Parque Natural de l’Albufera a worth while visit during your birding holidays Spain

This coastal wetland area spans over 21,000 hectares and is of significant interest to the flora and fauna in the region. The area was named ´parque natural´ in 1986 and consists roughly of four different types of habitats: the coastal strip of dunes,  the rice fields which occupy most of the park, a large lake and a hilly landscape at the edge of the area. Birding holidays Spain,  sun, birds, cost and lots of birds what more can you wish for?

The park information centre is located in the town of El Palmar and is open seven days a week from 09:00 to 14:00. From September through to May, they open in the afternoon as well from 16:00 to 17:30. They will provide information on the routes for either car, cycle or for walking which all start from the centre. For the walks or routes, click here, and here for the various details in Spanish.   Report visit Albufera 24-08-2014   On this warm afternoon I drove towards Valencia to spend a few hours in Parque Natural de l’Albufera. The car ride from Refugio Marnes to the visitor centre takes 1.5 hours and passes the mountain ranges leading to the turnpike at which the exit towards Cullera is taken. From the village of Cullera follow the signs to Sueca and after this town the main road leads straight through the natural park, a great excursion on your birding holidays Spain.

At a town called Sollana I took a camí, a road that runs alongside the main road. On this camí there is hardly any other traffic which makes pulling over to see wildlife a lot easier and one can look down on the irrigated rice fields too. Right away it is evident that you have entered a birds’ paradise on your birding holidays Spain and within a 100 metres I saw a juvenile black-winged stilt (Himantopus Himantopus) on the road. These fields accommodate many different types of birds that need water to find their food. Cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) and little egrets (Egretta garzetta) are present throughout the year in Albufera, and I saw dozens of them. I also saw two differing species of heron, the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) and the squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides). In addition to these I saw adult and juvenile gull-billed terns (Sterna nilotica), a sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), the black ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) and the little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis).

The area is large and there is a lot to see and on this trip I did not manage to visit the big lake, or the coastline and the other routes that start from the visitor centre. These areas are characterised by different habitats and therefore will accommodate various other differing types of species.

So you can see, a visit to Albufera is a must for any bird spotter, or anyone who enjoys seeing nature! Have great fun on your birding holidays Spain and discovering the Valencian comunity.