The Danube Delta is one of my favorite places for bird photography. A few years ago, I discovered a European Bee-eater colony there and have returned every year to observe the beauty of these birds and their fascinating behavior. This year, I was lucky to visit the place during the mating season. During courtship, the male bee-eater impresses the female by offering her large insects. In this photograph, one male had caught a large wasp and perched on a branch, waiting patiently for a female to arrive. When handling stinging insects, bee-eaters hit the prey against a perch to remove or neutralize the sting, then toss them up to swallow. This male struggled with the wasp for a while, tossing it up and catching it again, but no female came to claim his offering. After some time, he gave up and decided to enjoy the prey himself. Despite their name, bee-eaters have little impact on bee populations, consuming less than 1% of worker bees in their habitats.