Gambling with the bearded reedlings

Towards the end of January 2016 I decided it was time, after almost two months, to take my gear out again and try again with the bearded reedlings (or bearded tits).

There is an area, called Rietputten, where at least 20 couples of bearded tits are usually reported. Information at the natuurmonumenten site: Rietputten

I was there before, in a dark windy day in December, with no much luck, but this last day it was sunny and with almost no wind. So I started to walk in the mud to explore the area, hopeful to see some birds in a nice light.

The minutes and hours passed, without seeing any, the best light was turning into a mid-morning winter light (not that bad either) and no encounters. A little bit depressed I started looking for static subjects, at least to activate the shutter few times.

This morning made me think about nature photography, how it is similar to gambling. After hours of waiting, or even days, one good sharp photo must generate the same mental processes than a good hand during a poker game does, or a win at the roulette table. I guess, I'm not a gambler.

So.. after three hours of playing this game of walking in the mud, listening for reedlings calls, and exchanging some discouraged comments with other photographers, I was almost calling it a day. And then I got the couple of kings: a family of 3-4 bearded tits flew exactly in front of me, and started feeding. This did not last more than 1 minute and a half, but was enough to take tens of photos.

After it all ended, checking the camera for sharp photos and finding them, well.. I felt like I won some big money at the roulette.

I think that there are two components in wildilfe photography. One is the artistic one - the most important - that is showing interesting subject in good photos that represent the environment in an original and visually appealing way. The second is the gambling, the pleasure of being able to take nice pictures of difficult subjects. While the first is important for the consumers of the photos (readers of the blog, for example) the second is only for the photographer, but still...

One note about the Rietputten, in the winter, when it usually rains several times during a week, it can be very muddy: rubber boots highly recommended.

Thanks for reading. As usual comments and questions are welcome.

Texel May 2015

Hi,

 still too long between posts, and I am afraid this blog will never take off.

Anyway, I have been in Texel at the end of May, three days hoping for the same good weather I got in April, and more birds. Neither of the two, unfortunately. Weather was not bad, but I did not get the super light I was lucky enough to get in April. Three days: half sunrise and zero sunsets.

Texel is still the place to go for bird photography in the Netherlands, but the dynamics of the island changed in the past two years.

The wagejot is not the incredible photography site that it was, since avocets and terns do not nest anymore in the small shells-island few meters off the banks where it is possible to stay for photos. Avocets will still pass pretty close but not as frequently. Terns are nesting far away so basically there are none at photo-distance.

Nearby Wagejot there's another location which is interesting: Ottersaat. It's a nesting site for terns, mostly and avocets, the nests are not very close (interesting photos can be taken with a 700-900mm equivalent lens) but it's very nice to take in fly photos of terns, and also avocets. I spent few hours both mornings trying to do my best with flying birds.

Waalenburg is as always good locations for godwits.

In the south, this year a couple of bluethroats, male and female, nested very close to the road (Molkweg) so I spent half of my time in Texel, sitting in the area taking picture of them going back and forth to feed their offspring.

The south of the island is interesting also for flying spoonbills, who in the evening can be spot as they go back to their nests. Mind you, it's not like there are flocks of spoonbills flying back and forth over you :) But if you want to see and phograph them I would suggest to go there around 4pm and stay at least for a couple of hours, probably you will see two or three groups of spoonbills flying to their nests. There are two observation points, a little bit above-ground where it may be easier to see the birds. I personally took some photos while waiting for the bluethroat.

End of May is also a very good moment for the wild orchids, I have seen *a lot* of them while driving around De Staart for the godwits, unfortunately in protected areas. I found some nearby the road just south of the Airport, on the left side (going south). If you find them, please be very careful not to damage neither them nor the area around them.

As always, I had a lot of fun in Texel but a little more luck with the weather and the birds would have made it even better. Two years ago the situation was better, more birds and closer. Nature changes continuously, therefore it is foolish to think that animal habits would stay the same between years. But I hoped it, I must admit :-)

For my future trips there, I really want to go for a boat-trip to visit the seals colonies, during a low tide, again this year I was not lucky, the only trip feasible for me was sold out :(

As always, comments and questions are welcome.

Regards
 Peter