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Herrerías de Río Madera NewsOur resident fawn called Bambi Earlier this year in May a fawn was abandoned by its mother at birth very close to the Cortijo de Rio Madera. The fawn was found by the warden and it has been hand reared and bottle fed for the past months. Now that it has grown, Bambi is kept in a small secure paddock in the estate and is being slowly weaned off milk for solids. He is very popular with children staying at the Cortijo de Río Madera who help to look after him. Photos of Bambi can be seen in the Photo Gallery - Fauna Album.
From mid September until early October guests can experience the incredible spectacle of the rutting season as mature deer stake out their claim on territory and begin their search for hinds with which to mate. They put back their powerful heads so that their antlers rest on their backs and they bay their loudest to the four winds in the hope to attract hinds. This is when the stags are in their most splendid condition - their antlers held high and proud to attract the hinds which are ready to conceive new life. The baying of stags also brings their competitors to challenge them, and soon stags are involved in battles, fighting over territory and hinds. They lock their antlers in serious combat and the sound of these clashes echo throughout the forests. Normally, no stags are killed - just wounds inflicted - the weaker stag submits and leaves the territory clear for the victor. Sometimes stags lock their antlers and cannot disengage, thus dying from sheer exhaustion and hunger. After several days of battling, the victors cover their hinds and after 8 months of gestation these hinds will give birth in May to one fawn (rarely two) - which will gingerly stand up on its long legs immediately after birth and will suckle the warm milk of its mother. The fawn will suckle for the first 4 months and will remain with its mother until she gives birth the following year. It knows intuitively how to blend into the background and remain as least visible as possible during its infant years.
September and October are very important months for the area and several villages and towns celebrate different Saints' Feast days which go back time immemorial when a Saint was chosen as the patron of a village, an area, a trade, etc. All the Feasts are celebrated with Masses and processions, often with traditional costumes and music. The festivities also normally include roadside stalls, traditional food and drink, rural games (such as bolos serranos) funfairs, and a wide variety of activities for children, such as rides on scaled trains, inflatable castles, go-karts, etc. Many of the towns and villages still run young bulls through the streets followed braver young people. Village dances take place at night and into the early hours of the morning. Orcera - 11 to 13 September - Feast in honour of Holy Christ of the True Cross. La Puerta de Segura - 18 to 20 September. It has been the tradition on the day of St Mark to go to the country-side to frighten off the devils, and to light the large exterior cooking ovens. Siles - 25 to 27 September. Feast of Saint Michael. Arroyo del Ojanco - From 2 to 4 October is the Feast in honour of their patron saint, Saint Francis of Assisi. Segura de la Sierra - 5 to 9 October - Feast in honour of Our Lady, Virgin of the Rosary. The bullfights at Segura are very interesting due to the situation of the bullring in the mountain side, with the seating effectively using the natural contours of the mountain. Cortijos Nuevos - 10 to 13 October - Feast dedicated to Our Lady of Pilar - this is famous in all the area.
The mild temperatures and the abundance of water in the soil as a consequence of the first autumnal rains favours the growth of wild mushrooms. Many wild mushroom varieties grow in the estate and the surrounding area but the locally named níscalo or "guíscano" (lactarius deliciosus) - saffron milk-cap in English - is the most important and indeed this is also one of the forms of income generation for Serrano families. The pine copses of the Sierra de Segura attract many mushroom collectors during the autumn who pick this edible and juicy mushroom, which is considered a delicacy by many Spaniards. The finca is very well known for its wild mushrooms and visitors have come here from distant towns to collect the níscalo and other varieties of mushrooms. Our warden is able to assist guests in choosing the least known spots to pick these mushrooms and we can also supply recipes to cook these delicacies, or indeed provide a cook as required.
The hunting season starts in Octuber in Andalucía, lasting until February 2009. In Andalucía the species which can be hunted are principally - wild boar, red deer, fallow deer, Spanish Ibex, mouflon, red partridge, hare, wild rabbit, and thrush. Each year there is an increasing number of hunters. Each year some 500,000 foreign hunters visit different areas of Spains to shoot. The province of Jaén generates an annual income of about Euros 12 million as it is an ideal province with a blend of large mountain ranges and extensive green lowland areas. Until the start of the 1970's hunting was not subject to much formal control. Now there are more stringent Laws and Regulations which have increased the control over hunting and hence protect all game species. These regulations establish determined hunting periods for each species, and at the beginning of such periods the number of animals which can be shot is known. In this manner, hunters can buy specific hunting rights from private estates, or can apply for set licence quotas to shoot on State owned estates - the latter are sold by auction. The price will depend on the type of animal to be shot. Herrerías del Río Madera is a private hunting estate where it is possible to shoot wild boar, red deer, fallow deer and Spanish Ibex. A second Cortijo Work has started on making another house habitable - this will not be the same standard as the Cortijo de Rio Madera and will have only 4 or 5 bedrooms. This will be available in July 2009. This can be used as overflow accommodation for the Cortijo de Rio Madera or as a separate holiday home. Please ask for details. |
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Herrerías de Río Madera - Sierra de Segura - 00 34 953 496 401 / 00 34 667 588 334 - info@herreriasderiomadera.com |