Yikes ...... Snakes!

Dear all,

Early spring is the ideal period to get out and observe the Dutch snakes. These cold-blooded creatures need sunlight to warm up before they get active. They leave their shelters as soon as the temperature is above 10 degrees Celcius on sunny or partly cloudy days. In early spring their warming takes quite some time and they can be found in moorland on wind-sheltered spots while taking a sun bath for hours. Last weekend we had planned a snake excursion with some friends. We were very lucky with our guide and also the weather conditions were perfect. Thus far I had only seen a few snakes in my whole life, but last saturday we found about 15 of them. Most of them were the dangerous European adder, but we also found one smooth snake. We had a wonderful day with lots of fun, learned a lot, and took some nice pictures of these beautiful animals.

Cheers,

Dirk-Jan

Spring is in the air!

Dear visitor,

Spring is at our doorstep. Slowly, but steadily, the temperatures are climbing, although the nights are still frosty. The signs of the approaching season are clear in nature. Last weekend, we enjoyed the display ceremony of some pairs of great crested grebe. Please enjoy them dancing their honeymoon dance.

Best regards,

Dirk-Jan

Photography on Vlieland

Hello,

Vlieland is one of the smallest Wadden islands of the Netherlands. The island is free of cars and the tourists visiting this Wadden island are usually searching for quietness and nature experience. Last weekend we visited the island together with Sandra's sister and her family. Last winter on Texel (see blog December 2008), we made plans with them for a Wadden island hopping tour in the coming years. Isn't this nice? 'TVTAS' (Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland, Schiermonnikoog) is the right order of the Dutch Wadden islands, so this year Vlieland was on our list. The weather conditions may change rapidly on the Wadden. In 3 days we had rain, snow, fierce wind, fog, clouds, and sun. Fast changing weather provide excellent photographic conditions! 'Bad weather is good weather' according to one of the chapters in John Shaw's book on landscape photography. At some occassions I 'simply' had to go outside and leave our comfortable residence, leaving some questioning faces behind. Their faces were even more surprised when I returned an hour or two later, wet like a drowned cat, but smiling.

Hope you enjoy the pictures,

Dirk-Jan

Renewed website

Dear all,

Today we put our renewed website online. Please take a look at http://www.ifornature.nl/. Cees de Valk, webmaster at V2visueel ... www.v2visueel.nl ..., did a marvelous job in the last months. The modifications are based on feedback of our visitors and in summary, the following major changes have been made:

1) the gallery is updated with recent photos

2) the image quality of the photos in the gallery is improved

3) every photo in the gallery contains a short story, plus its technical information

4) behind the scene is a new page, where equipment and technique is explained

5) the list with links has been updated

I hope you enjoy the renewed website and would be happy to hear from you,

Dirk-Jan

NP de Hoge Veluwe

Hello to all of you,

Winter is a fantastic season! There's a lot of complaining around me from people that have had enough snow and ice in the last 6 weeks. Sure, winter can cause problems in traffic, health, etc. But, no complaining from me. Every weekend and day off is funtime! Last weekend we visited NP de Hoge Veluwe to get our permits for 2010. Sandra, Max and I enjoyed a refreshing walk through the snow-covered heather fields. Lots of animal tracks to discover for Max. He was so proud that he got his own personal membership card. It felt like he became a ranger! It was partly cloudy and, between the clouds, the sun drapped the landscape in a golden winter light. The purple, yellow and white tones accentuated the landscape in a beautiful manner. The National Parc is well-known for its healthy red deer population. At the end of the day they appear from their daily shelters. It's just to wait for them on the right place at the right time. We were lucky enough to observe two groups of about 25 males.

Cheers,

Dirk-Jan

Grey herons

Dear all,

Winter is a tough season for birds. Frost makes it necessary to burn extra calories to keep warm and snow makes it hard to obtain water and food, the first necessaries of life. Grey herons are birds that I personally associate with winter. Honestly, I don't know why. Is it their colours that fit perfectly with the grey and white tones of winter? Is it their effective way to survive the harsh conditions? Is it their typical posture that communicates resignation? Nevertheless, 2010 started with an abundant winter and the grey herons were one of my favorite photographic motives during the last weeks. Some of them are usually present in the old fishing harbour of Elburg. The authentic fishing boats of Elburg, called botters, and a frozen snow-covered harbour form a nice decor. It is there where I observed the incredible fishing efficiency of grey herons. They stand motionless next to a hole in the ice (they only need a small hole of about 10-20 cm!). Suddenly they observe a fish near the surface, slowly and determined they move towards their prey, and then ............... within a split second ............. a sudden attack with their dagger-like bill. About fifty (!!!) percent of those attacks are succesfull. I saw one individual catch about 5 small fish within a quarter of an hour. It will not die of starvation. Please enjoy the pictures of these wonderful animals!

Cheers, Dirk-Jan

Happy 2010 !!!

Dear all,

First of all let me wish you a healthy, lovely, and happy 2010! My 2010 couldn't have started better photographically. Winter has taken our country in a tight grip. We haven't had this amount of snow since years and the weather forecast predicts subzero temperatures for the next week or two. Snow is one of my favourite weather conditions, but it usually remains present only for a few days in the Netherlands. I'm always getting a restless feeling when snow starts to fall. The camera simply needs to be taken outside. Take for example last saturday evening. We got about 15 centimeter of snow in about 2 hours. After a restless night I got awake at 4 o'clock and couldn't get asleep anymore. Too much plans in my head and time is limited as we only have about 8 hours of daylight at the moment! Please enjoy the winter pictures of last weekend. We had a lot of fun!

More to come. The weekend is near!

Dirk-Jan