Birds of Spain by Brett Westwood, BBC Radio 4

BIRDING HOLIDAYS IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ALICANTE
AND THE ALBUFERA OF VALENCIA

Taken in the Barranco del Sinc by Jem Wilcox on a group walk in the mountains of Alicante in November 2007

mountainWALKS BIRDING  HOLIDAY April 28-May 4 2007

The following is an account of the birding holiday in 2007 accompanied by BBC Radio 4 wildlife and nature presenter and producer Brett Westwood. The following list was distributed to all those taking part in the holiday.

GENERAL LIST OF BIRDS AROUND QUATRETONDETA.
This is a list of combined sightings from BW and other group members. Apologies if I’ve missed off anything.

Common Kestrel
Peregrine
Bonelli’s Eagle ) BW 5/5/07)
Griffon Vulture 19 on 5/5/07, BW
Red-legged Partridge
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Feral Pigeon
Cuckoo
Scops Owl
Tawny Owl
Common Swift
Alpine Swift
Bee-eater
Hoopoe
Wryneck
Woodlark
Thekla Lark
Barn Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow(BW 27/4/07)House Martin
White Wagtail
Robin
Blackbird
Redstart (BW 27/4/07)
Black Redstart
Nightingale
Stonechat
Black Wheatear
Melodious Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Bonelli’s Warbler
Firecrest
Pied Flycatcher (BW 27/4/07)
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Short-toed Treecreeper
Woodchat Shrike
Spotless Starling
Golden Oriole
Jay
Magpie
Chough
Raven
House Sparrow
Rock Sparrow
Serin
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Cirl Bunting


HIGHLIGHTS OF DAY TRIPS

April 29 : ALCOLEJA VILLAGE AND SURROUNDS

Pallid Swift: A few with Common Swifts over village
Alpine Swift: Single with Common Swifts near village
Wryneck: One singing from almond tree ,photo included
Blue Rock Thrush: Female carrying food in village
Hoopoe: At least two calling, but not seen
Golden Oriole: Ditto
Blackcap; Three birds in stream gully near village
Bonelli’s Warbler: a few elusive birds in pines
Firecrest: One singing in pines
Crested Tit: Several in pines, but not seen well.
Rock Sparrow: At least 6 on wires in almond terraces near village.
Woodchat Shrike: Single showed well on wires.
Eagle sp: A probable Bonelli’s Eagle flew into shrubs high on Aitana range
Two other eagles seen nearby, not positively identified.April 30: BARRANCO ENCANTADAReservoir: pair Great Crested Grebes, Mallards and several Grey Herons

Reservoir end of Barranco:
Squacco Heron: one by stream
Little Ringed Plover: pair on shingle by stream
Nightingales common
Blackcap…2 singing
Melodious Warbler; two singing
Cetti’s warbler; Heard loudly, seen briefly
Reed Warbler: One singing by lane
Wryneck: One calling but not seen
Golden Oriole: several heard, and 2 or 3 glimpsed!
Spotted Flycatcher: Two in poplars
Long-tailed tit: family party

Barranco Encantada
Bonelli’s Eagle; one showed very well
Bee-eater: c50 flew over
Crag Martin; several, gave excellent views
Black Wheatear: Male high up on crags
Blue Rock Thrush: Ditto
Melodious Warbler: 2 showed well near entrance
Rock Sparrow; two high on crags, seen in silhouette only.

May 1: Barranco MalafiDull and cold to start with, but improving later and sunny and warm in pm.
Pair of Hoopoes showed well on track to rim of gorge.
Crested Tits, Coal tits and a Firecrest showed in the pines.
Pair of Golden eagles visited nest site in a natural cave, possibly a third bird present
Pair saw off distant Booted Eagle: 2 Kestrels also around gorge
Black-eared Wheatear: 2 pairs around lip of gorge
Black Wheatear: One one sides of barranco
Spectacled Warbler: 2 males sang in scrub at edge of gorge
Dartford Warbler : A few in low scrub at top of gorge

Plants included: Thapsia villosa( yellow-flowered umbellifer with soft, divided leaves): Ornithogalum umbellatum ( Star-of-Bethlehem), common on limestone at top of gorge: Euphorbia isatidifolia ( green-flowered spurge, in conifer plantations)

May 2: Alcoi
Griffon Vultures……30+ at feeding station, with others below cliffs giving stunning close views
Sparrowhawk: One through pines on limestone near nesting cliff
Woodlark: Two singingover limestone
Subalpine Warbler: Male in pines near nesting cliff
Rock Bunting: A few in pines and scrub and a pair around vulture feeding site
Crossbill: One in pines near nesting cliff.
Blue Rock Thrush: Pair in feeding quarry
Black Redstart: Pair in vulture feeding quarry.

