Is April a good month for Iberian Lynx?
Hello everyone!
I may have talked my wife into coming with me to Sierra Andujar in April 🙂
The thing is, it coincides with my son’s Passover vacation from daycare, so the dates are pretty set and un-flexible. And I’m wondering if this is a good time, or should I scratch it and go in the future at a better time?
I’d be there for 4 nights, and in Madrid for 1 night.
Is there a hide or a place where it’s “pretty much guaranteed”?
Thanks in adavnce!
~Tomer Ben-Yehuda (A.K.A Tomeslice, for old times’ sake)
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10 Comments
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Lars Michael Nielsen
I don’t know how april is, but ive seen them in September. I’m actually going back in September this year. We’re stayin at Gato Clavo mentionned above and taking one day in hide and will focus in the road to La Lanca dam for the remaining 11/2 days. I believe that bringing a therml device will enhance your chances along the road. IF you look through the reports on this site you’ll find out were to stop along the road. There’s actually an area just SW of Toledo with higher densities of lynx than Andujar. i talked to some “locals” that recommended the area. Its open farmland and easier to get an overview there. But not as “natural” as the Andujar area. After Andujar we will go to the Picos to look for other fun stuff like Broom Hare, Wildcat, Bear and Wolf.
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Lars Michael Nielsen
Live webcam from the Gato Clavo hides can be seen at camera 36 here:
https://www.youtube.com/@DirectoNatura -
tomeslice
Thank you guys!!
So thank god I’m not planning on going at the same time as the Pilgrimage (which is last weekend of April, and I’m planning on the week of the 19th).
But I’m trying to understand if I’d need to go to the hide 3 days straight.
I was hoping I’d do 1, maybe 2 early morning sessions in the hide, enjoy the Lynx, and then go hang out with my family around the actual park, so that my son and wife can enjoy the nature – and maybe find other cool stuff like otters and badgers..
But if April requires 3 full days in the hide then my family would hate me, and I’d just wait for another year when we can go during the winter…I’ll try to contact Gato Clavo – do they speak English, or should I just use Google translate?
Thanks again!! 🙏🏻
Tomer -
Lars Michael Nielsen
They speak English, and they prefer Whatsapp for contact. A lynx passed the camera a short while ago. We book hide the first day and then, we’ll probably go into the park. IF we dont see lynx on day one we might go for a second day. If you bring a camera a day in the hide costs 180 euro if you dont bring camera it’s 90 euro, even if you bring bins, spotting scope etc. We have chosen to rent a 4 x 4 for more koftable drives in the park and mountains afterwards.
Cheers
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tomeslice
OK, never mind – thanks to Jan Kelchtermans who pointed out to me that Semana santa is Apr. 13-19, which pretty much blocks out the entire week and both weekends I could have planned to visit the area.
So it’s out 🙁Does anyone have another equally-interesting family-type mammalwatching trip that can be done for 4-5 nights in April? Preferably cat-centric or bear-centric?
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Lars Michael Nielsen
If you want to see Iberian Lynx the area around Coto Doñana could be an option. Iceland is nice. You should be able to take the family out for whale watching, everyone love to see Orcas up close, see polar bears, perhaps northern lights, an active volcano and bath in hot springs.
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Charles Foley
Hi Tomer, I was just there last weekend. It’s currently breeding season, so there is quite a bit of activity. I think Dec-Mar are probably the best months to go. However I’ve been in April before and had good lynx sightings. Your best bet is probably to stay at Gato Clavo and book their hide. They have 5 lynx using their area at the moment. They say they have 100% lynx success in the hide for clients staying 2 days at this time of the year, and they told me 3 days probably guarantees a sighting at other times of the year – including the summer. I stayed at the hotel and would recommend it; they don’t have a restaurant but everyone uses Restaurante Los Picos which is just down the road. I didn’t use the hide but it looks really well set-up. Hope that helps.