Bloodless Hunt

We began our hunt for bee-eaters by watching nature come to life along the Odra River floodplains. It’s rare that I manage to get up early enough to head out into nature, but when it comes to work, I have no choice.

There’s something mystical about a morning by the water. The silence that reigns at this hour lets you hear the first, tentative sounds of nature coming to life. The light at dawn is completely different from that of the evening—it’s clearer, crisper, and the pastel hues in the sky change from minute to minute. The water’s surface was so calm that it perfectly reflected this morning festival of colors, and the solitary, historic pillar added to the overall scene

And now it’s time for the bee-eaters—a few hours later, we set up special nets to catch the birds. Unfortunately, the wind caused the net to move, and the bee-eaters avoided it. We managed to catch only two; they were measured, weighed, banded, and released back into the wild

Just one photo—the bee-eater is an extremely active bird, and this wasn't a photo shoot. We didn't stress the birds out unnecessarily.
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