9th-10th – Return to Adamuz and home

With the three hide visits done it was time to return to Malaga so I could fly home the following day, though the trip back would be with a small detour.

The lynx hides have the extra service that if you don’t see a lynx during your booked visit you will be able to get a heavily discounted extra visit if there is availability to be found. So the first place had contacted my guide, and while he wouldn’t be able to put me in another lynx hide he had a spot in one of his eagle hides, more precisely the hide to see bonelli’s eagle. And I got that for free. So instead of sleeping in on the return day we left early to get to Adamuz on time (as Adamuz was near Cordoba it was on the way to Malaga anyway so it didn’t affect the return trip much). 

 

Bonelli’s eagle.

On location I was put into a hide for 6 people with a Spanish couple. We were setting up while the owner was spreading chunks of chicken out on strategically placed trunks lying around close in front of the hide, in an otherwise empty and open grass field. We would be there from 1000 to app. 1200 – not very long but we were told that if it didn’t turn up within half an hour they wouldn’t show up. Apparently a couple was roosting nearby so the changes of seeing at least one of them should be pretty high.

  

We were left alone and the staring into the open commenced. It didn’t take long before a large shadow suddenly went past on the ground, and before I realized what it was a bonelli’s eagle landed right in front of us on a branch and spent the next 5-10 minutes moving around picking out pieces of chicken and seemingly having a great time. And with a piece still only half swallowed it flew away. I was sitting thinking that that viewing was a great end of a trip, and only a few minutes later a shadow passed before the other eagle came and dealt with the rest of the chicken. It ended up being a fun double feature, and for the remainder of the time there we were entertained by birds you’d normally see on a field. Not quite like the eagles but there was still plenty to look at.

 

 

From there I got picked up by my guide and we drove back to Malaga where I was delivered to my hotel and we went our separate ways. And thus ended an excellent tour. Of course, I would have liked lynxes daily and all day, but realistically I got few but excellent viewings so I don’t have much to complain about. It will be a bit before I return again, having my thirst somewhat satiated for now.

Full album can be seen here.

8th – Peñalajo cheese factory

The last hide day was a bit further away again going north, a small hide on the property of a cheese factory, in what seemed like absolutely nowhere. The hide was basically a metal box with room for two seats and nothing else – you were given an “emergency toilet” which is a resealable bag with a thickening agent inside and room for app. 700ml fluids. That’s it. Cross your fingers you don’t need more room or need to... do more. Luckily I was alone in the hide. The hide itself was nicely lowered so that the one-way glass was at ground height.

Another person in yesterday’s hide mentioned that she had used this hide in the summer which was no fun at all. Sitting in a metal box in the Spanish heat was quite the challenge; at one point she had to tell the other person in the hide, whom she hadn’t met until they had been allocated the hide, that she was sorry but she would have to strip down to her underwear as the heat was unbearable. I without a doubt preferred the cooler late winter/early spring, even if I was alone.

So my guide drove me to the main building where the owner took over and drove me out to the hide. I settled in and got my bearings while the owner removed the protective coverings from the windows and spread out some bird seed in the vicinity. He popped his head in when he was done to make sure everything was ok before he left me alone for the next 10-11 hours. 

I was still focused on the finishing touches of getting my camera ready when I thought I saw some movement out the corner of my eye. I looked up and confirmed that there had been a bit of movement, turned my attention back to my camera to hold on wait was that a yes it was a lynx what I am doing?! Looked back up and turned my camera around; a lynx had come out from some shrubbery, I’m assuming curious about the noise when I was settling in and the owner removing the panels in front of the window. It sat there a few minutes looking around before slinking back away. Moments later it reappeared and crossed the open area in front of the hide before disappearing again. 

 

And that was the last I saw of that. Birds of various kinds throughout the day, and even a hare in the afternoon (I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for a lynx to jump out grabbing it. Come on – it’s food right there!). Overall a good day, though the start did raise the expectations for the rest of the day a bit too high. 

Red-legged partridge.

 

Pheasant.