Time for a move

I've finally moved this blog over to a new home,  under my main web hosting.  The new address is:

http://blog.heron-photography.co.uk

VNF West - Foto van de maand

I was back at the fotoclub today for the first time since February, taking with me a selection of photos from India (that I'd intended to show last month) and a selection from Texel.  Most of the meeting was dedicated to the selection of photos for an exhibition which will be held at De Papaver (the nature centre in Delft) next month, but there was just enough time left at the end for a couple of us to show some photos unrelated to the exhibition.  In the end, one of my Texel photos, of fighting black headed gulls, was chosen as the club's photo of the month.

Ackerdijkse Plassen

Back to the Ackerdijkse Plassen this morning with Arie, this time for a guided walk, inside the part of the reserve which is not normally open to the public.  The guide was very informative, and it was interesting to see and hear about the different types of habitat within such a small area.  Given the heat, it was particularly nice walking through the woods.

We didn't see so many birds to photograph - some cormorants, at a distance, and a buzzard flying by were the main highlights.

We stopped a couple times at bird hides, which at least gave us a few insect shots, and we also were inspected by the herd of cows who are allowed to graze the land, and were very curious about us.

Delft - Maassluis - Delft

Today's walk was the longest yet until the Vierdaagse itself - 39.1km.  The route took me through the Vlietlanden to Schipluiden, Vlaardingen and Maassluis, mostly walking along the waterside.  A good route, and the early part to Vlaardingen and back would make a nice Sunday walk, with a bit of bird spotting thrown in.

I ended up taking an unexpected break about 20km into the walk, when I came across a man collapsed on the side of the path.  He was being assisted by another woman, who had called an ambulance, so I stayed to keep an eye on him whilst she tried to bring in the paramedics, who were stuck on the wrong side of a hump backed bridge.  In the meantime, a police man arrived on a motor cycle.  After some questioning, and the aid of the Breathalyzer, it appeared that the man was not seriously ill, but seriously drunk. 

Ackerdijkse Plassen (2)

Something a little more ethereal.

Ackerdijkse Plassen

I went for a bike ride this evening around the Ackerdijkse Plassen in the hoping of finding some birds to photograph.  Unfortunately, two of the three bird hides were closed, and the remaining observation post didn't have anything much to offer.  I did however have some fun trying to photograph a  distant bird of prey (buzzard?), some swifts/swallows (about as successful as you'd expect, given how small, and well, swift, they are), and a couple snoozing grebes.  In the end, though, the best photo was of a frog, when I was on my way back.

The ride wasn't quite as tranquil as I'd hoped, as there was an almost constant stream of (racing) bikes zooming by.  My grebe photographing experience was a little ruined by the backdrop of a couple arguing, and bizarrely one cyclist swore at me for 'not leaving the birds alone'.  Given that the bird in question was a passing cormorant, I didn't really see his point.

Texel - Avocets