Plants included: Cytinus hypocistis , a very low-growing bright red and yellow parasite of Cistus( sunrose) bushes on the limestone. Common here as was the stock, Matthiola fruticulosa, with greyish leaves and twisted dull pink petals.


May 3: Aitana
Rainy and cool, a five-layer day! Thunder and looming clouds over the ridge.
Birds elusive, though good if brief views of Spectacled Warbler, Tawny Pipit and Bonelli’s Warbler. A possible Whitethroat showed in scrub and a female Pied Flycatcher.
Firecrest, Cirl Buntings and Melodious Warbler sang near picnic area.Cuckoo called frequently.
Green Woodpecker called and seen briefly from minibus.

Plants included Fritillaria lusitanica and the beautiful tulip Tulipa australis. A species of Valerian in bloom in rocky places was possibly Valeriana tuberosa. Hedgehog Broom ( Anthyllis erinaceus) locally frequent at higher altitudes. Euphorbia isatidifolia with vivid green flowers was common here. Purplish orchid was Orchis olbiensis.


May 4 . Albufera Lake, Valencia
A stunning day with a mouth-watering selection of Mediterranean specialities:
Day divides into two parts:
PRE-PAELLA
Small lagoons behind the Visitor centre at Albufera
Common Tern colony on islands with Mediterranean Gulls and Black-headed Gulls
Black-winged Stilt: several pairs
Greater Flamingo; c10 flew over
Marbled Duck; 3 birds seen , including a rather distant pair. A very rare and important European species.
Red-crested Pochard: At leats 2 prs
Common Pochard: a few birds
Mallard
Little Grebe: at least two pairs
Osprey: one flew over towards lake
Honey Buzzard: c10 flew over distantly, presumably migrants heading north.
Kingfisher: seen several times
Turtle Dove: A few on wires and in tamarisks

POST-PAELLA
Lake surrounds including boat-trip
Grey Heron….common
Purple Heron…common
Cattle Egret…..several
Little Egret……common
Squacco Heron…several
Purple Gallinule …at least three from boat, one swimming across open water.
Red-knobbed Coot….pair, including one with neck-ring. Lucky to see red-knobs on bill as they almost disappear outside breeding season. One of Europe’s rarest birds
Marsh Harrier…one female over reeds
Audouin’s Gull….several on lagoon.
Yellow-legged Gull…many on lagoon
Yellow Wagtail..three in onion fields outside village
Collared Pratincole….a few hawking over fields near village
Great Reed Warbler; one seen others heard from boat
Moustached Warbler: seen briefly from boat
Gull-billed Tern: Frequent, though at the time I dismissed them as Sandwich Terns…apologies!!
Zitting Cisticola ( Fan-tailed Warbler) … a few near lake in reeds.
BUTTERFLIES
Cool and overcast weather kept the number of species down, but I suspect the list below is scratching the surface
Large White
Small White
Western Dappled White
Morocco Orange-tip
Sooty Orange-tip
Provence Hairstreak
Common Swallowtail
Scarce Swallowtail
Brimstone
Black-eyed Blue
Painted Lady
Heath Fritillary
Wall Brown
Speckled Wood
Dingy Skipper

PLANTS
A random selection,largely based on what I could identify!
Many don’t seem to have common names, so I’ve indicated the family they belong to in brackets after the scientific name.

Fields, terraces around Quatretondeta
Poppies: Papaver argemone: Long-headed Prickly Poppy
Papaver hybridum: Round-headed Prickly Poppy
Papaver rhoeas: Common Field Poppy
Papaver dubium : Long-headed Poppy
Roemeria hybrida: ( small , purple-flowered poppy)
Calendula arvensis ( annual marigold)
Psoralea bituminosa : Bitumen Pea
Mercurialis tomentosa : ( Downy Mercury)
Pallenis spinosa ( daisy family)
Paronychia argentia ( low-growing with silvery, papery bracts)
Diplotaxis erucifolius ( v.common, white-flowered Wallflower Cabbage)
Fumaria capreolata : White Ramping Fumitory- v.common
Platycapnos spicata : Spiked Fumitory…olive groves
Hyoscyamus albus : White Henbane
Moricandia arvensis : ( purple mustard common on rocky banks)
Scandix pecten-veneris: Shepherd’s Needle ( parsley with long pointed seed-cases)
Vicia lutea : Yellow Vetch
Vicia onobrychoides : False Sainfoin
Anagallis monelli : Blue Pimpernel
Sherardia arvensis: Field Madder
Rubia peregrina : Common Madder

And many, many more.

