Rock Partridge trip in Bulgaria

This time I got him. Regardless of the miserable weather at the start of the day with rain and low temperatures I managed to see the Rock Partridge today. As a part of the preparation for my coming visitor I decided to explore the area around the mountain where Rock Partridges occur. I spoke to several people and everyone was saying that the birds do not appear in bad weather whatsoever. Moreover, it is still quite early in the season for the bird's display. Well, I wanted to see the site and get some more experience with it so I decided to give it a try.

I started fairly late in the morning regardless of any recommendation for Rock Partridge observation for early start. The trip wasn't long and shortly before I arrived at the area the rain stopped. "That's a good sign", I said to myself. Bright sky showed over the mountain tops. "I might be lucky".

Soon I was on the trail to the spot where I knew the birds should be. Big bird turned up in the distance. No it wasn't the Rock Partridge. A Golden Eagle was circling right over the spot where the Partridges should be. He must be searching for a meal. The big bird disappeared for a while but then it just turned up round the hill. It was sooo close. I quickly leaned down to hide myself. The bird didn't seem to have seen me and calmly continued gliding. What a bird! And of course I had left the big lens at home. Why would I need it in this miserable weather. Well the light wasn't good but the bird was so close that it would probably not fit in my frame. It was at eye level which additionally brought the respect which this bird deserves. Beautiful adult! It circled a couple of times and off it went. I didn't really feel any pressure to go further but wanted to have a look at the Rock Partridge spot.

Rock Partridge habitat by Iordan Hristov

In about 10 minutes I was there. Superb view from the top of a hillside revealed a 360 degrees view. Cliffs all around with meadows and scrub. That's what they like. I sat down for a while to enjoy the view. It wasn't a minute when a Rock Partridge called. Yes I know it is still early for them to breed but there it is calling from the bushes. I waited for a bit more but the bird didn't come out. Then I went round the corner to change my location. There it was. Ohh my.. The bird took off noisily only about 30 m away from me and gently glided down the hillside. Well, I got him this time.

Rock Partridge Habitat by Iordan Hristov

With a smile on my face, I happily went down the track towards the car. Several Sombre Tits made the pleasure even bigger.

Well I think this would be the spot. If we are this lucky, the trip will start really well with rather relaxed schedule and travel. Looking forward to its start.

Rock Partridge trip

This time I really wanted to visit the Rock Partridge area that I intended to visit last week. On my way to a family holiday I pulled out to the area.

There was still a little bit of snow but patches only. The Rock Partridge area is along an old track leading to a rocky area. Grassland meadows surround the cliffs making the area rather suitable for Rock Partride. The bird turns up pretty much anywhere along the track and around the cliffs.

Along the track we had an adult Golden Eagle, a dozen Yellowhammers, some Mistle Thrushes and Great Tits. We reached the area in 1.5 hours walking along the track. A pair of Raves welcomed us. Soon I started scanning the cliffs. Scanned for some half an hour and moved to another place for another 15 minutes. We'll, no luck this time. It's still quite early for display but I was hoping tha some birds will turn up along the road. Will come back again in a week or so. I definitely need to spend some more time around here. In addition to the Rock Partridge, there is also White-backed Woodpecker and Eagle Owl which I want to see.

Central Balkan mountain by Iordan Hristov

Good start of the coming days. Lovely scenes. Will also need to check the place for sunset landscape photos.

Coming soon :)