The Iberian Lynx: In search of, at last !!

It has been 8 years since I moved to Andalucia in southern Spain, during which time I have made numerous trips through it´s beautiful interior and along the coastlines in search of wildlife images. Spain has something for all nature lovers, a large number of birds species reside on the peninsula year round, many come to spend the winter, and an astonishing number use it as a stop off point during the yearly migrations to and from Africa. My trips on the Iberian peninsula have taken me north to the Pyrenees, in search of the giant Lammergeiers, or Bearded Vulture as it is also known,up through Extremadura in search of Storks, Eagles, Black Vultures, other trips took me to the slopes of the Sierra de Gredos in search of the big Spanish Ibex, a must see during the annual rut.

On many occasions during the past I have seriously thought about concentrating my time and effort in searching for the peninsulas rarest inhabitant, the Iberian Lynx. This critically endangered cat sits atop the list of the worlds most endangered feline species, with the vast majority of the remaining population living in Andalucias Sierra Morena region. When I consider how much time and effort, not to mention money, I spent in search of Patagonian Pumas in the far south of Chile, I have yet to come to a reasonable explanation as to my failure to drive no more than 4 hours into my own backyard in search of this beautiful creature hanging on to survival by a thread. 2011 is in it´s infancy, but serious plans are afoot to head off in search of the Lynx before mid January. I could wait no longer it seems, whatever was responsible in the past for killing my enthusiasm and delaying my departure have finally been laid to rest.

The Sierra de Andujar is my destination which many believe offers the best possibility of seeing one or more individuals in the wild. I am fortunate enough to own a 600mm F4 Nikon and converters, which is a must have telephoto lens to capture images of wildlife at great distances. I like most wildlife photographers would like nothing more than to have a couple stroll past one of my hides I plan to set up, and use nothing more than a 70 -200 zoom lens to capture stunning images, but after having spent 3 years photographing Pumas in the wild I am under no illusion about what may or may not come into view. As back braking as huge telephotos are I am happy to have it, should the odd individual or two show up somewhere in my vicinity. With a species like the Lynx whose numbers are so low, one has to be very patient and lucky, obviously the more time spent in the field so increase ones chances of coming home with a half decent image.

I have already informed my girlfriend not to expect me home before new years eve 2011, as I plan to make up for all the previous trips that never materialized due to numerous and sometimes puzzling reasons I have yet to fathom. This includes trips to IKEA , which she deemed somewhat more important than me hiding under camouflage in the middle of nowhere waiting for a cat to walk by !!!!!!

Frustrating notes from the field and hopefully images will be posted soon