Tag: birding holidays spain

Valencia´s Coastal Wetlands in Spring.

Bird watching holidays Spain

Last week I was delighted to provide a guided birding trip for a couple from my home city of Sheffield!  Both keen birders, they were on holiday here and wanted to spend a day enjoying Valencia´s coastal wetlands in Spring. Having collected them from the city centre, we made the short journey to one of the area´s coastal nature reserves where we began the day with a walk along the beach, looking at both the sea and a series of coastal lagoons.  Our first stop gave us views of Common Reed Warbler, Little Grebe, Glossy Ibis and Zitting Cisticola. We then spent a little time carefully scanning a lagoon that held White Headed Duck, Greater Flamingo and Black Winged Stilt.  The surrounding reed beds gave sightings of Great Reed Warbler and Little Bittern. We continued our walk along the coast, watching Little Terns and Collared Pratincoles passing overhead before stopping to get good views of Audouin´s Gull. Our next stop was at a hide from where we observed a tern colony.  Most of the Little Terns and Sandwich Terns were still incubating but the Common Terns almost all had chicks,…

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Birding the Valencian Coastal Wetlands in Spring.

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a very happy day with a great couple of clients from the UK.  Michelle and David were spending a few days in the city of Valencia and were keen to include a day´s birding in their stay.  They were happy for the trip to involve a walk, so we opted to visit the coastal wetlands of Valencia.  Birding the coastal wetlands in Spring is a delight as all the summer visitors are here and there´s plenty of activity as birds jostle for nesting spaces, particularly the terns, gulls and Collared Pratincoles. After a short journey from the city we began the walk along the beach, watching over a series of coastal lagoons.  Michelle spotted a small bird perched low in the branches of a tree, which on closer inspection was found to be a Spotted Flycatcher – a nice start to the day.  A pair of Turtle Doves then flew over us.  The song of Cetti´s Warbler and the call of Zitting Cisticola seemed to be everywhere. We spent a while watching over a lagoon which gave us fine views of Red Crested…

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2 day winter birding break.

February continued to be a busy month with this fabulous 2 day winter birding break for a lovely couple who have become friends and loyal clients of Valencia Birding.  Not only have they been out with us on numerous occassions, but they also made the effort to visit us at BirdFair in the UK last year. It was therefore a great pleasure to welcome back Jan and Rab.  They were making one of their regular visits to Spain and once more had chosen to incorporate a birding trip into their plans.  After previous discussion, they had opted to make Banyeres de Mariola their base for two nights, being well placed for some of the regions best sites. On day one we met for morning coffee in a small town in the Alicante province, after which we made the short journey to the starting point of our mountain bird trip.  We had originally planned to do a much longer mountain walk but the recent cold spell had left many of the north facing mountain trails covered in ice, so we chose a shorter route that should give us most of the…

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7 Day Bird Photography Trip.

We recently had the privilege of welcoming back an extremely valued friend and client, Nigel from Northern Ireland.  A very experienced birder and bird photographer, Nigel had previously visited as part of a group from the Northern Ireland Ornithologists´Club but this time he came alone so we were delighted to design a tailor-made 7 day bird photography trip to fit his wishes and priorities. Having discussed his preferences, we came up with a good mixture of bird photography in the field plus a few visits to specially designed bird photo-hides, each aimed at specific species.  His flight arrived at Alicante quite late so we´d arranged for Yanina to collect him and then to spend the night close to the airport, well placed to visit some of the local saltpans and wetlands the next morning. During the morning, they enjoyed sightings of Ringed Plover, Sandwich Tern, Black Tailed Godwit, Iberian Grey Shrike and White Headed Duck.  There was news of a rarity in the area, an Olive Backed Pipit.  First attempts proved fruitless, but with the usual determination, they found it.  A great start to the week! The second night was…

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2 Day Birding Break in Valencia

Last week we were delighted to provide a 2-day birding break in Valencia for a group of 3 clients with whom we´ve been in touch with for a while.  All living apart (France, England and Wales) they had arranged to meet up in Valencia and to include in their holiday a 2-day guided birding trip with us.  We´d been fortunate enough to meet one of the group at Birdfair in the UK in August, so were really looking forward to welcoming them to Valencia. To provide two very different trips, we´d decided to spend one day at the extensive wetland site of Albufera de Valencia and the second up on the high steppe.  Very different habitats indeed. On day one, I collected the group from their apartment in the city and we made the short journey to Albufera, discussing their wishes and priorities for the trip.  We drove into the Natural Park and made our first brief stop by some rice fields where we discussed the rice growing cycle whilst watching Cattle Egrets and Marsh Harriers.  A Lesser Black Backed Gull passed over us and a large flock of Spotless…

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Birding and a Cultural Break in Valencia

Last week I provided a day trip for a couple from England who were combining birding and a cultural break in Valencia before moving on to central Spain.  Although they had travelled extensively in Spain, this was their first trip to Valencia, and they were especially keen to see the birdlife of our local wetlands.

The historic quarter of the city of Valencia

Having collected them from there hotel in Valencia city centre, we made the short journey to one of my favourite local reserves.  The weather was perfect – not too hot, but with clear skies and a slight breeze.  We began our walk by the beach, watching the coastal scrub carefully.  The Valencian coastline is part of a major migration fly-way between Europe and Africa, so this time of the year is always fascinating.  We had good views of numerous Chiffchaffs, Common Reed Warblers and Wheatear.  There was a steady and constant stream of passing Barn Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins too.

Birding holidays Spain

Wheatear

One of the first lagoons that we watched gave good views of White Headed Duck, Greater Flamingo and Little Grebe.  Marsh Harriers were quartering the surrounding reed beds.

After a short walk along the coast we spent some time in a hide overlooking a small lagoon.  This is often a hotspot for passing migrants and over the years has provided many memorable birding moments.  We firstly took a look at the waders which included Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Greenshank, Snipe, Ringed Plover and Little Ringed Plover.  Wildfowl included Shoveler, Teal and yet more White Headed Duck.

Valencia Birding

Snipe

A pair of Stonechats were showing very well, feeding on insects and returning to their perches in classic Stonechat fashion.  We then turned our attention to the beach in search of one of the region´s most popular gulls – Audouin´s Gull.  With just a little patience we were rewarded with great views.

Valencia Birding

Little Ringed Plover

In need of refreshment we enjoyed a light lunch at a small restaurant on the beach whilst watching Little Egrets, Common Sandpipers and Yellow Legged Gulls. Afterwards we took a short walk to another observation point from where we had great views of Purple Swamphen and more Greater Flamingoes. We were also delighted to see a Kingfisher.  In the winter months the small resident population is boosted by visiting birds from the north of Spain.

Valencia Birding

Greater Flamingo

It had been a super day – very relaxed but with great views of some fabulous birds, and all in great company too.

Valencia Birding

The species list for the day included….

Greater Flamingo, Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe, White Headed Duck, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Wood Pigeon, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mallard, Shoveler, Greenshank, Stonechat, Teal, Grey Heron, Snipe, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Purple Swamphen, Kingfisher, Audouin’s Gull, Yellow Legged Gull, Common Tern, Wheatear, Sand Martin, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, House Martin, Kestrel, Marsh Harrier.

 

Valencia Birding

 

Written by Dave Warrington.

Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.