Spanish lynx (1 Viewer)

[Julian Sykes Wildlife]

The proper meaning of Easter? You mean birding/mammal trips

Luckily I have almost two weeks after the end of the Easter weekend. Moving from working in ornithology to teaching has considerably improved my chances to watch wildlife. In fact for the 'world birder' it's a great job.

If we get views like Jules got I'll be walking round like a Chesire cat for a week or two. Was the picture taken using digiscoping Jules?

Hi Steve
No, it was taken straight from my old 12x Panasonic Lumix, the reason I was lucky is because the battery has been failing. So I had just three shots before the battery (and camera) packed up. The first was just back on, the second was blurred and this was the third, I danced a jig in celebration!!!. Just seeing the Lynx at such close quarters and for so long was incredible enough, getting the photo was the icing on the cake.
Yesterday we had another fantastic day seeing no fewer than three different individuals from El Escorial including a big adult male scenting territory. We also saw 5 Imperial & 4 Golden Eagles, lots of Black Vultures, Black Wheatear etc. Superb place, and good luck for April.
I am actually back here at the end of March with a group from Speyside Wildlife so will let you know how we get on.
All the best Jules

 

[Steve Babbs]

Hi Steve
No, it was taken straight from my old 12x Panasonic Lumix, the reason I was lucky is because the battery has been failing. So I had just three shots before the battery (and camera) packed up. The first was just back on, the second was blurred and this was the third, I danced a jig in celebration!!!. Just seeing the Lynx at such close quarters and for so long was incredible enough, getting the photo was the icing on the cake.
Yesterday we had another fantastic day seeing no fewer than three different individuals from El Escorial including a big adult male scenting territory. We also saw 5 Imperial & 4 Golden Eagles, lots of Black Vultures, Black Wheatear etc. Superb place, and good luck for April.
I am actually back here at the end of March with a group from Speyside Wildlife so will let you know how we get on.
All the best Jules

I was looking forward to it anyway, now I can't wait! I'd being doing a jig as well.

 

[Matt Prince]

My wife and I are booked to fly into Malaga midday on the 14th March and out on the 21st. Hiring a car and heading for Andujar.... Though I do also need a lot of the birds of the Andalucia area - nearby - black vulture, spanish eagle - and further afield - great bustard, marbled teal, white headed duck, duponts (ha-ha almost as bad as the lynx) so I will probably buckle and not spend the whole week looking for the cat!

Good luck to all anyway, will post results on return.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

My wife and I are booked to fly into Malaga midday on the 14th March and out on the 21st. Hiring a car and heading for Andujar.... Though I do also need a lot of the birds of the Andalucia area - nearby - black vulture, spanish eagle - and further afield - great bustard, marbled teal, white headed duck, duponts (ha-ha almost as bad as the lynx) so I will probably buckle and not spend the whole week looking for the cat!

Good luck to all anyway, will post results on return.

You'll get white headed duck within 5 minutes of picking up your hire car at the Guadalhorce reserve.

 

[Matt Prince]

"You'll get white headed duck within 5 minutes of picking up your hire car at the Guadalhorce reserve"

Thank you. At least we should get something even if kitty doesn't play ball

 

[Steve Babbs]

"You'll get white headed duck within 5 minutes of picking up your hire car at the Guadalhorce reserve"

Thank you. At least we should get something even if kitty doesn't play ball

It sounds like you haven't spent much time in Spain so you should be on for a few things. I look forward to hearing how you do.

 

[Andrew]

May be of interest to viewers of this thread...

http://creamteabirding.blogspot.com/2010/02/operation-iberian-lynx.html

 

[Matt Prince]

Certainly is. Jaffa and his crew are very very lucky - what fantastic views - I'll be happy if I glimpse a lynx on the next hillside!

Bit dismayed to see that http://www.soslynx.org/ hasn't been updated since December 2008, I was thinking this should be the place for a bit of carbon offset...

 

[Isurus]

May be of interest to viewers of this thread...

http://creamteabirding.blogspot.com/2010/02/operation-iberian-lynx.html

!

Epic :eek!:

 

[Farnboro John]

Latest scorers' pix on Surfbirds in the mammals gallery. Cor....! can't wait.

John

 

[Matt Prince]

me too - only problem is the lack of response from Los Pinos - anyone else find they were slow to respond to emails? May have to chance my (non-existant) Spanglish on a telephone call. How does one pronounce Marzo ?

 

[Steve Babbs]

I found them very quick. What address did you use? The website one does not work.

 

[Mike Richardson]

I also found them quite quick. They replied in a couple of days at least.

 

[Matt Prince]

Hmm.. Thats a bit of a concern!

I've tried both '[email protected]' and '[email protected]'.

 

[Steve Babbs]

It was the lospinosatlospinos.es that worked for me.

 

[Matt Prince]

Thats what I thought - I'll retry and follow it up with a phone call early next week if I don't get a response.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Matt Prince]

I got a response almost immediately this time - either I messed up the first email - or they've been reading the thread!

Thanks chaps.

 

[Steve Babbs]

We must be boosting their profits a fair bit.

 

[DerekSh]

Thanks everyone.
I checked this site early this morning for an update on recent sightings. We had been waiting for a reply from the Los Pinos website address. I sent an email to [email protected] at 11.00 and received a reply at 4.30.
Just got to translate it now!
There are four of us looking to go in late August.

Another point to consider is flights. Madrid is a bit further away but the flights to there are a lot cheaper than Malaga, in August anyway!

 

[Matt Prince]

Well I'm back. We had a bit of a wobbly start on the 14th when our luggage got stolen from the locked boot of the hire car whilst we were off enjoying Gaudalahorce reserve. Still at least the asthmatic 1.4 hire care went up the hills a bit better without all that weight in it...

This also meant we lost a large chunk of the 15th to sorting out emergency clothing and worst of all we'd lost all guide books and both copious copies of site info, hotel info etc!

Anyway we were booked into Los Pinos for 14th to 17th (extended to the 18th shortly after arrival) and we got the location of the La Lancha site from the hotel staff. (Note that google maps thinks Los Pinos is at the Santuario - it isn't!). We spend most days looking for the cat and were gutted on the 16th when we managed to miss a female Lynx. (Worst of all we checked the area the cat went through, but I think our angle wasn't as good as the other observer - who thought we were watching it!). :-C

Finally on the morning of the 18th my wife glimpsed the cat in a gully up above us at the La Lancha site, and then lost it as it rounded the slope of the hill. Three other observers were present and we all went around the track to check for the cat but couldn't find it. All but myself and one Spanish guy returned to the main valley (Nicola to lock up the car...) whereupon the Spanish guy relocated the cat looking serenely down on us from a rock up on high. :t:

I had a good butchers and then went to get the others - Nicola got a good five minutes view of the cat whilst I was returning with the final observer, before it slunk off. Four out of five people got decent scope views of differing duration.

Also seen in the area (and at Rio Jandula site) - Otter (swimming in the dam outflow!), Wild Boar, Red Deer, Fallow Deer, Mouflon, ?Noctule?, Spanish Imperial and ST Eagle, Black and Griffon Vulture, Goshawk (mobbing an adult SIE), and Black Stork.

I'll post a bit more info and titbits after work.. Have GPS co-ords for the various sites if that is of use.