A joint objective of my spanish rdv with son Rohan - to climb at Riglos - was to progress bird photography. More ion flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/leegwood/albums/72177720317810678

Nice to see, Lee. There used to be a pair near us at the Dentelles every year. I named a route after them - les visiteurs du soir - as they'd come out and watch us in the evening. Then they stopped coming to the Dentelles in about 2017. The bird people blamed the climbers. No mention of the huge groups of randonneurs that would stop opposite their nest to watch them, or the army helicopters hovering just above, or the raiding ravens or indeed that they might have died on their annual voyage to and from Africa... Very sad that they've gone. My last new route there is called - aux amis disparrus.

I had no idea this photo would recall such strong emotions Jon, thanks for your heart warming commentary :) There are a couple of crags autour chez moi which close seasonally to protect this bird. As for dissappearing friends - is it our age or 'the age' ? prob both :(

The amis disparrus were of course the vultures. I have zillions of photos of them, but none quite as good as yours !

I believe a lot of folk get good photo access for vultures at Gorges de Tarn, but not sure whether this includes the Egyptian. Riglos zone seems reliable for this species, I have visited 3x and always seen them. During the 1st visit we topped out on Aguja Roja and observed a pair mating on another nearby summit :)