Great to be back in the Mara. The sightings are still amazing. The abundance of predators makes it a very rewarding place for photographers…
Sentimental journey to the Greater Mara
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Thank you for the flowers
Happy to see you again! It amazes me time and time again to witness how after a long grey, cold and dark winter nature comes back to life. Flowers miraculously reappear with a breathtaking abundance, bringing back colors and insects to our garden. The first sign of spring arriving are the snowdrops. While the garden is still barren the tiny white flowers appear. They are soon to be followed by...
Grutto, the king of the meadow birds
The call of the grutto in early spring is part of our childhood memory. This elegant meadow bird is part of our heritage and our national bird…
Winter time for our garden birds
Birds in survival modus We had some serious cold weather coming in from the east last week. In one night we had 20 cm of fresh snow and temperatures stayed well below zero for more than a week. All the garden birds went into survival modus and a lot of them stayed very close to our house for shelter and food. Apart from consuming more calories the birds have other tactics to survive the extreme...
Grey beach Hipstas
We love the beach along the North Sea. This is where we grew up, making it our definition of a beach. Even so the beach is never the same. Rain or shine, storm or fog, the colors and shapes of the sea, the sand and the clouds change all the time. Over the years I have made thousands of Hipstas of the beach of Bergen aan Zee. For this post I made a somewhat grey selection to reflect the crazy...
Tree silhouette Hipstas
Trees are living things and every one of them is unique in its form. They grow, straight or twisted, big or small, depending on the soil their roots stand in, the water level, the wind they are exposed to. I love to picture them as silhouettes, without leaves, when their bare shape is visible. Therfore my tree silhouette Hipstas are often spooky, most of them taken in the winter and in low...
Woodpecker breeding season
Busy times for our woodpeckers Regular visitors to our garden are the great spotted woodpeckers. A beautiful sight with their pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the head. Currently they are nesting in holes in big trees nearby. Their nests are mere holes excavated in living or dead trees, unlined apart from wood chips....
Acrobatic kingfishers
Tireless flying acrobats In Holland the corona lockdown is somewhat loosened so Willem decided to spend some time in a bird hide taking pictures of the common kingfisher. One of the most beautiful birds resident here. At the moment they are nesting and very busy catching fish for their youngsters in the nest. As there are usually 6-7 hungry chicks to feed this fishing expedition goes on...
