My October trip to the sea was supposed to finish in enhancing my gallery of stints, but this time I managed to photograph two new species: the brant goose and the snow bunting. As I was quietly approaching a cluster of birds, I could see from a distance that among the feeding seagulls there was one misfit. Despite its large silhouette in comparison to seagulls and a different coloration I couldn’t assess what species I had to do with. Slowly I’m reducing the distance to a few dozen meters, a glance through the viewfinder of my camera, and everything becomes clear. It’s the brant goose, an Arctic goose species, encountered in Poland only during its migration. It has a wingspan not exceeding one meter with a weight of about 2 kilograms. So when compared with its invasive relative in Poland, the Canada goose, the brant goose is three times lighter and has a half of the Canada goose’s wingspan. It looks more like its miniature. When I was lying on the beach, perfectly visible to the brant goose, I must have been lucky that near the shore, a few meters away from me, there was some underwater, coastal vegetation, which the brant goose really liked. Slowly it came nearer and nearer to its feeding ground. Unfortunately the lighting was already too poor to give me a chance to take satisfactory pictures. Well, the “boot up” pictures of the gallery are taken, perhaps tomorrow morning will bring better photos in the morning light, but will the brant goose still be there? We’ll see…
The next day
At dusk I came to the same place again. Dark everywhere, dull everywhere…, it is time to have a small meal (bread and water) and prepare an equipment for recording sounds. Before sunrise appeared first gulls and cormorants. Unfortunately the distance was a bit too long, not to mention the light. But all of a sudden what could I see? A goose flew in yesterday's feeding place. Moreover from the beginning it was closer to me, and the rising sun gave the chance to perform even better pictures. Sadly, every now and then clouds were covering the sun and the shooting conditions got worse drastically, and the quality of photos as well. After the first series of shots I would rather take more dynamic pictures than those of just quietly preying bird. Appetite comes with eating, but the goose, what did it think about? Firstly it stretched wings majestically, then made a few circles around me and finally landed several meters away. This is what we can call total cooperation, I think the goose liked me. It was a pity that the lighting conditions were not good and a seagull kept cutting the frame. Though, an interesting material to the gallery began to form. Through the viewfinder I watched the goose that continued to prey when suddenly it took its wings off, like all the other birds. I thought that some wanderer interrupted my outdoor session. I looked around but could not see anyone. What caused the escape of birds was sitting much farther, about 150 meters away. It was not a man but the biggest Polish predator – sea eagle. It sat majestically on the seashore, already alone. The shot would be wonderful if only there were not such a long distance and poor light. I took a few pictures but they are of documentary value. The eagle looked really incredibly with the sea in the background, inspiring respect around. Preoccupied with its arrival I did not notice that right next to me a snow bunting was feeding in the sand. I took several photos of the snow bunting but then looked at the place where the eagle was sitting. Unfortunately, just as suddenly as it had appeared out of nowhere as quickly disappeared. Luckily well-cooperating barnacle appeared for a while landing in its favorite place and I managed to take some more dynamic pictures. I spent there two hours before sunset and two after sunrise, but how many impressions and emotions, what a relaxation it brought. Just nature photography…
Last minute news – 06/2014 Iceland
I had the chance to encounter the brent goose (which is the light bellied subspecies Branta bernicla hrota) in Iceland several times. I didn’t especially attempt to take photos of this bird as in view of an opportunity to capture some new species, I was more interested in the latter. Nevertheless a few photos of the brent goose flock were taken, which introduce some variety in the previous gallery of this species.
Last minute news – 07/2018 - Spitsbergen
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