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Hides Calera & Hides Villuercas, Spain, February 2026 10 to 16
February By Stephen Burch, England Introduction For this visit, my main aims were to connect with adult Goshawk that was not present in spring last year and also to visit some new hides called Hides Villuercas, near Canamero that were said to have Golden and Bonelli's Eagle. General Arrival and departure at Madrid airport was significantly more problematic than last year mainly due to the partial implementation of the EU's new electronic entry and exit system (EES). This resulted in significant queues both on arrival and departure. Both times, the banks of new EES machines were largely unavailable, at least to non EU travellers, and the number of manned passport control booths limited to about 4 or 5. This seemed very poor for a terminal of this size. Hence there were long queues for passport control both on arrival and surprisingly on departure when it took at least 1hr 30min to get from the departure hall to the gate. I may however have got off relatively lightly as longer (3 hr!!) queues have been reported on the morning of my arrival. Transport from
Madrid airport For the outward trip from the airport to Talavera de la Reina (about 1.5 - 2 hrs) on a Monday evening, there was initially very heavy traffic. It quickly got dark and was raining heavily. Not great conditions for my first time driving on the right for several years! At least it was all on dual carriageways, although the toll booths caused me some issue by refusing my credit cards and only working when I tried my debit card as a last resort! On my way back, it was a weekday and although the flight wasn't until 12:50, my host, Jose, recommended getting there 4 hours in advance! So it was quite an early start from Talavera de la Reina and a bit slow given the heavy traffic going into Madrid. I think I got to the airport about 3hrs before the flight which was just enough, given the chaos caused by the EU's wonderful new EES system. Note that on my return I needed to fill up with fuel close to the airport and spent some time in advance on-line trying to work out where best to do this. There was said to be a petrol station actually adjacent to the rental car return car park for terminal 4S, but following Google Maps I actually ended up at a Repsol filling station here, about 3 km from the required return point. This was not however a problem and it was a large place with the necessary facilities (i.e. toilets). Hotel La Hacienda Del Casar This time the place was busier than in May last year, and the food for dinner was better, although hardly haut cuisine! So it didn't seem worth getting to/from the nearby Restaurante San Cristóbal in the dark that I used last year. There isn't great sound proofing though and next door's late night TV watching wasn't conducive to a good sleep. As it was late winter/early spring, it was much darker than in May last year, so the pickups for the morning sessions were typically later, around 08:00 with earlier finishes of the afternoon sessions at about 17:00 - 17:30. This time the arrangements for breakfast were better, as I was able to get Jose to book them in advance at the nearby Metrópolis which did a good continental breakfast for only about 10 euro. Note that unusually the proprietor spoke good English here! Often there wasn't time to return to the hotel between the morning and afternoon sessions, so lunches usually consisted of a baguette from the Rualva Jamones y Embutidos adjacent to the hotel, sometimes purchased the night before. Bird site local to the hotel Hides Calera - general arrangements etc The hides themselves were generally simple and compact. They nearly all featured one-way glass windows with a black net curtain between the window and the photographer. As last year, I took my own light-weight gimbal, to which I attached a mini-tripod provided by Hides Calera so it sat on the shelf provided. Floor standing tripods are not recommended. You are forbidden to leave the hides during the session; indeed in most I was locked in - and only released when Jose or his son (also Jose!) came to collect me. Hides were either 1 or 2 person but I never had to share with anyone, perhaps because it was low season. Basic facilities are available in the form of a bottle and a (lined) bucket with lid in case of emergencies. My visit in mid February was right at the end of Hides Calera's main autumn/winter season. This time there were other clients staying in the same hotel, and in the centre of the nearby town of Talavera de la Reina. There were generally two sessions a day, with the pick up for the morning sessions at about 08:00 or a little earlier. They ended late morning/midday (11:30-12:00). The afternoon/evening sessions started with pickup around 14:00 and ended around 17:00-17:30. Sometimes there was no chance to return to the hotel in the middle of the day so I needed enough batteries and memory card space for both sessions. But there was plenty of time in the evening for file backups and battery charging. During my stay, it became apparent that the large raptors were already into their nesting cycle, which meant that only the males visited the hides for food, and then ate quickly and departed carrying food for their mates back on the nest. However, during someone else's session, they were lucky enough to get