Coot - Page 2 of 10 - Valencia Birding - Guided Bird Watching in Spain

Autumn 2019 Newsletter.

Reflection. Following the summer holiday period, Autumn is always a time of reflection, thinking back over the year so far whilst at the same time looking ahead at what remains, particularly with migration in mind. We still have a few late summer visitors here, but in general the autumn migration is well underway. This week has seen huge mixed flocks of Swifts, Martins and Swallows passing through the region but what has been more noticeable has been the sheer numbers of Bee Eaters on the move this week and last. Waders are currently the big draw though, especially at our numerous coastal wetland sites. Recent sightings have included Terek Sandpiper. Looking back at the Spring of this year, we are delighted to say that Valencia Birding enjoyed its best ever period (in terms of number of clients) since we began back in 2011. In challenging times such as these, it´s fabulous to see such positive trends and we´re exceptionally grateful to all whose support has helped us to make this possible. The “star” species are too numerous to comprehensively list here but they have to include the returning Elegant Terns,…

4 Day Birding Trip around Alicante.

Just before our summer break, I was delighted to design and provide a 4 day birding trip around Alicante for two clients from the UK. Robin and Simon are both experienced and very well travelled birders. Robin was on a quest to see all the European bird species and prior to the trip, he had less than 30 species left to see!! His key priorities were Red-knobbed Coot, White Headed Duck and Red-necked Nightjar, but we also added Iberian Green Woodpecker (Picus sharpei) to that. Their flight arrived in Alicante in the afternoon, so once I´d met them there, we made the most of the few hours that we had by exploring the local salt marshes and coastal lagoons. We enjoyed good views of plenty of Greater Flamingoes, Little Tern, Whiskered Tern and Audouin´s Gull. We then moved to a hide overlooking a scrape from where we spotted a Kentish Plover on a nest. The large colony of Slender Billed Gulls also gave us great views. Although we´d only had a few hours, we´d made a good start. We drove to their hotel in central Alicante which was only a…

A day at the wetlands with clients from the USA.

Back in early May I spent a delightful day with a fabulous couple from the USA. David and Dale were on a European cruise, and had planned to go birding in some of the places where they were stopping off at. One such place was Valencia. I collected them from the cruise terminal at the port, and then we made the short journey to the coastal wetlands. We began with a quick coffee stop where we discussed some of the target species that I wanted them to see. These included White Headed Duck, Collared Pratincole and Audouin´s Gull, all of which have established breeding grounds here in Valencia. Our strategy was to go for quality views of some key species rather than go for a super-long list. Our walk along the coast took us past a couple of lagoons where we enjoyed great views of White Headed Duck. Since this trip, I´m delighted to say that many pairs have successfully bred at this site. As we continued our walk, we saw plenty of Audouin´s Gulls flying over the beach. Marsh Harriers were hunting at the back of the reserve and…

Birding and cultural break in Valencia

We recently provided 3 days of guided birding for a couple of clients from Leeds. Alli and Anne were not only lovely people but very experienced and well travelled naturalists. For this trip they wanted to combine birding with a cultural break in Valencia. We´d designed the birding element of their trip so that after they´d enjoyed the famous Fallas fiestas, they could recover from the party atmosphere in Valencia by spending some peaceful days birding in its rural surroundings! It was indeed a pleasure to meet mother and daughter Alli and Anne and to spend time with them. On day one, I took them up onto the steppe, and after a morning coffee we began scanning the fields. Our first birds of the trip were Crested Lark and Calandra Lark. Stopping by some farm buildings gave us views of Rock Sparrow, Linnets, Spotless Starlings and a passing Common Buzzard. Our exploration of the higher steppe eventually rewarded us with views of both Great Bustard and Black Bellied Sandgrouse plus a fairly brief view of Stone Curlew. We ended the day with views of Little Owl and Lesser Kestrel before…

2 Day Birding Break in Valencia

I recently provided a 2 day birding break in Valencia for a couple of returning clients from my home town of Sheffield. It was fantastic to welcome Jonathan and Caroline back to Valencia and to spend these days together with them. They first came last autumn when they visited the wetlands of Albufera de Valencia and the mountains with us. They were keen to see Albufera again, but in winter and also wanted to visit the steppe, in particular to see Great Bustards. This time they were visiting with friends and were combining a cultural city break with a couple of days of birding. On day one, we made the short trip to Albufera, and started birding as soon as we began the journey by watching a Booted Eagle who has made Valencia port his winter home this year. We then visited a reserve area where we sat in a couple of hides for a while and enjoyed views of Shelduck, Teal, Marsh Harrier and more Booted Eagles. We then spent a little time watching a rice field that held plenty of Snipe and in the surrounding reeds we saw Tree…

Winter Birding in Albufera de Valencia.

Last week, I provided a day of winter birding in Albufera de Valencia for a client from England. Paul, a lovely man from Exeter was visiting his daughter here in Valencia and wanted to discover in more detail the bird life of the region. He was particularly interested in the wetland species and really wanted to see Bluethroat amongst others. After the short journey from the city, we made our first stop at one of the park´s reserves. Frosty mornings are a rare thing here at sea level, but today was an exception – cold, crisp, no wind and a beautiful clear blue sky providing excellent winter birding conditions. Here we began by a small lagoon where we enjoyed views of Black Tailed Godwit, Marsh Harrier, Black Winged Stilt, Teal and Shoveler, as well as a pair of Greylag Geese, not a common sighting this far south. As we walked back through the woods to the car we had views of Chiffchaff and a Hoopoe. We then had a little time to pay attention to the rice fields before our next visit to another reserve area. So, we drove along…