| Szabi is a 29 year-old Hungarian and a full-time illustrator and artist since 2001. Before this he was working with BirdLife Hungary and on CITES. Szabi's artwork has gained recognition internationally including British Birds' PJC Award and third place (twice) in Bird illustrator of the year. Check out his web page: www.kokay.hu
Szabi takes up the story. "I know a traditional nesting site of Eagle Owls not far from my home. It's in a quarry and with friends we follow the breeding success of these birds every year. This year the owls have raised an exceptional brood of four chicks. Sadly one of them died some weeks ago perhaps because of the heavy rain. But the other three are doing well and now can fly, although they still stay close to their nest. I was able to sketch them in the middle of May when they were still quite fluffy with some wing feathers growing. More recently I returned to sketch them with their mother who has remained close to the nest guarding the smaller ones."
"Today (29th June) I visited the quarry again and found all three youngsters sitting in the open on the cliff face. All their feathers have grown except for some head and tuft feathers, so they looked rather strange, almost like the adults but with fluffy heads. It was a hot day and as the sun reached the cliff face they moved into the shadow of bushes and trees. I had quite good views and could study small details of their head and feathers. I hope you enjoy these sketches as much I have enjoyed following these birds in real life."
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