TomKal foto

What is the most interesting in nature photography, is the fact that nothing is ever sure and nature can always surprise us. I was returning after an unsuccessful shooting session of  the common quail, it was raining, and suddenly a turtle dove jumped out almost from under my wheels. It sat down on a nearby dry tree and there it was waiting calmly for the downpour to stop. Unfortunately, the 600 millimeter lens with 2X converter did not help. The distance was too large. The turtle dove gave a sound, but it was so far away that the recording quality also leaves much to be desired. At the same time, an Eurasian sparrowhawk  sat on the tree and a stock dove after a while. Interestingly, the turtle dove was not afraid of the sparrowhawk and it was sitting  2-3 meters away. During one afternoon expedition two new documentary galleries came into being, and two previously documentary galleries (of the spotted crake and of the common rosefinch) radically changed their look. The turtle dove weighs about 150 grams and its wingspan is just over 50 cm. The turtle dove is probably the most beautiful representative of the pigeon family in Poland, and I hope that  soon I will take better pictures of this bird.
Last minute news - 06/2019 Spain
In Spain it is quite common, but also quite skittish. It does not allow you to approach the photographic distance. My current documentary output of this species kept haunting me, which is why in Spain there was an attempt to take good photos. This was done in the cow's yard. We set up a portable hide a few meters from the place where turtles like to feed. The cows showed the greatest interest in my shelter. They probably have such a long thought-tube as a digestive tract. The change in their surroundings caused that they arrived in front of the hide, completely covering the place where the turtles would appear. They stood motionless and stared at my tent for several minutes. Fortunately, after an hour they uncovered the place where the turtles fed. At the same time, three turtles appeared and the snapshot started working...