La Safor Birders

A brief birding trip to our local marsh.

2012-02-22T09:25:00.000+01:00

On Saturday, in between necessities such as a visit to the garden centre and the supermarket, my wife Carolina and I spent a couple of hours walking around our local marsh. It´s always worth a look around here as there´s usually something of interest and it makes for a pleasant and easy spot of birding.

As it was afternoon, the gulls that can usually be found were absent, probably out on the coast. The usual residents, Little Egret, Cattle Egret and Grey Heron were around in good numbers. On the drier fields were large flocks of wintering Lapwing in amongst which were some fine looking Golden Plovers.
A Booted Eagle passed over, soon to be followed by a Buzzard. The recent influx of Chiffchaffs was still evident, with Black Redstart, Stonechat and Meadow Pipit also around in good numbers. Upon scanning around one of the quieter corners of the marsh we came across 20+ Snipe in a field, with Reed Buntings feeding nearby.
As we passed by one of the wetter areas we were also treated to great views of a Squacco Heron. Although usually a summer visitor, a few often stay in this area for the winter.

Squacco Heron

Towards the end of our walk, we enjoyed views of the extremely pretty Bluethroat, a regular winter visitor to the Valencia region. A Kingfisher whizzed past as we arrived back at the van, a fitting end to our short but most enjoyable outing.

Bird Watching at Albufera de Valencia.

2012-02-16T11:14:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of providing a guided bird watching trip to Albufera de Valencia for clients William and Val from Cumbria. Both skilled birders, having enjoyed many overseas trips they were keen to explore the Natural Park of Albufera.

Having provided a brief summary of the history and layout of the park, we drove across the northern rice fields where we saw hundreds of Little Egret and Grey Heron, and also picked out Reed Bunting and a Bluethroat. We then moved onto one of my favourite “hidden corners” of Albufera and were immediately struck by the sheer numbers of Chiffchaffs. The extremely cold weather that Europe is currently suffering has driven thousands of these tiny birds down the East coast of Spain, together with many Black Redstarts, Robins, and Siskins.

Chiff Chaff

We were then fortunate enough to enjoy close views of a Booted Eagle in flight, the sunlight showing off its colouration beautifully. Marsh Harriers were around in good numbers too. As we walked through the wetland habitat, we saw several Purple Gallinule and Snipe. We also had good views of a Cetti´s Warbler and a Kingfisher. Perhaps the best views were of a Bluethroat that showed very well for over 10 minutes.

A Hoopoe swooped down in front of us and lifted its crest , a strikingly beautiful bird. Then a small flock of Black Winged Stilt flew gracefully by.
We then moved on to another regular spot where we had good views of Cattle Egret, Lapwing and a flock of over 200 Black Tailed Godwit feeding in a field. After a brief lunch we focused our attention on the main lake for a while where we enjoyed good views of Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Teal, Shelduck, Shoveler and Pintail. We then happened across a muddy field that surprisingly contained over 20 Snipe, almost invisible to the naked eye but exceptionally clear when viewed through the scope.
The final part of the day took us across the southern rice fields where we were treated to more super views of Booted Eagle and Marsh Harrier. By now, the sun was quite low in the sky and the day was giving way to a beautifully peaceful evening. Huge flocks of gulls were stood around in the fields, including Black Headed, Yellow Legged and Lesser Black Backed. We also had good views of Great White Egret. As we stopped to take a closer look at this amazingly graceful bird, we also came across a few Tree Sparrows in a nearby hedge.
As we travelled slowly across the fields, we were treated to a memorable spectacle as over 300 Glossy Ibis flew overhead before coming to rest nearby. As the light was beginning to fail we made one further stop to scan a flock of Lapwing, in amongst which were good numbers of Golden Plover.
We´d had a great day out and had been treated to some classic Albufera birds. Our day list totaled 46 species and comprised…
Black Headed Gull, Black Redstart, Black Tailed Godwit, Black Winged Stilt, Blackbird, Bluethroat, Booted Eagle, Cattle Egret, Cetti´s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Coot, Cormorant, Crag Martin, Fan Tailed Warbler, Glossy Ibis, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Hoopoe, House Sparrow, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Pochard, Purple Gallinule, Red Crested Pochard, Reed Bunting, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Spotless Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Yellow Legged Gull

Written by David Warrington.

Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.

A Guided Bird Watching Trip to Albufera de Valencia.

2012-02-09T23:30:00.002+01:00

Today´s trip was provided for two British birders who wanted to learn more about the extensive Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia. Whilst the weather was dry, there was a very strong wind that limited what we would see, although a good days birding was enjoyed.

Our first stop was to observe a recent controlled release of Crested Coot. This extremely rare bird has provided a challenge to conservationists so far but hopefully this season will see some breeding success. We enjoyed good views albeit from far enough away as not to cause a disturbance. We then walked across an area of reeds and small lakes where we enjoyed Reed Bunting, Purple Gallinule, Snipe, and a single Red Crested Pochard that has spent the entire winter with a flock of Common Coot.

We were also fortunate enough to enjoy good views of Flamingo, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe and Kingfisher. We then made our way across the rice fields, in which we were happy to see hundreds of European Starlings. Valencia provides wintering grounds for many European Starlings that make the journey south each year to join their southern cousins the Spotless Starling. The fields also provided views of Great White Egret, Yellow Legged and Lesser Black Backed Gull.
The wind was far too strong for anything to be perching on the poles in the main lake so we headed for the shelter of a hide, from which we saw Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail and Black Winged Stilt. A Marsh Harrier made several passes, causing the Teal to scatter. After a short while, a Booted Eagle arrived on the scene and eventually settled in a tree very close to the hide.


Booted Eagle

We then headed out across the southern side of Albufera, stopping at favourite spots along the way. We enjoyed seemingly endless Cattle and Little Egret then stopped to scan a flock of Lapwing. As we carefully watched we were able to pick out a few Golden Plovers in amongst them.
The day was made very special by a distant flock of large black birds, originally thought to be Cormorants. As they came closer it became clear that they were indeed Glossy Ibis. They settled in a field approximately 200 metres away. Our estimations put their number to be around 300 birds.
Despite the wind, a great guided bird watching trip to Albufera de Valencia was enjoyed by all. Our species list for the day was :
Black Headed Gull, Black Redstart, Black Winged Stilt, Booted Eagle, Buzzard, Cattle Egret, Chiffchaff, Coot , Cormorant, Crested Coot, European Starling, Flamingo, Glossy Ibis, Golden Plover, Great Crested Grebe, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Pintail, Purple Gallinule, Red Crested Pochard, Reed Bunting, Robin, Sardinian Warbler, Serin, Snipe, Spotless Starling, Teal, Yellow Legged Gull.

Garden Watch

2012-02-05T22:58:00.001+01:00

For a Southern English wimp outdoor birding was not an option today . The forecast was snow and wind with temperatures not rising much above zero. This is unusual for Spain but can happen when you live at 400 metres above sea level and the rest of Europe is in the grip of a cold snap. Even Majorca had snow on the beaches.
I decided to set up my camera by the lounge window do an English style garden watch.

I made sure that there was plenty of bird food in the feeders, fresh water in the bird bath and settled down to see what would turn up.

Chaffinch, House Sparrow and Greenfinch were the first to arrive closely followed by Blackbirds and Spotless Starling.
After about half an hour I was amazed to catch a glimpse of a Rock Bunting with its head jammed into the seed feeder. Obviously not used to free food.

The bird decided to fly into our plum tree just below the window and posed well for the next photo.

The Rock bunting was quickly followed by a Crested Tit, Great Tit and a female Blackcap among the Ivy. A Sardinian Warbler turned up for lunch but was too quick for a photo.

A blizzard stopped any more photo opportunities but the birds remained in the garden sheltering from the bad weather conditions.

