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An Afternoon at Albufera de Valencia

As we had business to attend to in Valencia today, the opportunity to spend a couple of hours looking what was around Albufera couldn´t be missed. We started at the main hide, where we were greeted by a group of school children on a day trip! Although not the quiet environment that we expected, it has to be remembered that this is where the future of conservation lies. We soon attracted a small group of kids who were curious to see what the telescope was and soon had a small queue forming to watch the Flamingoes that were resting at the far side of the lagoon. A few others were fascinated to see the beautifully coloured Teal through binoculars which at first glance to them, appeared to be just “boring brown ducks”! Once their teacher called time and moved them on and out of the hide, we settled down to see what else was around. As mentioned, Teal were present in good numbers. A group of 6 Black Winged Stilt did a good job of trying to conceal a lone Avocet amongst them. We spend a little time waiting and…

Bird Watching at Santa Pola & La Mata Alicante.

Bird Watching Alicante – Guided Bird Watching in Spain. Although a little further South than our usual haunts, as we had an appointment in Alicante in the morning, we decided to make the most of the day by taking a slight detour and spend the afternoon bird watching at Santa Pola and La Mata. The forecast for heavy rain thankfully proved to be pessimistic. Although we expected to be watching from the van, we were fortunate enough to be greeted with patchy cloud and sunny spells. We scanned the lagoons at Santa Pola first, where we enjoyed views of hundreds of Greater Flamingoes and Yellow Legged Gulls. Scoping across the water revealed Sandwich Tern, Shelduck and Avocet, all in good numbers. A few Little Ringed Plovers scurried along the shallow banks whilst a Marsh Harrier passed low over the reedbeds. As we explored the reedbeds a little more, we had good views of Black Redstart, Zitting Cisticola and a male Cirl Bunting. As we made our way back to the van a pair of Turnstones ran out of the vegitation on the shoreline. A final scan gave us views of…

An October Morning in the Mountains.

This year, October is proving to be a summer month! Each day has peaked at around 30 degrees so far. With that in mind, I ventured into one of my favourite mountain valleys in the province of Alicante to spend a couple of hours in the shade and to see what was around. The summer theme continued as the first bird that I saw upon leaving the car was a male Whinchat perched in a nearby bush. There were still quite a few Swallows passing by too. As I made my way into the gorge, I enjoyed close views of Black Redstart, Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Coal Tits. As I sat in the shade, the silence of the gorge was wonderful – only interrupted by the occasional call of a Wren. I decided to take the easy way out and to sit and wait for the birds to come to me! Within 10 minutes I was fortunate to watch closely as up to 7 Black Wheatears worked their way down the cliffs, the flash of white tail feathers betraying their presence. I also spotted a Short Toed…

Steppe & Lagoon Tour – 6th October 2011

Having enjoyed the Valencian Coastal Wetlands Trip, Christine & Nick were keen to spend another day´s birding. Their preferred option was the Steppe & Lagoon Trip as Great Bustard and Little Bustard were targets for their Life List. We arrived on the plains of Castilla de la Mancha in glorious sunshine despite a cooling early morning breeze. Having enjoyed a breakfast of coffee and toast in a local café we explored an area of reed bed and marsh adjoining some cereal fields. Our first bird of the morning was a Corn Bunting, which was followed by an Iberian Grey Shrike and then a Whinchat. Having spent a while scanning the fields, we saw Crested Lark in good numbers plus a steady stream of passing Swallows. We then set off across the plains in search of the target birds of the day. Kestrels were plentiful as were Wheatear. Patience was eventually rewarded with close-up views of a female Little Bustard. However, despite our optimism, we failed to find the Great Bustards. Lunch time was approaching so we decided to picnic by a favourite lagoon. During a leisurely lunch we were able to…

Valencia Birding

valenciabirding.com is a small but specialist active tourism company based in Valencia, Spain. We provide guided Bird Watching Tours throughout Eastern Spain, encompassing Valencia, Alicante and Castilla de la Mancha. This area is blessed with an incredibly diverse range of habitats and excellent birding sites, many of which are virtually unknown! We cater for all levels of bird enthusiasts and provide a bespoke guiding service at very reasonable cost. Our local knowledge can ensure that our clients can make the absolute most of their time in Spain by depending on us to take them to the very best sites. We offer our services to those holidaying throughout the La Safor region, and beyond to Xativa, Valencia, Costa Blanca and the interior of the Valencian Community. Our objective is simple…to provide our clients with a value-for-money service that is exactly tailored to their wishes and requirements. Whilst being able to provide a wealth of specialist knowledge, our style is first of all to listen to what the client actually wants, then to tailor our services to suit. Our approach is what makes us different…Our business model is unlike that of most professional Bird Watching companies. Our approach…

Albacete in August

We were very fortunate to select of of the coolest days of the month to visit several sites around Albacete. The day started with a somewhat bizarre sighting of a Little Owl sitting in the middle of a field in broad daylight! Despite August not been the best month for watching waders, we managed to find good numbers of Black Winged Stilt plus Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plovers and a Greenshank. Our patience and searching rewarded us eventually with good views of Great Bustard out on the plains. Kestrels were out hunting in good numbers, and other raptor highlights included Booted Eagle and Buzzard. Greater Flamingoes were present at a number of sites, as were large flocks of Bee Eaters. Other sightings included Woodchat Shrike, Lapwing, Black Necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Red Legged Partridge and Crested Lark.