I love big cats and have seen many around the world. There is however a very rare big cat in Europe, the Iberian lynx. This lovely cat is highly threatened as it is totally dependant on the rabbit population, which have plummeted in recent years. The numbers of lynx plumeted to a just a few hundred. A lot of work has been done to try and help this and numbers are slowly increasing.

I went to Andujar in southern Spain to a private estate within a national park where i sat in a small hide for 4 very long days.

It was really hard work as there was nothing to see from dawn to dusk! The only exception was a robin for about 10seconds. At the end of the fourth day, however, I heard some azure winged magpies making alarm calls, and then a few seconds later a young male lynx appeared on my left side.

It was really super to be so close to this special animal. He walked a few metres forward then turned.

He then sat and looked at the hide. It has a reflective window so he was probably checking out his reflection!

He then got up and walked away. Perhaps 30seconds after four days but definitely worth it!

I had a few hours to try and see of the other wildlife before returning home. There were some great birds. The Sardinian warbler was a bird I had never seen before, and was difficult to get as it stayed high in the trees. I did get a coupe of shots though.

Another little warbler that we do see in the UK is the chiff chaff, named after it’s characteristic song. Very cute!

The magpie that warned me about the lynx was the lovely azure winged magpie. These guys often fly in flocks and can be very noisy.

Although the lynx live on rabbits, there were some bigger herbivores around. This is the Iberian ibex. A great mountaineer.

The other major predator in the area is the spectacular golden eagle. There was a pair, near the area of the lynx. So impressive, though always very shy and difficult to photograph.

Where there are predators, you can usually find scavengers. Here is the black vulture.

Always more to go back for though….