Montagu's Harriers in Tahivilla, Spain

Not everyone would happily jump out of bed at 4 o'clock on a Sunday morning, and I must admit that the evening before it felt a bit awkward setting my alarm so early. But hey, you don't get the chance every day to watch Montagu's Harriers from a hide! This is one of the last opportunities this year before they migrate to Africa to spend the winter.

Montagu's Harrier landing

After driving more than an hour I arrived at a little town called Tahivilla. There I met with Bea and Dario, two friendly volunteers from the ornithological group called Tumbabuey. We picked up the food for the Harriers and drove to the field where the hide and the feeding station are situated. In complete darkness we laid out the food, helped by the light of a few torches. It is important to get into the hide well before sunrise so that the Harriers don't see you. That way they remain unaware of human presence and don't realise they are being fed. The countdown started for the first birds to arrive...

The hide out of which we observed the Harriers

I took a few test shots with the camera mounted on a sturdy tripod to see if there was enough light. When the first Harriers landed, around 7:10 AM, with an automatic ISO limited to 6400, lens wide open at F5.6, the shutter speed had to be as low as 1/400. The first photos were acceptable, but gradually as more light came in I managed to take some truly spectacular shots. Not a huge surprise having these big birds at between 10 and 25 metres distance from the lens most of the time. These quiet birds didn't notice our presence at all.

Male Montagu's Harrier

Our visit to the hide lasted until 8:30 AM, when we quietly sneaked out. Only one Harrier was still present at that time. I'd say that half of the food that we'd laid out had been taken, so there was enough for the birds to come back for another meal later during the day.