In february 2012 I visited southeastern Spain to attend a scientific workshop. As always, I included a few half days of bird photography before the workshop started. Due to my limited time available (all photographs were made in 3 half days), I spent quite some time preparing the trip and getting to know the area before I left. A very useful tool was a local birdwatching guide written by Graham Critchell who lives in the area. The book describes the few areas worth visiting and is excellent in its simplicity. The sites visited are situated between Alicante and Murcia, in the middle of the 'Veja Baja' along the Costa Blanca. The area looks like one big building site inhabited by the famous 'Benidorm Bastards' during wintertime. However if you know where to go, a long species list may be achieved in a fine mixture of saltpans, inland marshes, woodlands and mountain areas. There are even some very good steppe areas within 2 hours driving.