Bird Watching Tours Valencia - Page 5 of 11 - Valencia Birding

Guided Bird Watching in Valencia.

On Friday 22nd March, we provided a day of guided bird watching for a great couple of clients from the Netherlands who were on vacation here in Spain. Both keen nature lovers, they were eager to see the diverse bird life that the Valencian coastal wetlands holds, especially at this time of year when summer migrants are beginning to arrive. Our first stop was at a protected reserve within the natural park of Albufera de Valencia. We had excellent views of Purple Swamphen, Glossy Ibis, Avocet, Greater Flamingo and a small flock of passing Spoonbill. Recently arrived summer visitors included Redstart,Reed Warbler and Purple Heron. Wildfowl included Gadwall, Red Crested Pochard, Shoveler and Pochard. The visit was completed by a fascinating presentation by the reserve staff on the ecology and natural history of the area. After a picnic lunch we moved slightly further north where we watched over a couple of coastal lagoons. We enjoyed good views of Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, a Wheatear and recently arrived Whiskered Terns. House Martins, Swallows and Swifts were passing through overhead in good numbers. The day was brought to a spectacular end…

Guided Bird Watching at Albufera de Valencia.

On Wednesday 13th February, we had the pleasure of providing a leisurely day of guided birding for a couple from our local area together with their friends who were visiting from the UK. We chose to explore the lakes, lagoons and rice fields of Albufera de Valencia, a coastal wetland of international importance. Our first stop was by a small, sheltered lake and as soon as we got out of the van we were treated to a spectacular sight – a flock of over 500 Greater Flamingoes in flight, the pink, crimson and black of their plumage contrasting beautifully with the deep blue of the winter sky. The lake held Pintail, Red Crested Pochard, and Shoveler whilst the trees around the shore were alive with Chiffchaffs and Robins. A Booted Eagle passed low overhead, soon followed by a Marsh Harrier. As Albufera de Valencia is the place of origin of the world famous Paella, we enjoyed a relaxed hour or so in a traditional rice restaurant before setting out across the rice fields. Gulls included Audouin´s, Lesser Black Backed, Yellow Legged and Black Headed. Further scanning revealed Greenshank, Great Egret…

Guided Birding in Valencia

On Sunday 21st October, I spent a very enjoyable day with some great clients from Kidderminster, UK. Stella and Richard are both keen nature lovers and in recent years have been particularly interested in birds. They were keen to explore the Valencian wetlands and to see the classic species of this diverse area. We started our day at one of the reserves within the natural park of Albufera de Valencia where we began by scanning the lake for wildfowl. We soon had good views of Red Crested Pochard, Shelduck and Teal. We also had great views of both male and female Marsh Harriers, a species that seems to be doing increasingly well in this area. We then moved on to another site within Albufera where we were very fortunate to see the endangered Red Crested Coot. We also had good views of Purple Swamphen, and Iberian Grey Shrike. The reed beds held many recently arrived Chiffchaffs plus Fan-Tailed Warbler and Cetti´s Warbler. We also had brief views of Kingfisher and Black Redstart. After a coffee stop, the next site of the day was a coastal lagoon where we enjoyed great…

Birding at the Valencian Coastal Wetlands

On 16th October I enjoyed a day of guided birding with a couple of clients from Canada. Ingo and Kiran were keen to see the classic species of the Valencian coastal wetlands. Having met them at their hotel in the city centre we made the short journey to the natural park of Albufera de Valencia. The first bird of the day was a Sandwich Tern perched on a pole on the main Albufera Lake. We then headed for one of the reserves where we had superb views of Marsh Harrier, and interestingly noted flocks of European Starlings arriving for the winter. Wildfowl included Shoveler, Gadwall, Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Pintail and Shelduck. We enjoyed an all too brief view of a flock of Spoonbill passing overhead before returning to the van. Further exploration of Albufera gave views of Iberian Grey Shrike, Kingfisher, Black Winged Stilt, and Booted Eagle. We then headed a little further north to visit another wetland site where we were fortunate enough to enjoy close views of three of the classic albeit rare species of the area – White Headed Duck, Purple Gallinule and Audouin´s Gull. We…

Guided Bird Watching on the Steppe of Castilla de la Mancha

On 11th October I had the pleasure of providing a guided bird watching trip for a couple from Ringwood, UK. They were staying in Valencia and wanted a day´s birding as part of their holiday. Both very experienced birders they had been visiting Spain for many years and had travelled throughout the world on other birding expeditions. They had specifically requested a day out on the steppe to see the distinct bird life this unique habitat holds. Unfortunately, conditions were not ideal as the water levels in the area´s lagoons were very low, and coupled with a strong wind, this meant that we had to work hard in order to find the birds. Our first stopping point gave views of Skylark, Crested Lark and Wheatear. There wasn´t much flying thanks to the stiff breeze so we headed off to spend some time beside a lake. There we enjoyed views of Teal, Greater Flamingo and Marsh Harrier. By now it was becoming clear that conditions were against us so we decided upon a strategy of driving across the high steppe and making periodic stops to scan the vast landscape. After a…

Guided Bird Watching in Valencia

On 10th October we provided a guided bird watching trip for a couple from Berkshire. Both keen nature lovers, David and Elizabeth were staying in Valencia as part of a trip around Spain. They had requested a tour of Albufera, as they wanted to see some of the classic wetland species of Valencia. As they were only here for a short while, we combined Albufera with another local wetland with the aim of improving our chances of spotting some of the target birds. We began the day with a visit to one of the reserves within the natural park of Albufera de Valencia where we had great close-up views of Marsh Harrier and Purple Gallinule. Wildfowl included Mallard, Pochard, Red Crested Pochard and Shoveler. Later, we enjoyed good views of Greater Flamingo and Yellow Legged Gull before one of the highlights of the day – superbly clear views of a pale morph Booted Eagle which kindly circled above us for long enough for us to take in the beautiful tones of this stunning raptor. We then headed a little further along the coast where we saw the very rare White…