The Long and Short of it.

This winter (2009/2010) brought with it another of those WOW occasions of which there have been many since moving to Bulgaria.

The first week of December saw the first of the snow, so armed with my camera I decide to wander around the village and see if anything would grab my attention. The snow was beautiful and the sun was shining, I had taken a few photos down by the lake and in the local park and was making my way back home when a large group of Tree Sparrows caught my eye.

As I stepped back to take in as many of the birds as possible I heard a noise behind me that sounded like a cat. I looked around but couldn’t see one. I was standing under a large conifer tree at this point and wondered if maybe the cat was in the tree,

As I looked up I saw a Long Eared Owl looking back at me, I grabbed my camera and took a photo, then as I stood there I noticed another then another and another, and in all there must have been around 20 Long Eared Owls in the tree at that time.

Long Eared Owl

Over the course of the winter there were in excess of 50 Long Eared Owls and these were joined by a number of Short Eared Owls.

Long Eared Owls

I saw the Owls almost every day often flying over my garden and even landing on my grapevines. The Short Eared Owls were often seen flying in daylight unlike the Long Eared Owls who would only fly in the day if disturbed.

Short Eared Owl

This communal roosting is typical among these birds during the winter months and then come spring they move on for breeding.

I do not know if they will be back next year I can only hope but either way this has been an experience I will never forget.

Tha Glass Lizard

The Glass Lizard

Last Thursday I went with some friends to visit a place called Madzharevo approximately 10 minutes from the Greek border, to see the Vultures. The scenery in this region of Bulgaria is stunning; it is mountainous and has the Arda River running through it. This area is well known for Vultures, particularly Griffon and Egyptian, as they breed here throughout the summer months.

After spending a few hours taking in the scenery we had spotted around 6 Griffon Vultures and it was nearly time for us to go. On the road out there is a small picnic table made of stone which we paused at to take a last chance to see the Vultures. As we stopped the car we spotted 2 more Griffon Vultures circling above and then these were joined by others and before long there over 14 of the huge birds flying above us, and with a wingspan of approx 8ft, the display they gave us was amazing.

We got back into the car and started on our journey home. As we made our way back up the winding road Martin and I spotted what we first thought was a large snake at the side of the road, Martin stopped the car and I leapt out with my camera at the ready only to see the tail end disappear into the bushes.

Not to be put off too easily I decided to follow it and saw the tail going upwards into a bush. I went around the bush pulling apart the branches trying to glimpse the head, then I spotted it and I was able to take this picture before calling Martin over to see it.

Once home I set about identifying our “snake” only to discover it was not a snake at all but actually a “European legless lizard” known as a Glass Lizard and can reach roughly 4 1/2 ft in length. Like most lizards when caught the tail can break away, in the case of the Glass Lizard the end piece may break into several pieces like glass, in olden days it was believed that the lizard could reassemble itself later on, this is untrue but the tail will eventually grow back.

I plan on a few more trips to Madzharevo this year so will hopefully see more of this incredible creature as well as the Vultures.

The Smiling Fox

The Smiling Fox

Shortly before taking this picture I had been talking to a friend of mine called Ian, who has since sadly passed away. He told me a story about how his father had once seen a fox that had walked straight past him on a canal path very close to where he was walking in the UK, at the time I thought “wow, I wish that would happen to me”

Well someone was listening and taking note as two days later when I was walking to the old sand quarry near where I live in Bulgaria a fox walked towards me, stopped and then did a two metre circle around me. I was amazed having only just been told of a similar story that this was now happening to me.

But the best was still to come.

Two days after this event, I was again at the sand quarry and had been happily taking shots of the nesting Bee Eaters all day. At about 5 o’clock I decided to pack up my stuff and leave for home but I saw the fox about 40 metres from where I was standing so I dived behind a small bank hoping it hadn’t seen me and that I may be able to get its photo.

When I looked for it I couldn’t see it and thought that it had gone so I picked up my stuff and went to go again. At this point the fox came over a small bank in front of me and even though it saw me continued in my direction.

I stood completely still, my push bike in one hand and my camera in the other, the fox continued to walk towards me and when it was about 4 metres away it paused, sat down and looked at me. I lifted my camera and took a couple of photos, and then the fox stood and carried on past me.

The smile on my face was evident for a week as it was unbelievable and if I didn’t have this picture to prove it really happened I could easily think it had all been a dream.

I’m here…I think

Well, finally I’ve got around to sorting out a blog to compliment my Bulgarian Nature photography website!

After much nagging from my amazing and truly wonderful better half,  I decided that I had better do as she suggests and get writing.

You know she actually believes that people out there who enjoy looking at my photographs will be just as interested in hearing about how I got the shots.  I’m not normally one to argue with her; after more than 25 years of wedded bliss,  I know what’s good for me but what I don’t know is if you will be interested, but I thought what the hell I’ll give it a go…so here I am.

So without further ado, this is it. I look forward to hearing some of your feedback once I’ve added a few stories here with piccies of course, and I just hope that her indoors knows what she is talking about.

Thanks for taking the time

Darren