Spanish lynx (1 Viewer)

[Steve Babbs]

Anyone tried looking for Spanish lynx? This site suggestions you have a reasonable chance:

http://www.mammalwatching.com/Palearctic/palearctspain.html

a friend of a friend saw two recently. I'd be interested in anyone's experiences as I'm planning to give it a go in the next year or so. I'd be very interested in any thoughts on the best time of year. The web site suggests March to May but mid Feb would probably best for me.

Cheers

 

[Hotspur]

its something that myself and a few others from te yorkshire forum have chatted about - try pm'ing skink1978 about it - he was quite genned up. I remember hearing something about feline leukaemia affecting them recently.

 

[Mike Richardson]

I only really know what I've read on mammalwatching.com. Jon Hall is very helpful if you want to contact him directly for more info. As James said, we are talking about a visit early next year ourselves.

 

[Isurus]

bit of gen on feline leukemia in donana and the second population here:
http://www.fida.es/pdf/lince_telegraph.pdf.

 

[Steve Babbs]

What I'm wondering about timing is that if there are more hours of darkness do they become more nocturnal as they do not need to hunt during the day? According to:
http://www.iberianature.com/material/iberianlynx.htm
rabbit numbers are at their lowest in autumn so it may be that this is the best time to see them as they'd presumably have to spend more time hunting.

 

[Jon Turner]

I saw one once in Donana. Was with a guided tour, and we chanced on on near the track (between El Rocio and the Antonio Valverde Centre) in the middle of the day. This was in August.
Since then a new (illegal?) road has appeared linking El Rocio and Villamanrique. Despite much work to mitigate against Lynx getting onto this road, many have apparently been killed.

I was very lucky - they showed us plenty of spoor in the sand, but really didn't hold out much hope.

Don't know if they see many any more - perhaps someone more local can tell?

Jon

 

[Julian Sykes Wildlife]

I know the sites mentioned on the website and know several people who have been successful there both English & Spanish. Not been there myself yet but planning a trip for this June - will post my findings when I've been if you like.

I know it's very much a luck thing, just like the Iberian Wolves in the Sierra de Culebra, which makes seeing them all the more sweet.

Good luck to anyone chancing their arm, if you don't get the Lynx, you will have a very good chance of Lesser Flamingo at Laguna Fuente de Piedra.

All the best Jules

 

[Farnboro John]

Steve Davis was over there the other week with Karen and 2 others, and had 3 lynxes. There is a pic on Surfbirds mammals gallery, digiscoped at about half a mile. They also had Red and Fallow Deer, Otter, Noctule, Greater Mouse-eared and Schreiber's Bats (at the site in Jon Hall's account) and Spanish Ibex somewhere else.

Its on my list of things to do - as soon as possible!

John

 

[Isurus]

Its on my list of things to do - as soon as possible!
John

Me too, its like the galapagos for me this one, I want to try and see one/it as soon as possible, just in case it all goes terribly wrong. :C

 

[Steve Babbs]

I know the sites mentioned on the website and know several people who have been successful there both English & Spanish. Not been there myself yet but planning a trip for this June - will post my findings when I've been if you like.

I know it's very much a luck thing, just like the Iberian Wolves in the Sierra de Culebra, which makes seeing them all the more sweet.

Good luck to anyone chancing their arm, if you don't get the Lynx, you will have a very good chance of Lesser Flamingo at Laguna Fuente de Piedra.

All the best Jules

Jules

It'd be very useful if you could post your findings. In fact it'd be great if we could keep this thread going with people posting their experiences, even if they don't see them. (A similar wolf thread would also be good as that's something else I've talked about for a while.)

I was hoping to get something planned for the end of this month, but now it looks like it'll be October at the earliest and more likely next year.

Cheers

 

[jurek]

Hello,

Birder friend from Spain says that lynx can be seen most times at Sierra de Andújar in Sierra Morena. Also half-experienced birder from Poland saw lynx there. It is unusually reliable place for a cat species. Imperial eagles also often show up.

I'm not sure about the timing - I vaguely remember reading that autumn is not the best. There is lots of info floating around the web.

 

[prhodes]

We joined a two-car-party of UK birders that visited Sierra De Andujar last weekend (inspired by an earlier visit from a Northants crew). We were successful, with most managing to see the Iberian Lynx at dusk, during the first evening - an individual walking slowly along the obvious low level track, that can be seen from the Rio Jandula observation point. Those that didn't see this individual then connected on the last morning, again at the Rio Jandula site, with closer views on the rocky outcrop just across the river (after we had left).

Lynx spotting seemed a very popular pastime with Spanish wildlife enthusiasts, and we were rarely alone when on site. One party reported seeing three at the La Lancha site, although we were unsuccessful there.

The local hotels have plenty of wildlife display material, and the local people seem very keen to help, although few spoke English.

Overall I would highly recommend this trip, although as you can tell from the above report you will need at least some luck.

