Who is afraid of yellow and blue

I waited almost an entire day before this ♂ Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus/Blauwe Kiekendief) turned up hunting above the ‘planned’ field. It is a pity that the yellow penetrating eyes of the bird are not visible; the bird is scrutinizing the ground for prey. The posing Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella/Geelgors) eased the long waiting hours. The bright colors are intensified by the reflecting snow cover on the ground.

Mini dunes

Although the snow layer is broken, the winter doesn’t budge an inch. Last week a strong north-eastern wind brought cold Scandinavian air to our country. In these circumstances it pays off to search for interesting snow structures at the south-west bank of a lake, in this case “Het Soerendonks Goor”. The snow of the large ice surface is collected in mini dunes right after the first vegetation layer. Late afternoon sun rays enhanced the relief. I only miss a lonely skater passing by.

Bewick's in blue

In the last decade or so a small group (approximately 40) Bewick’s Swans (Cygnus Bewickii/Kleine Zwanen) winter in “De Kempen”, the region where I live. At daytime they prefer farmland, especially corn fields with harvest scraps; in the night they sleep on moorland lakes.
Bewick’s Swans look much more elegant floating in a lake than foraging in a field in my opinion. So a picture of these big white birds while swimming in the warm golden light that marks the end of the day is in my mind for quite some time. Today however, things turned out differently.
At 16h PM I installed myself at the border of the lake where they overnight with my tripod and photo equipment. Soon it started to snow heavily. I had to improvise and used my cap to protect my SLR camera. Around 17h PM snowfall suddenly stopped and the sky opened up. In the meanwhile I was transformed into a snowman, and disappeared in the white landscape around me. The light at that moment was truly amazing. It could best be described as an icy blue sunset, as if the cold absorbed the colors. I have never seen anything like this before. Another fifteen minutes later the flock Bewicki’s landed on the lake. The vocal “whoo-whoo” sounds always makes me feel happy. After landing, 5 adult birds floated slowly towards me. Luckily, I could still move my index finger enough to press the shutter button. It is one of my favorite pics.

Reed specialists

The Oostvaardersplassen is always rewarding for bird photography; 2 specialists of this important wetland:
The colored Bearded Tit (Panurus biarmicus/Baardmannetje). In winter they feed on reed seeds. What an acrobatic posers are they.
The Bittern (Botaurus stellaris/Roerdomp) is seldom seen, as it leads a retiring life under cover of extensive reedbeds. Its presence is usually only revealed by a conspicuous call, resembling a foghorn. When ditches and lakes are frozen, hunger drives them to the few scarce places with open water. The first photo freezes a catch action. On the second photo the Bittern adopts the characteristic camouflage posture. Note that especially the dark breast markings work well.
I spent about an hour with it and shot over 4Gb of images … and then drove home with a very smugg grin on my face!

Dunnock & Wren

Dunnock (Prunella modularis/Heggemus), Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes/Winterkoning), Robin (Erithacus rubecula/Roodborst), Water Pipit (Anthus spinoletta/Waterpieper), and Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea/Grote Gele Kwikstaart), and even a brave wintering Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita/Tjiftjaf) were all catching insects at the banks of a running stream. I like the delicate subtle plumage of this thicket-loving bird.

Winter continues

Today I made a birdwatch tour in Zeeland together with Arie Ouwerkerk and his father. At 8h AM sharp we had an appointment on the dike near the small village Den Bommel. I could not resist the temptation to photograph the icy ditch at the foot of the dike, just before the cold sun-rise while waiting at the rendez-vous point (they were stuck in a heavy traffic jam).
Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus/Torenvalk) are better approachable because of the cold weather. This perching ♂ was photographed from a mobile hide (Arie’s car).

Winter in Holland

The winter started early this year. A short overview: On December 14-th it started to freeze seriously. The cold weather continued the entire week and on December 19-th the temperature stayed even at daytime below –10ºC (see also my previous post). On December 20-th heavy snowfall swept the country. A soft white blanket covered everything, and as usual the whole public transport system collapsed. A few days later temperatures already went up above zero.
As usual I really got nervous and wanted to photograph everything at the same time. By now I know that especially in these situations it is important to focus and to draw up a plan (make sure that you can take a few days off!). I decided to do forest landscapes in the neighborhood directly after the snowfall, and to spend the rest of the time to bird photography. My favorites:

• A high key exposure of an inquisitive Nuthatch (Sitta Europaea/Boomklever) at a feeding station in the forest. She behaves in worst Rambo style (fits well with its Zorro mask), chasing off all the tit species and scattering seeds in all directions.
• A line of poplar silhouettes mirrored by the Dommel river. I like the tight maze of dead branches; 3 months from now the sound of drumming woodpeckers is all around at this place.
• I like to capture simple things with my camera, such as this plain water-through for the cattle with a snow-covered bald corn field in the background.
• The title of this photo “Blue Cathedral”. I showed the same forest path (which is very close to my home) also in autumn colors on October 28-th 2009 on this blog.