Uploads from hvhe1, tagged animal

Blissfully unaware

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:47:49 -0700

hvhe1 posted a photo:

Blissfully unaware of the increasing poaching of Elephant ivory and Rhino horn that's going on all over the Southern parts of the African continent, this baby elephant rushes down to the flooded Sand River to do what all baby elephants should be able to do: play in the water!

Cheetah Cub

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:04:16 -0800

hvhe1 posted a photo:

Last month we finally made it back to MalaMala, in my view one of the best places on earth.
We spent 3 weeks in this gorgeous game reserve and as far as game viewing is concerned there wasn't a day that there wasn't a surprise in store for us.

We already had had a great day and the sun was about to set when Matt, our ranger suddenly went quiet, listening to something that came in through his (earpiece) radio. He stopped the car and turned towards me saying: "Right, the good news is that a Cheetah with cubs has been found and the bad news is that we're not going there... It's just too far north for us to reach before sunset"......

What!! My very first cheetah babies in 20 years, about 10 kilometers up north, a gorgeous sunset ahead and we're NOT going??!!

I didn't say a word, but according to Hans, if auras could kill, Matt would have dropped stone cold dead at that very spot. He kept resisting my voodoo for another 15 minutes but
finally he stopped the car once more and gave in, declaring that the temperature in the vehicle had dropped so far down that he couldn't stand it any more. And warning me that we might be heading for a disappointment because the sighting was immediately declared a restricted and 'one-vehicle'-sighting only, as not to disturb the little family. Ok, ok, fine, whatever but get going!!

When we arrived at the scene, the ranger that had seen them lost them in the dense thickets. This being a one-vehicle sighting, we were on our own to find them again. Matt kept his nerves and slowly and carefully started driving in a wide circle around the area they were last seen. And then.... there they were, crossing the road just in front of us!!

The sun was already down so any action was impossible to capture, But boy, was I happy with the sighting!

This certainly was one of the very best sightings, not only of this trip, but of my entire 20 years of visiting Africa. MalaMala has the highest density of Leopards and Lions of any game reserve I know of so Cheetah have a hard time there being the smallest and the most vulnerable of the Big Cats and because the habitat is not really favourable for them.

I hope Matt has forgiven me meanwhile :-)

Happy New Year!

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 11:17:04 -0800

hvhe1 posted a photo:

May all of your dreams come true in 2013!

Three of a kind

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:23:43 -0700

hvhe1 posted a photo:

Last monday was the last morning of a week's stay in Marakissa River Camp in the Gambia. As every morning I took off, as early in the morning as possible, in the camp's canoe.
I can't really describe how that feels; floating on the mirror-like water with no other sounds surrounding you than the sounds of birds waking up. It's magic!!

We'd seen the Bee-eaters before on this particular spot, but when we passed it this morning there was not one but a whole flock of bee-eaters in that tiny shrub on the bank.

But these three stood out. Cuddling up together to ban out the morning cold, they really got to me.

And not only to me as yesterday evening this picture was awarded first prize in the VNF's Nature Photography Contest. Couldn't be more happy! If you want to have a look how I did with the rest of the pictures I sent in to the contest, feel free to have a look at the wildlife diary.

Quality time

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 09:22:24 -0700

hvhe1 posted a photo:

I visited Holland's dune area once again last friday. And what a day it turned out to be!!

There aren't many days that I fill every single memory card I got, but this sure was one of them.

If you want you can find the whole story and a collection of the shots I took in the wildlife diary.

Challenging a new day

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:19:45 -0700

hvhe1 posted a photo:

Finally, after 1,5 years we could take the "Tembo", our boat, out for a trip.

Of course the destination was 'De Biesbosch', a Dutch Nature Reserve I love so much.

But the weather gods were not very mild on us, so every morning, when I took the little rubber boat out, it was about 0C and it rained cats and dogs :-)
(hurray for the HUGE umbrella I bought at some fishing shop before I went!)

On this particular day, the weather forcast predicted some sun so I was out before sunrise hoping for some backlight shots.

This male Grebe wasn't too amused either by the weather. He was splashing around quite grumpy, chasing everyone away that came too close, be it Duck, Goose, or even his own spouse (hmm.. somehow sounds familiar :-))

Have a lovely (sunny, I hope) weekend everyone!

Honey (Buzzard) for breakfast..

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:04:54 -0700

hvhe1 posted a photo:

Only last year I saw my very first Honey Buzzard in my entire life. Maybe you remember my very first encounter with this beautiful raptor.

But just a few days ago I had an up close and personal meeting with this magnificent (and in Holland very rare) bird. In my own garden!!

It was about 8 AM and I just had my first cup of coffee and the newspaper in front of me. All of a sudden I caught a glimpse of a big shape moving in the garden from the corner of my eye. I looked up and my jaw dropped to the floor...

If you want you can read how and when (and see more pictures) in my wildlife diary.

Have a great weekend!!

Playtime!

