Tombstone owl

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) on tombstone, the scene reminded me of the mythical Harry Potter movies. I am very happy with this one!!

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 150mm; ISO-1600, f4, 1/60s; tripod; 3 LED torches.

Strabrechtse Heide

For the month of August I decided to do some serious landscape photography and especially to keep an eye on the local moorland “Strabrechtse Heide”. I admit the summer period is not ideal for nature photography. First of all, you have to set the alarm clock at an unreasonable idiot time (I am not a morning person). Secondly, the quality of light is often not as good as in winter times. The sun rises quickly to a high elevation. But on the other hand, since I have been a teacher I have plenty of time in the summer holiday and often the warm weather causes thunderstorms at the end of the day. So the plan was to focus on heavy weather and the flowering heath. Here is a small selection of the results.

• Photo 1 – August 3^rd: I saw this monstrous shower coming. Thanks to mobile technology with a rain radar app. I was just on time on the right spot to photograph this shelf cloud.
• Photo 2 – August 5^th: A traditional heath-with-fog wide-angle shot.
• Photo 3 – August 17^th: This place on the Strabrechtse Heide was new for me. When I first visited the spot a week earlier I immediately sensed its potential. I wanted flowering heath on the sand with heavy clouds full of rain above it. I took me a couple of return visits before I encountered the right circumstances.

The latter photo was also selected by the Roots nature magazine on their Facebook account as one of best flowering heath photos of this year.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm/f4 @ 17mm; ISO-50, f16, 1.6s; ND2 hard gradient filter; tripod.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm/f4 @ 17mm; ISO-50, f16, 0.5s; ND2 hard gradient + ND3 hard gradient filter; tripod.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm/f4 @ 20mm; ISO-50, f18, 2s; +0.7 stop; flash, ND3 hard gradient filter; tripod.

Dutch coast

Water comes and goes

also when I am not there anymore

tide will stay forever

[Translation of a Dutch poem by Lies Drenth]

Holiday in my own country. These wooden breakwaters overgrown with algae and seaweed are really great! The first wide-angle photo requires careful planning. First of all you have to be on the spot at the right tide. Secondly, if you want a beach without any footprints this moment has to coincide with the early morning hours. The second photo shows some details (beam near the pole with a rope, right below) of the same breakwater from the other side.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm/f4 @ 17mm; ISO-50, f16, 2.5s; flash, ND2 filter and ND2 hard gradient filter; tripod.
* Canon EOS 7D, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/500s; -0.7 stop.

Queen of Spain

Queen of Spain Fritillary (Issoria lathonia/Kleine Parelmoervlinder) on a rainy morning in the Belgium Ardennes.

* Canon EOS 7D, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-400, f4.5, 1/60s.

The heat(h) is on

I copied this title from Silvia’s blog. It is very appropriate because the temperature at 5.15 AM was already 20°C (later today it rises up to 35°C!). And also because I had a very early appointment with Bas Mandos and Silvia Reiche to visit a nice piece of heathland. We all enjoyed a beautiful sunrise. The first photo shows a Black Darter (Sympetrum danae/Zwarte Heidelibel), the second photo pictures an Alcon Blue (Phengaris alcon/Gentiaanblauwtje) in its typical Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix/Gewone Dopheide) habitat, and the last photo shows a nearby landscape detail.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 200mm; ISO-400, f5, 1/160s.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 200mm; ISO-400, f5, 1/250s; +0.3 stop; tripod.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 150mm; ISO-200, f16, 1/40s; tripod.

Alcon Blue

The Alcon Blue (Phengaris alcon/Gentiaanblauwtje) is a scarce and vulnerable butterfly of our wet moorland. Like some other species of Lycaenidae, its larva (caterpillar) stage completely depends on support by ants of genus Myrmica. It is therefore known as a myrmecophile.
The butterfly lays its eggs onto the Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe/Klokjesgentiaan); see the white tiny spot on the photo. The caterpillars eat no other plants and leave the food plant when they have grown sufficiently (4-th instar) just waiting on the ground below to be discovered by ants. The larvae emit surface chemicals (allomones) that closely match those of ant larvae, causing the ants to carry the Alcon larvae into their nests and place them in their brood chambers, where they are fed by worker ants, a method known as the “cuckoo” strategy. When the Alcon larva is fully developed it pupates. Once the adult hatches (next summer) it must run the gauntlet of escaping because the ants now recognize the butterfly to be an intruder.
This miraculous process repeats itself for thousands of years on our moorlands. However, in the last few decades many Alcon Blue populations have disappeared. Predictions are that they will be extinct within 10 – 20 years. Nature protectors do what they can to prevent it.

* Canon EOS 7D, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-400, f4.5, 1/160s; +0.3 stop.

Back-light shrike

The FIFA World Cup in Brazil is in full swing, and against all odds the Dutch soccer team is performing very well. But at the same time at least 4 Red-backed Shrikes (Lanius Collurio/Grauwe Klawier) are breeding near the Nature Reserve “Groote Peel”. And one couple nests in blackberry bush near a small and quiet road. In particular the ♂ bird is very confident and often poses on a beautifully curved branch full of thorns. That means I have to set some priorities: Only sunny evenings and when the Dutch team is not playing I drive up to this place to do some photography. This is one of the many ‘keepers’.

* Canon EOS 7D, 500mm/f4; ISO-400, f4, 1/320s; -0.7 stop; bean bag.