More Lynx !

Hides de Calera - (Day 4) - 15.10.2025

Today it’s another session with the Iberian Lynx but at a different hide still within the range of a male and female but more likely to see the male. The location's not far from the first day session but it's more an elevation position overlooking a wooden valley.

On arrival it’s pretty quite with just a few Magpies and the occasional rabbit chancing it’s existence grazing the short grass. It’s a long wait a very long wait, having arrived at 8.0am it’s now 4.0pm and it's a no show...of anything ! Then Jose arrives in his vehicle, apparently the gent in the next hide had made a comment !

After the “no show” I'm now back at the location of the first day, luckily the female and cub are in residence but the downside it’s now 5.0pm and we being collected at 7.0pm so it’s going to be a short session. The Lynx grabs a rabbit and then walks off into the forest quickly followed by the cub suggesting the session will be even shorter.

Iberian Lynx

After some thirty minuets the female make an appearance, walking in front and flops down to rest after it’s meal. To my surprise a Iberian Green Woodpecker makes an appearance landing on open ground presumably looking for ants, before I can get the lens on it moves off into longer grass missing the shot…doh !

With the sun setting and light disappearing quickly there maybe about an hour left before it’s time to pack up. I’m hoping the Lynx will start to become active enabling a last few shots which eventually it did.

Not the best session I’ver had but as they say it’s wild life, some days good others not so. This will probably my last session with these endangered mainland cats for this trip, I wonder what’s on offer tomorrow ?

Iberian Green Woodpecker

Iberian Lynx

Spain Time !

Hides de Calera (Day 1) - 12.10.2025

I’ve been looking forward to this trip to Hides de Calera to photograph the Iberian Lynx based in central Spain for some time, visiting earlier wasn’t really an option as they book up around eighteen months in advance, so with all arrangements in place, flights booked I'm off on a late flight to Madrid.

I’m pretty much doing what I've done previously staying overnight in a hotel close to the airport, then a pickup late afternoon the following day by HDC so plenty of time to relax before the drive down to Talavera. I’m staying for a week in a two start hotel quite basic and similar to that on the last trip to Villacarnas.

All checked into the Talavera “Hilton”…not ! ....it's a quick briefing from Jose the operator stating it's the Iberian Lynx hide first up in the morning. Now the following day feedback we are getting from a remote camera is showing the female cat and a cub are at the location, the anticipation builds.

A clearing in the forest has several wooden hides which will be home for the next few hours, I’ve been in better but they do a job. The female is laying down out in the open just in front of the hide giving some clear shots, then out of the tree line the cub comes bounding out. It’s a leisurely shoot over the next hour or so then in a flash the female grabs a rabbit and disappears off into the forest not to reappear for the next seven hours !

Now late afternoon the female cat reappears walking slowly up the forest track occasionally looking back to the cub that's following up behind. For the next couple of hours both cats just rest up, it's a case of just picking the most interesting pose on offer.

And that’s it for the first day, a long day with a long period of inaction. Tomorrow it's the “Valley Hide” primarily for vultures and others things, watch this space.

Iberian Lynx

Iberian Lynx - Cub