Bird Watching in Alicante Spain - Valencia Bird Watching

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…

Birding trip to Albufera de Valencia for returning clients

Last week I was delighted to organise a birding trip to Albufera de Valencia Natural Park for returning clients Worth and Janet. Both keen birders, they wanted to see this well-known wetland and its birdlife. Throughout the day, we visited several restricteded reserve areas, where we enjoyed amazing views of a Booted Eagle, huge numbers of waders, plus Flamingos, Glossy Ibis, Whiskered Terns and Kingfisher. After a short picnic lunch, we drove to the next stop by a field which usually provides a surprise sighting. Today we had views of Hoopoe, Crested Lark and Serin. In the last stop we were delighted by a Grey Plover, Red Knot, Kentish Plover and a Subalpine Warbler. It had been a fantastic day with some very special birds, and great company. Hopefully we can welcome Worth and Janet back again soon! Species list: Marsh Harrier, Booted Eagle, Kestrel, Gadwall, Shelduck, Mallard, Teal, Shoveler, Great Cormorant, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Purple Swamphen, Moorhen, Coot, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Squacco Heron, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Collared Pratincole, Lapwing, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Ringed Plover, Little-ringed Plover, Kentish Plover,…

The wetland reserves of Albufera de Valencia

This week, I was delighted to design and provide a trip for a couple of clients from UK. Kelvin and Kate had previously travelled to Spain on bird watching trips but had never visited Valencia, so were very keen to see what the area has to offer. As Kelvin is an employee of the RSPB, and is involved in work on reserves in the south of England, we designed the trip such that he could gain a detailed understanding of how some of our reserves operate. Having made the short journey from Valencia, we visited one of Albufera´s green-filter reserves. Once inside this protected area, together with one of the reserve´s biologists we gave a presentation on the history, objectives and functionality of the reserve. We focussed on the scientific aspects of the eco-systems and how they actually serve to improve the water quality of the area, providing excellent wetland habitat. We then went to one of the viewing stations, from which we had great views of an Osprey that had chosen to rest and feed on the reserve whilst on its migration route to Africa. We also enjoyed watching Spoonbill,…

2-day birding trip from Valencia

During this summer, we had the pleasure of providing a 2-day birding trip for a couple of clients from Germany. Kerstin had arranged the trip for her and her mother, and together we´d worked to design something that would maximise species diversity. Day one was spent at Albufera de Valencia, an internationally important wetland right next to the city of Valencia. As well as visiting the rice fields of this vast Natural Park, we spent most of the day inside a couple of specially protected restricted reserves. Mid summer is not usually the best time for birding here in Valencia but today proved otherwise. There were still plenty of summer visitors, including the beautifully graceful Collared Pratincole, but many winter visitors and passage migrants were also to be seen, White Stork being among them. Perhaps the highlight of the day was the long list of waders that we enjoyed, particularly Temminck´s Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Kentish Plover and Green Sandpiper. Species list Albufera: Marsh Harrier, Booted Eagle, Kestrel, Mallard, Shoveller, Teal, Shelduck, Sandwich Tern, Whiskered Tern, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, White Stork, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Grey Heron, Night Heron,…

Birding on the Spanish Steppe

Last week, we were especially delighted to provide a trip for some returning clients from UK. Amanda and her family had previously visited Albufera de Valencia with us and had returned for a day on the high steppe of Eastern Spain. It was fabulous to see them again, especially having kept in touch in the meantime. We left Valencia and made the easy drive inland where we began the day with a coffee stop and discussion about the species that we were hoping for. Our first stop by a small pond gave views of Shelduck, Tree Sparrow and Black Winged Stilt. Although distant, we also saw Short Toed Eagle. As we left this site, we were quite surprised to see a juvenile Mistle Thrush. We stopped by an old farm where we had good views of Corn Bunting, Rock Sparrow, Crested Lark and Stone Curlew. The first lagoon of the day gave views of some interesting species including Whiskered Tern, Gull-billed Tern and Red Crested Pochard. Our lunch stop by a sizeable lake was very pleasant as we were able to sit in the shade and scan the water. We enjoyed…

Birding the Wetlands of Valencia

Last week, I provided a day of guided bird watching for a client from UK. Phil is an experienced and knowledgeable birder and wanted to see the diversity of the birdlife that exists here in Valencia. We decided upon a specific wetland area as right now there are colonies of breeding species that provide some super opportunities for observation, all without the risk of disturbance. We met close to Valencia and made the short journey to the coastal site where we began the day by exploring a few coastal saltwater lagoons. Here we had good views of White Headed Duck, Red Crested Pochard, Little Bittern and Audouin´s Gull. The reed beds held Reed Warbler, Great Reed Warbler and Fan-tailed Warbler. We walked on to another lagoon where we had superb views of Whiskered Tern, Little Tern, Common Tern and Sandwich Tern. We were also fortunate to see a local rarity, an Elegant Tern. Collared Pratincoles were also breeding in the vicinity, and gave great views both on the ground and in flight. A walk through pastureland provided views of Cattle Egret, Stonechat, Hoopoe, Little Owl and Tree Sparrow. Marsh…