Bearded vultures, cinereous vultures, Egyptian vultures, griffon vultures and displaying little bustards in Spain
Vulture Frenzy
With guideBrutus Östling
Fokus Fotoresor
Overview
It's still chilly up at the highest mountains, at most a few degrees above freezing despite it being the second half of April. At nearly two thousand meters altitude in the southern Pyrenees, the air only warms up after the sun has been up for a few hours. A couple of griffon vultures have sailed by in the distance when suddenly a bearded vulture majestically glides over the valley below. It descends and lands gracefully on a rocky ledge. It almost looks like it's admiring the magnificent landscape. Another bearded vulture glides by and then descends for landing just behind the first bearded vulture's perch. A nesting site on the mountain slope a little further away must be the explanation.
There are 23 vulture species in the world. The four species that breed in Europe, in southern Europe to be precise, are bearded vulture, griffon vulture, cinereous vulture, and Egyptian vulture. We also find these species on other continents, although the bearded vultures in Ethiopia, for example, seem smaller than the bearded vultures that are resident in Spain. Perhaps the size difference is just a result of climate - in the Pyrenees as well as in the Alps and northern Greece, winters are colder than in Africa, and animals tend to be larger where the climate is colder.
Vultures are primarily scavengers, although some people working with a vulture project in Spain told me that there were a couple of griffon vulture individuals that had started killing animals. But then it was only about sick and weak individuals or young animals. But generally, vultures keep nature clean. They reduce the spread of disease by eating all kinds of carcasses.
Worldwide, it's estimated that there are fewer than five thousand cinereous vultures, making the species one of the threatened vultures. The cinereous vulture has in recent years been reintroduced in northern Spain, nowadays you can spot it at one of the "vulture restaurants" that offer poison-free, veterinary-inspected food for threatened vulture species. This is something that has also benefited the cinereous vulture and the severely threatened Egyptian vulture.
The cinereous vulture is a tough guy that when it lands at the restaurants makes even the countless griffon vultures become a bit cautious.
Eating carcasses is a dirty occupation. Therefore, most vulture species have more or less bald heads and necks. The bearded vulture differs in several ways from the other European vultures. To begin with, it's feathered on both neck and head, and it also has a small drooping mustache that hangs down from the beak.
But above all, it differs in terms of diet. The bearded vulture often comes to the "restaurants" when the other vultures have finished eating and the meat is gone. Only the bone remains are left, which is exactly the bearded vulture's specialty. It wants the nutritious bone marrow found inside the bones. To get at the bone marrow, it has a special approach. If it doesn't swallow the bone pieces whole - here you can rightly speak of "iron stomachs" - it can bang the bone pieces against stones or even more refined: it takes the bone pieces up into the air and from 40-50 meters height it then drops the bones so they're crushed into small pieces against the cliffs.
Many vultures breed colonially but the bearded vulture, just like the Egyptian vulture and cinereous vulture, is more solitary. A bearded vulture can glide up to seventy miles on a windy day. The bearded vulture pair's territory is extensive, and there's often at least a mile between nesting sites. The bearded vulture is not acutely threatened if you look at the whole world. In 2004, BirdLife International estimated the world population at between a couple of thousand and ten thousand birds.
But in Europe, the bearded vulture is one of the most threatened species after being quite common a couple of hundred years ago. When the EU a number of years ago prohibited farmers from leaving naturally dead animals in nature, the vultures lost an important food source. The vulture restaurants became increasingly important.
Just like other vultures, both the Egyptian vulture and bearded vulture were severely affected by the veterinary use of diclofenac in India, where the use of this painkiller was banned for use on livestock twenty years ago. When local Spanish and Italian authorities now allowed diclofenac for use on livestock, the threat picture has become complicated regarding the already threatened bearded, Egyptian, and cinereous vultures in southern Europe.
In Sweden we have four lekking species: capercaillie, black grouse, great snipe, and ruff. In southern Europe and especially in Spain we also find the little bustard, a species whose lekking sites are threatened. For many bird lovers, it has been a dream to photograph the little bustard males, who make spectacular jumps during lekking. The lekking period is short, from the beginning of April and a week into May. And we're going here during the lekking period.
The little bustard male is significantly less shy during lekking than our capercaillie. The little bustard females are, however, even shyer than our capercaillie hens. So the actual mating takes place in the tall grass, well hidden from the curious.
The males' lekking display consists of a flapping with the wings, followed by a stamping on the ground that resembles a little flamenco dance which escalates in tempo before the actual dance jump is performed.
When Brutus visited the fields outside Montgai in 2014, there was especially one little bustard male who differed from the other males on the open fields outside the village of Montgai in Catalonia in northeastern Spain. This male was at the display ground long before the sun rose, and long before the other males showed up. The wing-flapping and stamping began in the darkness of night when the only thing lighting up the fields was the occasional car headlights. He displayed until it was almost lunchtime. The other males seldom showed up before dawn.
