TomKal foto

Well, I imagined my first encounter with the short-toed snake eagle quite differently. The distance was so great that the 600 millimeter lens with twice converter could not make it and the images were heavily cropped. What is more this steel structure of high-voltage net was not the best background for the presentation of this beautiful bird.  When I tried to reduce the distance of several meters the result was that the bird flew away. Well these "initial" photos must suffice for now and probably for a long time, unfortunately, because in Poland it  is an extremely rare bird (several pairs) and here in our country it will be difficult to have a chance for new and better ones. It is slightly larger than our buzzard as the weight of its body can reach up to 2 kilograms and its wingspan is about 1,8 meters.
Last minute news - 08/2016 - Greece
Finally, after two years, a second meeting with the short-toed snake eagle. Photos are still of documentary quality, but much more interesting. Very satisfied with such a change in the gallery of such a beautiful and rare bird. I enjoy the fact that I managed to photograph anything at all. Scorching heat in August makes Greece a birdless desert. Despite the help of a competent local guide (Spyros regards to you) it was difficult  to take good pictures. There were very few birds and they were very skittish. Several attempts to photograph a male Sardinian warbler ended up with nothing.