Reach for the skies!!! My tern to fly high!

[Zim Girl]

Lovely latest additions from Spain and that water hide gave you some excellent pictures in the end!

[Dave Williams]

To quote Simon and Garfunkel "gee but it's good to be back home, home is where I want to be"

I do feel as if I have been on the road too long after 3 foreign trips in fairly quick succession.

So in chasing my big year target of 400 it was off to Bulgaria, a country I have visited 3 time previously.If I'm honest the birding didn't deliver quite as I as I hoped but the bonus was two of Europe's rarest mammals!

My friend Mike and I flew to Sofia, picked up a hire car then drove to the Rhodope mountains where we were booked in for two days in vulture watching hides. The target were Griffon and Egyptian Vultures.

Up at 3.45am for the 4x4 journey up to the first hide was a tiring way to start the first day and we arrived at the top of a hill where today's hide was placed in thick mist so we had no idea what the view was until the sun came up and then we were treated to a fabulous view but not much in the way of birds!

 

We saw flyover Griffon Vultures, and one young Egyptian landed very briefly and then was off again. The best views were of a Black Kite which visited quite a few times but by the end of the day we were ready to go.

 

Black Kite.  BY154 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

 

We didn't get picked up until 8.00pm so it was a very long day but in a way it was as well it was, the Kite performed well in the stunning evening light and we had views of red-backed Shrike and a Sombre Tit. A lifer for me!

Black Kite.  BY154 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

We'd booked two Vulture hide days and I have to say I wasn't too confident of the outcome for the second day. Another pick up at 4.30am and off to a different hide. There had been a single Egyptian and 40 Griffon Vultures there the previous day and as well as fighting amongst themselves , a Golden Jackal had joined the melee! We could only hope for something similar but from a photographic point of view too many birds spoil the framing!

We were told not to move our lenses until the Vultures started to eat. A couple of Griffons would probably land and take an age deciding if it was safe to start feeding.

We were more interested in the Egyptian if truth be told and were delighted when a single specimen was the first to drop in. The light was stunning at around 5.30 am!

184) Egyptian Vulture

Egyptian Vulture.   BY184 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Not the first I'd seen but the first I'd photographed successfully.

Egyptian Vulture.   BY184 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

It was eventually joined by a single 185)Griffon Vulture

Griffon Vulture   BY185 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

As my lens happened to be pointing that way I took a couple of snaps then waited patiently for some more to join in and then to start feeding.

Griffon Vulture   BY185 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The first one was joined by a couple more but they all took off again. They surely couldn't have been spooked by us in the hide?

No it was a Fox that had appeared and was sneaking down on them.

Red Fox by Dave Williams, on Flickr.

Eventually one Griffon returned and sat on a a perch for at least 15 minutes waiting to decide if it was safe to return to the bait. Again, it took off and I couldn't believe it was our fault.

I looked over to my right and couldn't believe what I was seeing...a Grey Wolf was sat there! 

Grey Wolf by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The Vultures didn't return. We had been told they wouldn't visit after 2.30 but that was already it for the day.

Did we care? Not one jot.

The Wolf made a further 4 visits, the last one was so close to us it was heart stopping. Absolutely magic!

Wolf.   Bulgaria by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Edited May 30, 2022 by Dave Williams

[PeterHG]

That’s just incredible, a wolf! What a feeling that must have been. Terrific shots of the Kites and Vultures as well.

[TonyQ]

A fantastic sighting Dave!

[Galana]

Wonderful shots. The Wolf would have quite made my trip.

[Dave Williams]

Thanks @PeterHG 

@Galana@TonyQ

 

Mike and I both agreed that the Wolf would justify the trip on it's own but with another 6 days left we had high hopes for more birds to come.

It was a full 6 hour plus drive to North East Bulgaria where our next base was to be. We were staying in a hotel that was newly opened last time we visited the area and we had had the best meal of that particular trip there. We had high hopes for this trip then too. The hotel had been under occupied when we were there last time and it appeared as if it continued to be. In the 7 years since we were last there the outside appearance of the hotel had taken quite a beating. The inside was OK but basically one man was running the whole show which was ridiculous really. Mind you there were only 5 guests for all bar one night, then there were 7. Our party considered of 4 of them.