Images except the image of the hide © Brutus Östling
Four and a half hide days photographing bearded vultures, cinereous vultures, griffon vultures, and Egyptian vultures - all European species. One and a half days with little bustard etc.
Brutus has been down in the area around the Pyrenees a number of times since 2008. The photography takes place from hides with the best backgrounds and most reliable visits from the spectacular bearded vulture but also cinereous vulture and Egyptian vulture.
The cinereous vulture is being reintroduced in northern Spain, and one of the days we head to the hide with the most reliable visits from this tough guy.
The griffon vultures always come and they are many. The fights when the meat pieces are to be distributed provide lots of opportunities for action shots.
We photograph the little bustard from hides at the actual lekking site. We go out before the first daylight.
The little bustard is the smallest of the bustards in the northern hemisphere, yet it's not a small bird - in length as big as a hen pheasant.
It prefers to stay in undisturbed agricultural or meadow landscapes where the vegetation is high enough to give it protection during display time.
In Spain, where the little bustard has its strongest foothold in Europe, the number of little bustard males is estimated to have decreased by 80-90 percent during the last thirty-year period. The population decline is largely due to land areas that the species prefers (areas that perhaps weren't considered usable) now being put to use for other purposes.
Price
Early bird price
2,650 EUR
per person
Normally 2,750 EUR
Secure your spot — registration fee
500 EUR
Travel guarantee included
Small groups, personal experience
Planned for light, timing and photo opportunities
Photo gallery
Itinerary
The trip begins and ends at Barcelona airport
Some activities may change depending on where conditions are best.
Day 1, arrival day, April 16:
We arrive at Barcelona airport midday, we travel by Fokus bus to the village of Bonansa on a mountaintop high up in the Pyrenees where we check into the hotel and have dinner in the neighboring village. The drive takes a little more than 2.5 hours.
New for 2027 is that we will spend the first three nights at the hotel in the mountain village. We tested this on one of the trips in 2026 and it was very well received.
If the flight is very delayed, contact us when you land or earlier, during layovers.
Day 2:
We are served breakfast at 6:30, at half past seven we sit in two larger vulture hides high up in the Pyrenees, with snow-covered mountain peaks in the background at more than 1700 meters altitude, a very special place where a multitude of vultures appear as soon as the farmer puts out the food. The vultures often land while he throws out the meat bones. First come the griffon vultures, a little later the bearded vultures usually arrive, by then the griffon vultures have already done the preliminary work and the bones have been freed of much of the meat. The bearded vulture is a specialist, it wants the bone marrow. The Egyptian vultures may come before the bearded vultures, but they are small and look for meat scraps a bit to the side and in bushes while the griffon vultures fight over the large pieces of meat. After the session that lasts until about 3 PM or 4 PM (we choose ourselves) we look around in the surroundings of the beautifully situated mountain village.
Day 3:
Same as day 2, but we switch hides.
Day 4:
We have breakfast at 6 AM at the hotel in Bonansa and then drive about an hour towards Tremp and the hide that is visited by cinereous vultures.
Half the day we sit in a hide on the mountain whose specialty is the cinereous vulture, the fourth European vulture species. The cinereous vulture has been undergoing reintroduction in Catalonia for a decade or a couple of decades, and the attempts have been at least partially successful. The background is a gorge and along the mountainside on the other side we notice a traditional mountain village.
Naturally we also have griffon vultures and Egyptian vultures at this hide, as well as a lot of red and brown kites; after two days at bearded vulture hides we will probably be without bearded vultures this day.
The session at the cinereous vulture hide lasts about three and a half hours until 12 PM. After the session we drive down to a restaurant next to a large river dam and eat a tasty brunch.
After brunch we go down to the highland plain, check into our hotel, and the second half of the day we dedicate to displaying little bustards and little owls and perhaps some other birds of prey and smaller birds. We enter the hides around 5 PM and sit for about three hours.
Day 5:
We sit six-seven hours in two parallel hides for bearded vultures a bit up in the mountains at the beginning of the Pyrenees, but still at well over 1100 meters altitude. The photo location is chosen with the background in mind. The background from the hides we've chosen differs from many other hides.
Toilet facilities are available, the hides have been modernized and have air conditioning from 2026 - can be nice towards the afternoon. After the session, journey back to our hotel.
Day 6:
Repeat of day 5, but we switch hides.
Day 7:
We stay in the plain area near the hotel where we're staying. And we go to the hides for little bustards and little owls before sunrise. The little bustards often come before it gets light even though we never see them display until later. Naturally no guarantee of displaying little bustards, this varies from year to year. After three hours of sitting we take a break, eat brunch at the neighboring village's restaurant and drive ten minutes to our hotel for rest and downloading images. In the afternoon we go to the same area but now we switch hides. The hides are one-person and sometimes two-person hides.
