A few days ago as I cycled the sun went down, creating a beautifully illuminated golden sky. A grey heron (blauwe reiger) flew past and also enjoyed the moment, alternating gliding with moments where it was plummeting straight down before landing in a field. #birds
I always love watching tiny birds, like this marsh tit (glanskop), thoroughly explore something small, like a branch, in their quest for food. Most humans would walk past the branch without a thought, much less inspect it, but this bird spent half a minute closely examining every aspect. #birds
I always love watching tiny birds, like this marsh tit (glanskop), thoroughly explore something small, like a branch, in their quest for food. Most humans would walk past the branch without a thought, much less inspect it, but this bird spent half a minute closely examining every aspect. #birds
Buzzards (buizerd) sometimes practice their hunting skills on unsuspecting pine cones. I didn't know this, until I saw one doing just that a few days ago and thought it was an odd choice of diet for a bird of prey. This buzzard took the job very seriously! (5 images) #birds
A remarkable encounter in the Maasduinen: a weasel (wezel) crossed the cycle path ahead of me, from right to left. When I stopped I saw more movement on the right - another weasel had not dared to cross and watched me from hiding! So small and fast, I'd never seen one sit still before. #mammals
At the Maasduinen national park. Thankfully this gorgeous nature reserve is extremely unknown in the Netherlands and therefore very quiet (I always hear more German being spoken here than Dutch) and it's hot now but a delight as usual. However, the signs of drought are very obvious.
Two honey buzzards (wespendief) circled overhead today. That these birds of prey evolved to favour a diet of wasp larvae found through watching and listening which they get to by digging with their claws makes them, to me, one of the most fascinating raptors we get here. #birds
A couple years ago I got the Lynx "All the Birds of the World" book, with all the world's birds in a single volume, possible only by fitting many of them onto each page. Sometimes I leaf through it and it's always a joy, but not many pages have as spectacular a layout as this one does!
Low water levels at the Arnhem Nieuwe Haven today. The sandy floor of the Rhine is seldom exposed like this, and as we still have a fair amount of summer left it's likely to reveal more of its secrets soon.
Cycled up the dike today and the first thing I saw was a huge white-tailed eagle (zeearend) fly towards me, before it slowly spiralled up higher and higher into the air, then drifting off east. It didn't flap its wings once. Such impressive creatures! #birds
It remains remarkable the extent to which the red-backed shrike (grauwe klauwier) has taken off in the region over the past seven or so years - from 0 to over 30 pairs! They are not shy: this male sat right along the path and didn't budge. A great addition to the Ooijpolder! #birds
Come on, you can fly at 100 km/h, you could at least look like you're having a good time! Very grumpy looking common swifts (gierzwaluw) speeding along above the Oude Waal, with crops full of insects. #birds
A family of blackbirds visited my garden. This curious juvenile, still a little fluffy, posed on the fence for a bit, before it came down to look for food in the grass. #birds
A white stork (ooievaar) standing on top of a lamp post along a cycle path, one of numerous storks I saw here. It wasn't bothered by passers by - here it was looking down at a cyclist. #birds
Always nice to see a beaver, in this case in a canal in a residential neighbourhood here in Nijmegen. The many canals have made it a suitable habitat for them, so this is not a rare sighting. (Terrible phone pic, didn't have my camera on hand)
Yesterday I discovered a juvenile garden warbler (tuinfluiter), who had in turn discovered the first ripe blackberry on a bramble bush. Without any concern for me, it carefully stripped away and enjoyed a few bulbs. #birds
Heard a noise in the garden last night and it turned out I had a cute little visitor - my first garden hedgehog!
Told my friend we had a good chance of seeing honey buzzard (wespendief) at the spot I'd picked for our walk, and of course my birding promises rarely fail. Two different individuals showed up, and despite the weather being terrible for photography (too sunny) I got a passable shot. #birds
Not a sharp photograph at all but I did enjoy seeing this red squirrel (rode eekhoorn) make a graceful hop last weekend. #mammals
A whimbrel (regenwulp) on Schiermonnikoog, back in april. The sun was slowly disappearing behind the sea wall and only the bird's head was still fully illuminated by its light. When the tide is high, this is a good place to find them. #birds
Finished this by @stevebrusatte.bsky.social today and loved it, as a birder and a historian. Tells the story of how birds came to be, how they function, but also how scientists figured this all out. A great example of popularising research without dumbing it down too much. #birds
A grasshopper warbler (sprinkhaanzanger) caught in song on Schiermonnikoog in April. These can be tricky birds to photograph, but I discovered plenty of sites where they were active and then staked out one of them in the morning, with favourable light. #birds
Another one from my fighting wrens (winterkoning) series - they couldn't even agree on which side was up! #birds
It can be easy to overlook "common" birds when you're out birding. This time of year the common whitethroat (grasmus) is pervasive on every walk or bike ride, but it's worth stopping from time to time to admire them, as they're still remarkable! #birds
A hare (haas) was happily running along the canal when it ran through two families of Canada geese (Canadese gans). The geese did not appreciate the intrusion. #birds
Icterine warbler (spotvogel) can be difficult. They show up late in spring, sing high up in a tree or, more often, from cover, and often disappear the moment you've noticed them. But this bird has been quite accommodating, singing low in a willow tree along a path, often in full view. #birds
A great spotted woodpecker (grote bonte specht) and his kid made their way to my garden today. They sat on the fence and whenever the dad wanted to move past his child he pecked at it and the young bird swivelled down to the side of the fence. No gentle parenting among woodpeckers! #birds