Half Day Trip to the Mountains of Valencia

2012-02-01T21:51:00.001+01:00

On Tuesday, I took two local British birders on a half-day trip to the mountains of Valencia. Before we set off on the short walk, we stopped for a coffee and were entertained by a pair of Short Toed Treecreepers and a group of Long Tailed Tits in the pine trees by the road.

We parked the van and set off into a beautiful rocky gorge. Within just a few minutes, we spotted a Black Wheatear, a special bird for today as it was a “life tick” for both of my guests. It sat around long enough for a few photos although it was quite a long way off. It was soon joined by at least 6 Black Redstarts and similar numbers of Blackcaps.

Black Wheater

As we made our way up the valley we were treated to stunning views of Griffon Vultures. It´s always incredible to see how such a huge bird can soar on the thermals seemingly without any effort whatsoever. We were fortunate enough to find a few at rest on the high cliffs so were able to get a few photographs.

Griffon Vulture

Whilst we were scanning the cliffs for more vultures, we saw Crag Martin, Rock Bunting, and Sardinian Warbler. A familiar sound caught our attention and sure enough, a pair of Ravens soon appeared in the sky above us.

Male Blue Rock Thrush

After a little time spent sitting in the afternoon sun we made our way back to the van. Before packing and departing, we scanned around one more time and were treated to superb views of both male and female Blue Rock Thrush.

A great way to spend half a day and within a few hours we´d managed to see…
Black Redstart, Black Wheatear, Short Toed Treecreeper, Blackcap, Long Tailed Tit, Serin, Raven, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, Griffon Vulture, Blue Rock Thrush, Sardinian Warbler, Chiffchaff, Crag Martin, Rock Bunting.

Written by David Warrington
Bird Watching Guide.

Combine Guided Bird Watching in Spain with a City Break or Beach Holiday

2012-01-27T10:15:00.001+01:00

As it´s the time of year when thoughts are turning to the warmer months ahead and of holidays in the sun, we´re all thinking of how we can maximise our precious free time and of course value for our hard earned cash.

These days, more people are opting for a vacation that provides the opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities rather than just a beach holiday or sight-seeing trip. However, it´s often the case that to indulge in a favourite hobby whilst away, one has to opt for a specifically organised activity holiday. Here at Valencia Birding, we recognise that such a holiday may not suit all members of a family or party and therefore aim to provide our clients with absolute flexibility and superb value for money.

The stunning Bee Eater is a regular summer visitor to Valencia.

We offer anything from a full week of Guided Bird Watching for groups of up to 8 people, inclusive of accommodation to a day trip that can be arranged for a couple or individual who happen to be holidaying in Spain and quite fancy a Guided Bird Watching trip as part of their other plans. Increasingly, we´re finding that our clients are opting to combine a day or two Guided Bird Watching with a city break to Valencia or a beach holiday on the Spanish Mediterranean Coast.

Guided Bird Watching for Groups of all Sizes

Valencia is a thriving city that manages to combine centuries of tradition and historical monuments, buildings and squares with stunning contemporary architecture, and a beautifully clean, golden beach.

The City of Arts & Sciences, Valencia

Running right through the city from the historical quarter to the stunning City of Arts & Sciences is a unique green “arterial walkway” that follows the original line of the (re-routed!) river Turia. This is now a green ribbon of beautiful parkland planted with a vast array of native plants and trees, play areas, sports grounds and leafy areas perfect for picnics.
Our local area of La Drova is situated in the mountains at a height of 1,200 feet above sea level. The surrounding mountain views are breathtaking and the peaceful location makes it ideal for nature lovers. For those who enjoy the beach life, Gandia´s Blue Flag Award winning beach is only 20 minutes drive away, as is the cosmopolitan town centre. Channel 4´s A Place In The Sun visited recently and were amazed to find such a well kept secret!

