Serin - Page 2 of 2 - Valencia Birding - Guided Bird Watching in Spain

A fabulous species list and a mystery Tern

Last week, I provided a day of guided birding for a mother and daughter from Belguim. The daughter lives here in Spain and her mother was visiting for a week. Both were very keen and experienced birders and were eager to see the wetlands of Valencia, especially at this fabulous time of the year when the breeding season is well underway. The day turned out to be very interesting, and resulted in a fabulous species list and a mystery Tern! As they had made a big effort to drive to Valencia from the interior of Alicante, I opted to combine part of Albufera with another wetland area as a way of optimising the day. Our first stop was at a reserve area within the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park. As well as wanting to see the colony of Sandwich Terns, there had been reports of a mystery Tern, originally thought to be an Elegant Tern (a species usually found in Mexico and the Pacific). However, the bird had been successfully identified, by blood testing and DNA analysis as a hybrid. Its parent species were Lesser Crested Tern and Sandwich Tern….

Bird Watching at Albufera de Valencia

On Tuesday 8th January, together with two local birders, I enjoyed a leisurely day in the Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia. We began our day by generally exploring some of the rice fields on the west side of the park. The usual Little Egrets, Cattle Egrets and Grey Herons were in abundance in amongst which were a five Great Egrets. A female Marsh Harrier passed low over the stubble, flushing out a Snipe. A pair of Stonechats were flitting around the edges of a field and an Iberian Grey Shrike spent a few minutes on an overhead cable close by. Then seemingly from nowhere, a Booted Eagle appeared. It passed by very low before catching a thermal and rising into the air until it was nothing more than a dot. It circled over the fields then made yet another low pass, the winter sunlight catching its contrasting colours beautifully. We moved further north on to another favourite spot where we enjoyed superb views of over 100 Glossy Ibis. We remained in this spot for a good while, and our patience was rewarded with views of Bluethroat, Meadow Pipit and…

A Christmas Birding Trip to the Steppe & Lagoons of Eastern Spain

On 22nd December, we provided a guided bird watching trip to the steppe and lagoons for a client from the Netherlands. Norbert, a very well travelled and experienced birder was holidaying in the Valencia area and was keen to see the bird life that this superb region has to offer. The morning had dawned bright and clear but as we climbed up onto the steppe, it became quite cloudy with a little light drizzle in the air. After a coffee in a local farming village, we set out across the fields towards the day´s first lagoon. Something caught our eye way off to the left so we stopped to take a closer look…indeed, it was a pair of Great Bustards – one of the day´s target species. After a few minutes they took flight, remarkably elegantly for such huge birds. The first lagoon gave good views of Shoveler, Shelduck, Greater Flamingo, Golden Plover and Teal. Although quite far off, we also had views of a Merlin. The nearby telephone cables were occupied by a large flock of Corn Buntings whilst flocks of Serin were flitting around the trees at the…

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…

Ladies´ Birding Group Trip to the Mountains of Valencia

On 11th May, I returned to the mountains, this time with a Ladies´Bird Watching Group. After the morning coffee stop we set out into a beautiful mountain gorge. The weather was hot and sunny but once in the gorge we soon found a shady spot from which to rest and watch the bird life. Griffon Vultures were around in good numbers, soaring effortlessly on the thermals. Some were resting on the cliffs which provided great opportunities to appreciate the sheer size of these magnificent creatures. We made steady progress up into the gorge before finding another comfortable stopping point from where we watched Raven, Chough, Crag Martin and eventually one of the target species, the Blue Rock Thrush. Serin were constantly singing, Goldfinch were flitting around and Swifts were swooping and soaring overhead. After lunch we drove down the mountain to a lake and reedbed. We had great views of a Great Crested Grebe feeding its young (with a frog!) and also saw Little Grebe, Corn Bunting, Stonechat and Reed Warbler. The species list included… Griffon Vulture, Chough, Raven, Blue Rock Thrush, Crag Martin, Serin, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Kestrel, Swift, Little…

El Hondo

Not within our usual birding area, El Hondo is a wetland reserve of major international importance, not least for it´s population of White Headed Duck and Marbled Duck. Although not a regular venue for us, El Hondo always provides something of interest. We were fortunate to enjoy some beautiful autumn sunshine as we set off across the reserve. Within just five minutes we were delighted to see 3 Cranes passing overhead, shortly followed by a lone Booted Eagle. As we made our way through the reedbeds, we watched as a Marsh Harrier hunted by the shore of the lake. We stopped and set up the scope, to be rewarded with views of Serin, Stonechat, Moustached Warbler, Sardinian Warbler, Fan Tailed Warblers and a Bluethroat. A Great Grey Shrike provided a few minutes entertainment before we were distracted by 3 passing White Storks. The first lake held Coot, Mallard, Pochard, Gadwall, Little Grebe and a Purple Gallinule. The larger second lake gave views of Flamingoes in good numbers, Grey Heron, Little Egrets and a Crested Lark by the shore. We were almost out of time so wandered back to the car park as the sun was beginning to set. A flock…