Cullera 'best for British birdwatcher holidays'
Tuesday, June 9, 2015 @ 12:36 PM
BRITISH ornithologists seeking a birdwatching holiday should look no further than Cullera on the Valencia province coast in eastern Spain, say UK travel agents who have just come back from a fact-finding mission in the town.
According to tour operators including Gourmet Birds, Naturetrek and Wildlife Worldwide, the mountain above Cullera which houses its iconic lighthouse is one of the best places in Spain for checking out feathered wildlife.
Representatives from all three – David Tomlinson, Simon Dicks and Isabel Ashworth – were joined by Barrie Cooper of The Natural Travel Collection and Garry Wilkinson from Northern Ireland Ornithologists' Club at the Hotel Cullera Holiday last week on a trip to explore birdwatching haunts and enjoy the local cuisine.
Species that can be seen from the lighthouse mountain include the Brown Skua, the Balearic Shearwater, the Northern Gannet, the Common Tern – many of which are extremely rare and difficult to spot – as well as more frequently-seen types like Auks and seagulls.
Experts in ornithology visiting Cullera from the UK say the Estany lake, the river Xúquer – also known as the river Júcar – the Bassa de Sant Llorenç rural stretch and the Albufera wetlands stretching from Valencia city to the coastal town of Xeraco some 55 kilometres south of the metropolis are also excellent places for birdwatching, given that over 350 species either live there or fly across these places en route south when migrating for winter.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com