Views from our home base of La Drova

The bird life in this area is extremely diverse and provides something of interest throughout the year. Within a comfortable day trip we can provide our clients with a wide selection of Guided Bird Watching. This includes the coastal wetlands of Valencia where we can enjoy Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, and White Headed Duck, the rocky peaks of Valencia where we can watch the mighty Griffon Vulture and beautiful Bee-Eater and Blue Rock Thrush or for something very different we can visit the high steppe of Castilla de la Mancha. Here we can enjoy views of Great Bustard, Black Bellied Sandgrouse, Hen Harrier and much more.

The Griffon Vulture breeds on the high mountain crags of Valencia

So, if you´d like to be taken to the best birding sites in the East of Spain by an experienced local Guide without having to commit to a “birding only” holiday, feel free to contact us :

Visit www.ValenciaBirding.com
Email naturetrailspain@gmail.com
Call 0034633117310

David Warrington
Bird Watching Guide at Valencia Birding.

Alpine Accentors!

2012-01-23T22:21:00.001+01:00

Today´s outing was not specifically a birding trip and more of a walk to the top of one of our local mountain peaks. Such is the beauty of the route, it´s one that we enjoy two or three times per year and today´s trip was timed to coincide with the visit of one of my favourite and most character-full of mountain birds, the Alpine Accentor.

The initial walk up through the steep forest gave good views of Chaffinch, Long Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Robin and the beautifully marked Firecrest. This area is also a frequent haunt of Blue Rock Thrush although we didn´t see any today.

The Peaks of Valencia

As we emerged from the tree line we rested in the sunshine on a shoulder just below the summit ridge. Within minutes, we were rewarded with views of 3 Alpine Accentors perched on a rock on the skyline. As we watched, further individuals flew in, apparently interested in whether they could share our lunch! As we sat there, we were joined by up to 20 of these stocky little birds, their red-brown flanks and white throat patches flecked with black showing clearly.

Alpine Accentor

After the climb up the steep shady forest, it was fantastic to sit here in the sunshine at over 1000 metres above sea level with Alpine Accentors for company! As we enjoyed the views across the peaks, Crag Martins passed by and we were treated to an aerobatic display by a pair of Ravens.

This is a route that we willingly repeat, each season offering its own delights. From the very spot that we enjoyed our lunch with Alpine Accentors, we´ve previously been rewarded with views of Griffon Vulture, Golden Eagle and Alpine Swift.
Written by David Warrington

Winter Birding in Castilla de la Mancha

2012-01-09T19:07:00.001+01:00

Today´s trip was a joint effort arranged by Valencia Birding and La Safor Ornithological Society, a Spanish group based in our local town of Gandia. The area visited was the same as that taken in on our “Steppe & Lagoons” trip and visits the high plains of Castilla de la Mancha, just over a hour´s drive from the Mediterranean coast.

To make the most of the day and to have the best chance of seeing the target species we left our home base at 6.30am and after a couple of pick ups we were up on the steppe by 8.30am. The early start was rewarded by a stunningly beautiful and crisp morning. The temperature gauge was showing -6 degrees C and a sharp frost was evident although fortunately there was a complete lack of wind as we made our first stop.


Winter sunshine on the plains of Castilla de la Mancha

As we scanned across the vast plains we were fortunate enough to see a dozen Great Bustards resting in the early morning sunshine.
Having enjoyed some super views we headed back to the van and drove along our usual track out over the fields.


Great Bustards

We made a few brief stops, the first to watch another group of Great Bustards and the second to see another target bird, the delicately marked Black Bellied Sandgrouse. Although quite far off, we enjoyed good views through the scopes.

Scoping across the plains gave views of Black-Bellied Sandgrouse and numerous Great Bustard

Our next stop was at a small lagoon where we saw Shelduck, Teal, Mallard, a Common Sandpiper and a Lesser Black-Backed Gull. The next lagoon provided good views of Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Shoveler, and Little Grebe. This is an area that has previously provided sighting of Hen Harrier although sadly, not today. However, we did enjoy good views of Marsh Harrier and Buzzard. A Black Redstart and a Stonechat moved through the bushes.

