Moustached Warbler - Valencia Birding - Guided Bird Watching in Spain

A Day in the Mountains

19th May 2023 My second day with Maria and Jane was spent in the mountains of Valencia. We made the comfortable journey into the highland interior, stopping for a coffee and to pick up sandwiches before we enjoyed a walk along a wooded riverside path. Searching for Golden Oriole! A raptor soon flew into view before circling above us, and turned out to be a dark-form Booted Eagle. A Black Wheatear made a brief appearance before disappearing into a nest crevice on a crag above the woods. We then heard the wonderful song of Golden Oriole, my first of the year. These stunning birds, despite their bright colours, have an amazing ability of disappearing once they fly into the treetops! However, we were determined to find them, and eventually succeeded. Our walk continued, the woods full of the song of Nightingale and Wren, both of which we saw. A Spotted Flycatcher was catching insects in flight before returning to its perch, and Blackcaps were flitting through the undergrowth. Spotted Flycatcher We returned to the car and drove up into the mountains from where we enjoyed some fabulous views of Griffon…

A Spring Day at the Valencian Wetlands

17th May 2023 Maria had contacted me the previous year in order to arrange a couple of days of guided birding as part of their holiday in the Valencia region. She’d managed to arrange a trip that involved a rail journey from the UK to Spain, stopping on the way to visit the Ebro Delta, before travelling onwards to Valencia. The trip was to celebrate her partner Jane´s birthday, so I was very keen to provide the best possible birding days for them. Squacco Heron After many email exchanges, we finally met in person, and travelled to our chosen wetland reserve, where after having a quick coffee, we began our walk. A Squacco Heron was the first bird of the day, soon to be followed by Greater Flamingo, Glossy Ibis and a pair of Marsh Harriers. Whiskered Tern The reed beds were full of the sounds of Zitting Cisticola, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler and Great Reed Warbler, and from our first observation platform we had good views of Whiskered Tern, Purple Heron, Night Heron, Little Bittern and Purple Swamphen. Purple Swamphen A walk along the coast gave us excellent views…

Guided Birding Trip to Albufera

A few days ago, I had the pleasure to organise a guided birding trip to Albufera de Valencia for a couple from the Netherlands. They were experienced birders, keen to discover new species from this region. After I collected them from their hotel in Valencia, we drove to the first stop in a reserve area, which right now is becoming a local “hotspot”. We were amazed with fantastic views of Booted Eagles and Marsh Harrier, also Little Grebe and Kingfisher displaying right in front of us. We also enjoyed good sightings of many waterfowl and wader species. Second stop was in a restricted reserve and green filter area where we were welcomed by Spoonbills flying overhead. Many Glossy Ibis and waders where feeding in the shallow water of the fields. Next stop was by a small lake, which by this time of the year becomes a great spot for wintering and migratory birds. Black-necked Grebes were among the target species here. It had been a special birding day with many great sightings. These included… Mallard, Shelduck, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pintail, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Teal, Great-crested Grebe, Black-necked Gribe, Little Grebe, Great Cormorant,…

Nature and Wildlife of Valencia

Yesterday I had the pleasure of providing a trip for 2 clients from Holland. Both knowledgable naturalists, they are also involved in the project Natura 2000 Network in their home country. They were here on holiday and were very keen to see the nature and wildlife of Valencia. We spent the morning at one of Valencia´s coastal wetlands which is a protected area and is also included in the Natura 2000 Network. It was very interesting to compare how conservation and politics are extremely different depending on the European country´s regulation and how controls are developed and implemented. The bird species list for the day included.. Marsh Harriers, Booted Eagle, Common Kestrel, Greater Flamingo, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Coot, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Great Cormorant, Common Snipe, Black-winged Stilt, Common Sandpiper, Red-crested Pochard, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Mallard, Kingfisher, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Bluethroat, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Moustached Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, White Wagtail, Starling, Meadow Pipit.

Bird Watching at Albufera de Valencia

Last Saturday I was delighted to provide a day of guided bird watching at Albufera de Valencia for 4 clients from Granada, Spain. It was a sunny and windless day, ideal for exploring the different eco-systems of the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park. We enjoyed many of the classic Albufera species. in particular the herons, egrets and ibis that are resident in the park. We enjoyed a fabulous day and were fortunate enough to see 40 species, including : Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Kestrel, Glossy Ibis, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Purple Swamphen, Moorhen, Coot, Little Grebe, Back-necked Grebe, Great-Crested Grebe, Common Snipe, Black-winged Stilt, Lapwing, Great Cormorant, Kingfisher, Black Redstart, Stonechat, Bluethroat, Robin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Moustached Warbler, Cetti´s Warbler, Zitting Cisticola, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Starling, Shelduck, Shoveler, Mallard, Common Pochard, Teal.

Bird Watching in Valencia

On 27th April, we enjoyed a great day of birding at the Valencian Coastal Wetlands with a group of British birders. After the obligatory morning coffee by the sea, we set out along the dunes where we enjoyed good views of Moustached Warbler in the adjoining reeds and a Turtle Dove on a telephone wire. The first lagoon provided nice views of White Headed Duck and Little Bittern and a little further along the track we stopped to watch a Great Reed Warbler sat up in the reeds in full view. Our next stopping point beside another lagoon gave good views of Spotted Redshank, Dunlin, Little Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover and the beautiful Collared Pratincole. As we walked through more reedbeds we saw Common Reed Warbler, Savi´s Warbler, Fan Tailed Warbler and Marsh Harrier – all classic birds of this trip. We soon added Corn Bunting and Yellow Wagtail to the list too. The mosquitos were becoming a little annoying so we didn´t linger at the next lake for too long but we did have time to enjoy views of Shelduck, Wood Sandpiper, Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis and Spotted Flycatcher….