The trip to Spain went significantly easier than when going to Manchester - no issues with the transport going to the airport adding to the stress and it was easy finding the rest of the group in the terminal; just look for the people with large camera- and lens bags. The flight to Madrid went without a hitch just like the pickup and drive to our hotel in Villacañas 1½ hour drive south of Madrid. We arrived just before 2100 where we checked in and went to have dinner.
Out floating hides. Notice how little space there is above the cameras.
The hide to the right is the local guide's - it's recognizable by being significantly roomier.
The following three days followed the same schedule; pickup at the hotel at 0600, return to the hotel at around noon at the latest, pickup again around 1645 and return to the hotel around 2100-2130. Sunday we still did the morning routine but in the afternoon we left for Madrid to fly home in the evening. We were 8 people in the group (7 clients and the tour leader/pro photographer) being transported in two cars, and as the hides only had room for 4 people at a time we would be split up, but throughout the 7 hide visits we would all visit the same 7 different hides. Depending on logistics we would either be driven directly to the hide from the hotel, or driven to the main buildings (which seemed to be old farm buildings now used for storage/usage for the photo tours they were running) where the driver/handler picked up bait and/or waited while other clients were driven out to their hides.
Little owl.
The 7 hides we got to use were a floating hide, little owl, raptor, European roller, lesser kestrel, wading birds and bearded reedling. With two exceptions the hides were similar; a small hut, just big enough for two people to sit next to each other on small usually uncomfortable chairs with a tripod and camera with no real room to stretch so you were stuck until the end of the session. We were then sat there behind glass for 3-4 hours until our pickup returned.
Western marsh harrier.
Spanish imperial eagle.
For the wading birds we were placed in small hide tents instead - very low chairs and almost any movement of the tarp created noise so you had to be careful moving around. At least the seats were low camping chairs; while not optimal they were significantly more comfortable than the small metal folding chairs we were met with in some of the other hides.
European roller.
Lesser kestrel (female).
Lesser kestrel (male).
The other exception were the floating hides. That was an experience. Imagine a u-shaped flotation device; you place yourself "inside" the u, resting your arms on the.. eh... arms of the u, and at the base of the u you mount your tripod head or gimbal. On top there was a tent that covered it all and made you look not human in an attempt to get closer to the birds. Despite not looking like much its buoyancy was good enough that you could put your weight on the arms and still stay afloat. The tent on top was surprisingly small; not much taller than to allow the camera to be mounted which meant that you were hunched over for the entire time, which also meant the only visibility was what you saw through the camera and whatever space between the camera and tent. Adding to the frustration it wasn't much deeper than you could move around on your knees which meant that after the few hours in the water I returned to land feeling quite sore. They had a line of wet- and dry suits, but unfortunately the only I could fit were the dry suits. And remember: if it looks like a dry suit, is presented as a dry suit, and after going into the water above the knees you get wet, it's not a dry suit.
Collared pratincole.
The floating hides were the first hide I did, and while it was fun to try I was glad it was the first so it was over and done with. The other half of the group didn't do it until the following day and I am so glad I wasn't part of them; we were quite honest about our experience (also - we never really got close to the birds) and you could just see the others get discouraged. And when they returned they pretty much agreed with our assessment.
The view from the bearded reedling hide. It wasn't quite representative for the rest of the hides as there was plenty of room in this one. What you see in this photo is pretty much the full width of the hide, with another one next to us.
In spite the problems and uncomfortableness involved I was glad I got to try it, but I am also not planning any other trip involving floating hides anytime soon.
Bearded reedling (male).
Big thanks to Mads Hagen for being an excellent guide on the trip, and thanks to Jan, Anne, Dino, Lars, Mikael and Jacob for being equally excellent travel buddies along the way.
Full album can be seen here.
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