Icy ditch

The Biesbosch is a marshy inland area where the delta of the big rivers of the Netherlands begins. Although the North Sea is at least 80 kilometers to the west, the influence of the tide is still noticeable here. I guess this is the reason for the collapsed ice on this ditch.

Icy light

This year king winter rules! From December 26, 2008 till January 11, 2009 temperatures did not cross the zero line. In the nights, -15ºC or even slightly below was no exception near Eindhoven, in the south of The Netherlands.

I really pays-off to visit the same place multiple times under different circumstances. So, on this cold clear morning I went by bike again to the 14-th century watermill “Collse Watermolen” and took another series of photos of the partly frozen meandering stream “Kleine Dommel”.
On the second photo all 3 phases of water, i.e. ice (and both snow and hoar frost too), water and water vapor, are visible. May be it looks like you can take a nice hot steam bath here, but I would not recommend it, the water is around the freezing point and the surrounding air was -13ºC. I used a polarizing filter to enhance the colors a bit.

Icy fog

I always wanted to do ‘something’ with these old crooked poplars that look down solemnly at the small river “Kleine Dommel”.

Oostvaardersplassen

An excursion to the “Oostvaardersplassen” was on my wish list for the winter holiday. A little bit of natural history first: The polder it exists in only became dry in 1968. Before 1968 it was part of the IJsselmeer (sometimes translated as Lake IJssel). The IJsselmeer on its turn was created in 1932 when an inland sea, the Zuiderzee, was closed by a 32 km dam, the “Afsluitdijk”. The original destination of this new land reclaimed from the sea was a large industrial area. However, because of the economic recension of that time plans were postponed, and nature took its chance. Within a few years a wetland of international importance came about.
This day the “Oostvaardersplassen” offered classical Dutch winter scenery, all inland coastal lakes were frozen, and everywhere people were skating along the reed beds. As far as nature is concerned I want to share 2 photos.
Smews (Mergus albellus/Nonnetje), fishing in a dense flock on the IJsselmeer took wings after disturbance of a low-flying helicopter. Such large groups are rare today. A Buzzard (Buteo buteo/Buizerd) looking for prey, using the top an elder as a post. Note the intense green color of these bushes.

Tiny beauties of the wood

Today I joined Marijn Heuts, an excellent nature photographer known for his artistic view, to a feeding station in one of the conifer woods near Eindhoven. It was cold, around –5°C, but sunny. These little tits (no joke, that’s how they are really called!) were eager for food. These woodland-dwellers are not shy, nevertheless it was hard work because they are restless and moving very fast. Therefore, I was very happy that after a half-day photo session I ended up with a few sharp shots of both Crested Tit (Parus cristatus/Kuifmees) and Coal Tit (Parus ater/Zwarte Mees).

Tree silhouettes

The dark days before X’mas, the sun was not strong enough to resolve the fog. Ideal circumstances to immortalize tree silhouettes.

Drakes on the water

I like ducks so much in winter, the males have beautiful colors. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos/Wilde Eend) drakes (♂♂) are probably the archetype of dabbling ducks, because they are widespread around the globe and most recognizable. This picture clearly demonstrates the greenish specular reflection of their heads.