bird watching in Valencia - Page 17 of 30 - Valencia Birding

Birding and Cultural Break in Valencia.

In late March we enjoyed spending three days with Caroline and Lorna from England. We´d met at Rutland Bird Fair the previous year and discussed how we could design a birding and cultural break in Valencia. Having exchanged a few emails, we decided upon a week´s package with 3 full days of birding and 4 free days to explore this beautiful city. In order to maximise diversity, we opted for a day on the steppe, a day at the wetlands and a trip to the mountains. Their first day of birding was with Yanina who took them up onto the steppe. We were all able to meet for a coffee in a farming village as I was with another client and happened to be in the same area that day. The weather was ideal, not too much wind and clear skies. Their first foray onto the high steppe gave views of Black Bellied Sandgrouse and Stone Curlew. Before long, they succeeded in finding the first Great Bustards of the day and a stop by some farm buildings also gave views of Rock Sparrow, Linnet and Black Redstart. The surrounding fields…

Birding and cultural break in Valencia

We recently provided 3 days of guided birding for a couple of clients from Leeds. Alli and Anne were not only lovely people but very experienced and well travelled naturalists. For this trip they wanted to combine birding with a cultural break in Valencia. We´d designed the birding element of their trip so that after they´d enjoyed the famous Fallas fiestas, they could recover from the party atmosphere in Valencia by spending some peaceful days birding in its rural surroundings! It was indeed a pleasure to meet mother and daughter Alli and Anne and to spend time with them. On day one, I took them up onto the steppe, and after a morning coffee we began scanning the fields. Our first birds of the trip were Crested Lark and Calandra Lark. Stopping by some farm buildings gave us views of Rock Sparrow, Linnets, Spotless Starlings and a passing Common Buzzard. Our exploration of the higher steppe eventually rewarded us with views of both Great Bustard and Black Bellied Sandgrouse plus a fairly brief view of Stone Curlew. We ended the day with views of Little Owl and Lesser Kestrel before…

Birding in Albufera

I was recently delighted to provide a bird watching trip for two clients from Ireland. Eanna & John are experienced birders who were visiting Valencia and wanted a day out of the city to discover the birdlife of the mediterranean. After I collected them from their hotel in the city centre, we made the short journey to Albufera Natural Park where we stopped in the main pier of the Albufera lake to enjoy nice views of Sandwich Terns and Marsh Harriers. They were happy to see Sandwich Terns in their winter plumage. Our next stop was in the main reserve area of the park, and after a short visit to the information centre we headed to the observatories where we enjoyed nice views of Black-winged Stilt, Black-tailed Godwit and Avocet. We were also hoping for good sightings of waterfowl, and eventually had nice views of Red-crested Pochard, Pintail, Teal, Shoveler and more. After a short walk back through the forest we reached to the observatory tower and had fantastic views of huge flocks of Flamingos. Our next stop was planned to be in the Village of El Palmar where we were to…

Winter Birding in Albufera de Valencia.

Last week, I provided a day of winter birding in Albufera de Valencia for a client from England. Paul, a lovely man from Exeter was visiting his daughter here in Valencia and wanted to discover in more detail the bird life of the region. He was particularly interested in the wetland species and really wanted to see Bluethroat amongst others. After the short journey from the city, we made our first stop at one of the park´s reserves. Frosty mornings are a rare thing here at sea level, but today was an exception – cold, crisp, no wind and a beautiful clear blue sky providing excellent winter birding conditions. Here we began by a small lagoon where we enjoyed views of Black Tailed Godwit, Marsh Harrier, Black Winged Stilt, Teal and Shoveler, as well as a pair of Greylag Geese, not a common sighting this far south. As we walked back through the woods to the car we had views of Chiffchaff and a Hoopoe. We then had a little time to pay attention to the rice fields before our next visit to another reserve area. So, we drove along…

Winter Birding in the Mountains of Valencia.

Yesterday, I was delighted to kick-off the new year at Valencia Birding with a trip for a fantastic couple of clients from Germany. Olaf and Marina are experienced and well travelled birders and had requested a day of winter birding in the mountains of Valencia as part of their new year break. The weather forecast was perfect – cool but sunny and with little or no wind. After a comfortable journey from their apartment in Valencia, we arrived at our destination and once fuelled with coffee we began our walk. The first twenty minutes of the route that lead up through semi-open mountain forest was fairly quiet, but after that we were soon enjoying great views of Crested Tit, Coal Tit and Long-tailed Tit. As we approached the high point of the route, we paused to check out some movement in a pine tree and were rewarded with views of Firecrest. A few more minutes walking took us to the summit of a rocky peak where we were hoping to see Alpine Accentors, one of the day´s key target species. A little searching revealed two birds, feeding on a rocky…

Birding in Valencia with a loyal client.

A few days ago I was delighted to provide a day of birding in Valencia with a loyal client. Gavin´s done many trips with us over the past few years and of course he has been to Albufera Natural Park before, but as he´s an experienced birder he knows that every day is different and birds can always surprise us. He was once again in Valencia on business but he managed to get a free day to go birding. Winter time is always exciting in Albufera as it´s an ever changing landscape. It was a sunny winter day and we were keen to get out and see what was around. The first stop was in the main reserve area of the natural park where we enjoyed the first good views of Booted Eagles, Garganey and a Hoopoe. From the observatory tower we had fantastic views of Red-crested Pochard, Wigeon, Pintail and many more waterfowl, it is a great spot where thousands of ducks spend the winter. Next we explored the southern rice fields to search for waders and the like. After a few minutes we found a tractor ploughing the…