May 2015: Sierra de Andújar (Spain)

[Ronald Zimmerman]

Being a teacher I had a two week holiday in April-May. In my first week I went to Tavira (Portugal) and in my second week I went to Sierra de Andújar. Our main goal was the Iberian Lynx. In 2013 we were lucky enough to see them. For me this trip was a bonus trip between Portugal and Malawi & Zambia. I hoped to see some beautiful herps. For me it was also new to see Spain in spring. It is way more colorful. Not just the flowers but the male lizards too

You can find my full report here: http://ronaldzimmerman.nl/sierra-de-andujar-spain/

Here some photos from my trip. I hope you like it.

Iberian Spadefoot Toad (Pelobates cultripes)


Large Psammodromus (Psammodromus algirus)



Aquatic one.. This lizard ran into the water, probably to escape from something. They are quite good swimmers. But after a while the lizard became probably too cold, but then the 'lizard lifeguard' came to the rescue.

cute



Occelated Lizard (Timon lepidus)


Iberian Worm Lizard (Blanus cinereus)


Common Wall Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica)



Iberian Wall Lizard (Podarcis virescens)


Ribbed Newt (Pleurodeles waltl)


For the birders an European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster).

[Niklas Ban]

Nice photography as usally, thanks for sharing!

[Kristian Munkholm]

Nice report and very nice pics from what looks to have been a good trip despite the disappointments.

I am somewhat in awe of your lizard photos - love the colours on those psammodromus, the in situ timon, action gecko and psammodromus pics. Also, I really don't understand how you can be dissatisfied with your lynx pics. That said and acknowledging you are ten times the photographer I ever will be I do have a little constructive criticism. Salamanders in full sunlight and very dry surroundings are hard to pull off

PS: The little boar and the dormouse are both verrry cute

[Ronald Zimmerman]

Nice photography as usally, thanks for sharing!

And thank you for the compliment!

Nice report and very nice pics from what looks to have been a good trip despite the disappointments.

I am somewhat in awe of your lizard photos - love the colours on those psammodromus, the in situ timon, action gecko and psammodromus pics. Also, I really don't understand how you can be dissatisfied with your lynx pics. That said and acknowledging you are ten times the photographer I ever will be I do have a little constructive criticism. Salamanders in full sunlight and very dry surroundings are hard to pull off

PS: The little boar and the dormouse are both verrry cute

Thank you very much!

Making in situ photos of lizards is what I like the most They are active, they pose for the camera, jump/run away, they return etc. The colors of the Psammodromus were amazing. I had never seen them that colorful before. This spring was my first spring in Spain, but the week before I did not see them like that in Portugal.
Well I might look up the RAW file and do some new Lightroom and Photoshop magic over it. But still, a good friend of mine was standing very close to them. He was very lucky. I still envy him.

That is why I used my wide angle with the Ribbed Newt. Takes less time to get a sharp photo (better for the animal). But it was at the end of the day,(see the long shadow) ,but the sun was still very bright.

Haha the little boar smacked his lips while eating while breathing through the nose.

[Paul Lambourne]

Ronny Z,

Love your pictures... always beautifully lit.. the Psamms are stunning... maybe I should become a Dutch school teacher and have loads of time off for trips......

Pauli

[Ronald Zimmerman]

Ronny Z,

Love your pictures... always beautifully lit.. the Psamms are stunning... maybe I should become a Dutch school teacher and have loads of time off for trips......

Pauli

Haha maybe you should learn more Dutch words than that one word you already know.

Thanks! The lightning was perfect. Sometimes you have to be lucky to have clouds. They work like a giant diffuser

[Peter Oefinger]

Beautiful Psammo shots - you gave this "common" species the attention they deserve. Congrats!

[Thor Hakonsen]

Great shots as always, and it looks like a place to visit !

[Niklas Ban]

But I think to get a shot of the most enddangered cat in europe in short time is nearly impossible without enough luck, or is it a little bit different in the iberian lynx?!
Trying to get a Lynx lynx in europe even with knowledge of rangers is nearly impossible. (I tried it, will try it again)

[Ronald Zimmerman]

Beautiful Psammo shots - you gave this "common" species the attention they deserve. Congrats!

Thanks Peter! And most of the time you hear them running away into the bushes. This time I was able to make in situ photos without branches, grass and other stuff in-between the lizard and my camera. I was very happy!

Great shots as always, and it looks like a place to visit !

Thanks Thor! It definitely is.

But I think to get a shot of the most enddangered cat in europe in short time is nearly impossible without enough luck, or is it a little bit different in the iberian lynx?!
Trying to get a Lynx lynx in europe even with knowledge of rangers is nearly impossible. (I tried it, will try it again)

It is a little bit different. They live in Doñana, Andújar and they just reintroduced them in Extremadura. In Andujar the area they live in is not extremely big. There are certain vintage points where they are often seen. Most of the time you need a scope, but if you are lucky they are close. There is also an easier way. I did not do that, but I don't know if I should post it on a forum. Ofcourse it is difficult, but compared to the European Lynx it is easy.