bird watching in Valencia - Page 15 of 29 - Valencia Birding

A day on the steppe.

Last week, I enjoyed a great trip with Ville from Finland. A very experienced birder and professional biologist, he was in Valencia for a conference and had extended his stay to include a day on the steppe. He was particularly keen to see Great Bustard as he´d never seen it before. We also added White Headed Duck to the list of target species as this would also be a “lifer” for him. Having made the comfortable drive from Valencia, I was happy to discover that Ville was keen to have a coffee before we began our birding! We did so and then started by making a couple of stops to scan the vast fields. Our first stop gave good views of Crested Lark and Iberian Grey Shrike. Some old farm buildings provided sightings of Rock Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Corn Bunting and Spotless Starling. We then stopped by a small lagoon to watch Gadwall, Shoveler, Black Necked Grebe and a few Lapwings. Then, as we scanned the surrounding fields again, we were delighted to see Great Bustard! There were 4 males quite some way off, but with the scope we could…

Autumn 2019 Newsletter.

Reflection. Following the summer holiday period, Autumn is always a time of reflection, thinking back over the year so far whilst at the same time looking ahead at what remains, particularly with migration in mind. We still have a few late summer visitors here, but in general the autumn migration is well underway. This week has seen huge mixed flocks of Swifts, Martins and Swallows passing through the region but what has been more noticeable has been the sheer numbers of Bee Eaters on the move this week and last. Waders are currently the big draw though, especially at our numerous coastal wetland sites. Recent sightings have included Terek Sandpiper. Looking back at the Spring of this year, we are delighted to say that Valencia Birding enjoyed its best ever period (in terms of number of clients) since we began back in 2011. In challenging times such as these, it´s fabulous to see such positive trends and we´re exceptionally grateful to all whose support has helped us to make this possible. The “star” species are too numerous to comprehensively list here but they have to include the returning Elegant Terns,…

4 Day Birding Trip around Alicante.

Just before our summer break, I was delighted to design and provide a 4 day birding trip around Alicante for two clients from the UK. Robin and Simon are both experienced and very well travelled birders. Robin was on a quest to see all the European bird species and prior to the trip, he had less than 30 species left to see!! His key priorities were Red-knobbed Coot, White Headed Duck and Red-necked Nightjar, but we also added Iberian Green Woodpecker (Picus sharpei) to that. Their flight arrived in Alicante in the afternoon, so once I´d met them there, we made the most of the few hours that we had by exploring the local salt marshes and coastal lagoons. We enjoyed good views of plenty of Greater Flamingoes, Little Tern, Whiskered Tern and Audouin´s Gull. We then moved to a hide overlooking a scrape from where we spotted a Kentish Plover on a nest. The large colony of Slender Billed Gulls also gave us great views. Although we´d only had a few hours, we´d made a good start. We drove to their hotel in central Alicante which was only a…

A exciting find on one of the hottest days of the year in Valencia, Spain – Terek Sandpiper!

It was one of the hottest days for 150 years in Valencia. I was booked to provide a guided birding trip to the huge wetland site of Albufera de Valencia but a few days before the trip, the clients contacted us to ask if we should move the date. As the forecast for the duration of their stay was more or less constant, I suggested that we stick with the original day but take sensible precautions. It was over 30 degrees C when I collected the clients from the city centre in Valencia – that was at 7:30am! After a short journey we arrived at Albufera Natural Park, one of Spain´s most important wetlands. Located on one of the major migration flyways of the Western Paleartic, Albufera de Valencia is an extensive wetland which is immediately south of the city of Valencia, right on the Mediterranean coast and in 1990 was designated as a Ramsar site. It was declared a Natural Park in 1986 and holds an huge variety of ecosystems. It was originally formed by sediment that was deposited by the region´s two principal rivers, the Jucar and the Turia, both of which…

A fabulous Spring day at the Valencian Coastal Wetlands.

Back in May I enjoyed a super day with a wonderful client from Austria. Gudrun, who was visiting friends in Valencia, had previously met Yanina at a bird fair and had contacted us to arrange a trip. After collecting her from the historic quarter of Valencia, we drove to one of the region´s coastal wetlands. As we began our walk, we watched both Common and Great Reed Warbler and heard the familiar song of Cetti´s Warbler. On the first lagoon that we visited we saw White Headed Duck, a species that I was keen for Gudrun to see, and in a nearby tree we saw Turtle Dove, which stayed for a while giving us nice views. A pair of Marsh Harriers were flying low over the reeds, and we were then delighted to see a Moustached Warbler. A small flock of Glossy Ibis flew over and on a small island in the lagoon we watched Little Ringed Plover. A Little Bittern made several passes to and from a small island of reeds. Our walk continued along the beach, where we had great views of Audouin´s Gull. A little patience was…

Two fantastic days with clients from Sweden.

When clients return it´s always a special feeling, and in mid May, Alexia from Sweden did exactly that. She´d previously visited Valencia and we did a trip to Albufera together. Not long after her return home she contacted us and we arranged a 2 day birding break in Valencia, which she was to combine with a cultural break in the city. This time she came with a friend, Lena. I was delighted to see Alexia again, and to meet Lena. Both very friendly and great company. On our first day we visited one of Valencia´s coastal wetlands. A walk along the beach gave views of Audouin´s Gull and Whiskered Tern. We had great views of Turtle Dove, a bird that appears to have done very well here this year. The lagoons held White Headed Duck, Little Ringed Plover, Great Egret and a solitary lingering Dunlin. We also enjoyed watching the Tern colony which comprised Common, Little and Sandwich. We were delighted also to see the Elegant Terns that apper to be returning to Valencia each year to breed. On the walk back to the car we stopped to enjoy amazing…