Gergely_Kiss
Releasing the landing gear.
The white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla, rétisas) have always been on my photography wish list. It's impossible to take photos of these beautiful birds of prey without a professional hide. We chose a Hungarian company who have a huge experience in operating hides in the Great Plains of Hungary and CEE. We have made a pre-booking for 28-DEC long months ago.
Typically winter is the eagle season...and the hides are extremely popular among local and foreign birders, so booking should be arranged in early autumn the latest.
Need to highlight that this type of photography requires some stamina and dedication. It starts with a 3.30 a.m. wake up and a 200 km drive to arrive at the meeting point on time. The hide operators carry you with off-road vehicle to the hide in the dark, located in the territory of a national park. You can take photos for ~9 hrs in modest conditions (surely not a comfort of your home!), then you are picked up at dusk. It's strictly forbidden to leave the hide...the eagles are very precautious, they must not see any human movement.
Considering the pre-booking, weather is like gambling..and we did not hit a jackpot. The sun-lit and snow-covered plains were ideal but it was hopeless. No snow for 4 weeks..and we had to make a compromise with a cloudy, very windy weather with adverse light conditions. The mild NOV and DEC temperatures were also a disadvantage because the eagles were not forced to forage intensively..they did not even eat all the fish placed in front of the hide...while in a tough winter they fight for every bit of food.
Anyway, it was still a great day!
If you like this photo, your faves, comments and observations are more than welcome!
But NO AWARDS, NO BANNERS, NO IMAGES, NO GROUP REFERENCES where you saw it, please.
Enlarge image to see more details and visit my 'Birds' and 'Animals& wildlife' albums for more images! :)
Releasing the landing gear.
The white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla, rétisas) have always been on my photography wish list. It's impossible to take photos of these beautiful birds of prey without a professional hide. We chose a Hungarian company who have a huge experience in operating hides in the Great Plains of Hungary and CEE. We have made a pre-booking for 28-DEC long months ago.
Typically winter is the eagle season...and the hides are extremely popular among local and foreign birders, so booking should be arranged in early autumn the latest.
Need to highlight that this type of photography requires some stamina and dedication. It starts with a 3.30 a.m. wake up and a 200 km drive to arrive at the meeting point on time. The hide operators carry you with off-road vehicle to the hide in the dark, located in the territory of a national park. You can take photos for ~9 hrs in modest conditions (surely not a comfort of your home!), then you are picked up at dusk. It's strictly forbidden to leave the hide...the eagles are very precautious, they must not see any human movement.
Considering the pre-booking, weather is like gambling..and we did not hit a jackpot. The sun-lit and snow-covered plains were ideal but it was hopeless. No snow for 4 weeks..and we had to make a compromise with a cloudy, very windy weather with adverse light conditions. The mild NOV and DEC temperatures were also a disadvantage because the eagles were not forced to forage intensively..they did not even eat all the fish placed in front of the hide...while in a tough winter they fight for every bit of food.
Anyway, it was still a great day!
If you like this photo, your faves, comments and observations are more than welcome!
But NO AWARDS, NO BANNERS, NO IMAGES, NO GROUP REFERENCES where you saw it, please.
Enlarge image to see more details and visit my 'Birds' and 'Animals& wildlife' albums for more images! :)