Near my parent's, 2008-03-15
"Please only wake me up when the eggs are hatched..."
Meijendel, 2009-04-06
Mating season and 2 male grebes with 1 female. This is the loser.
Vlietlanden, 2009-04-13
This grebe looks like it is imitating a Puffer Fish (Kogelvis).
Cronesteyn, 2008-04-09
This swan was very territorial and came swimming at top speed whenever I came anywhere close to the breeding female. The first picture on the main page is of the same swan, but I had a hard time choosing which picture I preferred, so I just added this one here.
Korte Vliet, 2009-01-01
Usually swans go south for the winter, so they're not that used to ice. This one was struggling to stay upright (and warm), and just before it failed to take off because it couldn't get enough grip to push off.
Vlietlanden, 2009-04-13
These swans came flying over, and accidentally the picture turned out beautiful.
Near my parent's, 2007-2-3
On the main page there is already one picture of this coot fight that happened right below the bridge I was standing on to take another picture, so I could start shooting pictures right away. This picture might not be the the clearest, but to me it shows the action and their ferocity quite well.
Vlietlanden, 2008-4-10
In contrast to the previous picture, here I managed to catch the brief moment of mating. Actually I noticed one (probably the male) swimming towards the other with a hissing sound and head held low. I didn't recognise it, but assumed it might be be mating ritual, so I readied my camera while the female went to a shallow spot. Even so she was mostly under water, but in this picture you can at least see her.
Stevenshof Park, 2008-05-09
The young coots are found everywhere at the moment, but this one I could approach quite near, so you can see quite a few details of it's head.
Valkenburgse Meer, 2009-03-22
Bathing time for the geese.
Hooghkamer Park, 2008-04-15
Especially in spring they have these vibrant colouring on their heads. Usually it's green, but with the right light it can also appear blue.
Cronesteyn, 2008-04-28
Pretty easy to photograph, but still so cute.
Cronesteyn, 2008-04-15
These ducks are a bit shyer than the mallards, so when they flew in to land right at my feet, they made a u-turn as soon as they saw me. The picture is not that clear, but I just love their synchronicity.
Cronesteyn, 2009-01-31
These ducks are usually found in large groups, often hundreds that spend the winter and early spring here. When they fly up, the sky is full of them.
Wassenaar, 2007-4-1, with my Olympus D-520 camera
Passing by, I noticed an Egyptian Goose with 3 young in a meadow. I just stopped for a few pictures when a second one came flying in, and both started waving their wings and honk. It didn't seem aggressive, so I assume it was courtship ritual, even with the kids present.
Wassenaarse Slag (Mijendel), 2008-4-22
I've included more than one picture on this site with birds chasing and being chased, but this is one I had to add too: it shows the desperate action of the goose getting out of the way of the lapwing so well.
Valkenburgse Meer, 2008-05-09
Halfway between a fuzzy newborn and the pretty adult.
Cronesteyn, 2008-04-15
These small ducks are pretty cute, and when the female started to worry about my presence, I quickly left them alone again.
De Leidsche Hout, 2008-4-26
I was just waiting to cross the road between the parks de Leidsche Hout and Oud Poelgeest, when there suddenly appeared a buzzard not 10 meters above me. I fumbled to get my camera ready, and then it disappeared behind a tree. When it reappeared there was a Carrion Crow that tried to chase it off, and I just managed to get this (unsharp) picture right above me, before they were gone. This seems to be a juvenile, since the white areas under it's wings are still striped.
Cronesteyn, 2008-04-15
There is a heron colony in Cronesteyn, with perhaps 20 or more nests. Some already have young, which make quite a bit of ruckus when the parents return. Unluckily the nests are so high up the tree that it's hard to get a good view of the young ones. This one was still breeding, and you can see the guano from the nest higher up the same tree.
Bos van Bosman, 2008-04-28
Gray Herons are common here, and not that shy, so I have quite a few pictures of them already. But this one was standing in such a pretty ditch, with the water mirroring, that I had to add it to this page anyhow.
de Leidsche Hout, 2008-04-24
This year, for the first time, a pair of Stork have build a nest on the nesting pole in the petting zoo of this park. Here you can see one landing on the nest. The other is sitting on the eggs. (The picture is taken against the sunlight, so you see mostly a contour.)
de Leidsche Hout, 2009-04-02
The storks are back in the park; this one had done it's duty on the nest and was just landing for a meal.
Cronesteyn, 2008-04-07
"Now where did my nest go?"
Cronesteyn, 2008-04-17
In Cronesteyn there is quite a bit of aerial combat: lapwings, oystercatchers and godwits chasing crows, and all of them ganging up on the buzzards. This time one lapwing and two godwits were trying to scare away a crow, and somehow the godwit ended up upside down in the air.
