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,…

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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…

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Steppe & Lagoon Tour – 6th October 2011

Having enjoyed the Valencian Coastal Wetlands Trip, Christine & Nick were keen to spend another day´s birding. Their preferred option was the Steppe & Lagoon Trip as Great Bustard and Little Bustard were targets for their Life List. We arrived on the plains of Castilla de la Mancha in glorious sunshine despite a cooling early morning breeze. Having enjoyed a breakfast of coffee and toast in a local café we explored an area of reed bed and marsh adjoining some cereal fields.  Our first bird of the morning was a Corn Bunting, which was followed by an Iberian Grey Shrike and then a Whinchat. Having spent a while scanning the fields, we saw Crested Lark in good numbers plus a steady stream of passing Swallows. We then set off across the plains in search of the target birds of the day. Kestrels were plentiful as were Wheatear. Patience was eventually rewarded with close-up views of a female Little Bustard. However, despite our optimism, we failed to find the Great Bustards. Lunch time was approaching so we decided to picnic by a favourite lagoon. During a leisurely lunch we were able to…

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Valencian Coastal Wetlands – 8th September 2011

The summer continued into September with cloudless blue skies and another beautifully warm day.  Even before we left the vehicle, we enjoyed magnificent views of over 20 White Storks passing through.  We set off to explore the wetlands, stopping off at the favourite points along the way. The warm sunny day only added to the relaxed pace of the day but our efforts were truly rewarded with a species list of 42.  September can be a little strange as the summer visitors have started to disappear and many winter visitors have not yet arrived.  However, the trip proved to be superb, providing some of the best views of Spoonbill that we´d ever had.  The Greater Flamingoes, still in stunning breeding plumage were as ever spectacular. Other highlights of the day included a Glossy Ibis, Avocets, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Marsh Harrier, Purple Gallinule, Marbled Duck and a Curlew Sandpiper.  At one point our patience was rewarded with one of those extra special birding moments when we had a Marbled Duck and a Purple Gallinule in the same bino view! Other favourites of the day included hundreds of passing Bee Eaters, an Iberian…

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Valencia Birding

valenciabirding.com is a small but specialist active tourism company based in Valencia, Spain. We provide guided Bird Watching Tours throughout Eastern Spain, encompassing Valencia, Alicante and Castilla de la Mancha.  This area is blessed with an incredibly diverse range of habitats and excellent birding sites, many of which are virtually unknown!  We cater for all levels of bird enthusiasts and provide a bespoke guiding service at very reasonable cost. Our local knowledge can ensure that our clients can make the absolute most of their time in Spain by depending on us to take them to the very best sites. We offer our services to those holidaying throughout the La Safor region, and beyond to Xativa, Valencia, Costa Blanca and the interior of the Valencian Community.  Our objective is simple…to provide our clients with a value-for-money service that is exactly tailored to their wishes and requirements. Whilst being able to provide a wealth of specialist knowledge, our style is first of all to listen to what the client actually wants, then to tailor our services to suit. Our approach is what makes us different…Our business model is unlike that of most professional Bird Watching companies. Our approach…

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Albacete in August

We were very fortunate to select of of the coolest days of the month to visit several sites around Albacete. The day started with a somewhat bizarre sighting of a Little Owl sitting in the middle of a field in broad daylight! Despite August not been the best month for watching waders, we managed to find good numbers of Black Winged Stilt plus Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plovers and a Greenshank. Our patience and searching rewarded us eventually with good views of Great Bustard out on the plains. Kestrels were out hunting in good numbers, and other raptor highlights included Booted Eagle and Buzzard. Greater Flamingoes were present at a number of sites, as were large flocks of Bee Eaters. Other sightings included Woodchat Shrike, Lapwing, Black Necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Red Legged Partridge and Crested Lark.

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