The hotel is in the middle of nowhere and quite why anyone chose to build it in the first place is baffling, rumour had it it was a money laundering operation....but it would be hard to launder money if there was none coming in.

Ah well, it wasn't what it once was. Gastronomically it was lacking but when they had supplies the beer was very inexpensive!

Our first evening we were taken to the Roller and Bee-eater hide. No BY additions there although I got some reasonable shots. A brief appearance of a female 186)Golden Oriole was at least some compensation even if the light was fading.

Golden Oriole. BY186 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

On our last visit to this part of Bulgaria we had only stayed one night and had used our guides unique hide in the grounds of his two bedroomed cottage, it's a Soviet era lookout tower and back then it overlooked a walnut tree, much of it dead. The procession of birds visiting the tree was mind boggling in the space of just a few hours. Stunning views of Buntings,Shrikes,Woodpeckers,but the stars were the Golden Orioles. I was desperate for better shots this time!

Another 4.30 am start from the hotel to get us to the Tower hide before it got too light.

7 years ago, climbing up and back down again was a bit daunting. More so now with far less mobility than I once had prior to my back surgery.

 

Climbing up is one thing but getting through the hatch with a back pack on can be a bit tricky. 

As for going down....

 

Not a lot to hang on to!!

Over the course of the next five days we made three morning visits.

Two were basically a waste of time but in the sapace of one "golden hour" we did at last hit the jackpot with a couple of decent species visiting.

This jewel in the crown hide has certainly lost it's sparkle and possibly for two reasons. 

The first is the dead top of the Walnut tree has fallen and the replacement poles with perches attached were not the same.

The second is what appeared to me to be a dramatic change in local agricultural practices.

The multitude of horse drawn vehicles have all but vanished and now huge pieces of machinery are being used for every aspect of agriculture including crop spraying. Locally Bee-eater colonies are being abandoned and once common birds are no more it seems. The surrounding countryside looks very pleasing to the eye but it hides a huge change in the wildlife. Farming is on an industrial scale. It hasn't provided more jobs, on the contrary the number of abandoned houses in the villages is so sad to see.

Up in the Rhodope Mountains it was the same but for different reasons. There the once thriving mining town with a population of 7000 people now houses 300. Apartment blocks intended to house dozens are occupied by single families.Housing is abandoned and you can see why. The whole social structure has collapsed with libraries, bars and shops left to decay. All this in the midst of stunning scenery. A new lease of life is a possibility through ecotourism but the mindset isn't there, well other than our guide who has bought and renovated an abandoned house.

[shazdwn]

Wow you have been busy since I last popped in. Love the little owl peeking through the thistles.

 

 I have heard a bit about floating hides and am keen to give it a go, but can’t do it around here living in 🐊 county and all

[xelas]

Your wake up calls were brutal but the light you have gotten was indeed golden! Beautiful photos, I envy you for those (but not for getting up that early ).

 

Two out of four is not bad, next year it might be better!

[Zim Girl]

Great pictures of the Kite and vultures, but how amazing to have a wolf turn up and get so close!

[Dave Williams]

3 hours ago, Zim Girl said:

Great pictures of the Kite and vultures, but how amazing to have a wolf turn up and get so close!

 

The two Vulture hides are built so your lens protrudes through a covered opening but there is a window of mirror glass for you to look out through. The wolf stopped and sniffed the air, probably picked up our scent .

I decided to travel light and didn't take a tripod but the guy who has the hides lent me one to avoid having to push my lens through the curtain to get a shot which might have alerted the subject, especially the Vultures, to our presence.

[Dave Williams]

Singing from the top of the Walnut tree in front of the Tower hide.

187)European Cuckoo

European Cuckoo.  BY187 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

Looking for food to take back to the nest, again from the Tower hide

188)Common Starling

Common Starling    BY188 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[TonyQ]

That is a stunning Cuckoo Dave

[Soukous]

Super Cuckoo Dave. Good to see that something is still using the walnut tree

[Dave Williams]

A lifer for me and yet we seemed to see it nearly everywhere we went after that!

