birding in Alicante - Page 17 of 21 - Valencia Birding

The Bee Eaters are back!

This has been the first post for a while, so before I begin, I´d like to say that I hope that you´re all keeping safe and healthy and wish you all the very best as we make our way through these tough times. For more than obvious reasons, I can´t write much about any recent birding trips! However, it´s always interesting to see what´s passing through in the skies above Valencia and what´s about in the area immediately surrounding our apartment. I hope that you´re all enjoying the bird life that´s close to you, be it in your gardens or on your daily walk. I´m really enjoying the photos on social media of what people are seeing each day. This week a Zitting Cisticola appears to have taken up residence in a small area of what we tend to call “waste ground” close to our apartment. Especially now, these patches of undisturbed vegetated ground can prove to be excellent feeding areas or even nesting sites. Despite its roadside location, this little patch has also given me views of Cattle Egret, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Sardinian Warbler, White Wagtail, Spotless Starling,…

Covid-19 and its effects on birding.

I´m writing this article simply as a humble reflection on how the Covid-19 situation has impacted on our world of birding, and how we can take just a few positive points from what is obviously a severe and terrible situation. Firstly, and above all else, we of course send out our love and best wishes to everyone, and wish you all the very best of luck at all levels as we progress through such unprecedented times. Lock-down The lock-down hit us here in Spain just over two weeks ago. At the time, I was with my family in our house in the mountains. At first, apart from the obvious financial hit of losing all of our work, the prospect of having to stay in what is as close to paradise as I´ve ever seen, didn´t feel too bad. Having the time to focus on garden birds thrilled me, especially when up there, our “garden ticks” include Crested Tit, Golden Oriole, Red-necked Nightjar, Scops Owl and Eagle Owl!! Then, the news came through that everyone had to return to their primary residence and stay there, with heavy fines been threatened for…

A short “birding break” in Valencia.

I´ve often said and written that it´s a real privilege to welcome back returning clients, and last week was one of these special occasions. I´d first met Alexia from Sweden a couple of years ago when she booked a day´s birding with us. She subsequently returned a year later, this time in Spring and with her friend Lena, and we enjoyed a fabulous day in the mountains and a day at the wetlands. This was her third time with us, and she´d carefully designed a break to include a couple of days in the historical town of Xativa and a short stay in the city of Valencia as well as two days of birding with us. As we´d planned to visit the steppe, I collected Alexia from her hotel in the historic quarter of Xativa as it´s on the way from Valencia. It was such a pleasure to welcome her back! We continued the journey and after a quick coffee stop, we began exploring. Numerous flocks of Linnet were flitting around, and we also had good views of Crested Lark, Black Redstart, Stonechat and Rock Sparrow. Some scanning of…

Two fabulous trips to the steppe and the wetlands with Margaret from Canada.

Last week, we enjoyed some beautiful weather here in the Valencia region. Clear skies, no wind and temperatures hovering around 22 degrees. Perfect conditions for birding on the steppe, which is a high and vastly open area that in more wintry conditions can be challenging! So, for my first trip with Margaret, a very keen Canadian birder, the steppe was our destination. She was very eager to see Great Bustards above all, but we also added Black Bellied Sandgrouse, Calandra Lark and Rock Sparrow to our target list. Having collected her from her accommodation close to Valencia´s fascinating Central Market, we drove up onto the steppe. Our first spot was a view point overlooking the surrounding cereal fields and vineyards. The usual passerines were around – Crested Lark, Stonechat, Corn Bunting and Goldfinch. A little effort of scanning the fields gave us good views of a flock of Calandra Lark, their dark underwing showing clearly against the blue sky. A favourite spot next to an old farm was our second stop, and today it proved positive. We spotted a lone Golden Plover, Rock Sparrows on a stone barn, an Iberian…

A winter weekend birding break in Valencia.

Last weekend I was pleased to welcome back returning client Norman to Valencia. He had previously spent two days with us last Spring when we visited the coastal wetlands and the mountains. We´d kept in touch and he subsequently arranged a winter weekend birding break in Valencia. This time we opted to visit the steppe on day one and the huge wetland site of Albufera on day two. Day 1 I collected him from his hotel close to the stunning City of Arts & Science complex in Valencia, and we made the comfortable journey south west to the high plains. Before starting our birding, we enjoyed a coffee break in a farming village where we discussed the target species of the day. We were blessed with blue skies, very mild temperatures and more importantly, no wind, and our first brief stop by a flooded field gave views of a Snipe, Lapwings and a Reed Bunting. We then moved to a vantage point where we set up the scope and began to look closely at the surrounding fields. Crested Larks were moving around on the ground very close to us, a…

A special time to be at Albufera

Last Friday, I provided a day trip for Andy and Lydia from the UK. They were spending a weekend in Valencia and wanted to include a day´s birding in their break. The vast wetland site of Albufera de Valencia is surrounded by rice fields, and the different phases of the rice cycle influence greatly the habitat and therefore bird life of the park. During the month of February, the flooded fields and gradually drained and ploughed, and the sight of huge flocks of gulls, egrets, herons and ibises that follow the tractors is one not to be missed. More on that later… We began our visit at one of the park´s protected reserve areas, where we started the day with perhaps one of the highlights, a Ferruginous Duck that was resting in amongst a group of Common Pochard. Other wildfowl included Shelduck, Red Crested Pochard and Teal. We then turned our attention to shorebirds, and enjoyed views of Black-winged Stilt, Ruff, Greenshank and both Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits. Crag Martins were feeding in flights and Marsh Harriers passed over the reed beds. A Booted Eagle came to rest in a…