"These daily lists are selected highlights only, not complete lists for each
location. Apologies if I’ve missed out birds you saw, or included ones you
didn’t! "

See Details of our 2013 Birding Holiday
Visit Our Site for more details on our Birding holidays to Spain

Bird watching in Eastern Spain 2013

Birds of Eastern Spain. Accompanied birding holiday
7 nights from 4th May 2013
 

  The region The landscape around Quatretondeta is dominated by limestone mountains, hills, gorges and valleys. Much of these have been terraced mainly for growing olives, almonds, cherries and peaches, which provide the main source of income for the landowners. The more inaccessible places have been left ‘unimproved’ and are a refuge for flora and fauna. Here there are Mediterranean pines and oak, shrubs and bushes: with a stunning variety of herbs. Birds make use of the orchards for nesting including, Nightingale, Wryneck, Great Tit and Crested Tit amongst many. There are no sheep or goat farms and therefore the indigenous plants are not cropped out of existence. Close by are the wetlands of the Albufera near Valencia which provide one of the 3 most important bird populations found in Spain, along with the Donoña National Park and Ebro delta. A bird list from a previous holiday can be found here. The holiday The holiday will be accompanied by a bird experts, Mike and Jackie Pointon, with an excellent knowledge of the birds of the region. It is a holiday suited to both committed birders and to beginners, as you will always have someone on hand to help with identification. The aim is to visit a wide variety of the habitats available here. Visits will be to wooded and open farm land close to running streams, a visit to the Canyetes project at Alcoy with time in the hides to observe an important colony of Griffon Vultures at close quarters, and to watch them and other raptors in flight over the dramatic Barranco del Sinc gorge. The Barranco Encantada will be visited, a favoured spot for Bonelli’s eagles and the reed beds where the gorge spills out into the River Serpis. Golden eagles will feature, we are lucky enough to have 19 breeding pairs in these mountains. We will also a day in the high mountains where many raptors, choughs and Ravens abound. Finally a full day will be spent in the Albufera at Valencia. The day will be split into morning spent in the hides of the Albufera Park and in the afternoon by boat into some of the more hidden parts of the Albufera lagoon and reed beds. You can check out the impressive bird list provided by Brett Westwood of the BBC taken from a previous holiday. The holiday is a full board holiday and includes all meals. These consist of breakfast, packed lunch or bar lunch (Albufera), evening meals including wine; 7 nights’ accommodation in our comfortable cottages in the mountain village of Quatretondeta, airport transfers from/to Alicante and all local transfers. Also included are hide fees at the Canyetes project ( if feeding times are suitable) and the 2 hour boat trip at the Albufera. This holiday is limited to a maximum of 8 people and there are no single supplements. The holiday represents exceptionally good value and is priced at

850 Euros or 715 Pounds per person    ( same price as 2012)


To book this holiday a deposit of 100 Euros or Pounds in payable with the balance payable 30 days prior to the holiday date. Alicante airport is the start point for this holiday. Flights to and from Alicante are not included. Low cost flights are available from most UK airports on carriers such as Easyjet, Flybe, Ryanair, Monarch, Jet2 and BMI Baby Return to Mountain Walks web site Go to holiday booking form



 mountainWALKS Spain San Gregorio 4 03811 Quatretondeta Alicante Spain Email us for further information

Last minute holidays?


With the advent of "low cost airlines" the tendency in Europe and particularly the UK has been for travellers to organise their own holidays with the expectation of picking up last minute bargains. This of course causes problems with activity holidays where a good deal of forward planning is required. It has become standard practice for major tour operators to cancel advertised holidays if minimum booking numbers have not been reached anything up to 8 weeks before a holiday is due to start.

Small locally based companies like mountainWALKS do not suffer the same problem and in our case we guarantee once you have booked a holiday it will run even if it means we have to offer individual service. At the moment anything up to 75% of reservations are being received 21 days or less before a holiday commences.

Where problems are arising now is with flight availability and prices particularly in periods like school holidays. Airlines have reduced their schedules from the UK into Alicante with about 30% less availability from the UK than 2009 which also saw a reduced capacity from 2008 figures.

We received a flurry of last minute enquires for our guided walking holiday during the Autumn Half Term School holidays, and although we have availability, flights at affordable prices were not. Prices as high as 450 Pounds return were asked of one person wishing to travel from the North of England and in another someone wishing to travel here by train could not get tickets as there were none available through the Channel Tunnel. So it does not always pay to be late.

Certainly booking your flights earlier now means you get the best prices and often you will get early booking discounts from your destination too.

In our view the last minute tendency in organised activity holidays has the end result of reducing consumer choice. A holiday is often booked because it is available and not on merit or choice.

Last minute ! You might be too late!

Love walking in the Lake District but need some sun? Then look no further than Mountain walks in Spain . This wonderful mountain area located half way between Valencia and Alicante has a "Lake district" feel to it. Without the lakes of course but there are 3 reservoirs. These classic limestone mountains offer all the challenges of better known mountain ranges, from ragged peaks, ridges, rock pinnacles, narrow gorges and broad valleys.

