Cortijo Búho
Sometimes you just need to experience something different, it’s August, holiday season in Spain and despite Covid it’s still busy… To avoid the crowds and for a day out not too far away from us we decided to pay a visit [appointment only] to Cortijo Bújo in Benamaurel.
Cortijo Búho is run by Matilda and Lawrence who provide a bird of prey experience, it’s different from what you might expect too as it is very ‘hands on’, you won’t find any bird of prey demos as you might at a show, rather you get the opportunity to fly and feed the birds yourself.
Cortijo Búho is also an educational experience, you are guaranteed to leave knowing a lot more that when you arrived. Lawrence has been a falconer all his life and is a wealth of knowledge on the subject providing information and facts throughout the visit.
We do not give bird of prey displays, we offer a one to one experience where you learn about the birds as species and individuals, fly them, feed them and have an experience you will never forget.
Upon arrival you are met and taken into Lawrence and Matilda’s cave house where the itinerary for the morning is explained, the atmosphere is very relaxed, the coffee is good and we were introduced to our first owl of the day as Matilda casually walked in asking ‘would you like to hold an owl?” Great stuff.
For Nico [our youngest] the morning was a real eye opener, first up were the meerkats before moving onto the owls, Lawrence explains about each species, their character, diet and natural habitat as well as many interesting historical facts. Besides from being exceptionally well trained the birds are highly impressive to say the least and it really is quite an experience being able to be so close to something you may go your whole life and perhaps only see on the television.
Take the camera – I was impressed by how calm and settled all the birds were in front of the camera, having never photographed owls before this was a real treat and it goes without saying that all of these birds are tremendously photogenic. For a photography tip I was shooting mainly with a 17-50 f2.8, to do it again I’d be taking a 70-200mm as well just for the extra reach.
Cortijo Búho is very well presented, there are good things happening here from an animal welfare standpoint too so it’s well worth a visit to offer your support. The experience is unique, well tuned and very relaxed, as mentioned above you leave with knowledge and a sense of privilege having been able to witness some of Mother Nature’s most magnificent creatures.
[Hit play below to listen to the kookaburras]
Thanks Mac xx Lawrence