Trip Reports

Last week, I was especially delighted to welcome back returning clients Steve, Melanie and their son Adam.  We provided a day of guided birding for them at Albufera de Valencia last winter, and had discussed the options for a Spring trip.  Their timing was perfect as many summer visitors were either passing through or had already settled in readiness to breed.  The coastal wetlands of Valencia are spectacular in Spring, and today was to prove amazing.  Numbers aren´t everything, but by the end of the day, we´d totalled over 70 species. Little Ringed Plover Our day began with a walk…

The huge habitat diversity of the Valencia region of Spain allows us to provide a superb 6 day birding holiday.  In late February of this year, we were fortunate to deliver exactly that for Gourmet Birds, a well established specialist bird watching holiday provider from UK. We´d worked very closely with them to design a bespoke trip, taking in some of the region´s best birding venues and carefully selected accommodation to hopefully result in a memorable trip. Day 1 – Salt Marshes and Lagoons The group arrived relatively early into Alicante airport.  Therefore, without wanting to make the first day…

Over the Easter weekend, I enjoyed a super day on the steppe with two returning clients from Belgium.  Both very keen birders, they were eager to see the fabulous species that this unique habitat holds.  Within just over an hour´s drive from Valencia, the high steppe and lagoons provide a completely different habitat from those found at the coast or the mountains. Our first stop beside an area of floodwater gave views of Avocet, Little Ringed Plover, Snipe and a huge flock of Yellow Wagtail.  The day had started well, and although quite windy, the next stop gave views of…

Last week, I was delighted to provide a day of guided bird watching in the wetlands of Valencia for a couple from Canada.  They were on vacation in the beautiful city of Valencia and had arranged a couple of days of guided birding with us. Today´s trip was to the coastal wetlands, a fabulous site at all times of year, but especially so in early Spring as the summer visitors are beginning to arrive.  George and Marilyn were very interested in seeing some of the “classic” European species, that of course are very different to the species they have in…

Last week, I enjoyed a fantastic day with a couple of returning clients from Canada.  They had a trip with us few days ago, when we enjoyed a day in the coastal wetlands of Valencia.  This time, they were keen to have a day of guided bird watching on the steppe of Spain. After a chat over morning coffee, we made the relatively short journey into the rolling plains of Castilla de la Mancha. One of our main target species was the Great Bustard, which would be a lifer for them both.  We stopped in a favourite location where we…

The plan for the day was to leave the lovely guest house L´Alqueria del Pilar in Banyeres, spend the day on the high steppe of Castilla de la Mancha and then travel onwards to Valencia, where the group would spend the next 3 nights. It was quite a windy and cold day although this is to be expected in February and at such altitude. Most of the area that we were to visit is above 900 metres above sea level. Our first stop beside an area of flood water gave views of Snipe, Little Ringed Plover and Lapwing. Spotless Starlings…