Valencia Birding - Valencia Birding - Guided Bird Watching in Spain

Last Trips to Alicante before the Summer Break

Alicante is not widely known for its birding, but the truth is, it has some of Spain’s most important wetlands, as well as huge expanses of mountainous terrain, highland forests and even an area of steppe. In the weeks prior to the summer break, during which time I turn my attention to the Osprey Reintroduction Project, working alongside Itziar (Fundacion Migres) and Ian Perks (Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation), I spent many days in Alicante with clients from both the UK and USA. White Headed Duck This region has a number of key species that are always very popular with visiting birders, White Headed Duck, Marbled Teal, Red Knobbed Coot to name a few. We managed to see all three on every trip this spring, which was even more special for those for whom it was a first sighting! Purple Swamphen The extensive reed beds provide habitat for Purple Swamphen, Great Reed Warbler, Little Bittern and much more. The shallow lagoons and their shores provide nesting grounds for Avocet, Collared Pratincole, Kentish Plover and Tern species including Common, Sandwich, Little, Whiskered and the occasional Elegant! Great Reed Warbler As many of…

A Very Busy Spring Season in Valencia

I’m both delighted and very grateful to report that this spring season has been extremely busy, with clients from across Europe and the USA. For those based in Valencia, trips have included the coastal marshes and the rice growing wetland region of Albufera, as well as the mountains of the interior. One client in particular, Erik from the Netherlands, flew down to Valencia with the hope of seeing Elegant Tern. With only a couple of days in which to locate it, the challenge was on, but he indeed returned home having had good views, and the opportunity to photograph it too! Elegant Tern with Sandwich Terns Others were very happy to see the mixed colonies of Sandwich Tern, Common Tern and Little Tern, all of which produced good numbers of chicks across the region. Little Tern Much work has been done across the region to protect both Marbled Teal and White Headed Duck, so to see both species raising young has been wonderful. Marbled Teal Female White Headed Duck with young Another breeding bird that is especially vulnerable, and is the subject of various conservation projects is Kentish Plover. This…

2 Day Birding Break in Alicante

Alexia has been a loyal client and close friend for many years, so it was with great anticipation and joy that I welcomed her back for another trip together. We began our first of two days in Alicante, specifically the wetlands to the south of the city. Common Pochard Two of our target species were seen well within the first 15 minutes of the day – Red Knobbed Coot and Marbled Teal. Migration was obviously underway, with huge numbers of Red Rumped Swallow, Barn Swallow, House Martin and Common Swift constantly passing through. Close observation of a particularly large mixed flock also revealed a few Alpine Swifts. Red Knobbed Coot with chicks Another recent arrival included Collared Pratincole, with a few birds seen hawking over their regular nesting grounds. Purple Swamphen, Great Egret and Purple Heron were wading through the lagoons whilst Marsh Harriers were quartering the surrounding reed beds. Wildfowl included Red Crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Shelduck and another of the day’s target species, White Headed Duck. Red Crested Pochard A brief drive across farmland gave us views of Hoopoe, Crested Lark, Black Redstart and Kestrel. Having added these…

3-Day Birding Break from Xativa

Following the Christmas, New Year and Three Kings celebrations, it felt great to begin the first trip of 2025, especially so as it was for Tony, a client from the UK who I had met two years ago when we did a day trip from Alicante. We had spoken on the phone to design something bespoke for him, taking in 3 days in different habitats, whilst allowing him to enjoy a little time in the historic town of Xativa. Day 1 – Mountains Tony flew into Alicante airport the day before our 3 days together began, so that’s where I met him before taking the short journey up into the mountains. Having stopped for a coffee and to pick up a sandwich for him, we began our short walk up a peak, where the key target species included Alpine Accentor and Griffon Vulture. As we began to walk up through the pine forests, we enjoyed watching Red Squirrels chasing each other through the trees, as well as Coal Tit and Long Tailed Tit. We usually have to walk to the peak to see Alpine Accentor, but today, they were extremely…

A Pre-Christmas Trip to Alicante.

Our final trip before Christmas 2024 took us to Alicante, where I had the pleasure of meeting Agustin and his family from Galicia in northern Spain. They were enjoying a Christmas break in the region, and wanted to include a day’s birding in their plans. Once I’d navigated the labyrinth of narrow streets in the historical quarter of Alicante, we met and made the short onward journey to the wetlands! Immediately upon getting out of the car we were watching Purple Swamphen and Snipe feeding at the base of tall reeds. Amazingly, the day after, we received news of sightings of a Purple Swamphen with chicks! Marsh Harriers, a common winter visitor to the región were out in good numbers, flying low over the marsh in search of prey. Another common winter visitor, the Eurasian Teal, often provides them with such! One of the reserve´s specialities soon came into view, again in good numbers – Red Knobbed Coot. Much has been done here to protect this bird, so it’s always gratifying to see them doing so well. Red Knobbed Coot There were obviously plenty of insects on the wing, as…

A Return to Albufera After the Devastating Floods

21st December 2024 The huge wetland of Albufera lies directly between the towns that were devastated by the recent flooding and the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, its northern and western sectors have suffered a serious environmental impact. Although there has been a huge clear-up operation, much remains to be done. Many rice fields still contain debris, wrecked cars and mud that was washed down the rivers and canals, and some nature reserve areas have suffered serious damage to their facilities and infrastructure. However, the southern and eastern areas have escaped the worst of the effects, and hold plenty of birds. The southern rice fields of Albufera As previously commented, Albufera has being the subject of environmental impact in the past, and has recovered. It will do so again, but only thanks to a relatively small group of dedicated souls. Walking throiugh the elegant city of Valencia, one could be forgiven for being under the impression that nothing has happened, but as for the towns that were hardest hit, the destruction is hard to describe in written word. The conditions that people continue to live under are something akin to a disaster…