Hopoe feeding its offspring

Hopoe's are birds that only stay in the warm time here in Austri and they mate and get their children here. Last year I was able to find a spot where they had successfully breeded their offspring and the parents where collecting insects to fee the young hopoes. It was very nice watching them and I took several pictures of them. The Hopoe is a bird with a a very funny call but it is smelling a little bit bad since it is defending itself with the feces it produces and uses it as a repellant from possible enemies.

Hopoe with food waiting to feed it to its offspring. Picture: Florian Glechner.

Camera used	Nikon D500
Lens used	Sigma 150-600 mm lens
Filter used	none
Exposure Time	1/2000 Seconds
Aperture used	F6.3
Focal Length	600 mm
Time	09:22 am
ISO	1000

Since hopoes are pretty seldom here in Austria it was a very nice experience for me to see it and also to find it feeding the young hopoes. It was a really special day for me and I hope I can find this bird again on another location this year maybe. I tried to keep a little distance to them so I don't disturb them, with 600mm on a cropped camera and also additionally cropping the Pictures on Photoshop you can Imagine that I was at least 10-15 meters away from them, behind a tree that was standing nearby.

At the trip to the Burgenland last spring/summer I was also able to take several nice pictures of many other birds, most of them waders or birds that live near the water. Since these are a little easier to photograph, because you only need a bit of patience and wait for them to approach you.

Another picture of the hopeo with food in its beak. Picture: Florian Glechner.