Cronesteyn, 2008-04-29
Currently the godwits are quite territorial, and are almost aggressive towards humans, so you can get pretty close to take pictures, with them protesting loudly all the time, and even flying up and circling above you every now and then.
Valkenburgse Meer, 2008-05-03
This juvenile was still in winter plumage; a week later it's head was already turning black.
Leiden (at the edge of the Coebel district), 2008-04-12
Well, it's not quite an olive branch, but it's getting the idea.
Leiden (around my block), 2009-03-25
The dove was almost blown out of the tree.
Ter Wadding, 2008-04-08
On the main page I put a picture of this woodpecker. These two had just been 'arguing' and that one landed just in front of me on a low branch. A few seconds later they flew further away, but strangely stayed together. I've included the picture here because it's hard enough to photograph one woodpecker, let alone two together.
de Houtkamp, Leiderdorp, 2008-05-02
There is a dead tree right next to a path through this park. When passing it, I heard the characteristic hammering of a woodpecker, but didn't see it at first. Then it suddenly poked out it's head from one of the many holes, with the sawdust still on it's beak. Later it came out completely, and sat right next to it's new home while I could approach it closely.
Ter Wadding, 2008-04-08
There are two jays in Ter Wadding who also seem to have a nest in one of the ivy-covered trees. This one took a sip while I (and my camera) watched.
From my apartment, 2008-04-10
Just after I shot the first picture on the main page, the jay flew away. I just caught it at the edge of the photo, and even though it's not a clear picture, you can see the speed of it's dive.
Zuidduinen - Katwijk, 2009-04-15
With the right light, the black and white magpies have a lot more green and blue colors on their tails and wing tips.
de Leidsche Hout, 2008-04-24
The Jackdaws like hair for nesting material. So what to do if they can't find it lying around? They just rip it out of the deer in the petting zoo!
de Houtkamp, Leiderdorp, 2008-05-02
This was a new phenomenon for me: it seems like a normal Jackdaw, behaves like a normal Jackdaw, keeps company with other Jackdaws, but it's completely white. I guess it's sort of an albino, since it's beak is also colourless, only the eyes do have pigment. (I sometimes see Jackdaws with some white in their plumage, but not like this.)
Cronesteyn, 2008-04-07
Hey there, old lady in black, who are you bringing that shiny red apple?
Cronesteyn, 2008-04-08
I just love the 'joie de vivre' of these parakeets; always calling out to each other, grouping together, and, like here, kissing.
From my apartment, 2006-07-26
A parakeet butcher ;-)
Bos van Bosman, 2009-03-28
This is what you usually see of the Kingfisher: a blue flash flying away.
From my apartment, 2005-06-07
OK, this is not a bird. But it's so cute that I've added it anyhow. That summer there were bats nesting (?) in the eves, and this baby must have fallen out. Surprisingly it survived the four-floor-fall, and a neighbour picked it up before the cats got it. We finally just left it on the wall, hoping the parents would find it. The next day it was gone, so I'm not sure this story has a happy ending.
de Houtkamp, Leiderdorp, 2008-05-02
This Winter Wren was sitting right next to the bridge, just singing, and didn't move when I approached it up to 2 meters. Getting so close meant the depth of focus was not enough to get both the front and back of this tiny bird sharp. This picture is still scaled down a factor 2.
near Ter Wadding, 2008-04-14
Sometimes I see one of the small songbirds sitting on a branch while quickly flapping with it's wings. I assume this is signalling it's ready to mate.
Zuidduinen, Katwijk
Scolding it's neighbours below for making too much noise.
Vlietlanden
Taking pictures of the Goldcrest is quite a challenge: it moves constantly.
(not sure), 2008-10-12
Even in silhouette the feisty little songbird is unmistakable.
Bos van Bosman, 2009-04-02
This Robin just caught a delicious worm and wasted no time swallowing it.
Bos van Bosman (Leiden), 2008-04-26
This blackbird was sitting there as if posing for the picture, though I find his look still distrusting.
Leiden, along de Vliet
Such cute little birds.
Meijendel (Wassenaar), spring 1983
These are the oldest pictures on this site by far. But it was such a happening that I had to add these scanned slides here. The slides were probably taken with a manual Ilford camera with seperate light meter.
In those times (I was 15) I sometimes went on nature walks with my father (his hand in the highest picture), and we came across a place where the tits were not shy at all. So for fun I tried to lure them on my hand with the only food-like stuff I had on me: manderin peels; and to my surprise they came! So the next weekend we went back with a camera, and some 'real' food. But only the mandarin peels worked for luring them.
Ter Wadding, 2008-04-16
Of course this picture would be on the main page if it wasn't taken further away from my apartment than the current ones.
From my apartment, 2007-10-26
I had to take a good look what bird this was, all puffed up.
Stevenshof (Leiden), 2009-04-10
Oh no, it's a Rhino chicken with a bad hair day!