Dewdrops

This time of year, early mornings after cold calm nights give good opportunities to photograph insects (if you can find them!) loaded with dewdrops. Here is a ♀ White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes/Blauwe Breedscheenjuffer) waiting for the sun to get rid of its heavy load on a Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile/Holpijp).

Spooky moorland

This month we had many evenings with beautiful skies. On the photo above you see a sunset view taken from the “Galgenberg” right in the middle of the moor “Strabrechtse heide”. In the past criminals were hanged at this remote place (the Dutch word galg means gallow). After sunset (at 22h00 PM!) it was still spooky with all kinds nocturnal sounds, among which the strange churring trill of Nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus/Nachtzwaluw). Just when I wanted to go home I found a Natterjack (Bufo calamita/Rugstreeppad) crawling on the sand. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph this amphibian with a wide-angle lens. The moor landscape is a ‘moderate’ HDR photo (see also posting of May 20-th 2009).

Sneak along the waterline

The Spotted Crake (Porzana porzana/Porseleinhoen) is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. They are very secretive, and are mostly heard (a distinctive repetitive whiplash-like “hwuit-hwuit” call) rather than seen. Their breeding habitat is marshes and sedge beds across Europe into western Asia. The species is migratory, wintering in Africa and India.
Spotted Crakes have a short straight bill, yellow with a red base. Adults have mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey breast, with dark barring and white spots on the flanks. They have green legs with long toes, and a short tail which is buff underneath. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails.