat and ecology of the Natural Park was followed by a short drive the village of El Palmar where we enjoyed a traditional Valencian Paella lunch. Once rested and refreshed we then took a…

Guided Bird Watching Trip to Albufera de Valencia

On Tuesday 6th March I had the pleasure of providing a guided bird watching trip to Albufera de Valencia for two clients from Finland. Both very experienced and knowledgeable birders, they were taking a short break in Valencia and wanted to spend a day bird watching as part of their other plans. Having collected my clients from the city centre, we headed out across the natural park. The day´s first bird was an Iberian Grey Shrike that was perched on a telephone line close to the track. Our plan was to visit a highly protected reserve where some superb conservation work takes place. As we drove across the park we were treated to a spectacular sight as over 200 Glossy Ibis settled in a field beside us, the low morning sun illuminating the bronze and green sheen of their plumage. As we started our walk, a small flock of Black Winged Stilt passed over, flying low and showing very well against the blue sky. We scanned across a small lake and picked out Lesser Black Backed Gull, Red Crested Pochard, Wigeon and 8 Great White Egrets plus the usual Albufera…

A brief birding trip to our local marsh.

On Saturday, in between necessities such as a visit to the garden centre and the supermarket, my wife Carolina and I spent a couple of hours walking around our local marsh. It´s always worth a look around here as there´s usually something of interest and it makes for a pleasant and easy spot of birding. As it was afternoon, the gulls that can usually be found were absent, probably out on the coast. The usual residents, Little Egret, Cattle Egret and Grey Heron were around in good numbers. On the drier fields were large flocks of wintering Lapwing in amongst which were some fine looking Golden Plovers. A Booted Eagle passed over, soon to be followed by a Buzzard. The recent influx of Chiffchaffs was still evident, with Black Redstart, Stonechat and Meadow Pipit also around in good numbers. Upon scanning around one of the quieter corners of the marsh we came across 20+ Snipe in a field, with Reed Buntings feeding nearby. As we passed by one of the wetter areas we were also treated to great views of a Squacco Heron. Although usually a summer visitor, a few often…

A Guided Bird Watching Trip to Albufera de Valencia.

Today´s trip was provided for two British birders who wanted to learn more about the extensive Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia. Whilst the weather was dry, there was a very strong wind that limited what we would see, although a good days birding was enjoyed. Our first stop was to observe a recent controlled release of Crested Coot. This extremely rare bird has provided a challenge to conservationists so far but hopefully this season will see some breeding success. We enjoyed good views albeit from far enough away as not to cause a disturbance. We then walked across an area of reeds and small lakes where we enjoyed Reed Bunting, Purple Gallinule, Snipe, and a single Red Crested Pochard that has spent the entire winter with a flock of Common Coot. We were also fortunate enough to enjoy good views of Flamingo, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe and Kingfisher. We then made our way across the rice fields, in which we were happy to see hundreds of European Starlings. Valencia provides wintering grounds for many European Starlings that make the journey south each year to join their southern cousins the Spotless…