In the last weekend of Februry we were lucky to provide a customized trip for Simon, an experienced birwatcher from USA.
Our last day birding was really short. Simon had to be at the airport at 10:30 am to take his flight back to USA. This way I picked him at 7,30 ready to spend his last hours in Valencia searching for new bird species in Albufera Natura Park.
Thouhg the weather was cold and the wind a bit annoying, we actually enjoy taking photos to a huge flock of Greater Flamingos we could watch arriving to the last rice field remain flooded in the northern area of the Albufera.
While we looked for the best position in order to get the best light for pictures, we could discover many other birds in the water (different ducks, gulls and egrets, Glossy Ibis, Blak- tailed Godwits, …) but it was quite difficult to find some different.
Nevertheless, among all of them we could observe some new spicies for our jorney: Great White Egret, Water Pipit and a courious group of 3 Geese which had been reported several times by local birdwatchers (www.birdingalbufera.com) during the last weeks always flying, feeding and resting with Flamingos in Albufera Natural Park. By its characteristics it seems these birds are Barnacle and Indian Goose hybrids.
Finally in our last stop before heading to the airport Simon could take some nice photos to one of the targets we were looking forward from the day before: Purple Gallinule.
At the end of the 3 days birdwatching we reach 93 diferent bird species. A few of them –Water Rail, Cetti’s Warbler, Moustached Warbler, Green Woodpecker– were just listened but not observed.
We weren’t lucky whith some expected birds as King Fisher, Hoopoe, Blue Rock Thrush or Bonelli’s Eagle, but it was a superb trip for Simon with many other «first time in life» in his e-bird lists.