Our main target today was the charming little Souslik, a sort of ground squirrel found on open plains as pictured above, roughly the same size as our squirrels but with a little stubby tail and dwelling underground. There were of course good birds to be found here too, firstly there was the Calandra larks, which appeared to be common here, very large with a big bill. The surprise came with picture two, I was sharing a drinking pool hide with John Hunt, but we were not having much luck, he had just photographed a Balkan green lizard when out of the tiny hole around my lens I saw somthing and slowly moved my lens to reveal a Goshawk, apparently despatching the lizard that John had just taken. John said he was obscured and could not get on it which was very bad luck, so I took a quick snap as it turned its head and it was then soon away carrying the unfortunate reptile. The picture is not great but it was a wonderful sight and my nearest encounter by hundreds of yards.
The other birds are in order, Crested lark, Isabelline wheatear and finally a smart male Whinchat
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment