I really hadn't rated our chances knowing how shy they are and having failed to find them elsewhere in the Alps, although admittedly where they are even rarer, so I was thrilled by our immediate success but the above silhouette was pretty much all I saw of the first bird as it then took off and disappeared behind the outcrop. Another two very distant views of perched birds followed but I could hardly make out any colours at all, although we could hear several more calling from the hillside above us. We thus decided to have a picnic below some rocks where my guide thought they might be and, sure enough, one then started calling.
The calls sounded ever so close and, scanning the area, we soon realised why since I located the male at the base of the arch in the centre of the above picture, using the rock formation to amplify and resonate his call. Here is another, strongly zoomed-in shot from the same position, with the bird perched in the shadow just to the left of the pine tree.
Thankfully, my guide's assistant had brought a hand-held telescope so I finally got to see all the markings and the male was even joined by a feeding female for a while. Mission accomplished; my one and only new (bird) species of the year thus far.
Many thanks to Oliver Trompette, whose magnificent wildlife photography can be seen here.
