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]

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2-Day Guided Birding Trip

We recently had the pleasure of designing and providing a 2-day guided birding trip for some clients from UK.  They were staying on the Costa Blanca and wanted two days with us, taking in two very different habitats. Day 1 – Albufera de Valencia. On day one, Yanina guided them through the fabulous wetland reserves of Albufera de Valencia.  This time of year is especially interesting as there are still some summer visitors around, such as the Little Bittern and Squacco Heron.  However, many wintering species, especially waders are already here, so the species list can be extensive. Indeed, the list of waders was excellent, including Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover and both Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit. Wildfowl were also seen in good numbers, including Teal, Red Crested Pochard, Gadwall and Shelduck. The species list for the day included… Booted Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Purple Swamphen, Moorhen, Coot, Little Bittern, Squacco Heron, Great Egreat, Grey Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Great-crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Mallard, Teal, Shoveler, Red-crested Pochard,  Gadwall, Shelduck, Great Cormorant, Black-winged Stilt, Avocet, Ruff, Spotted…

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4-Day Birding and Photography Trip from Valencia.

We recently had the pleasure to design and deliver a 4-day birding and photography trip from Valencia for a returning client from Cambridge, UK. Stephen is a keen wildlife photographer and one of his goals for the first day of the trip was to photograph a Firecrest. So, we began the day by driving into the mountain forests that are situated very close to Valencia.  Even though we were focussed on finding Firecrest, we were very fortunate to get great views of a Short Toed Eagle that passed right over us.  Finally after a little patience we got the reward with shots. On day 2, we spent the day on the high steppe, where we enjoyed some fabulous views of Stone Curlew, Great Bustard, Lesser Kestrel and many more interesting species of this unique habitat. On the third day, we spent the day in one of the most important wetlands of Spain, l’Albufera de Valencia Natural Park.  Autumn is an excellent time to see huge numbers of waders, including this beautiful Whimbrel. The fourth day saw us back in Albufera, this time at one of the park´s protected green filter reserves.  As…

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