TomKal foto

I will remember the common blackbird, or its female, to be more specific, for the rest of my life, as the photo of a female blackbird was my first really good nature photo taken with my „brand new” 400mm lens on the Warta river. It was an early morning summer, before 6 o’clock, without camouflage I sat down under a fallen tree, set a tripod, and directed the lens to the right, towards a mini-beach, on which I had scattered some seeds. After an hour of watching and, at the same time, being watched by thrushes and wagtails, and taking a few pictures of the white wagtail, I saw a common blackbird female, which literally started to pose for photos. The rising sun beautifully illuminated one side of the bird, photographed from 6 or 7-meters distance. After an hour of photographing I wanted to see if perhaps some new bird had joined the group of wagtails as they had become more active, but the fallen trunks made the observation difficult for me. So I slowly moved a few meters closer towards the fallen trees, and the blackbird accepted me to such an extent that I had to be careful not to step on it. It was a truly close encounter with nature, not to mention a merganser with a group of its young, swimming along the river. Such events have made me so keen on nature photography, giving me a lot of joy and satisfaction, that this kind of activity has become my addiction. Male blackbirds are raven-black with a characteristic intensely yellow beak and a yellow eye-ring. Blackbirds are easy to photograph in winter, as in heavy frosts, together with fieldfares, they let you approach them quite close. The weight of a blackbird is about 100 g, and its wingspan is approximately 40 cm.
Last minute news-10/2013
I have uploaded a few photos of blackbirds, taken from a pulpit. This time the time I spent waiting was not wasted, as not only did I manage to photograph a red deer, but I also got some shots of the European green woodpecker, the common blackbird and the European robin.
Last minute news-7/2014
With a few accidental meetings with Blackbirds gather enough a lot of pictures, that there has been reconstruction of the gallery.
Last minute news – 09/2017
I have added some new pictures taken in Spain. For such common species there is always a shortage of time, but this time common blackbirds  were coming every so often at the waterhole near the lookout point so a few photos were created that will diversify the gallery's content.
Last minute news – 05/2021 Madeira
Last minute news – 05/2023
News from my garden this time. A pair of blackbirds have come to the conclusion that it is safest to build a nest close to humans. Aggressive magpies do not accept such close contact with humans as blackbirds do. While working in the garden, while watering the lawn, the blackbirds were at a distance of 1.5-2 metres. The nest itself was 4 metres from the entrance to the house, and the neighbours' children's trampoline was 1.5 metres away. I thought it would be difficult to raise offspring in such conditions. The blackbirds had thought it through and it made sense. Every morning the magpies would start harassing the blackbirds, because that was the only time all the people in the area were asleep and she could harass the other birds with impunity. There was enough noise in the process that it was my natural alarm clock-it was impossible to sleep during this period. I would, of course, get up, concerned as to whether the end had come for the blackbirds' brood, and go out to observe combined with a morning watering of the lawn. This was enough for the magpies to immediately flee in panic. The blackbirds, taking advantage of the freshly watered lawn, began to feed on it, having a hearty breakfast as compensation for the stress after the morning magpie attack. And it worked! After another early morning wake-up call, as usual, I got up concerned about the morning's scramble. This time, even though the magpie was no longer there, the male was still making alarming sounds. I observed the area for a longer time and saw that there was a small blackbird fledgling sitting on the edge of the tui, 4 metres from the nest. I hope he has put the worst behind him and will continue to fend for himself in the coming days. Good luck!
Last minute news -06/2023