Our hides

Depending on each case, we have hides where we especially take care of the scenery, the background and illumination to get the best images.

Permanent

Wooden hides with capacity for 2-3 people, with spy glass. WC.

Temporary hides

Mobile canvas hides with capacity for 1-2 people with or without spy glass.

Special hides

Rigid hides with capacity for 2-3 people with spy glass

 

Come with your mirrorless or Go-pro

If you are a mirrorless camera user or a GoPro user we can prepare a session for you to take pictures with the camera a few inches from the birds. We have power supplies and devices for remote control with the WiFi of your own camera.

Ask us for more information!!

 

TO KEEP IN MIND

Behavior at the hides

1. DO NOT EXIT THE HIDE until the guide reaches the door. This is very important, since you may not see the birds, but they may be watching. If they see someone coming up, they’re likely to leave and nothing else happens, but if they see someone exit the hide, they will probably associate with people and therefore they will see it as a danger and they are likely to be very cautious when they visit the site again and do not do it for a long time.

2. Better you do not speak, but if you do so, PLEASE TALK IN WISHPERS and try to avoid sudden noises and movements in non-glass mirror hides.

3. Inform us about your experience: the behavior of animals, your comfort, observations, incidents and even advice on any aspect that you think we could improve. YOUR FEEDBACK is important to us.

4. ABSOLUTELY PROHIBITED TO SMOKE into the hides.

5. Be careful NOT TO TOUCH THE GLASS with the lenses or in any other way to attract the attention of birds.

Use of glass-mirror

We use glass-mirror in most of our hides. This prevents birds from seeing the movements of our lens, which would forage them during the session and would make them more suspicious when approaching them again. Nowadays most commercial hides, especially those that allow to photograph the most suspicious species, are constructed with glass-mirror.The glass, however, is a loss of light between 1 and 2 f-stop. You can also lose some clarity in the case of  shooting at an angle of more than 30 degrees with respect to the perpendicular of the glass. In that case, there may be a loss of definition so much the more we obliquely make the photos.

Distances to birds and lenses

It depends on the species and on the hide. Some examples:

  • Bonelli’s eagle: 12 to 15 meters.
  • Other birds of prey (Goshawk, Buzzard, Marsh Harrier …): 8 to 25 meters.
  • Vultures and Lammergeyer: 10 to 40 meters.
  • Lesser Kestrel: 8 to 12 meters.
  • Little Bustard: 8 to 40 meters.
  • Temporary hides (Hoppoe, Bee-eater, Stone -curlew, …): 5 to 10 meters.

Depending on the situation, the hide and the size of the sensor in your camera can use lenses of 300 mm to 500 mm or 600 mm and focal converters. Other shorter lenses (70-200 mm, for example) will also be useful for integrating animals into the landscape.

Typical day in a hide

This depends so much on the species and the time of the year. The most typical examples could be:

  • Steppe birds (little bustard, bee-eater, lesser kestrel, stone curlew …): in April, May and June, the weather is generally hot at noon and the light is intense. We will enter the first hour or even before the sunris. The session can be extended until mid-morning when the activity decreases considerably. It’s time to go to rest in the apartment, review photos … In the afternoon we can do the second session of the day in another hide until the sunset.
  • Bonelli’s eagle: Normally, eagles visit the hide in the morning, though it is not necessary to go there very early. We meet at the soonrise to go to the hide. During the morning the eagles can appear at any time, until two or three in the afternoon. When they have to feed the chicks, they can go there all day and more than once. In July and until mid-August, young eagles can also come to the hide.
  • Other birds of prey (astor, harp, buzzard …): We will enter still at dark to be ready at dawn. When it begins to dawn, the first birds can be reached. Until mid-morning there is usually good activity. Then it decreases considerably until a couple of hours before the sunset is re-activated.
  • Carrion-eaters (vultures, lammergeyer, egyptian vultures, kites…): We will meet early in the morning  to go to the hide. As long as you prepare yourself, we will put the food for birds. Soon after leaving, we will see the first  common vulture and black vulture. When it calms a little, it will be the time of the egyptian vultures and lammergeyers. In the afternoon, we will pick you up.


Other

  • We supply sits in all hides
  • Bigger hides, where you must remain for a long time has quimical toilet.
  • Once you are inside the hides we can not give you anything. You must bring everything you need, from both the photographic and personal equipment (food, water, warm clothes …).