Wrynecks - a special encounter.
12th July 2019
Later in the day that we saw the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Bulgaria, (previous blog), we walked further along the track while Vlado went back to get the vehicle. As we walked along we were being followed by a very cute little puppy who seemed to take an interest in us, probably because it didn't see many people there.
When Vlado returned Susan and I were watching Bee Eaters flying around the river about a hundred yards away. Just out of curiosity I said ‘Do you get many Wrynecks here Vlado?’ ‘Of course’ was his casual reply, ‘Would you like to see one’? He really was, without realising it, a master of the rhetorical question. In anticipation we drove to another location about a mile away and parked - up. ‘We may see some here’ Vlado indicated to a few bushes – (It was the plurality of his comment that intrigued us)! Then suddenly we saw movement and unbelievably we could now see four Wrynecks in a single small bush, an adult and three juveniles and above them, in the same bush, a Cirl Bunting and by the side of that a Red Backed Shrike!! If you saw that in the UK you would be dining out on that encounter for many years. I decided to concentrate on the Wrynecks, which were a bit obscured by branches, but one obligingly moved into the open and I gratefully took a shot.
One of the Wrynecks then flew out of the bush into the open and I carefully followed it until I could see it clinging to an old wooden post. I approached it very carefully - keeping hidden behind a dense thicket until I could get a few shots. It stayed there and was surprisingly quite confiding - I gratefully spent some time admiring this fascinating bird because you never know when the next one will come along.
There was great birding in this area and how I wished things could be like it back home!
When Vlado returned Susan and I were watching Bee Eaters flying around the river about a hundred yards away. Just out of curiosity I said ‘Do you get many Wrynecks here Vlado?’ ‘Of course’ was his casual reply, ‘Would you like to see one’? He really was, without realising it, a master of the rhetorical question. In anticipation we drove to another location about a mile away and parked - up. ‘We may see some here’ Vlado indicated to a few bushes – (It was the plurality of his comment that intrigued us)! Then suddenly we saw movement and unbelievably we could now see four Wrynecks in a single small bush, an adult and three juveniles and above them, in the same bush, a Cirl Bunting and by the side of that a Red Backed Shrike!! If you saw that in the UK you would be dining out on that encounter for many years. I decided to concentrate on the Wrynecks, which were a bit obscured by branches, but one obligingly moved into the open and I gratefully took a shot.
One of the Wrynecks then flew out of the bush into the open and I carefully followed it until I could see it clinging to an old wooden post. I approached it very carefully - keeping hidden behind a dense thicket until I could get a few shots. It stayed there and was surprisingly quite confiding - I gratefully spent some time admiring this fascinating bird because you never know when the next one will come along.
There was great birding in this area and how I wished things could be like it back home!