About Mocinno…
Pharomachrus mocinno is the Latin name for the Resplendid Quetzal, a bird inhabiting Central America and Southern Mexico.
I decided to name the page after this bird, as it is a dream of mine to see it. I remember studying the Mayan and Aztec history and culture in school, where this bird appears quite a lot and I imagined the moment when one day I will see it and it would be absolutely astonishing.
To me this bird is a reminder of the constant strive for discovering something new and unique and is a living proof that magic can be found in all of nature’s beauty and diversity.
The idea for a gallery of my field experiences was born as I was browsing through my pictures and realised they have a great potential in serving as a tool for raising awareness for wildlife conservation, education, and to inspire respect for the protection of the fragile ecosystems.
By sharing real, untamed moments from the field, I hope to encourage more people to see the fascination in nature and sustain the biodiversity as much as possible, by bringing science closer to people.
I then decided to do a master’s degree in Evolution and Behaviour in animals.
My project involved analysing the behavioural patterns in social cooperative breeders, more specifically, the long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus), in the Peak District, UK.
I linked this research to the spatial distribution of the nest locations and whether this distribution and pre-breeding interactions related to the post-breeding flock formations for the winter season.
And a little bit about Me…
I was born in Bulgaria and when I turned 18, I moved to the UK to study Biology.
I started with working on the reproductive success of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Soon after I developed my deep interest in working in the wild, as I had the opportunity to travel and do my projects in a variety of different settings.
After that I decided to join the Kalahari Research Centre for a few months, which is part of the Kuruman River Reserve in South Africa.
There I was studying the social structure and behaviour in mammals, and more specifically, the charming little meerkats (Suricata suricatta).
Dived into the fundamentals of sound logging, camera trap installation, transponding, got involved in reserve management, did population surveys, animal health monitoring, and general on-site operations.
Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), LC, Green Balkans Rescue Centre, Levka, Bulgaria
Later on, after moving back to my home country, I initiated my ornithology projects.
Bulgaria is situated at one of the main migratory routes of birds, between their breeding grounds in Europe and their wintering areas in Africa - The Via Pontica.
This made it an incredible opportunity to submerge into studying the migratory behavioural patterns extensively.
Soon after, I was also drawn into exploring the underground worlds in the depths of the Earth.
Seeing how unregulated this environment is, due to its extremity, made me realise that any interaction with these ecosystems requires a careful consideration, planning, and execution.
Furthermore, an increased scientific and public awareness is essential to support its long-term conservation, an area that is vastly unexplored yet.