Dalmatian pelicans occur in Asia and southeastern Europe.  It is a rather rare guest in Poland, with an occurrence frequency once in a few years. This time the pelican was seen on a small island, regrettably quite a long distance from a lake shore and even a 600mm lenses with a double converter did not enable me to take satisfactory photos. Thus all the pictures presented here were created and while their processing I couldn’t do without framing them to a significant extent. Fortunately the pelican is a big bird and I was able to photograph it despite a large distance between us. Different sources provide slightly different data regarding the wingspan of a pelican, but for the purpose of some general information on this website we can say it’s about 3 meters.  The pelican I saw in the afternoon hours must have been full as it was not very active. I’m not sure why, but every now and then it was harried by a small group of gulls.
Breaking News – June 2026 – Lake Skadar, Montenegro
After 11 years, I had my second encounter with a Dalmatian Pelican. It turned out to be just as unproductive as the first one. My trip to Montenegro wasn't intended as a bird photography expedition, but it's hard to imagine going on holiday without taking at least a few wildlife photos whenever the opportunity arises. For that reason, I left my 600 mm lens at home and packed only my 100–400 mm lens, "just in case."  The day I visited Lake Skadar was blessed with beautiful weather—perfect for tourists, but far from ideal for photographers. Around 1:00 p.m., during a boat trip on the lake, the sky was almost completely cloudless and the temperature was around 30°C. There were relatively few birds, and they were quite wary, keeping their distance. The harsh midday light caused blown highlights, leaving me with no chance of moving this gallery into a higher category. Although it offers a bit of variety, it is still a long way from being an interesting gallery, let alone a very good one.