Winter Bird and Nature Photo Workshop –
Raptors and cranes in a private estate devoted to wildlife photography and conservation
TRAVEL DATES: December 6-12, 2022 December 10-17, 2023
Other possible dates: November 21-27, 2022 November 12-18, 2023
TOUR BASED ON 8-12 GUESTS
Price per Person Double Room: $3,300.00
Single Room Supplement: $350.00
DESTINATION: Central Spain
HIGHLIGHTS: Winter Bird and Nature Photo Workshop from hide. Winter is a special time in Central Spain for birds of prey and crane photography, along with the lovely, bearded reedling wintering flocks.
The price includes:
- 6 nights accommodation
- Breakfast each day
- 6 lunches
- 5 dinners at local restaurants
- 6 days of activity, according to program
- All hides and hydro-hide session
- English-speaking photography guide throughout the tour
- Private transfers during the tour
- Mandatory activity insurance
Price does not include:
- Transfers from and to the airport. We can arrange this for you upon request.
- Accompanying guide in the transfers mentioned above
- Personal travel insurance
- Any service not specified in the section “the price includes”
This trip can be connected to the photography workshop in Norhern Spain combining completely different species with a total potential list of about 60-80 species. The traveling between the two areas can be done with a one-day stop in Sierra de Gredos, half-way between the two main destinations and a spectacular spot in this season to photograph the Iberian Ibex males in heat.
This photography Winter Bird and Nature Photo Workshop tour can be adapted for the intermediate and advanced photographer with no workshop. Contact us to arrange an Advanced Winter Bird and Wildlife Photography Tour of Central Spain.
ITINERARY
PROGRAM:
Our Winter Bird and Nature Photo Workshop focuses on bird diversity on this private estate in Autumn-Winter season. This is one of the most important and best-preserved wetlands in the center of Spain. The estate has a complete network of hides making available for photography all the main species present at any season in the year, from the aquatic birds inhabiting both the open waters and the reedbeds around the lagoon system, to the raptors and other birds linked both to the lagoon and the surrounding steppe areas. Winter highlights:
- Raptors include numerous species using the plains as a dispersal hunting area. Because of this, species present at stable raptor sites change frequently (as much as from one day to the next one). Species present in Winter include the endemic Spanish Imperial Eagle (one pair breeding in the estate and possibly the most reliable hide for this species in the country at present), Bonelli’s Eagle (up to seven different individuals visiting different hides), Marsh Harrier (with a wintering population of several dozens of individuals), Red Kite, Goshawk, Common Buzzard, Hen Harrier, Common Kestrel.
- Eurasian Cranes, with hundreds of birds wintering in the area and regularly visiting the estate in search of food or for resting periods.
- Reedbed wintering passerines (Bearded Reediling, Penduline Tit, Bluethroat, Spanish Sparrow, Cetti’s Warbler, Iberian Grey Shrike, Water Pipit, Stonechat, Chiff-chaff).
- Iberian Grey Shrike and Little Owl.
- Starlings: the reedbeds inside the estate are the roosting site for wintering flock of half a million birds. Murmuration in the evenings is spectacular to be photographed out of the hides, but also from the crane hide and, in a waterhole, where dozens of birds go to bath before roosting.
The end of November and the first days of December are the best moments of the Autumn-Winter season, when raptor diversity reaches its peak, and the cranes are more reliable at the hides. Depending on the existence of water in the main lagoon during this season (the wetland is completely dry in Winter some years in relation with fluctuations in the weather at large scale), it may or may not be possible use floating hides or shore hides to photograph waterfowl, cormorants, flamingos, herons and grebes. Of interest is the community of birds wintering in the reedbeds, with beautiful bluethroats and graceful Cetti’s Warblers, but also large flocks of Bearded Reedlings on completely renewed/molted wear.
Daily routine consists of an early breakfast at the hotel, around 6:45 am, for a morning hide session until 11:30 or 12:00 am. Lunch is served at a lovely place on the estate (Casa de Labor), adapted for resting at midday until the time for the afternoon photo session from 16:00 to 20:30 pm. Dinner is taken in restaurants close to the accommodation place in the village. Resting periods after meals will allow for time to check the results of the day, talk about birds, photography, and identification and to elaborate a list of the species shot during the day.
HIDES
All the hides are wide and comfortable structures for 2 people. They are, in general, small wooden and well-insolated constructions provided with high-quality glass window for photography. All of them have been operating for at least five years providing a very high successful rate even with the most difficult species. The scene for photography is always a feeder or a roosting site integrated in the environment, so you have the feeling of watching a completely natural scene. Feeders are located 4-5 m away from the hide in the most of the sites, except in the raptor hides, where distance to the feeding place is a bit longer, between 8 and 12 m. Some of the photography places include mobile feeding structures or mobile hides that allow the photographer to decide the distance to the photography subject depending on the lens and the photographer’s equipment. At present, the winter hide network at the estate is composed of around 16-20 hides.
PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT
The best results are achieved, in general, using a full frame camera and a 500 mm lens or an APS-C camera and a 100-400 mm zoom. Tripod is useful for better results but also to support the camera during long stays inside the hide. During the trip there will be also some options for landscape photography.
CLOTHES
The Estate is located in a Mediterranean area where November-December can result in dry and rather cold weather, mainly in the mornings when frost and fog maybe present. Temperatures can go from -7ºC (but usually -1ºC) to 14-15 ºC at midday. These conditions change completely as in wetter years when some rain can be present, although it rarely rains for long. So, in general, warm clothes are advisable, with a thermal T-shirt and the use of two pairs of socks are always a good choice. In any case, the hides are well-insolated structures helping to keep a comfortable temperatures inside independent of weather conditions outside. It is important to wear dark clothes to avoid light reflections through the glass windows of the hides which could disturb the birds.
NOTES
Besides the hide-keepers, the trip will be leaded by an English-speaking local wildlife photographer. This team will work together to guarantee the participants the best possible photography results from the trip. The guides will take final decisions on any matter during the trip, including those affecting safety and security or the turns to use the hides. The program schedule may be altered to adjust the results and photographers desires during the trip (photographers may desire to try several sessions in a same hide in order to improve their results or to try to get more species, being this possibility frequent with the winter raptor hides).