both male and female Spanish Imperial Eagles present during a gale! Weather Insects Photos Hides Calera Click to enlarge any of the photos below. There is a also a separate galley with additional photos. Goshawk Hide So it was with some anticipation that I booked two sessions for this trip at the Goshawk Hide that was said to have reliable adults through the autumn and winter. In advance, Jose had confirmed they were coming in "as normal". In the event, I had two contrasting sessions at the Goshawk hide which was in a lightly wooded area. For my first session, which was on my first afternoon at the hides, the rain was heavy and stayed like that for my whole 3+ hr session. This made the light quite poor so high ISOs were needed for any action shots. There were two perches - an angled branch (onto which a large dead rabbit was placed - not ideal in my view) and a pile of stones which had a smaller dead bird (a Quail I was told). It wasn't obvious which perch the Goshawk would land on first. So I chose the branch, which was the higher perch, and pre-focused on it. And then held on to my cable release hoping for arrival shots. After only about 10 minutes, in it came!!! It flew in from the left, overran the perch slightly and then headed back in from the right. Jamming my thumb down on the cable release I got a good sequence of shots. The first of them to show the whole bird is one of my favourites from this trip, during which I took a further 40,000 or so photos! After landing on the branch, it soon decided the rabbit wasn't to its taste and moved down onto the stones without any warning so I missed the chance of more action shots. Thereafter it spent about 30 mins eating in the pouring rain. During this time I tried slowing the shutter speed right down to 1/50 - 1/80 sec to try to turn the rain drops into long streaks, to make the horrendous conditions more impactful! Shortly before it departed it clearly spotted another bird as it turned round and became alert. Then very suddenly another bird came in and it was off, and again I missed any departure/flight shots. I think "my" bird was a male and the incoming was larger and much browner so it could have been a female.
For my second session, a few days later, the conditions were completely different with fine weather throughout and the sun making a problematic appearance later on. The previous day, two other photographers had had an amazing session here with three Goshawks present and a male Marsh Harrier on one of the perches. So I was hoping for plenty of action as the conditions were similar, but it was not to be. After two hours there was no sign of anything and I began to text Jose about when was the latest it might come in. Eventually after a blank three hours, in it came! This time it approached the branch from the rear but even after all this time I still had my thumb on the cable release and so managed to get some incoming shots. Thereafter it stayed on the branch eating before it abruptly departed at dusk in very dull conditions. For this stay, the sun was often brightly illuminating ever changing patches on the trees behind that were waving in the strong wind. Also the sun was filtering through the nearer trees to the left that were creating shade on the perch. The result was a difficult and varying combination of highlights on parts of the bird and patches on the background. Not the best! Still I did my best with Photoshop to come up with the following photos. For more, see the gallery.
Spanish Imperial Eagle Hide Last year I had a fleeting view of the male as it flew in directly towards the hide to a nearby perch, but it did not land, instead grabbing the meat and disappearing. This time, after some wait, again only the male came in arriving quickly from the right hand side presenting only a brief opportunity for flight/landing shots before settling on a perch which was partially obscured by a bush in the foreground (poor hide management in my view). Fortunately, and to my surprise, later on it returned, again arriving from the right but this time it initially landed higher up the perch, so it was much less obscured by the bush. Both times it flew off away from the hide with some meat for its mate back on the nest.
Other birds here included numerous Red Kites that replaced the summer visiting Black Kites, Buzzard and Azure-winged Magpie. There were also very brief visits from Egyptian Mongoose, of which I got no presentable photos. The Red Kites especially were a welcome photographic challenge and maintained interest before and after the eagle visits.
Feeders Hide So in blissful ignorance of the drama unfolding at the nearby Goshawk hide, I settled in for busy session. Fortunately this time the light was much softer with only weak sun at times. As previously, the Azure-winger Magpies were extremely busy and plentiful almost from the moment Jose jnr drove off after installing us in the hides. But I then began to see Hawfinches coming in as well. Up to at least seven of these birds were present around the raised pool feeding on the seed put out for them. I spent a lot of time trying for flight/action shots of the Hawfinches using pre-capture, as well as perched shots. I was conscious of the danger of falling between multiple stools and I believe I managed to get a reasonable collection of combinations, and I didn't try for Azure-winged Magpie pre-capture action images.
