Stories close to home
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. Unfortunately they are under pressure due to intensive farming. One reason more to put the birds in the spotlights. Over the last weeks Willem spent some days photographing them from various bird hides across Holland….
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Winter garden birds
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…
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Autumn in corona times
Like lots of people all over the globe we are trying to deal with these crazy times. A new lockdown and the second wave are about to hit us in the Netherlands. We are grateful that we made the move back home and into our new house only months before the pandemic started. A good time to go through the archives and work on…
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Woodpecker breeding season
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. The typical clutch is four to six glossy white eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs, feed the chicks, and keep the nest clean. Enjoy the pictures of this busy period in the life of…
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Acrobatic kingfishers
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 throughout the day. This offers great opportunities to see them going through their fishing routines. Enjoy the pictures and big thanks to Jeroen Stel for all the support during…
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Lockdown garden birds
Here in Holland we are in corona lockdown since early March. As a result we hardly see our family and friends, we work from home and our photography trips abroad have been postponed. Suddenly we have time to spend in our garden which is on the edge of a forest along the Dutch coast. It is spring time so our garden is a busy place full of birds and small mammals. Garden birds like robins and tits are claiming their territory and try to concur one of our many…
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Spooky forest
We are lucky to live on the edge of a forest, so rain or shine, the scenery is often breathtaking. Most of the pictures were taken on dog walks during the dark time of the year, where fog, rain and a little light make all the difference. Patterns and colors appear where you might have never noticed them before…
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Purple early morning walks
Autumn is slowly arriving, so seasons are changing with new photographic opportunities. In the coastal dunes, close to our home, fields of heather are starting to flower. It is only during a few weeks that one can witness this stunning purple landscape. So over the recent weeks we took our camera along while walking our dog. In order to catch the foggy morning light it meant…
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Holland spring photography
Since our return to Holland we started to picture wildlife and landscapes in our region. The north of Holland is famous for its beautiful scenic landscapes with tulips and windmills. The polders which were reclaimed from the sea are vast flat open landscapes rimmed by dikes. Every year thousands of birds migrate through and use these open areas to rest, feed and breed. We walk our dog along the windy shores of the North Sea and are amazed by the ever changing light, cloud formations and the coming and going of…
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Move back to Holland
Having lived in Hamburg for the last 15 years we have recently moved back to Holland. We loved living in the picturesque Treppenviertel, along the river Elbe and we miss it dearly. But “home sweet home” was calling and it is great to be near…
