Alphabetical list

Thanks to its black and white coloring an Eurasian Magpie is a very characteristic bird, which is hard to mistake for any other. It often inhabits urbanized areas. Despite appearances, it is not easy to photograph as it keeps a big distance from people. Like an Eurasian Jay it belongs to the forest's early warning system and screeches loudly when it spots the danger. Magpie is omnivorous. It hunts insects, snails, other bird's chicks, small birds, rodents, carcasses and rests of the food inclusive.

I have a big soft spot for this bird. Often during your photo “hunts” this bird is the only one on which you can count, and you can always find it in forests and parks. It widely occurs all year round, so you can watch it and photograph it almost everywhere and nearly always. Due to its nice, colorful plumage, in proper lighting conditions you can take satisfactory pictures, to which you will gladly go back. In size it is smaller than the sparrow (with a weight of about 20g/ the sparrow: ~30g), with a wingspan of less than 30 centimeters.

It was my first encounter with an otter, quite unexpected and unplanned. It took place while going to the airport, after photographing the northern lights (aurora borealis). Due to tough driving conditions we traveled quite slowly, enough to see the otter lying on the ice on the edge of the fiord and feeding. We managed to take some photos, although after a while the otter took the fish and hid its meal under ice. Because of the ebb between the ice and the shore there was an ice-covered niche, where the otter drew its prey and continued the meal.

Oystercatchers in Poland are accounted into migratory birds. Unfortunately, presented pictures were not taken in Poland but Norway and Scotland. It is very common there, at least enough to take pictures without camouflage and long telephotos. It can be spotted at the seaside, where it penetrates the beach on its red legs, like a Stork, searching for food. When it comes to the size, it is far from Stork's as he only weighs 0.5 kilogram, whereas his wingspan is around 80 centimeters (Stork – 3 kilograms, 2 meters).

I set up the gallery presenting this Bird, because these were the first photos of this species I had taken. I cannot hide – there are few reasons for feeling satisfied with the quality of these pictures. I hope that this is only for a short time. I am determined to make some changes and expand the gallery. The Eurasian Penduline Tit itself has nothing special in its looks that would make it an outstanding figure among the sparrow family. However, its nest must be held in high esteem and arouses admiration for this tiny builder.

Yes, it happens like that, when some dreams come true the new ones appear. To me wanderers were always the most desired, and right after them a few other species, including the Pygmy Owl. I kept trying to take at least one, the "opening" photo that could initiate formation of  the new gallery. My research I did among foresters, to get some clues where those owls could be found, was unsuccessful. The Pygmy Owl is the smallest diurnal owl and finding it in the forest is not so easy. Their weight is about 65 grams, with a wingspan of about 35 cm.

Waiting for a Water Rail, ended up with taking a few photos of Eurasian Reed Warbler. A Eurasian Reed Warbler is small-sized, water, migratory birds. They exist only in reed, where they build their nests and lay their eggs. They weigh dozen grams, with a wingspan of no more than 20 centimeters. It happens that Great Reed Warblers and Eurasian Reed Warblers are used as hosts for cuckoo’s nestlings. Such motherhood is not an easy task for them.

Finally the Eurasian rock pipit enters my gallery. When on the Baltic Sea coast I was repeatedly looking for this bird, but without a success. In Poland it is a rare bird to see, while in England they could be observed feeding in small flocks  on a beach near Panzance. They were not too timid and if the tourists had not passed by, I would have taken more interesting photos. When I was sitting quietly among the rocks by the sea I could  photograph them.

It was not another photo trip, but every opportunity should be seized as much as possible to take pictures in the field. In Sardinia photographing birds is not an easy task, just like in Poland. Unless someone wants to photograph a yellow-legged gull or, from quite a distance, flamingos which were numerous in Sardinia. But in such cases it is needed to resort to local guides, who turned out to be kind and competent.

Another small representative of the family Fringillidae. Its body mass is between 10-18 grams, hence it is half as big as the sparrow. It has a wingspan of about 20 cm. I happened to watch a flock of siskins shifting around, disturbed by a sparrowhawk. Indeed, the flight acrobatics and teamwork were so successful that the sparrowhawk had to look for another meal, at least this time. In the past, Eurasian siskins, like European goldfinches, were kept in cages, as decorative birds, also because of the pleasant way they vocalize.