Into the meadows

Today I went again on ‘expedition’ with wader specialist Astrid Kant (she just wrote an excellent book about it). This year we concentrated on Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa/Grutto) in the meadows. Of course as a member of the wader family they prefer to have their feet in the water, but this rather dry area is the place where they breed and guide their chicks, and thus by necessity spend most of their time in the coming 2 months.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/640s; from tripod, in a hide.

Garganey festival

Again I got up early this morning and drove off in the dark to my local lake; somehow I felt that changes were good for an encounter with Garganey (Anas querquedula/Zomertaling), a scarce migratory bird, wintering in Africa south of the Sahara. The pictures with which I came home (especially the first one) surpass the ones I had pre-visualized. What an adrenaline moment. In the excitement I left a box with CF cards (16Gb in total) at the waterline. Those who know me are probably not surprised. I shall never forget this beautiful spring day (and this is not because of today’s ever-high temperature record of 25°C). Later in the afternoon I came back and found my CF cards, guarded by a territorial Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus/Kievit)!

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f6.3, 1/800s, -0.7 stop; from beanbag.
* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/1250s, -0.3 stop; idem.
* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f8, 1/1000s, -0.3 stop; idem.

Teal display

A modest attempt to show the Teal (Anas crecca/Wintertaling) display game. The ♂♂, dressed-up with a Spanish helmet (those from the Eighty Year’s War or Dutch War of Independence, 1568 – 1648), parade around the ♀♀, now and then folding their bodies like a pocket knife. Flowering willow bushes give the background a green-yellowish tint.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f6.3, 1/1600s, -0.3 stop; from beanbag.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/1600s, -0.3 stop; idem.

Dutch ducks II

In the second half of March the weather was calm and sunny with night frost and temperatures above 10°C in the afternoon. Many mornings started with thin ground fog above the water. Ideal circumstances for duck photography. As highlight I want to show a ♀ Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos/Wilde Eend) doing some feather care.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/250s, +0.3 stop; from beanbag.

Dutch ducks I

I do not know why, but ducks are an infinite source of inspiration for me. Hence I repaired my former hiding place near a local lake and tried my luck again. Sometimes everything fits and you make a photo that looks a bit out of the ordinary. First of all a shy ♂ Teal (Anas crecca/Wintertaling) came pretty close. Secondly, at the very moment of shutter release the flock of Teals in the background lift off simultaneously. They rise almost vertically, creating a background wall of splashing water and blurred colored patches. My luck was not sold out, half an hour later my camera AF was able to focus on this fast flying Shoveler (Anas clypeata/Slobeend) trio.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/800s, +0.3 stop; from beanbag.
* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/1250s, -0.3 stop; idem.

Lonely pair

Busy times created a serious backlog in photo selection and editing. Anyhow, in the beginning of this month I was able to make a beautiful Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula/Brilduiker) series. This ♂ and ♀ were the only inhabitants of a small forest fen without a name south of the “Strabrechtsche Heide”. I especially like the gloomy dark greenish water and the extreme low point of view; my telephoto lens was only a few centimeters above water level.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/320s, -0.3 stop; from beanbag.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f6.3, 1/500s, -0.3 stop; idem.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/1250s, -0.7 stop; idem.

Smew drake

A drake Smew (Mergellus albellus/Nonnetje) with its ‘cracked ice’ appearance is unmistakable. This photo was taken on a grey, cold, and windy day near the IJsselmeer, an important wintering area for this species, close to our capital Amsterdam. The weather doesn’t seem to bother these cute but tough and brave ducks. But for me it is a different story. After a few hours of waiting, lying in an uncomfortable position on a few wooden planks at the shoreline under a camouflage net, every muscle of my body protested (and I did not know I had so many of them).
Smew breeds in the northern taiga (in trees!) of Europe and Asia. The Smew’s bill has a hooked tip and serrated edges (typical for mergansers), which help it catch fish when it dives for them.

* Canon EOS 40D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/640s, +0.7 stop; from beanbag.