Day 8, April 25, 2027:
We have time to eat breakfast at the hotel at 7 AM before we head to the airport. Departure from Barcelona airport, but earliest at 12:45 PM so we have time to drive there.
Changes may occur depending on weather and other circumstances we cannot influence. Changes are made in such cases to optimize conditions for good pictures.
We will probably offer an extension, before the actual trip. Two or three days with Spanish imperial eagle.
Included in the price
- Accommodation in single rooms, everyone gets their own single room, we stay at two different hotels during the week
- All transport on site, trips between the airport and accommodations, between accommodations and to and from hides
- Breakfast and packed lunch included the first three days
- The first three days we have access to a kitchen and a common area in addition to our own bedroom and bathroom
- Guiding at each hide location
- Photographic advice, tips and help from our own photo guide
Not included
- Round-trip flights to Barcelona
- Tips, all food and drinks, insurance and other personal items
- Cancellation protection
- WE eat in connection with the accommodation, this is paid by each person on site
- The Spanish countryside is characterized by low prices for food and drinks
- For three-course dinners all seven days including a carafe of wine, beer or non-alcoholic drink, 2025's guests paid a total of between 140 and 165 €
Spain
About Spain
Photograph Europe's most dramatic birds of prey and the rare Iberian lynx from specially built hides.
Practical information
Dates
April 16-23, 2026
Regular price: 29,700 SEK
Early booking price until July 16: 27,900 SEK
(Registration fee 5,000 SEK, see below)*
Trip leader/photo guide
Brutus Östling
Number of participants
Min 5 / Max 5
Included in the price
Accommodation in single rooms, everyone gets their own single room, we stay at the same hotel all week except the first night when we go to a hide high up in the Pyrenees, then we stay at the village hotel.
Transports from the airport, to different hides and return to Barcelona airport
Six hide days and guidance from our trip leader as well as guides in Catalonia. Seven nights.
Accommodation
The accommodation is simple, cleaning and bed making included. WiFi at the hotel, usually works in the rooms too. Guest-friendly staff with restaurant on the ground floor. The restaurant attracts guests from the surrounding towns, known for its good food. In Bonansa we have a kitchen near the rooms. In Bonansa breakfast is included.
Not included in the price
Round-trip flights to Barcelona, any tips, all food and drinks, insurance and other personal items. Cancellation protection.
WE eat in connection with the accommodation, this is paid by each person on site. The Spanish countryside is characterized by low prices for food and drinks. For three-course dinners all seven days including a carafe of wine, beer or non-alcoholic drink, 2025's guests paid a total of between 150 and 165 €.
Single room supplement
Single room included.
Trip start and end
The trip starts and ends at Barcelona airport, exact time will be announced later.
Camera equipment
Focal lengths and lenses, and now I'm assuming full frame: everything from 24mm for landscapes to longer. But 95% of the time you use from 100 to 500mm. Teleconverter for close-ups. Tripod and tripod head, and note that the tripod head must be able to be detached from the tripod.
Clothing
Warm jacket and sweaters are needed especially early in the morning when we're out, sometimes it can get really hot though, however: some days can be really chilly, this applies especially to the day in the hide up at 1400 meters altitude.
Hide clothing
In the hides we should wear black or dark sweaters, if possible with long sleeves. Thin dark finger gloves are great, the light fingers are easily visible through the hide glass but it's not absolutely necessary.
Accessibility
The accommodation has some limitations regarding accessibility if you have functional mobility impairments. The areas we move in for photography may involve reduced accessibility with reduced mobility. Please call us and ask.
Visa/Passport
Swedish citizens don't need a visa but must have a passport. Passport is required for flight check-in.
*Payment terms
The payment terms deviate from our general travel terms. The registration fee is paid via invoice in connection with registration.
The registration fee is 5,000 SEK. This is not refunded upon cancellation.
By November 26, 2026 at the latest, an additional 5,000 SEK is paid, and the remainder is paid 60 days before the trip begins. For cancellations later than November 26, 2026, Fokus retains both the booking fee and the 5,000 paid by November 26 at the latest. If payment is late but cancellation occurs after November 26, Fokus has the right to demand the late payment on the amount then due.
For cancellations later than 60 days before the workshop, the full price is charged even if everything hasn't been paid on time.
Our price is calculated based on a euro rate of 10.75 SEK (April 21, 2026).
Extra travel terms for this trip:
Our price is calculated based on at least 5 participants and a euro rate of 10.75 SEK (April 21, 2026). The price is based on 2026 prices, no price increase has been announced, but if the hotel or hide rental company raises prices, Fokus may charge a minor increase, corresponding to this price increase, however at most 5% of the total price or 1,450 SEK. For higher increases, the traveler has the right to cancel without cost.
Good to know
Limited seats on upcoming departures
Interest is strong and seats are filling quickly. Early booking gives the best options.
See current availability and prices in the booking form above