Summer can quite quickly turn to winter in this part of Spain. The long, lazy, lingering days of summer are abruptly replaced by the cold, short, harsh days of winter and autumn can slip past unnoticed. The exception being however, in the Sierra de Baza, where at this time of the year, autumn not only exists but is at its most perfect.
On a late October afternoon I looked up towards the Sierra de Baza's highest peak, Santa Barbara, clearly visible, beckoning beneath the high October sun, and I could not resist the urge to reach its summit. Equipped with the camera I wanted to capture the ciervos (deer) at home in their natural environment, Andalucia's secret sierras.
Leaving the car at the Centro de Visitantes de Narvaez, which is easily accessible from the A92 not far from Gor, the dry and arid plain lands of the Hoya de Baza are swiftly surpassed by the green and fertile condensed jungle of pine trees. The air starts to change also. Becoming more crisp, cool and fragrant, it ruffles through the yellow tinged leaves, contrasting with the heat of the sun, still high in the late October sky as it filters through the maze of trees, casting shadows on the winding path in front.
The Sierra de Baza
Natural Park covers an area of 53,649 hectares. This vast stretch is sparsely populated and sparingly visited, remaining therefore relatively undiscovered and empty making it not only the perfect setting for an autumn walk but also the ideal dwelling for many types of flora and fauna. It is home to a wide variety of natural treasures. Many different species of birds of prey have been recorded in the Sierra de Baza; Golden Eagles, Egyptian Vultures and Kestrels can regularly be seen thermaling overhead. There are seven different signposted walks in the park. A network of paths takes you through the pine-clad slopes with Oak and Acer and over angular limestone crags, sporadically scattered with fragrant thyme, juniper, lavender and rosemary. Mistletoe wildly overhangs restricting the pathway ahead.
Mistletoe in the Sierra de Baza
The park preserves thirty species of mammals including wild boar, badgers, foxes and deer. A butterfly gracefully flutters past, a unique species to this area appropriately named “Eucloe Bazae” (Baza Butterfly). But it is the deer I am interested in because of brief sightings I have had of them on previous visits to the sierras. But this time I am on a quest to photograph them in their striking surroundings.
The species of deer living in these sierras are called the Cervus Elaphus Boliveri which is the most common species of deer in the Iberian Peninsula. Because of the fearful and timid nature of these animals I knew it was quite possible to visit the sierras without seeing a single deer. Unbeknown to me at the time, I later discover that the deer are most active at dusk and dawn and are less active during the day, thus making my mission at 2pm even more unlikely. On researching some interesting facts about these animals I also learn about the distinct differences between males and females. Females are rather smaller than the males, do not have antlers and usually form matriarchal herds of about three or four. Whilst the extremely selfish male, not thinking about anything but sexual desire, prefer to be on their own. The maximum longevity of deer is twenty years, the average being between ten and twelve.
Although the deer has been present in the Sierra de Baza since ancient times, in 1987 there was an initial reintroduction of deer into the area. The project which was initiated by the Baza League of Hunters in coordination with the Andaluz de Caza Federation was completed in 1989 when the Sierra de Baza was declared a Natural Park
With the camera eagerly poised, the only sounds that disturbed the gratefully anticipated silence were the crunching of footsteps over the crisp autumn leaves and fallen pine needles and a woodpecker, rhythmically pecking at the slender trunk of a pine tree. We are yet however to have seen any deer. La Prada del Rey (Meadow of the King) is the highest point where you can take your car in the sierras, forcing you to make the final 1000 feet climb to Santa Barbara's summit on foot. It is here where the landscape really starts to change. The pine-clad steep slopes are replaced by more barren, rocky ground and craggy peaks. The air not only becomes cooler but changes its aroma from the sweet smelling pine to the strong scent of heather which grips the rocky hillside able to withstand the strong winds and low temperatures at these heights.
A deer's diet mainly consists of grass and herbs although in the autumn they look for acorns to accumulate fat to prepare for the winter months. With each consecutive step towards the summit over the increasingly barren ground, I began to fell less and less convinced that we were to see any deer, believing they would prefer to stay on the lower slopes where the food is more plentiful, especially as it is autumn and they are attempting to store fat.
