Trip Reports

January 2023 For the first time since the pandemic, I was delighted to welcome back Stephen from the UK. An experienced and well travelled wildlife photographer, he was keen to make another trip to the Valencia Region, this time to focus largely on Golden Eagles in the mountains of Alicante. I collected him from Alicante Airport in the afternoon and we drove into the mountains where he checked in to a small hotel in the historical village of Biar. Biar, Alicante The next morning we made a relatively early start to ensure that we were in the photography hide as…

Just before Christmas, I had the pleasure of welcoming Larry and David from the USA back to Valencia. I met them last winter and we spent a day at the coastal wetlands of Valencia. This year, Larry spent a day with me on the steppe, followed by a day at Albufera when David also joined us. Day 1 – Steppe We had originally planned to go to the steppe the previous year, but bad weather had forced a change of plan. So, when the day dawned bright and with no wind, it was somewhat a relief! Our first stops on…

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of meeting Martin and Jessica again. Both very keen and well travelled birders, they spend a large part of their lives in Spain. Martin is also an author of various works relating to birding. Our first day was to be spent at Albufera where we began our trip in a hide from where we saw good numbers of Greater Flamingo, Teal and Shelduck as well as Stonechat and Kingfisher. The next hide gave views of shorebirds on a small island, including Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Avocet, Black-winged Stilt and Snipe. Greater Flamingo &…

18th November 2022 For many reasons, I have recently spent more time than usual at the huge wetland site of Albufera de Valencia, and one thing that has stood out is that no two days are ever the same, even two consecutive days. Our first stop of the day Today´s trip was for Dave from the south of England who was enjoying a short break in Valencia with his wife, and wanted to include a day of birding in his plans. Our first stopping point immediately greeted us with a lagoon full of birds – especially Flamingo, Shelducks, Black Winged…

21st October 2022. I’ve spent many days over the past weeks at Albufera, and have been fortunate enough to do so with some wonderful people from all over the world. Today’s trip was for two very experienced birders from Denmark, who had chosen to include a day’s birding into their short break in Valencia. The day of our trip was quite warm for the time of the year, but with light cloud cover and no wind. We began to see an overlap of summer visitors, winter visitors, passage migrants and resident species as soon as we began – namely Collared…

I recently had the privilege to meet and provide a trip to Albufera de Valencia for Patricia from the USA, who is a leading expert in the wetlands scientific research sector. Despite her huge knowledge and experience, her humility and enthusiasm for all that we saw made the day very special. Our first reserve visit gave us shorebirds that included Black Winged Stilt, Black Tailed Godwit, Collared Pratincole, Ruff and Common Sandpiper. A Kingfisher came to perch quite close by, and stayed there for a good few minutes, allowing for excellent views. Kingfisher After a morning coffee stop in a…