I had a little time on the morning before I had to leave for the airport so I took one last stroll through the grassier section of South Park. I immediately heard the mystery concealed-in-the-vegetation long-winded mimic. Binoculars up. I finally caught sight. And was immediately embarrassed.
Crow attack!
A nightingale. The bird that one rarely sees. The bird that strings together phrase after disconnected phrase in seemingly endless variation. It is famous for these things. I had wanted to encounter it so badly that I seem to have discounted the possibility of actually encountering it. Was I guarding myself against disappointment? Oh missed opportunity. I stood and soaked in as much of it is as I could that final morning. Here's a video (regrettably it doesn't capture the nightingale's most interesting phrases).
Epilogue's Epilogues.
As I waited for my plane to Munich in the Sofia airport, I noticed an expansive nature area right outside the gate's windows. No binoculars (what was that swimming across the pond?) and mostly magpies, but a one moment a sparrowhawk flew by the window--my only raptor the whole visit.
On the plane ride home I read Nine Rabbits by Bulgarian author, Virginia Zaharieva. In one scene she walks the trail to Boyana Falls recording nature sounds.
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