Workshop in Buseu (2)

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The first morning of the workshop, activity was hectic on the feeder.  It was feeding day, as Jordi Canut is bringing food to the vulture colonies once per week.

Early in the morning, just after wake up call at 8:00 am, we saw already, from the house, some Lammergeiers already flying over the feeder, up the hill.  As we leaved the house, and helped Jordi to load the food (mostly lamb bottom legs) in the car he uses regularly to move food to the feeder, movement in the air was in crescendo.  We climbed to the feeder area on foot, while Jordi was carrying our bags and the food in the car.  While we were climbing, we were watching a higher and higher concentration of vultures in the sky, as all the Griffons in the area were attracted by the well know pattern of Jordi’s car approaching (that mean food for them).

When we arrived to the feeder, there were more than 200 Griffons flying over us, in very close circles around the car and the feeder area, while the bearded vultures maintained a relative distance, trying to not get mesh in the flight congestion.

We installed ourselves in the two hides at the bottom of the feeder area, Antonio, Goyo and me in one, and Angel and Juan Carlos on the second one, smaller.  Jordi waited for us to be ready on the hides to remove the bin with the food from the car.

Then, suddenly, action unleashed.  The more than 200 Griffons flying over the feeder landed almost at the same time, covering the ground with a dun carpet of moving bodies and feathers, while they were getting any piece of fresh meat in the bones scattered all along the slope.

I shoot very few photos in that period, half astonished by the action, half confused (as Antonio had warned us) with so many action happening at the same time, not knowing where to aim the camera.  Meanwhile the Lammergeiers were waiting for their turn in a discrete second term.

Once the initial frenzy was over, and most of the Griffons had flight away, the bearded vultures started to land, and our photographic activity really began.