Valley Hide As last year, the star performers here are vultures but this time they were all Griffon with no Black. There were also some foxes around, and some Red Kite. Unlike last year, the birds arrived in smaller numbers and more gradually than last year. With strong wind, their approach involved slow descent from the right of the hide. This allowed me to get some approach shots, which I didn't manage last year. With the smaller numbers coming in, the food lasted longer than previously, and there was less of a feeding frenzy. Hence more opportunity for perched shots as well.
Steppe Raptor Hide Unlike the other hides there were good levels of activity through most of the morning, so I ended up with a very large number of shots for that session. There were good opportunities for photos of the birds both on the ground and in flight. Again, unlike the other hides there were good levels of activity through most of the morning, so I ended up with a very large number of shots for that session. It was very windy, but the light early on was superb as we had arrived earlier than usual to catch sunrise or just after it. On my last visit, two sub adult Imperial Eagle came in and stayed quite sometime. Their arrival could not be missed as everything else flushed just before they came in! However this time, the single male arrived unannounced and I just noticed it sitting there feeding as I had been concentrating on the Marsh Harriers. I don't know how long it had been there before I noticed it. Once it had my full attention it didn't stay long, and departed with a choice chunk of meat, presumably for its mate back on the nest.
Hides Villuercas Firstly, due to bad weather earlier in this trip, my time here was reduced to two nights. I was also told by the owner, Luis, only a few days in advance that the Golden Eagles were no longer showing, although there was said to be possibly other sites for them nearby. In the event these never materialised, and my first session was at his excellent Bonelli's Eagle hide (see below for more info). For my second day I had a choice of another session in the same hide, or one in the Vulture Hide which was said to have both Griffon and Black Vultures at close range. I chose the latter, which turned out to be a bad choice (see below)! The hides that Luis operated were very impressive solid wooden constructions reflecting his profession as a carpenter. Also they both had built-in toilets but did not have shelves. Having checked in advance, I was able to borrow a tripod. Getting there from Hides Calera wasn't difficult after the morning session at the Steppe Raptor Hide and lunch at the Metropolis back near the hotel. It was a drive of just under two hours. Google Maps showed three alternative routes, all with about the same time. I chose to keep on the dual carriageway as long as possible to minimise the amount of driving on small winding roads. Shortly before I arrived I texted Luis which turned out to be a good move as I needed to meet him at the accommodation which was locked otherwise (this wasn't clear in advance).
Casa Rural en Villuercas For dinner, I went to what seems to be the only restaurant in town - the nearby Hotel Rural Villa De Cañamero. This was fine and even had a menu on-line that could be studied (and translated) at my leisure in advance. Note however this is rural Spain without many tourists and so dinner was only served from about 21:00, as is the Spanish custom. Bonelli's
Eagle Hide The main attraction here was Bonelli's Eagle, which comes into large rocks at the edge of the plateau. Importantly though Luis also puts out meal worms much closer to bring in small birds - Blue Rock Thrush, Black Redstart and Dartford Warbler. These provided an excellent addition and provided interest in the long periods of time when the eagle wasn't present. The weather that day was good, almost too good, with sun that quickly became quite harsh. Softer lighting would have been better but isn't often available in my limited experience of Spanish photography. The Bonelli's Eagle came in twice during the morning. I presume it was the male, as both times it departed with meat for its mate back on the nest. I had pre-focused on the wrong rock so missed any incoming shots when it arrived. There were however some brief opportunities for action shots when it moved between the rocks and onto a wooden branch. It stayed a reasonable length of time on its first visit. I wasn't expecting a second and didn't notice it come in, but suddenly spotted it well to the right hand side.
The smaller birds much closer were great value. The Blue Rock Thrush was the dominant individual and had the annoying habit of chasing off anything else that came in for quite sometime. But eventually it gave up allowing better opportunities for photos of the Black Redstart. The only worthwhile shots I got of the Dartford Warbler were more distant, away from the rocks.
Vulture Hide Thereafter I packed up and drove back to Talavera for one night before heading to Madrid airport early the next morning.
Summary It was great to get some adult Goshawk photos at last, and also to have my first close encounter with Bonelli's Eagle. But it was disappointing to miss out on Golden Eagle although this might well provide the impetus for another trip elsewhere in Spain in the future! Over all sessions, I again took a huge number of photos (c. 40,000) and my light weight laptop and two 4 Tb external SSD drives for backup worked very well. © All pictures copyright Stephen Burch |
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