The Sierra De Andujar area is a wonderful place with Mouflon, Wild Boar, Red and Fallow Deer, Golden, Spanish and Booted Eagle, Griffon and Black Vulture, Red-necked Nightjar, Black Wheatear, Rock Bunting and many other bird species.

The Web Site 'Iberian Nature' provides up to date infomation and is full of stunning photographs.

The trip was reasonably priced, with plenty of low cost airline routes to pick from, although hotels in the area were quite expensive.

Good luck if you go Steve.

 

[Stephen Fletcher]

Sierra de Andújar in Sierra Morena is far more prolific for Lynx sightings than Donana.

 

[Steve Babbs]

Hello,

Birder friend from Spain says that lynx can be seen most times at Sierra de Andújar in Sierra Morena. Also half-experienced birder from Poland saw lynx there. It is unusually reliable place for a cat species. Imperial eagles also often show up.

I'm not sure about the timing - I vaguely remember reading that autumn is not the best. There is lots of info floating around the web.

I've done a lot of web-searching at the relevent info is quite limited. One report says that they are 'apparently best in March to May' but it'd be nice to hear from people who had experience at other times as 'conventional wisdom' doesn't always turn out to be right.

 

[Isurus]

This may be a daft question but one thing I'm struggling to understand from some of the different posts is what kind of views people are getting - Are we generally talking about scope views from a quarter mile or more away or what exactly?

 

[Steve Babbs]

This may be a daft question but one thing I'm struggling to understand from some of the different posts is what kind of views people are getting - Are we generally talking about scope views from a quarter mile or more away or what exactly?

It's actually an excellent question. I know that one report I read they said that they regretted not bringing scopes due to the distance involved. I think it's probably pretty variable some people see them from the view point and others while spotlighting from the car.

 

[Mike Richardson]

A lot of mammal watching in Europe (bears, wolves, lynx) seems to involve distant scope views from what I have read. I guess with the lynx some people are lucky enough to get close views, although some are very brief.

This thread is certainly interesting as are the links provided by Isurus and prhodes (Iberian Nature).

 

[prhodes]

Based on the experience of a single long weekend at Andujar, the comments above about the varaibility of the possible views that you will obtain of the Lynx, are entirely correct. Unfortunately my view was brief and distant, with not enough time to set up a scope. On the other hand the second group in our party who left a little later on the last day, apparently had much closer views just across the river. This was in habitat close to the observation point that looked as good as any, which including a number of ponds (where boar wallowed in the evening) and a rocky outcrop which would give any predator a good view. Also we did here that the lynx do come down for a drink, again meaning that you could be close.

One thing is true, from the observation points you are close to the habitat, so good close views are entirely possible, if you are very lucky.

Consensus is that it takes an average of 40 hours, which bearing-in-mind we spent three days there seems about right.

Regarding the time of year, we only went in May as Spring trips in recent years have been successful. We did hear that an organised guided trip does occur in the Autumn so this may also be a good time to visit. One weekend to avoid is the last one in April, as there is a festival in the nearby village that attracts half a milllion people (according to a park ranger).

We did try spot lighting but quickly concluded it was a waste of time and unecessarily intrusive.

Hope this helps.

 

[Steve Babbs]

Based on the experience of a single long weekend at Andujar, the comments above about the varaibility of the possible views that you will obtain of the Lynx, are entirely correct. Unfortunately my view was brief and distant, with not enough time to set up a scope. On the other hand the second group in our party who left a little later on the last day, apparently had much closer views just across the river. This was in habitat close to the observation point that looked as good as any, which including a number of ponds (where boar wallowed in the evening) and a rocky outcrop which would give any predator a good view. Also we did here that the lynx do come down for a drink, again meaning that you could be close.

One thing is true, from the observation points you are close to the habitat, so good close views are entirely possible, if you are very lucky.

Consensus is that it takes an average of 40 hours, which bearing-in-mind we spent three days there seems about right.

Regarding the time of year, we only went in May as Spring trips in recent years have been successful. We did hear that an organised guided trip does occur in the Autumn so this may also be a good time to visit. One weekend to avoid is the last one in April, as there is a festival in the nearby village that attracts half a milllion people (according to a park ranger).

We did try spot lighting but quickly concluded it was a waste of time and unecessarily intrusive.

Hope this helps.

Naturetrek are doing their lynx trips in late September/early October this year as it's at 'it's driest and the lynx most likely to within areas where fresh water may be found'.

I know off at least two individual/groups who have seen lynx by spotlighting - in one case this was the only way they saw it - so it was appear not to be fruitless but, although I normally have no problems with spotlighting, if loads of people start doing it it could become intrusive.

I've been presuming most sightings are at dawn or dusk is this the case?

 

[prhodes]

We expected dawn and dusk to be the best time, but they were being seen later in the morning as well, when temperatures were climbing.

Interesting to hear that spotlighting has proved successful. All we could find were deer, often right beside the road. We did have one interesting encounter with a pair of eyes that looked cat like, but they were too far off. I agree spotlighting could be problem if lots of people started to do it, especially bearing-in-mind quite a few people are visiting Andujar for the Lynx.