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When your hobby is hiding

When your hobby is hiding

Antonio Martínez works voluntarily for Malaga University and other projects, taking photos of species which are in danger of extinction, or monitoring them

PILAR R. QUIRÓS

Monday, 16 October 2017, 12:07

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When someone says he is a photography freak, he isn't surprised. In fact he just laughs, because there is no denying it. Antonio Martínez, nicknamed Antonio Red Bull because he is the Malaga representative for the energy drink, has a secret hobby. So secret that at 5am on Saturdays he is already in hiding, before the day dawns in the mountains and beauty spots of Malaga.

You have to get there in the dark. During the week I spend about an hour and a half after work every day, looking through binoculars for the best places to go. Then, very early on Saturday morning, I just have to set up my 'hide', very quietly, and get inside, he says.

A hide is essential for nature photographers, so they can watch the animals and take photos of them without being seen.

Antonio says there are basically three ways to hide with a camera, and take photos. There are hides that you can sit in, which are like small tents covered with vegetation to make them look as if they are part of the landscape. Then there are hides you lie down in, like a long tube with a mattress inside. These are especially uncomfortable because you spend long periods of time lying on your stomach, but they are used for species which are quick to detect any human movement.

Bear in mind that there are birds of prey who copy the clicking sound the camera makes when I take a photo. I know they have heard me then, so it is very difficult to maintain a position somewhere without them knowing, he says.

Finally, there is the hydrohide, a camouflaged half-moon shape with which you enter a lake or river. It covers the upper body, and you wear flippers so you can swim. This has to be set up silently so you are not spotted, and when you are inside you won't be able to leave until 6pm, for any reason whatsoever. You will be inside for 12 hours, so it should be as comfortable as possible, taking into account the dimensions and the location. During your day in the hydrohide you won't be able to make any noise, and hardly move. When you have decided on a strategic location, you point your camera through the eye slot.

An animal photographer will never reveal where he or she took the photos. This is an unwritten rule, and is necessary in order to protect the birds and animals.

For Antonio, then, his hide on a Saturday is his best friend. While his work colleagues and friends are out playing football, padel tennis,or going out for a meal with their family, he is absorbed in his inner world, in a mountain range whose name he doesn't remember or, more likely, prefers not to reveal. His lips are sealed.

Before the very first ray of light appears this photographer ,who was born in Cordoba but lives in Malaga, is inside his hide. Like a mole.

Dawn and dusk are the best times of day. The light is soft and oblique, it doesn't shine directly on the animal you want to photograph, dazzle the lens or cause shadows; the best photos are always taken at those times of the day, he says.

Antonio particularly loves birds of prey. Capturing them in a unique image can take days, and many hours of watching. For him, it is a wonderful way of relating to the environment.

As well as this being his hobby, it is also a type of work in a way, because he collaborates altruistically with projects at Malaga university and elsewhere. In fact, in December 2015 he took part in an interesting project, monitoring a Bonelli's eagle which was born during that year, for the Life Bonelli conservation group in Álava.

Actually, there were two chicks, which were reintroduced into nature by the 'hacking' technique. When birds of prey lose their parents, there are two options: they can be reared by humans, which means they will never again be able to fly freely because they will not be aware of the dangers; or they can be raised and returned to nature by techniques such as the one mentioned above, 'hacking'.

A place is chosen, a nest is made in the same way a pair of Bonelli's eagles would build one, and a large PVC tube is placed high up, through which food is dispensed. The benefit is that the chicks never see the humans, so they grow up afraid of Man. That's how it should be.

They learn to fly by themselves, and if all goes well they normally disperse around the area; some return to the place they were born, some do not.

They normally do well if, during the rearing process, an owl or something similar doesn't come and eat them because their parents aren't there to protect them, explains Antonio.

In this case the two chicks did overcome the obstacles and they moved away, one to Portugal and the other to Malaga. Antonio was in charge of photographing them, which he did at the Guadalhorce river. Sadly, that was the last picture of the eagle known as Oteo 145. He was electrocuted in the Peñón de Zapata district, in Alhaurín de la Torre.

Unfortunately, a lot of birds are killed because they are electrocuted on power cables, eat poisoned bait, or are even shot. That's why we never, ever give away the location of a pair of eagles, he says.

His love of photography began when his daughter Aitana was born, eight years ago.

Like any father, he says, he wanted to have photos of her as she grew up. He had always loved the countryside, where he often used to go to watch birds, but only with binoculars.

For years he monitored the same pairs of eagles, and during those years his son Daniel, who is now five, was born. Antonio almost thinks of these birds as part of the family, and there is one pair of which he is obviously very fond. They are booted eagles, a pale-coloured female and a dark male, which is quite unusual. The pair are 'resident' in Malaga.

In October, this species normally migrates across the Strait of Gibraltar, but these two stay put. Obviously, their location is a secret, but they have been together all their lives. Last spring, they had three chicks, which is also very unusual. Two were light-coloured males and the other was a large, darker female.

Antonio has been watching this particular pair for three years now and, like other species of birds and animals, they mate for life. They only have a new partner if their first one dies. Their aim, after all, is to breed year after year. It's the call of nature.

Antonio discovered that two of these booted eagle chicks were often to be found in the river. They bathe at least once a day, sometimes twice a day in summer, explains Antonio. And the male always shouts at the female as he goes into the water. Why? When they are growing up they are always together, but they still like a bit of space. If the male is in the water, he doesn't want his sister any closer than necessary. They are territorial from the time they are born, he explains fondly, having spent nearly ten years of his life watching them.

Antonio's daughter Aitana loves to go with him to watch wildlife. She is the only member of the family to do so. It seems fitting, in a way. After all, when she was born her father considered animal photography to be a hobby. Now, during all these years, it has grown alongside Aitana and has now become a way of life.

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