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Mon, 21 May 2012 08:54:58 -0700

hvhe1 posted a photo:

It was still very early in the morning when I found two young roe deer bucks at the Veluwwezoom last week. I had switched off the car and let it roll downhill, so they hadn't noticed me at all and went on with what they were doing: Playing!!!

It was such a delight to watch.. They were chasing each other with amazing speed through the dry heather bushes. They obviously had such fun and I swear I saw a smile on this one's face! :-)

Prince on the pluch perch..

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:58:52 -0700

hvhe1 posted a photo:

Bluethroats have been on my wishlist for as long as I can remember. But so far I hadn't managed to get a decent picture of it.

So a couple of weeks ago, when the Bluethroats had just returned, I went to an area where I knew they had been seen the year before. When I came to a marsh-like area, covered in cattails I thought that this might make a nice background for the colorful bird. So I sat myself down and waited. And waited... And... waited some more. And - as always - just before I was about to give up because the light was going anyway (not to mention my bum being completely numb from sitting completely still on a boardwalk), there it was!! Singing its little head off. A few days later our prince was rewarded for his hard vocal work by the arrival of a little Bluethroat princess :-)

Sorry for not being much on Flickr lately. Been travelling quite a lot and busy with lots of other things. But I'll try and better my life!

White Angel

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:54:23 -0700

hvhe1 posted a photo:

There is a certain lady in a certain hospital in Holland, that could certainly do with some positive thoughts coming her way. I'm really hoping that I don't sound too .. eh.. goatswool-sokkerish (that's Dutch for too soft) but I am convinced that if everyone who reads this would send at least one positive vibe to her, she'll get through this rough period with flying colors and many happy years will follow.

I would like to start this chain of good vibes with posting this little White Reef Heron, shot in Gambia during my last trip. A white heron, because to me it is symbolic for mothers. Those of you who know me longer know why.

So, Mrs. Riek, here's to you. Get well real soon. Life is just too beautiful.

Hugs,
Hennie

Beautiful Sunbird

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 09:38:30 -0700

hvhe1 posted a photo:

Last week I returned from a trip to The Gambia. I had visited that country last October and I was so enchanted with one of the camps that it stuck firmly in my mind. So when Dennis and Sandra came to visit and Sandra complained a bit that her husband-to-be was invited for a trip abroad and she was to stay home, I said that perhaps I might have an idea. Two weeks later we landed on Gambian soil :-).

This is a picture of the Beautiful Sunbird as this petite beauty is aptly named. It came to the garden of the camp to drink with the enormous trunk of a palm tree as colorfull background.

I've updated the Wildlife diary with a day at Marakissa River Camp:
A light fog still touches the water of the Marakissa River and the orangepink promise of yet another sunny day is glowing behind the palm trees when we step into our canoe that morning. When we push off from the bank a Pied Kingfisher plunges into the water right next to us in search for breakfast and we nearly jump out of our skin when a Purple Heron crashes out of its hiding with a loud shriek and decides to head for (even) quieter grounds. You are welcome to read more......

Close.. But not close enough

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:06:48 -0700

hvhe1 posted a photo:

When I saw the first hare jumping over the ditch ending up right in the middle of it with an impressive splash, I figured that another one might follow. So I sat myself down and waited. Which was rather a cold affair as I had forgotten my coat and it was about 7 degrees C. When I was cold to the bone and about to give up I saw another hare approach the ditch. With the same result :-)

I have put a little 'movie' together of the whole sequence of the jump. You can find it on the Wildlife diary

Heading for spring

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 08:53:01 -0800

hvhe1 posted a photo:

We've only had two weeks of snow this winter, but boy it was cold during that period! When Edgar and I entered Holland's dune area it was about -12C. But what can you do when you would love to see foxes in the snow. Right.. just go.

Despite the cold it was a fantastic day and if you want, you can read more about what all happened on my blog

Wishing you all a lovely weekend! Enjoy the beginning of spring!

Rude Awakening

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:06:34 -0800

hvhe1 posted a photo:

It had taken some convincing but finally Michel agreed to join me to the AWD. I love that area as you may recall.

But.. like it often goes, we walked for hours and of all the snipes, woodcocks, foxes, wild swans and bitterns I promised him; none showed up. I was beginning to feel quite desperate when we discovered a canal filled with all sorts of waterfowl. We both went down on opposite sides of the canal and happily snapped away, meanwhile getting quite soaked from lying flat on the still very wet banks of the canal.

All of a sudden there was turmoil in the water as a male and female Goosander .. eh.. well, after all it wàs Valentine that day!! :-) Who could blame me for thinking they were taking care of the future generation of Goosanders.

It all went down in seconds and It was not after I scrolled back through the pictures that I saw what really was going on. The female repeatedly dove under the thin crust of ice that was still on a part of the water in search of food. She surfaced with a frog in her beak which caught the attention of the male who immediately jumped right on top of her in an attempt to steal it from her (what a casanova!). In the end she gave him the cold shoulder and heartedly munched the frog down.

What a rude awakening for the poor frog. Here you are, sleepily but pleasantly wallowing in the mud, waiting for spring to come when all of a sudden you find yourself the subject of a domestic quarrel..

