After my first visit to the Pyrenees Black Woodpecker was my only heard and not seen species for years - I kept hearing them till it became a major wind up - like they were sniggering at me! On a 2nd visit I found a nest hole early in the week and could scope it from fairly close and watch them come and go fantastically - and what a bird!
Wallcreeper was frustrating on the 1st trip to the Pyrenees too - with a very early morning sighting of a small silhouette flying away never to show again. The 2nd trip produced proper views.
My first try for Black Woodpecker was in France at Fontainbleu where we did connect but birds were very, very shy and we only got them in flight.
On my patch in Russia, winter is the best time to see then when they feed very close to the ground. Most of the feeding they do here on dead trees is from ground level to 2m of the ground so when you find one, you get really good views.
Wallcreeper, trek the Himalayas, there almost one around every corner!
I haver 4 African bogeys as well as Verreaux's Eagle,
Emerald Cuckoo which every time I hear one it turns out to be a Robin Chat mimicking.
Grey-headed Bush Shrike, never had a sniff in 3 months though supposedly common even though we saw most of the other expected species. Really don't know how we've never seen one!
Red-crowned Robin Chat, again not a sniff at the places it's supposed to be.
Chestnut-banded Plover, we travelled the whole West coast from Cape Town up to NW Namibia and inbetween and never saw a single one.
Andy
