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Birding the local wetlands

Last week I was delighted to provide a day trip for a client from New Zealand who was visiting Valencia and wanted to see the local bird species. A retired vet and therefore extremely knowledgeable naturalist, he was interested to see the birdlife of our region as well as to see how our nature reserves are handled. Having made the short drive from the historic quarter of Valencia, we walked along a dune system, looking onto a system of coastal lagoons. This is obviously migration time, so Barn Swallows were constantly passing through. The reeds surrounding the lagoons gave views of Fan Tailed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff and Reed Warbler. We were also surprised to see a Melodious Warbler. The lagoon gave views of White Headed Duck, Purple Swamphen, Little Grebe and Shoveler. As we continued our walk, we enjoyed views of Stonechat, Kestrel, Marsh Harrier and Cetti´s Warbler. We spent a while in a hide, looking out onto a shallow lagoon that´s great for waders. This gave views of Greenshank, Snipe, Dunlin, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Greater Flamingo and Black Winged Stilt. We continued our walk through the…

A very busy few days!

The past few days have been very busy here at Valencia Birding! Yanina has been working hard at the Delta Birding Festival in Cataluña, whilst I´ve had the pleasure of guiding some fabulous clients from around the world. These have included a gentleman from New Zealand, a couple from UK and one of Argentina´s leading bird photographers. Each day was very different and extremely rewarding. We´ll be publishing reports on all these trips during the next few days, but here are a few shots of some of the many birds that we saw…. Thanks to you all for making the past days so enjoyable, and thanks to Yanina for flying the flag at the Delta! Dave.

Discovering the bird life of Valencia

A few days ago I had the pleasure of providing a guided bird watching trip for two clients from Italy. They were keen to discover the bird life of the Valencian wetlands. After I collected them from the historical quarter of Valencia City we drove to the Albufera Natural Park. I´d organised a visit to a forested area with a lake, beside the sea – a hot spot for Audoin’s Gull, Kentish Plover, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Tern, Hoopoe and Turtle Dove. Next stop was to a reserve area which holds Waterfowl, Black-winged Stilts and Flamingos mainly, this time of the year. Last stop was to a restricted reserve area which always holds a wide variety of species. To get there we drove through the rice paddies, an ecosystem that in itself is a hot spot for herons, egrets, Glossy Ibis and Marsh Harriers. Once inside the reserve, we carefully and quietly explored each lagoon. The water levels are carefully controlled to provide habitats for various bird species. A huge variety of herons, gulls, terns, ducks and waders were all showing very well, together with Greater Flamingo and Glossy Ibis. It´s always…

January 2017 Bulletin

Another bird-packed year has passed, filled with many happy memories of special times spent with lovely people in beautiful locations, watching amazing birds. As we look forward to another new year, we´d like to begin as always by thanking you all for your support during 2016 and by wishing you a very happy 2017. General News Our day trips have continued to prove very popular, and this year we´ve been delighted to see an increase in teenagers and young people that we´ve guided. We´re very much aware that the future of birding and conservation lies in their hands, so we´re always gratified when we see such interest. Our proximity to some incredibly diverse habitat is a constant benefit to us, and we look forward to another year of guiding our clients through some of Europe´s best wetlands, salt marshes, highland forest, mountains and steppe. A point worthy of note here is that after a lengthy period of dry weather during much of the year, our region saw some incredibly high rainfall during December 2016. Although this caused some practical problems in the immediate term, it has served to boost the…

2-Day Bird Watching Break : Mountains & Albufera

Day 1 – Mountains A few days ago, I was delighted to provide a 2-day bird watching break to the mountains and to Albufera de Valencia for two experienced birders from USA. They were keen to discover some of the habitats and birdlife of our region. Having collected them from their apartment in central Valencia, we drove for less than one hour to a great gorge in the mountains to search for some target species. As soon as we parked, we had an amazing welcome from a Blue Rock Thrush standing on top of a ruined building controlling its territory. A few minutes later, many Griffon Vultures were circling around. Walking through this amazing gorge we enjoyed great views of Black Wheatear, Sardinean Warbler, Crag Martin, Black Redstart and also a pair of Raven. It was a fantastic trip where we had good sightings of some target species. The list for the day included… Griffon Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, Raven, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Crag Martin, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Sardinian Warbler, Robin, Black Redstart, Black Wheatear, Blue Rock Thrush, Stonechat, Song Thrush, Serin, House Sparrow. Day 2 – Albufera de Valencia The second day was designed such that we could see…

Birding from Alicante

I recently designed and provided a 2-day bird photography trip for a client from Norway. Svein was staying in the south of our region and wanted to organise a couple of days birding from Alicante. We opted for a day at the area´s premium wetland reserve followed by a day on the steppe. That way he would see two completely different habitats. One day 1 we met up and drove to the wetlands where we started the day with a walk through the reserve. The day began with views of Little Grebe, Little Stint, Dunlin, Avocet and Greater Flamingo. We had good views of Glossy Ibis in flight, then of Booted Eagle passing overhead. Although we weren´t able to get quality photos, we were very fortunate to enjoy views of one of the over-wintering Spotted Eagles, a huge raptor that migrates from Eastern Europe each year. After a picnic lunch by a small lake where we enjoyed views of Wood Sandpiper, Red Knobbed Coot and Purple Swamphen, we took a short walk during which we had great views of a Black Stork. We then visited a couple of hides from…