Birding holiday in Valencia
This is one of a series of 4 reports that cover a 4-day birding holiday in Valencia that we recently designed and provided for a client from London, UK. Charles, a young but experienced and knowledgable birder had contacted us earlier in the year to explore the possibilities of designing a bespoke birding break. Together, we designed a trip for him. He opted to stay in Valencia city, but we put together a plan that included guided birding trips to diverse habitats including steppe, forest, mountains, coast and wetlands. This report covers “Day 1” which was a day on the steppe and lagoons of Castilla de la Mancha. We left Valencia city centre at around 8am and in less than 90 minutes drive we were up on the steppe. The weather was perfect for birding if not unseasonably warm for December. After the usual coffee stop, our first birding spot was a relatively high vantage point overlooking the rolling fields and wide open space of this wonderful region. At over 900 metres in altitude, it can be a harsh place in which to live and work, but its bird life…