Bird Watching Valencia - Page 18 of 33 - Valencia Birding

Birding the Coastal Wetlands in Spring

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of providing a trip to the coastal wetlands of Valencia for two experienced birders from Scotland. After I collected them from Valencia city where were staying, we drove to a nearby reserve area. This time of the year is magnificent in terms of diversity of species. We began the day with a walk by the sea crossing several brackish lagoons where we saw Red-crested Pochards, Little Grebes and lots of Whiskered Terns displaying and fishing. The first stop was on a platform where we had great views of a Little Bittern and White-headed Ducks and large flocks of Glossy Ibis in flight. We continued our walk to the next hide, where we enjoyed views of some very special birds such as Collared Pratincole, Avocet, Flamingo, Little Tern, Garganey and many more. After a picnic lunch by the beach enjoying lovely views of Audouin’s Gulls, we walked into the inland area of the reserve. Here we had fantastic views of Booted Eagle, Purple Heron, Purple Swamphen and Marsh Harrier. We ended the day with a short drive through some local farmland,…

2 Day Bird Watching Break: Steppe and Coastal Wetlands

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of providing a 2-day birding break to the steppe and to the coastal wetlands for returning clients from UK. Joy and Margaret are experienced birders who had been birding with us before at Albufera de Valencia and they wanted to explore new habitats and areas close to Valencia City where they were staying. Day 1 – Steppe Having collected them from their hotel in the city, we made the journey inland and up onto the high steppe area close to Valencia. After a morning coffee stop and a briefing on the species that we were likely to see, we headed across the rolling plains where had great views of Crested Lark and Hoopoe. But what was surely by far the most impressive was a Golden Eagle flying directly over us. The lagoons were magnificent, with White-headed Ducks and Black-necked Grebe. On the way to the high steppe area we spotted a Lesser Kestrel recently arrived from Africa, and a good sized flock of Calandra Lark. Of course the goal of the day was the Great Bustard and we managed to see plenty…

Guided Bird watching trip to the Steppe

A few days ago, I was delighted to provide a guided bird watching trip to the steppe area for an experience birder from England who was very interested to see the steppe birds of Spain whilst he was on holiday in Benidorm. Having collected him from his hotel in Valencia city, we made the journey inland and up onto the high plateau of Castilla de la Mancha. After a morning coffee stop and a briefing on the species that we were likely to see, we headed across the rolling plains where had great views of Great Bustards, Crested Lark and Calandra Lark. The next stop was in a farm area where we enjoyed some typical species including Skylark, Rock Sparrow and Corn Bunting. Before we headed up onto the higher steppe, we made a brief stop to see Granes in flight, two pairs of Little Owls and Southern Iberian Shrikes. The high steppe eventually gave us views of one of…

2-Day Bird Watching Trip from Valencia

I recently provided a 2-day bird watching trip from Valencia for an experienced birder from UK. Colin wanted to discover the birdlife of the region, but only had two available days. So, we designed a trip that would maximise his time and enjoyment. Day 1 – Albufera Natural Park After a brief coffee stop, we visited a number of natural reserves, where we had great views of Booted Eagle, Flamingos, Purple Swamphen, Spoonbill, Whiskered Tern and a huge diversity of waders. Albufera is an excellent site for waders in autumn. After an interesting drive through the rice paddies where we had fantastic views of thousands of egrets and herons, we finished the day with a brief visit to a sports field where we had great views of Hoopoe, Crested Lark and Serin. 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 Egret, 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 Redshank, Common Redshank, Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit,…

Guided Birdwatching Trip to Albufera de Valencia

Last Thursday I was delighted to provide a guided bird watching trip to Albufera de Valencia for two experienced birders from England. They wanted to discover the birdlife of what is one of the most important wetlands in Spain. After I collected them from their hotel, we drove to the first stop in one of the main reserves of the natural park, where we had lovely views of hundreds Flamingos, a beautiful Booted Eagle, Black-winged Stilt, Little Stint, Gadwall and lots more waders and waterfowl. The next stop was in a restricted reserve and green filter area, where the habitat and water quality are being greatly improved, in turn enhancing the biodiversity of the area. More than 2000 Glossy Ibis where in one of the fields, sharing it with lots of Ruff, Avocets, Curlew Sandpiper, and many more waders that benefits from the food supplied from this ecosystem. During the afternoon we made two more stops in some special places, a sports field and a lake, where we had amazing views of Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Black-eared Wheatear, Kentish Plover and Red Knot. It had been a great day with a superb list…

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,…