bird watching holidays in Spain - Page 13 of 28 - Valencia Birding

3-Day Winter Birding Break

We recently put together a 3-day winter birding break at relatively short notice for a lovely couple from the Netherlands who wanted to escape the cold grey skies of northern Europe and enjoy some winter sunshine here in Valencia. They chose to stay at the Adhoc Monumental Hotel in the historical quarter of Valencia, and to go birding with us to the mountains, steppe and the wetland site of Albufera de Valencia. I collected them from Valencia airport in the evening and took them to their hotel, discussing the details of the birding trips on the way. Both Gill and Albert were experienced birders and clearly very enthusiastic, so we were looking forward very much to providing the trips for them. On day 1, I met them at their hotel and we made the journey of just over an hour to one of the inland sierras of the region. Today wasn´t about maximising species, it was about just a few specialist mountain birds- including the Alpine Accentor. This characterful little bird breeds in the Pyrenees and Alps but flies to the Valencia region in winter where it tends to stay…

Birding on the Steppe

One of the pleasures of being based in Valencia is the ease of access to many different habitats. One of our favourite trips takes us up onto the steppe and cereal plains of Castilla de la Mancha, little over an hour´s drive away. I recently had the pleasure of providing a trip to this region for clients Doreen and Jim from the USA. Both very experienced birders they were on a tour of Spain and wanted to see some of the area´s bird life, particularly on the steppe. They were staying in the historical town of Xativa, so having met nearby we drove up to the birding area where we began with a morning coffee in a small farming village. Our first stop was beside a small lagoon surrounded by cereal fields. It was still quite early so a cold wind was blowing. Despite this we enjoyed views of Pochard, Lapwing and Stonechat. Once back in the warmth of the car we made our way to another favourite viewing area where we put on extra layers! Here we had good views of Great Bustard, one of the day´s target species. …

Autumn 2017 Bulletin

The Mediterranean summer is finally drawing to a close and despite clear blue skies, we´re starting to put on long sleeves to go out birding! Autumn is a delightful time of the year and the past couple of months have been extremely busy. We´ve been exceptionally fortunate to spend time with some fabulous clients, many on return visits with us. As for the birds, most summer visitors have now headed off for Africa and many winter visitors are beginning to arrive. We´ve also had a few surprise vagrants and rarities and plenty of passage migrants heading south on the East Coast fly-way. A particularly exciting morning recently gave us Pectoral Sandpiper and Red Necked Phalarope in the same view! Bird Photo-Hides We´re delighted to bring to you news of a selection of completely new trips that include sessions in professionally managed bird photo-hides. Within easy reach of Valencia, these offer superb opportunities to capture great images of an array of passerines and raptors. These include Bonelli´s Eagle, Goshawk, Crossbill, Hawfinch, Crested Tit, Short-toed Treecreeper, Rock Bunting, Ring Ouzel and many more. These trips have proved to very popular, often as a…

Cultural City Break & Guided Bird Watching.

We´re delighted to inform you of a new collaborative arrangement between Valencia Birding and Adhoc Hotels of Valencia. This brings top levels of service to our clients, as well as extremely competitive and authentic accommodation in the heart of the historical quarter of the enchanting city of Valencia. This allows us to offer a unique short break that combines the rich culture of this beautiful Mediterranean city, its architecture, history and gastronomy with guided bird watching to some of Spain´s best sites, all of which are within very easy reach. All trips are completely tailor-made and are available for individuals, couples and small groups. Click here for further details. We look forward to welcoming you to Valencia and sharing some of Europe´s best bird watching sites with you.

Birding the local wetlands

Last week I was delighted to provide a day trip for a client from New Zealand who was visiting Valencia and wanted to see the local bird species. A retired vet and therefore extremely knowledgeable naturalist, he was interested to see the birdlife of our region as well as to see how our nature reserves are handled. Having made the short drive from the historic quarter of Valencia, we walked along a dune system, looking onto a system of coastal lagoons. This is obviously migration time, so Barn Swallows were constantly passing through. The reeds surrounding the lagoons gave views of Fan Tailed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff and Reed Warbler. We were also surprised to see a Melodious Warbler. The lagoon gave views of White Headed Duck, Purple Swamphen, Little Grebe and Shoveler. As we continued our walk, we enjoyed views of Stonechat, Kestrel, Marsh Harrier and Cetti´s Warbler. We spent a while in a hide, looking out onto a shallow lagoon that´s great for waders. This gave views of Greenshank, Snipe, Dunlin, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Greater Flamingo and Black Winged Stilt. We continued our walk through the…

Summer Bird Watching in Valencia

This week I had the pleasure of guiding two experienced birders from Denmark. Although high summer is not the best time of year, it´s very interesting in terms of viewing Mediterranean breeding species. Our clients were also keen on bird life photography, so after I collected them from their hotel in Cullera we drove a short distance through the rice paddies to a field where Collared Pratincoles were breeding. From a safe distance, as not to disturb them, we enjoyed great views and were able to get some nice photographs of these stunning birds. Meanwhile Gull-billed Terns where feeding in the rice paddies. We enjoyed fantastic views of them in flight. Glossy Ibis were also around in good numbers. Next stop was in a reserve area which is carefully managed to provide habitat for sea birds, waders and waterfowl. Thanks to that we enjoyed amazing views of four Marbled Ducks and one duckling. We also saw Greater Flamingo, Whimbrel, Avocets, Black-winged Stilt and many more waders. The most interesting sighting of the day was of an Elegant Tern. Our next stop was in another reserve area. A little patience was…