Day of the Buzzard
Three weeks ago, I visited the Boerenglop bird hide in Klazienaveen with my photography buddy. It was a bit of a spontaneous trip, as I only found out the day before that I could join. A buzzard and a green woodpecker had been spotted there regularly in the days leading up to our visit. Even when birds have been seen there recently, however, you never know whether they will show up while you are there. After all, they are wild animals and do whatever they want, and that is exactly what makes wildlife photography so exciting and enjoyable.
Of course, the squirrels were there again as well. They are always fun to watch, so it is no surprise that I took quite a lot of photos of them. However, I am becoming more selective when deciding which photos to keep. I don't want to end up with too many images that look almost identical. I am starting to feel the same way about birds, which is one of the reasons why I photographed fewer birds this time. But once you start going through and editing your photos, there are always some that are simply too good to leave out.
After a few hours, the buzzard finally made an appearance. It came and went for quite some time, and at one point there were even two buzzards, which was pretty amazing to see. They kept a close eye on each other, and my photography buddy even hoped they would get into a fight, as he thought that would make for some great photos. I had my doubts about that. Of course, it is part of nature, but I am not sure whether watching and photographing a fight would really be enjoyable. Fortunately, they never actually started fighting, but one of the buzzards did eventually start feeding. It was not particularly pleasant to watch, so I decided not to photograph it.
Unfortunately, the green woodpecker never showed up while we were there. I was a little disappointed, but that is simply how nature works. What was even more frustrating was finding out that the buzzard had taken a bath just fifteen minutes after we left, while the green woodpecker eventually showed up later that afternoon after all.
There is not much point dwelling on what we missed, though. Hopefully, I will get another chance to photograph moments like these another time. Despite missing out on a few opportunities, I had a great day. Although, somehow, I still ended up coming home feeling quite chilled, right in the middle of summer!
Click on a photo to enlarge it.
I also made a silent vlog during this visit to the Boerenglop bird hide. There is no talking, just the natural sounds and atmosphere of the bird hide, with some music added at the end while showing a selection of the photos I took that day. If you enjoy a quiet and peaceful way of experiencing wildlife photography, I hope you will enjoy watching it and get a little feel for what it was like to spend those hours at the bird hide.
Until next time,
Quirina