Bird Watching - Page 2 of 4 - Valencia Birding - Guided Bird Watching in Spain

A Christmas Present of a Birding trip to the Valencian Coastal Wetlands.

During the Christmas break, I had the pleasure of providing a trip for a lady who despite having an interest in the natural world, is new to bird watching. The trip was bought for her as a Christmas present by her husband. We enjoyed a super day and were treated to some beautiful sights. After the trip, she very kindly provided this account…. A couple of days ago, I had a wonderful day out bird watching in Valencia – something that none of my family thought I would do (let alone enjoy the experience). Well, it was a revelation! Probably like most women, I tend to get caught in the house during the Christmas period, barely able to escape from the constant round of meals, entertaining and tidying up. And then, of course, there are the children to keep happy and my husband occupied (not that he always appreciates it!). It all means that I end up having little time to myself to relax. However, to my amazement, this year my husband bought me a day out with Nature Trail Spain, who run bird watching tours in Valencia! A LONE…

El Hondo

Not within our usual birding area, El Hondo is a wetland reserve of major international importance, not least for it´s population of White Headed Duck and Marbled Duck. Although not a regular venue for us, El Hondo always provides something of interest. We were fortunate to enjoy some beautiful autumn sunshine as we set off across the reserve. Within just five minutes we were delighted to see 3 Cranes passing overhead, shortly followed by a lone Booted Eagle. As we made our way through the reedbeds, we watched as a Marsh Harrier hunted by the shore of the lake. We stopped and set up the scope, to be rewarded with views of Serin, Stonechat, Moustached Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Fan Tailed Warblers and a Bluethroat. A Great Grey Shrike provided a few minutes entertainment before we were distracted by 3 passing White Storks. The first lake held Coot, Mallard, Pochard, Gadwall, Little Grebe and a Purple Gallinule. The larger second lake gave views of Flamingoes in good numbers, Grey Heron, Little Egrets and a Crested Lark by the shore. We were almost out of time so wandered back to the car park as the sun was beginning to set. A flock…

An Afternoon at Albufera de Valencia

As we had business to attend to in Valencia today, the opportunity to spend a couple of hours looking what was around Albufera couldn´t be missed. We started at the main hide, where we were greeted by a group of school children on a day trip! Although not the quiet environment that we expected, it has to be remembered that this is where the future of conservation lies. We soon attracted a small group of kids who were curious to see what the telescope was and soon had a small queue forming to watch the Flamingoes that were resting at the far side of the lagoon. A few others were fascinated to see the beautifully coloured Teal through binoculars which at first glance to them, appeared to be just “boring brown ducks”! Once their teacher called time and moved them on and out of the hide, we settled down to see what else was around. As mentioned, Teal were present in good numbers. A group of 6 Black Winged Stilt did a good job of trying to conceal a lone Avocet amongst them. We spend a little time waiting and…

Bird Watching at Santa Pola & La Mata Alicante.

Bird Watching Alicante – Guided Bird Watching in Spain. Although a little further South than our usual haunts, as we had an appointment in Alicante in the morning, we decided to make the most of the day by taking a slight detour and spend the afternoon bird watching at Santa Pola and La Mata. The forecast for heavy rain thankfully proved to be pessimistic. Although we expected to be watching from the van, we were fortunate enough to be greeted with patchy cloud and sunny spells. We scanned the lagoons at Santa Pola first, where we enjoyed views of hundreds of Greater Flamingoes and Yellow Legged Gulls. Scoping across the water revealed Sandwich Tern, Shelduck and Avocet, all in good numbers. A few Little Ringed Plovers scurried along the shallow banks whilst a Marsh Harrier passed low over the reedbeds. As we explored the reedbeds a little more, we had good views of Black Redstart, Zitting Cisticola and a male Cirl Bunting. As we made our way back to the van a pair of Turnstones ran out of the vegitation on the shoreline. A final scan gave us views of…

Species List for La Drova & Barx Valley

As a point of reference, general information and interest, here is the species list for the valley in which we are situated. Species are listed alphabetically and include residents, summer visitors, winter visitors and birds seen occasionally or on passage. Alpine Swift, Barn Swallow, Black Redstart, Blackcap, Blue Rock Thrush, Blue Tit, Booted Eagle, Chaffinch, Cirl Bunting, Coal Tit, Common Chiffchaff, Common Cuckoo, Common Hoopoe, Common Kestrel, Common Magpie, Common Nightingale, Common Raven, Common Stonechat, Common Swift, Corn Bunting, Crested Tit, Dartford Warbler, Dunnock, Eurasian Blackbird, Eurasian Buzzard, Eurasian Collared Dove, Eurasian Crag Martin, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Eurasian Griffon Vulture, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Siskin, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, European Bee-eater, European Goldfinch, European Greenfinch, European Robin, European Serin, European Starling, Firecrest, Golden Eagle, Great Grey Shrike, Great Tit, Green Woodpecker, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Hawfinch, House Sparrow, La Drova, Long-tailed Tit, Meadow Pipit, Melodious Warbler, Northern House Martin, Northern Wryneck, Peregrine Falcon, Pied Flycatcher, Red Crossbill, Red-billed Chough, Red-legged Partridge, Red-rumped Swallow, Redwing, Rock Dove, Rufous-tailed Robin, Sardinian Warbler, Short-toed Treecreeper, Song Thrush, Spain, Species list, Spotless Starling, Spotted Flycatcher, Tawny Owl, Western Rock Bunting, Whinchat, White Wagtail, Whitethroat, Woodchat Shrike, Woodpigeon,…

An October Morning in the Mountains.

This year, October is proving to be a summer month! Each day has peaked at around 30 degrees so far. With that in mind, I ventured into one of my favourite mountain valleys in the province of Alicante to spend a couple of hours in the shade and to see what was around. The summer theme continued as the first bird that I saw upon leaving the car was a male Whinchat perched in a nearby bush. There were still quite a few Swallows passing by too. As I made my way into the gorge, I enjoyed close views of Black Redstart, Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Coal Tits. As I sat in the shade, the silence of the gorge was wonderful – only interrupted by the occasional call of a Wren. I decided to take the easy way out and to sit and wait for the birds to come to me! Within 10 minutes I was fortunate to watch closely as up to 7 Black Wheatears worked their way down the cliffs, the flash of white tail feathers betraying their presence. I also spotted a Short Toed…