Inland mountain ranges

More than 50% of the Valencian territory is formed by mountains between 400 and 1,000 metres in elevation (some reach 1,800) with a wide variety of ecosystems: abundant pine forests, holm oak forests, riverbanks, cultivated valleys, canyons or juniper forests.

The mountainous areas are chosen as breeding grounds by short-toed snake eagles, Bonelli’s eagles and booted eagles as well as blue rock thrush, black wheatear and Alpine swifts.

The wooded hills and river valleys are the breeding grounds chosen by the Eurasian golden oriole, great spotted cuckoo, red-rumped swallow, melodious warbler, European crested tit, Dartford warbler, Eurasian wryneck and another "favourite": the European bee-eater.

On the riverside and in the cultivated areas there are Eurasian golden orioles, European bee-eaters, European hoopoe, European scops owls, nightjars, etc. This region is also known for the presence of ducks, and depending on the time of year we can observe: white-headed ducks, red-crested pochards, garganey, northern pintail and marbled ducks.

Here you will find Europe’s densest population of Eurasian eagle-owls in the Sierra de Escalona and Dehesa de Campoamor in the southern part of the Region of Valencia.

 

 

 

 

 

Grassland areas

Although it represents a small part of the territory, the Region of Valencia shares some of its grassland areas with the neighbouring province of Albacete. At the highest points, you can observe species such as the lesser kestrel, little bustard, Eurasian stone-curlew, crested lark, pin-tailed sandgrouse or the lack-bellied sandgrouse. 

 

 

 

Coast

The Valencian coast is about 400 kilometres long and, in addition to wetlands, there are spectacular cliffs, coastal mountains and extensive sandy and gravel beaches. In these places you can observe sea birds (Balearic shearwater, Audouin’s gull, slender-billed gull, Kentish plover, etc.) or birds of prey during migration.

 

 

 

Wetlands

The Valencian coast stands out for its marshes and albuferas. Some are small in size and almost swamped such as Prat de Cabanes-Torreblanca in Castellón. Others consist of a large flooded area, such as the Albufera de Valencia, and there are even salt lagoons such as those found in La Mata and Torrevieja in Alicante.

There is a wide diversity of birds during the spring and at the beginning of summer. The coastal wetlands are the breeding place of choice for many species including the: glossy ibis, sandwich tern, western swamphen, collared pratincole, Eurasian reed warbler, moustached warbler and Montagu's harrier, among many others.

The number of aquatic species is astonishing: Squacco herons, gull-billed terns, black-crowned night herons, purple herons, Eurasian bitterns, little bitterns, great egret, and let us not forget, the distinguished flamingo.

During thand winter months, in addition to the impressive large concentrations of ducks like the white-headed duck, our wetlands are fortunate to be the chosen by the bluethroat and the alpine accentor this time of the year.

 

 

 

HOME