189)Sombre Tit

Sombre Tit.      BY189 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

Our offered hides in north east Bulgaria were a bit limited to be honest, as well as the Tower there were two hides for Bee-eaters, the one were we saw the Oriole and another were visits by Bee-eaters were few and far between but we did get many from an Isabelline Wheatear and one or two by a Woodchat Shrike. Better shots than I got in Spain but already in the count.

There was one hide that we visited twice, a woodland drinking pool hide. Constantly busy the majority bird by far was 190) Hawfinch, in fact we had as many as a dozen at a time on occasion.

The male.

Hawfinch.    BY 190 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

the female

Hawfinch.    BY 190 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

and a juvenile. The latter was only the second I have ever seen. Hawfinches are rare in the UK so seeing a juvenile is most unusual . The first time I saw one I wasn't sure what I was looking at!

Hawfinch.    BY 190 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

The woodland hide was a challenge in as much as on a dull day the light was poor, and this was made worse by photographing through mirrored glass!

One we gat in the garden at home but to boost my Bulgaria score 191) Eurasian Nuthatch

 

Eurasian Nuthatch.       BY190 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

192)Spotted Flycatcher. This one had popped in for a bath in the drinking pool.

Spotted Flycatcher.    BY192 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

Thankfully there were still quite a lot of 193)Turtle Dove to be seen in North East Bulgaria but they were extremely cautious of humans which is hardly surprising considering they are slaughtered on migration every year. By far our closest views were at the drinking pool where photography in dull light and through mirrored glass doesn't show them at their best.

 

Turtle Dove.     BY193 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

Another from the drinking pool in the woods.

194)Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff.      BY194 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

We only took a second visit to the drinking pool in the hope of seeing the Green Woodpecker.The woodland drinking hide wasn't in the best of conditions but at least there was plenty of activity and a decent number of different species. The most numerous were the Hawfinch, in fact to the extent of being tedious! They were constantly being terrorised, as were nearly all the visitors that attempted to eat from the feed tray. On just one occasion the Hawfinch stood up to the GSW as it came in on the attack. Taken aback the GSW almost fell backwards in to the water. The Hawfinch though made a sharp exit.

Great Spotted Woodpecker.  BY7 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The Great Spotted Woodpecker sought revenge for the impudence of the Hawfinch and took it out in mid air sending a cloud of feathers over the drinking pool. He appeared at the far edge with evidence of the assault.I presume the Hawfinch escaped with bruising and a lesson learned.

Great Spotted Woodpecker.  BY7 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The Green Woodpecker visited twice, the first time very briefly and my pal Mike failed to hear my whisper of it's presence until it was about to fly. A bit despondent he was packing away his gear at the end of the session when in came the woodpecker again, this time giving views in better light too.

Green Woodpecker.   BY157 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

The session had been saved at the death but little did we know it was about to get a lot better!!!

Back in the car and driving along the road I spotted a distant animal and told Sergey our guide to stop.

Unbelievable!

Stood perfectly still and staring in to the woods, a Wildcat!

Wildcat.        Bulgaria by Dave Williams, on Flickr

No one knows the population of Wildcats but seeing one is very, very unusual. They are largely nocturnal and secretive.

Our day had suddenly shot through the stratosphere. Wolf and Wildcat in the space of a few days. Incredible luck.

As always though, you are greedy for more!!

I took a burst of identical shots of the Wildcat before grabbing my teleconverter to increase the focal length of my lens from 500 to 700mm.

The Wildcat meanwhile turned, looked in our direction, saw the car presumably and slunk off in to the woods.

I only know that because Mike got the full face shot. I didn't.

Such is life!!

[Dave Williams]

Back to the Tower hide in the garden, we had excellent views of  

195)Syrian Woodpecker 

Syrian Woodpecker.   BY195 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Edited June 3, 2022 by Dave Williams

[Dave Williams]

There were several nest boxes that had been put up on posts  in the Walnut tree and early morning a 196)European Scops Owl appeared looking a bit angry to say the least!

 

European Scops Owl.    BY196 by Dave Williams, on Flickr

There were also three nest boxes on tree by the roadside to the cottage too, and the pair of Owls seemed to use them as roosts too, curious to passing traffic , these were better views.

European Scops Owl.    BY196 by Dave Williams, on Flickr