For more info you are very welcome to the blog

And then there was snow

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:59:14 -0800

hvhe1 posted a photo:

When I looked outside my living room window, the first dust-like snowflakes began to fall and the weather forecast predicted more. So I packed in the camera, and drove to the National Park ' De Hoge Veluwe'. At first everything was still green but when the hours passed, the snow covered everything in a white blanket. And yes, as normal as it may seem to many people throughout the world, here in Holland we still get excited when snow falls :-)

When I drove up a little road there was a car behind me. Apparently my 20km/hour bugged the hell out of him because he nearly touched my bumper! So I drove to the side to let him pass. When I was done thinking up names for this so called nature lover I looked up and found myself eye-to-eye with this young roe deer buck, his antlers still covered in velvet, checking me out through the curtain of falling snow flakes.

I guess I have to be thankfull to this hasty driver for making me stop..

Family is everything

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:56:43 -0800

hvhe1 posted a photo:

Today was a wet, grey and rainy day in Holland so I connected an external hard disc of last year to the computer. Suddenly I realized that I've been on several trips of which I had barely posted a shot at all! Like Iceland last year. Those of you who have followed me a bit longer know that I simply love that rough and pure country. When I went through the raw-shots I relived that splendid trip all anew.
Like this picture; we were driving up to the West Fjords when we past a little lake alongside the road. A family of Red-Throated Divers had taken residence there. The chicks were still very young and while dad took off when he saw us, mom stayed with her offspring. After a minute or so they all relaxed again and allowed us some really low-angle shots.

The Shrewd Shrike

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:52:19 -0800

hvhe1 posted a photo:

The great grey shrike is a very rare winter guest here in Holland. I've been hoping to get a shot at this tiny bird of prey for years already but never got even close. Until this year.

And then there was light

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 02:01:55 -0800

hvhe1 posted a photo:

First of all; a very Merry Christmas to you all !!!
I hope this day will bring you joy, happiness and togetherness with the ones you love.

I had a little photographical dip during the last month; had hardly been out photographing but last week the temptation of all the birds at the feeding table in my garden, lured me outside. For the first time, dozens of tree sparrows visit the table and although it is called a 'common' bird in Holland, when you take a good look, it's amazing how many colors it has! There's nothing common on this little beauty! And besides; it's more of a challenge to take a special picture of a common animal, than it is to take a common picture of a special animal!

I was really pleased with this shot with the backlight through the wings. Our terrace is situated to the south, so the sun is behind the feeding table. Like last year I solved the problem of the backlight by putting up a big mirror on the terrace which reflects the sun on to the little birds. So the sun is shining from two sides in our garden! :-)

If you have Facebook account, look me up there and have a look what also kept me quite busy the last month (and still does! :-) Two weeks ago our 2 little Hovawart puppies, Kadi and Gola joined our family!

The river and the Styx

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:19:27 -0800

hvhe1 posted a photo:

Yep! Another Africa upload. Guess I'm just homesick for Africa. (I get that every year :-))

This is one of the Styx lionesses. 4 years ago I met this pride for the first time. And what a pride it was!! Dominated by the fabulous gentle Roller Coaster male Lion, the pride consisted of 6 females and lots of cubs. They were booming! The lionesses had a reputation of being incredibly apt huntresses and fantastic mothers. I saw them hunt and their teamwork was unbelievable!

The 2 years afterwards I saw them again; Although the pride was still large in the first year with 4 adult lionesses (present when I was there) and 11 cubs there had been a change.. The cubs looked heartbrakingly thin and the lionesses seemed to have lost their confidence in hunting. Last year the pride had diminished; The super sweet Roller Coaster Male had died and his place was taken by a brotherhood of 4 male lions. Not good news for the existing cubs; save for one male and one female, all cubs were killed, leaving the pride a shadow of what it once was. When I was there the only ones that were left was an old half blind lioness, two adult lionesses and the semi adult male and female.

I know it's a bit weird to get so emotional over a pride of wild lions but the sorry state of the pride broke my heart. So maybe you can understand that I was delighted to read in Mala Mala's Cyber diary that the pride has made a fantastic recovery over the last year! Several adult females had cubs and they seem to be back in their old form; being super mums and great huntresses.

I keep my fingers crossed for them!

This year I'm going to host two more Nature Photography Workshops at my home in the beautiful Tonden area. If you are interested in joining, please visit my website (see my profile).

Guardians of the fortress

nobody@flickr.com (hvhe1) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 07:15:04 -0800

hvhe1 posted a photo:

I still have so many nice shots of last year's trip to South Africa that I haven't posted yet.
For instance this one; we passed a huge termite mount when all of a sudden a cute little face popped up. Dwarf Mongoose! The one was joined by another.. And another... and another.. One after the other popped up to see what that great big thing was that was blocking their view. At one point there were 7 of them checking us out! Too cute!! But they move so fast it's almost impossible to get a sharp shot of them. But I was most happy with the line-up of these 3 little guardians.