At the beginning of summer, the linnets were busy feeding their young.  First soime distracting moves, then the female penetrated the brambles, whilst the male stood guard.

Getting out of the car to make a shot of the scenery, I stumbled upon a family of Willow Ptarmigans. Two adults, five juveniles. I could track them for a while, then they disappeared. At Langoya, Norway.

Slechtvalk

Judging by the marks on the pylons there had to be a bird there; yet it to a while to localize the peregrine falcon. One at first, than two. Focal distance is 85 meters. Click the pic for larger ones.

I took this picture of an Iceland Gull about a month ago. It had stormed, and perhaps the bird was blown of track to these shores.

Sneeuwgors / snow bunting

A flock of snow buntings. This one redid his feathres just in front of the lens. He looked like a dancer to me.

A Most Common Bird

The other day  I was wanting for a flock of spotted redshanks to come closer and I almost didn’t notice the many beautiful birds that rested nearby. There’s such an abundancy of Common Starlings that the beauty of the bird gets lost in the masses. Not a hard picture to take, and not a photographic or birding challenge, but a reminder to self that beauty is nearby.

Does a snipe have hindsight?

I don’t know of the mental processes of a common snipe, but the bird sure enough manages to look behind itself! It’s a bit disturbing sight in my opinion, just as if the bird has lost its beak, or has a tiny one hidden in the feathers.

Indian summer kind of weather these days: a soft breeze, a slightly shaded sun and a temperature that feels soft to the skin. All in all perfect for birding. This bar-tailed godwit I found harvesting alone along the shoreline. The tide was coming in so I had to look out for the gear and myself not getting wet. The godwit was so busy getting its meal together it sometimes had to swim to shallower waters, a sight I had not seen before.

With the changing of the seasons, it’s quite easy to spot spotted redshanks. They make a pitstop here before migrating further south. They have already shed their quite spectacular black summer/breeding dressing for the winterplumage. The literal translation of their Dutch name is Black Rider, and therefore the bird always makes me think of Tom Waits’ musical effort by that name.

In the analog days, some camera’s came with a whispermode. It transported the film slowely, so as not to disturb the scene.
These digital days, to that end I sometimes put my car, a Prius, in whispermode so it runs on battery only. For instance to get closer to this alert young male Norther Wheatear, already in its autumn plumage. I don’t know if it really works, but well, I got close enough