Flooding and plowing of rice paddies brings thousands of gulls to l’Albufera. Despite the intense winds, we connect with several common gulls, Caspian gulls, herring gull, little gull plus bonus ring-necked ducks.

I started a challenge trying to see a different bird every single bird this 2026. January brought nice sights in northern Spain, mountains and wetlands of Alicante and ultimately frozen forests in Finland.

My local birding reached a new level in 2025. I connected with 276 species in Comunitat Valenciana including unexpected rarities, highlights of different seasons and countless hours shared in the field with friends.

Flocks of waterfowl in Merja de Fouwarate included American visitor ring-necked duck and blue-winged teal. We connect with Morocco goodies: Maghreb magpie, plain martin, African chaffinch, common bulbul…

A quick stopover in Kuwait provided WP specialties using public transport: white-tailed and spur-winged lapwings, isabelline and masked shrikes, white-throated kingfisher, clamorous reed warbler and more.

A morning visit to Lake Kerkini looking for lesser white-fronted geese and tundra swans resulted in three Greek rarities: a Siberian chiffchaff, three little bustards, and an Oriental turtle dove.

Amidst an avian botulism outbreak, several birds are released after recovering in the local wildlife rescue center. These include the common pochard and ferruginous duck, both locally and globally threatened.