TomKal foto

Well, I did not plan to take so poor, documentary photos of this bird. Condors occur throughout the western part of South America. They are really big, because have a wingspan of more than 3 meters, and the weight of their bodies can reach up to 15 kilograms. Regrettably, even with attached 600mm lens and 2X converter I failed. The bird was soaring too high. However, I have created the gallery of the Andean condor, because it is highly unlikely to encounter these wild birds. After all, it occurs only in South America...
Last minute news-9/2023-Ecuador
It took eight years to improve the documentary photograph that so far makes up the gallery of this extraordinary bird, the Andean Condor. The size, the behaviour of this bird is awe-inspiring, especially for the Ecuadorians who have made it their national bird. For this reason, I wanted to add a cover text to this very gallery. Unfortunately, despite a great effort, there was a bit of luck to bring back a large portfolio of photos of this bird from Ecuador. The effort, for me, was extreme this time. The place where a gliding bird encounter was likely was located 3,600 metres above sea level. Without several days of acclimatisation, any activity at this altitude is a major effort. On this day, we got up at 3.30am, foregoing breakfast at the hotel because it was less than a 1.5-hour drive from there to the steep cliffs of the gorge. We continued a few hundred metres on foot to the steep cliff. On this day, a strong wind was blowing and it was 5 degrees warm. Above the cliff itself it was difficult to stand from the cold despite protective clothing. It was best to dress for a winter hike there, because until the sun warmed us up after an hour, we were shivering so much that it would have been difficult to take photos from the cold and the physical limitations we faced due to the cold, wind and oxygen deficiency at these heights. As it turned out later, this was not the highest altitude we went to photograph the birds there during the trip to Ecuador. Fortunately, the birds arrived a little later. Unfortunately, only for a moment, when, warmed by the morning sun, we were lying in the hollows of the hill and could already take the pictures presented in the gallery. We waited for them for a couple of hours, unfortunately there were not many situations for taking good photos and the birds always kept quite far away, eventually disappearing from our sight. The Andean Condor was on my list prepared before the trip to Ecuador, but the progression in the gallery, although significant, is far from the photos I planned to take to present this uncommon species. Its size and behaviour makes it unique. Although like vultures, condors largely feed on carrion, it is different in that vultures seek it out. Vultures lacking the sense of smell, rely on their eyesight. Condors, like procellariiformes at sea, glide through the air to sense nano-particles of decaying animals. Staggering in circles, they sense an ever-increasing accumulation of scent until they finally reach the remains of the animals for a meal. Another documentary gallery changes its content, but let's hope this was not the last encounter with this beautiful, majestic bird. Who knows if it will take 8 years to improve this gallery again?