After a coffee break we headed off again across the plains where upon reaching a flooded area, we enjoyed good views of Snipe, Little Stint, Greylag Goose and a Corn Bunting. A little further on we stopped and enjoyed superb views of yet more Great Bustard plus small flocks of Calandra Larks and a pair of Cranes, another of the day´s target species.

headed for our final stopping point, we made a slight diversion to enjoy views of a soaring Golden Eagle, always a spectacular sight.
Our final viewing point was a large lagoon where we watched Greater Flamingo, Black Winged Stilt and yet more Shelduck. The bushes and trees around the shore held Iberian Grey Shrike, Tree Sparrow, Linnet and Cirl Bunting.
The day had been a great success and was enjoyed by all, especially those who enjoyed new “life ticks”. As the sun began to dip towards the horizon we made our way back down to the coast, feeling very privileged to have seen some magnificent birds.

The day´s list totaled 45 species, and comprised…

Black Bellied Sandgrouse, Black Redstart, Black Winged Stilt, Buzzard, Calandra Lark, Cattle Egret, Chaffinch, Cirl Bunting, Collared Dove, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Corn Bunting, Crane, Crested Lark, Crow, Fan Tailed Warbler, Flamingo, Golden Eagle, Goldfinch, Great Bustard, Iberian Grey Shrike, Greylag Goose, House Sparrow, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Little Stint, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Pied Wagtail, Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Robin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Spotless Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Wood Pigeon.

A morning at Albufera de Valencia.

2012-01-05T13:04:00.000+01:00

On 3rd January we spent a few hours at the Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia, a coastal wetland site just south of the city of Valencia. This site is of significant European importance and provides both critical breeding and wintering grounds for a vast range of species. Today´s trip was not so much an intensive day´s birding, in fact we only had a couple of hours as the main purpose of the visit was a meeting with the management team of a relatively new bird reserve within the park.

The main lake of Albufera de Valencia

On the way, we made a brief stop at one of the nearby beaches where we were fortunate enough to watch a passing flock of Balearic Shearwaters, a bird that we´ve seen on a number of occassions over the winter.
Our first stop was to scan the (flooded) rice fields that surround the main lake. We saw the main three Egret species; Little, Cattle and Great White plus hundreds of Shoveler in amongst which were Shelduck. Yellow Legged, Lesser Black Backed and Black Headed Gulls were present in good numbers too. We then moved on to a hide overlooking a smaller, sheltered lake where hundreds of Teal were over wintering. We also enjoyed superb views of Marsh Harrier and Booted Eagle. The seemingly ever-present Stonechats entertained us for a while but soon fled for cover as the Marsh Harrier made a low pass over the reeds. We then scanned over the main Albufera lake where we enjoyed superb views of Red Crested Pochard, Pintail, Shelduck and a gathering of Sandwich Terns.

Cattle Egret

Time was running short so we headed off to our appointment where, following our meeting we were treated to a demonstration of a “green filter” project. This is a truly impressive and completely natural method of significantly improving water quality through the use of strategically situated lagoons that contain a specialised mix of plants that aid the cleaning process by absorbing significant amounts of organic compounds. The improved water quality and the knock-on effect of enhanced environment is already providing ideal breeding grounds for endangered species such as Crested Coot and Purple Gallinule. Even in the few minutes that we had prior to our appointment, we saw Glossy Ibis, Purple Gallinule and more Marsh Harriers than I´ve ever seen in one place.
Even though we´d crammed in a little birding into what was a busy day, we still managed to see 44 species. The list for the day comprised Balearic Shearwater, Black Headed Gull, Black Redstart, Blackbird, Booted Eagle, Cattle Egret, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Coot, Cormorant, Crag Martin, Fan Tailed Warbler, Glossy Ibis, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, House Sparrow, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Pochard, Purple Gallinule, Red Crested Pochard, Red Legged Partridge, Robin, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Shoveler, Spotless Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Yelkouan Shearwater, Yellow Legged Gull.