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korbosch.bsky.social
Wildlife & history
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This family of mallards (wilde eend) were posing in a very photogenic spot along a fen. This is actually one of my favourite places to photograph waterfowl - you can get stunning reflections along the overgrown bank. #birds

submitted 17 hours ago • 0 comments

A middle spotted woodpecker (middelste bonte specht, or mibo) on a tree. Not uncommon here but not nearly as omnipresent as its big brother. This one showed up at a great spot where I was watching flycatchers catch flies. Much harder to find in summer than in winter! #birds

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

After years of white-tailed eagles (zeearend) frequenting the area, in 2023 two immature birds first built a nest here, for practice, Last year they returned, but it wasn't until this year they finally started a family. Two young eagles now sit on the nest as their parents keep watch nearby. #birds

submitted 2 days ago • 2 comments

When photographing a group of birds in action, it can be difficult to get across what you saw: you easily end up with a confusing image lacking focus. So I was pleased with this shot of house martins (huiszwaluw) gathering mud from a small puddle at an Extremadura roadside parking spot. #birds

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

A sand martin (oeverzwaluw) on a rope fence used to protect nest sites of various birds in the dunes of Texel. Sand martins build their nests in holes they dig out in dunes, as here, or along riverbanks. #birds

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

Pied avocets (kluut, on the left) can be very territorial. This one was constantly bullying a shelduck (bergeend) because it got too close. The much bigger but harmless shelduck, looking for food in the water and mud, eventually had enough of being harassed during breakfast and chased it off. #birds

submitted 16 days ago • 2 comments

A red-necked phalarope (grauwe franjepoot) was my rarest sighting on Texel. It was in its more colourful summer plumage - which I had not seen before - and foraging below the cycle path along the sea together in a group of sanderlings. It occasionally attacked them if they came too close. #birds

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

Some songbirds only sing for a brief while: when they attract a mate, they abandon their former musical hobby and dedicate all their time to raising a family. Not the common redstart (gekraagde roodstaart): two months on they're still singing! I heard their song all over the fens. #birds

submitted 20 days ago • 2 comments

I am used to seeing the sanderling (drieteenstrandloper) in winter, when it is black, grey and mostly white (and very cute). They don't nest here so I didn't get to see its far more colourful summer plumage until this year, and it looks like a different bird! #birds

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

Probably my favourite corvid, as seen in Spain last month: the red-billed chough (alpenkraai). I already knew this bird from the Welsh coast, but it was great to see them fly around the castle ruins of Castillo de Cabañas. I always see these social, often chatty birds in pairs. #birds

submitted 22 days ago • 1 comment

The Dutch name for the red knot is very similar - the kanoet - and must have the same etymological origin, but changed over time into the (Dutch) name for the Norse king of England, Canute. Like other shorebirds this reddish bird forages along the shore, challenging the tide like Canute. #birds

submitted 25 days ago • 0 comments

An eider mother on a day out with the kids. Those are not all hers, eiders raise their ducklings in groups together with other female birds. #birds

submitted 25 days ago • 0 comments

A wood warbler (fluiter) seen through the foliage in the woods of Texel. I usually skip the wood as I can find the birds that dwell there closer to home, and instead focus on the shorebirds, but it turns out it's a really lovely woodland with some excellent animals. Well worth a visit! #birds

submitted 28 days ago • 1 comment

A still very young eider duckling, separated from its parents and siblings during low tide. Hopefully it found them again when the water rose and the rest of the family returned. It seemed to be feeding successfully. #birds

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

My first day on Texel started in a surprising way when an encounter with a bird ringer led to me getting a full demonstration of northern wheatear babies being ringed, weighed and measured. Extremely cute and calm birds, who didn't even protest when dropped upside down into a tube to be weighed!

submitted 37 days ago • 1 comment

You can often see great crested grebes (fuut) with their young on their back, but these parents don't always like it. This grebe started shaking its wings and swimming in ever faster circles with quick turns to get them to fall off, then stopped them from climbing back on. #birds

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

A very cool surprise during our trip to Extremadura: a wryneck (draaihals) was calling out from a bush next to us along the path. This perfectly camouflaged woodpacker was surprisingly easy to spot as it sat on a bare branch. #birds

submitted 42 days ago • 0 comments

A male bluethroat (blauwborst) climbing up to find the perfect singing spot, last month. #birds

submitted 44 days ago • 0 comments

Paapje (whinchat) #birds

submitted 45 days ago • 0 comments

A little bittern (woudaap) on the hunt at Arrocampo reservoir in Extremadura. These small herons wait patiently for a fish to approach and then strike rapidly. We could watch this individual for quite a long time while its successive attempts were sometimes successful and sometimes not. #birds

submitted 47 days ago • 0 comments