Two Great Days of Autumn Birding in Eastern Spain

Have just returned from two days of superb birding with a groups of great clients from UK.  Day 1 saw us at the Valencian Coastal Wetlands whilst Day 2 was spent on the Steppe & Lagoons of Castilla de La Mancha. We had some magnificent views of some of the classic species that these venues offer. Here are the species lists for the two days… (photos courtesy of P. Gudgeon). Valencian Coastal Wetlands Little Egret, Yellow Legged Gull, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Swallow, White Headed Duck, Mallard, Moorhen, Black Winged Stilt, Little Grebe, Black Redstart, Iberian Grey Shrike, Little Ringed Plover, Black Necked Grebe, Stonechat, Kestrel, Goldfinch, Grey Heron, Purple Swamphen, Greater Flamingo, Magpie, White Wagtail, Kingfisher, Snipe, Green Sandpiper Steppe & Lagoons Great Bustard, Kestrel, Crow, Coot, Black Winged Stilt, Lapwing, Greater Flamingo, House Sparrow, Pochard, Mallard, White Headed Duck, Black Necked Grebe, Spotless Starling, Marsh Harrier, Calandra Lark, Hoopoe, Moorhen, Golden Eagle, Crested Lark, Black Bellied Sandgrouse, Pintailed Sandgrouse, Wheatear, Little Ringed Plover, Ruff, White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail   Written by David Warrington. Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding

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Guided Birding in Valencia

On Sunday 21st October, I spent a very enjoyable day with some great clients from Kidderminster, UK.  Stella and Richard are both keen nature lovers and in recent years have been particularly interested in birds.  They were keen to explore the Valencian wetlands and to see the classic species of this diverse area. We started our day at one of the reserves within the natural park of Albufera de Valencia where we began by scanning the lake for wildfowl. We soon had good views of Red Crested Pochard, Shelduck and Teal. We also had great views of both male and female Marsh Harriers, a species that seems to be doing increasingly well in this area. We then moved on to another site within Albufera where we were very fortunate to see the endangered Red Crested Coot. We also had good views of Purple Swamphen, and Iberian Grey Shrike. The reed beds held many recently arrived Chiffchaffs plus Fan-Tailed Warbler and Cetti´s Warbler. We also had brief views of Kingfisher and Black Redstart. After a coffee stop, the next site of the day was a coastal lagoon where we enjoyed great…

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Bird Watching in Valencia

On Sunday 15th April I spent a very enjoyable day with a lady from Austria who was visiting the area and wanted a day of guided bird watching in Valencia.  Having met her at her accommodation in the city centre, we made the short journey to the Valencian Coastal Wetlands.  This area is superb at any time of year but is especially interesting in April as summer visitors are arriving and migrants are passing through. We set off along the coast, scanning the reeds for warblers.  A stiff breeze seemed to be keeping the smaller birds down but we did enjoy spectacular views of Swallows and Swifts swooping and diving as they hoovered up a swarm of mosquitos.  The first lagoon provided excellent views of the very rare White Headed Duck together with Red Crested Pochard, Yellow Wagtail and Greater Flamingo.  We then heard the distinctive call of a Great Reed Warbler so began our search which within a few minutes revealed this bold and charismatic bird sitting up in the reeds. We continued our walk along the coast where a few bushes were holding a small flock of passing…

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