Growth

Photo 4: Although some offspring is airborne (previous upload), others are still bound to the nest platform, unable to fly. Compare this upload with photo 1 (see June 10-th, 2011) and notice how both the juveniles as well as the Water Mint (Mentha aquatica/Watermunt) have grown in 2 weeks.
Photo 5: There was even 1 bird that was still breeding, probably a second attempt. The vegetation is Water Dropwort (Oenanthe aquatica/Watertorkruid).

* Canon EOS 7D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/250s; from tripod.
* Canon EOS 7D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/250s; from tripod.

Airborne

Photo 2: Adult Black Tern (Chlidonias niger/Zwarte Stern) hovering above the platform, encouraging her (or his) youngsters to do their wing exercises.
Photo 3: “Hey watch me, I can fly!” First flying exercises of a juvenile Black Tern (Chlidonias niger/Zwarte Stern). It was a privilege to witness this magical event in the last Summer Solstice (longest day of the year) sunlight. Stay tuned, there is more to come!

* Canon EOS 7D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/640s; from tripod.
* Canon EOS 7D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/500s; -0.3 stop; from tripod.

Hooding in the rain

This month I fully focused on the breeding behavior of Black Terns (Chlidonias niger/Zwarte Stern).
Photo 1: Hooding mother. She protects her 2 pulli against the rain; this way she prevents them to cool off too much. Note that the father, sitting at the right-hand side of the platform, already starts to molt. To be continued …

* Canon EOS 7D with 500mm/f4 IS and 1.4x; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/250s; from tripod.

Ascension Day

A couple of days ago I explored this field and already selected this group of Heath Spotted Orchids (Dactylorhiza maculata/Gevlekte Orchis) as the main subject for a wide angle shot. For this Ascension Day morning the weather forecast predicted ground fog after a calm and relatively cold night (± 5°C). This is exactly what I was waiting for. The only thing I had to do was to be at the spot before sunrise (which is at 5h30 AM!). But I was rewarded; if there is a heaven out there it may look like this.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II with 17-40mm/f4 @ 17mm; ISO-200, f13, 1/15s; -0.3 stop; 2 stop ND gradient filter; from tripod.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II with 100mm/f2.8; ISO-200, f8, 1/200s; -0.3 stop; from tripod.