House Sparrow - Page 10 of 10 - Valencia Birding

Bird Watching Trip to Castilla de la Mancha

On Tuesday 3rd April, we arranged a guided bird watching trip toCastilla de la Mancha for a group of 7 people. The weather forecast was for sunshine and showers and as we arrived at our first viewing point, atop a small hill overlooking the plains, there was a cool wind blowing. Despite this we were treated to immediate views of what was the target bird for many of the group, the Great Bustard. Skylarks were singing in the fields and a Kestrel battled to hover in the wind. Having enjoyed the Great Bustards we set out across the plains to our next viewing point where we enjoyed superb views of Calandra Lark, Skylark and Crested Lark. We also found more Great Bustards roaming across the steppe. After a welcome coffee break at a village bar, we stopped at our first lagoon where we had views of Black Winged Stilt, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Gadwall, Shelduck and Flamingoes. The next lagoon held more Flamingoes, Red Crested Pochard, and one of the day´s highlights the White Headed Duck. As we watched the lagoon we were also enjoyed sudden views of a…

Guided Bird Watching in Valencia

On Saturday 31st March, we provided a day of Guided Bird Watching to the Coastal Wetlands of Valencia. Our group of 6 people started the day with a coffee by the beach during which we discussed the target birds for the day. The plan for the day was to complete a circular walk of 7km, stopping at various observation points and hides. The weather was superb as we made our way to the first reedbed and lagoon. There are days when things immediately get off to a good start and today was fortunately one such day! Within minutes of our arrival we were watching 5 White Headed Ducks, right in front of us on open water. They were joined by Flamingo, Red Crested Pochard, Shoveler, Common Pochard and Coots. Common Terns were calling noisily overhead whilst the reedbeds held Reed Bunting, Moustached Warbler and Stonechat. The next lagoon on our route held further delights in the form of Collared Pratincole, Black Winged Stilt, Purple Gallinule, Redshank, Greenshank, Garganey, Kentish Plover and Little Ringed Plover. The bushes and trees in the surrounding fields provided good views of Corn Bunting, Fan…

Winter Birding in Castilla de la Mancha

Today´s trip was a joint effort arranged by Valencia Birding and La Safor Ornithological Society, a Spanish group based in our local town of Gandia. The area visited was the same as that taken in on our “Steppe & Lagoons” trip and visits the high plains of Castilla de la Mancha, just over a hour´s drive from the Mediterranean coast. To make the most of the day and to have the best chance of seeing the target species we left our home base at 6.30am and after a couple of pick ups we were up on the steppe by 8.30am. The early start was rewarded by a stunningly beautiful and crisp morning. The temperature gauge was showing -6 degrees C and a sharp frost was evident although fortunately there was a complete lack of wind as we made our first stop. As we scanned across the vast plains we were fortunate enough to see a dozen Great Bustards resting in the early morning sunshine. Having enjoyed some super views we headed back to the van and drove along our usual track out over the fields. We made a few brief…

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,…

Valencian Rice Fields.

This morning, I spent a couple of hours wandering around one of my local patches which consists mainly of rice fields. When in flood the Valencian rice fields attract a variety of birds, including passing migrants, which make it an ideal area for bird watching in Spain. The day got off to a good start – as soon as we got out of the car, a pair of pale form Booted Eagles passed over. They were relatively low so we enjoyed great views. They spent a while quartering the hillsides looking for prey before they drifted off into the distance, although we saw them a further three times during the morning. There were still surprisingly high numbers of Swallows feeding on the insects over the water. As I scanned the Valencian rice fields I also picked up good numbers of Black Headed Gull, dozens of Grey Herons, Little Egrets, Cattle Egrets and a lone Squacco Heron. Although they are “officially” a summer visitor, we do see a few that over-winter by the coast. The reedbeds held good numbers of Fan Tailed Warblers plus a few pairs of Stonechats and a Whinchat….

Valencian Coastal Wetlands Trip – 2nd October 2011

Together with Nick & Christine from Barnsley, South Yorkshire we spent a full day walking around the coastal wetlands of Valencia. Despite being into October, the weather was still hot and dry so we were all interested to see what was still lingering and what new visitors had arrived. The day proved to be very interesting. Our first sightings of note included a Reed Warbler and Marsh Harrier. As we sat overlooking one of my favourite lagoons, our patience was rewarded with excellent views of White Headed Duck, Purple Gallinule, Fan Tailed Warbler and Little Ringed Plover. We walked across the reedbeds and enjoyed Whinchat, Wheatear, Sardinian Warbler, Stonechat, Redstart and Bluethroat. Our picnic lunch by another body of water was complimented by super views of the usually elusive Water Rail. A Glossy Ibis flew over as did a Lapwing plus hundreds of Barn Swallows, in amongst which were a few Red Rumped Swallows. As we continued the walk across the reserve, we had great views of Iberian Grey Shrike, and watched as the movements of Swifts, Sand Martins and Swallows continued. We were fortunate enough to pick out a handful…