As readers of my previous posts on this blog will know, I've made a fair number of visits to photo hides over the last few years. Nearly all have been day trips and within about an hour and half of home.
Looking for something different, I heard about and saw some great photos from hides in Spain, with raptors being the main attractions. Investigating further I came across Hides Calera which is based in the Toledo area of central Spain, about one and a half hours from Madrid. These get booked up well in advance, and when I enquired in early January, there was no availability until early/mid May - well after the end of the winter season, which finishes in February and beyond April which is the peak of their spring season.
I eventually settled on ten half-day sessions over five days. in eight different hides (I had two sessions in the Hoopoe and Bee Easter hides). All these hides were within relatively easy reach of their preferred hotel just outside Talavera de la Reina. The hides were very varied with the three raptor hides having the highest profile. Two had stunning backdrops of snowy capped mountains and all were well sited from the photographic perspective.
Here is a small selection of the 40,000 images I took. For more photos and details of the trip, go to this page on my website. For my gallery of all processed photos to date, go to this page.
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| Sub adult Spanish Imperial Eagle from the Steppe Raptor Hide |
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| Male Marsh Harrier from the Steppe Raptor Hide |
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| Black Kite from the Steppe Raptor Hide |
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| Griffon Vulture from the Valley Hide |
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| Black Vulture from the Valley Hide |
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| Black Kite landing from the Spanish Imperial Eagle Hide |
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| Bee Eater from the Bee Eater Hide |
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| Hoopoe from the Hoopoe Hide |