An excellent place to get away from northern European weather and walk during September to June . Spring arrives early here!. Walk in Spain through almond blossom from mid February. See our late availability walking holidays in Spain offers on line.


Our 2012 & 2013 guided  and independent walking holiday programme is now available: Go directly to the mountainWALKS web site or follow events at mountainWALKS on our FaceBook page.

A Favourite Photograph of the Mountains of Alicante
from the Sierra Serrella.
Here's one of my favourite photographs take on one of our guided walks. The photo was taken in early March on one of our guided walks and shows a wonderful inversion take from the peak of "Pla de la Casa" at 1379 mts, the highest of the peaks on the Sierra de la Serrella range just above Quatretondeta.
 More information and other great photographs taken on our walks visit our MOUNTAIN WALKS web site.
Daily events can be followed on the Mountain Walks Facebook Page.

Responsible & sustainable tourism



Mountainwalks sustainable travel policy :-

Social responsibility:- All our staff have employment contracts in accordance with Spanish law with full social security rights and benefits.
-Meals are based on the best of regional dishes using locally grown produce and where possible organically grown produce.
-We encourage our guests to act in responsible way, and with an insight and understanding of the region, its people and their customs.

Economic responsibility:
-We are based in a small mountain village which has suffered substantial economic deprivation over the last 30 years .
-All our purchasing is from local suppliers and where possible using local agricultural produce.
-Locally produced olive oil and almonds are available for our guests to purchase
-We support local income generation and small business enterprises by supporting locally owned shops and restaurants.

Environmental responsibility:
- All waste products are separated for recycling
- We achieve a zero litter policy.
- We work closely with local & regional government to bring environmental issues to their attention and to bring about positive action.
- We were instrumental in working with the regional environmental agency and the Quatretondeta town hall to get a significant area of our local mountain range the Sierra Serrella , declared a micro reserve for Flora and Fauna under the EU Life 2000 initiative.
- We maintain close contact with local environmental groups.
- Solar panels have also been installed at our self catering cottage along with a new high tech high insulation roof.

Return to mountainWALKS activity holidays.

The Orchids of the Mountains of Alicante
Holiday accompanied by Michael Lowe

17 March 2007

The hills, valleys and mountains of northern Alicante are at their best in March, when the terraces of almonds are in full bloom and the spring flowers are fresh. Although less well known than Andalucía, the northern mountains have a rich orchid flora and many endemic wild flowers. The mountains of Alicante form the northern limits of the Baetic mountain range of southern and eastern Spain, which includes the Sierra Nevada. The Alicante Mountains are mainly composed of Cretaceous & Tertiary limestone’s and chalk, with a landscape of deep valleys between the high mountain belts (sierras). The climate is mild, 'Mesomediterranean', with a vegetation of remnant oak wood, now mainly replaced by 'garrigas, 'maquias' and 'tomillares' (bushes, dwarf shrub and steppe / rocky open ground) and some pine woods. Northern Alicante is a unique biogeographic area known as the Diánico subsector.

We hope to find at least 10 orchid species flowering in March:
Barlia robertiana (giant orchid)
Ophrys dianica (Dianic bee orchid, endemic to Alicante and Valencia)
O. lupercalis (early brown bee orchid)
O. lutea (yellow bee orchid)
O. dyris (omega bee orchid)
O. scolopax (woodcock orchid)
O. speculum (mirror orchid)
O. tenthredinifera (sawfly orchid)
Orchis italica (Italian orchid)
O. olbiensis (early purple orchid)



During the week it is planned to visit all the main habitats of northern Alicante. The provisional programme (in no particular order) is -

Day 1. The Río Serpis valley. Lorcha village and terraces and the Vall de Gallinera.
Day 2. Font Roja Natural Park oak woods and the Carrasqueta.
Day 3. Val de Laguart and Benimurell
Day 4. Sierra Helada (l'Albir), coastal walk and the Penyal d'Ifac.
Day 5. Sierra Montgó
Day 6. Cocentaina (free day in the town or walks amongst local hills).



For each days excursion it is planned to visit a number of localities, with plenty of time to explore, identify plants and take photographs. Walks will be generally gentle, but often over rocky ground. Frequent stops will be made at local bars for refreshments and tapas. Holiday based in Quatretondeta with mountainwalks.com.

Guide books:
Davies and Gibbons: Field Guide to Wild Flowers of southern Europe, Crowood Press (ISBN 1 85223659 0).
Piera, Crespo & Lowe: Las Orquideas de la Provincia de Alicante (in Spanish).
(Available from http://www.summerfieldbooks.com/)