Trip Reports

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…

7 Day Guided Birding Trip – Day 3 (Wetlands of Alicante) The plan for our third day was to drive to the coast at the southern end of the province of Alicante and visit one of the region´s premium wetland reserves. After a drive of around one hour from Banyeres de Mariola, we arrived at the reserve. Although a little breezy, the weather was fine. After a brief chat with the reserve warden we looked out onto the first small lagoon where we were fortunate to see some of the Red Knobbed Coots that are part of a release programme.…

Day 2 – Mountains & High Forest. Following yesterday´s long day and many hours of travelling for our clients, we designed the second day such that there would be very little time spent in the car.  Within a very short drive of Banyeres de Mariola are some wonderful high forested hills and rocky peaks.  They were to be our chosen habitats for today. At over 1000 metres above sea level, the high forests of the region have beautifully clean air and provide habitat for some very special birds.  Strangely enough, in this area you´re more likely to see a Crested…

The huge habitat diversity of the Valencia region of Spain allows us to provide a superb 7 days 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…