Kwadehoek exploring a new area for me with the Sony A1 and the 200-600mm
Full screen gallery below
Due to a podcast about birding I was pointed to this specific location and others as well. I have not yet been here or photographed at this location. It’s situated below Rotterdam. It’s a dune area with where fresh water meets the sea. Especially in winter, the salt water flows through channels and creeks far into the area. The low parts of Kwade Hoek are always damp. Sea buckthorns are found in the drier areas. In short a very interesting area for birds. Take a look here, kwadehoek.
It was a very cold night and morning when arriving at this location. This was both a positive thing and negative, as it made for very cool shots with the low sun, but so cold that holding a camera was almost impossible. However when the sun made it somewhat bearable. The other advantage was that the sand and dunes where all frozen solid, so the hike was way more easy than normal.
The first hour or so the sun was not yet really poking through, so still flat light, but after an hour or two the sun really hit. At that time I was also arriving at the beach part of the hike, where I saw my first bird. A Marsh Hawk (Blauwe kiekendief) was hunting in the surrounding dunes. Which made him an easy target to photograph. Man I love birds of prey.
Hiking along the shoreline I was expecting some shore birds but did not really see anything interesting. However when I hiked into the close by dunes I saw a flock of small birds. A common reed bunting (Rietgors) together with a whole flock of greenfinch (Groenling) at least 20 going back and forth bush to grass and back again. It was wonderful just to observe this behaviour and trying to anticipate what the flock would do next. Good learning experience as well.
I was maybe observing and walking around this area for one to two hours, just enjoying the experience. Afterwards I was keen on getting some shore birds still as I did not really see any in the morning. The bonus was that the sun was now really giving a nice glow to the beach and the dunes.
It did not take long to see a flock of Sandpiper (Drieteenstrandloper) birds. Normally I would take a photo and figure out how to get the best composition by trying to walk and position myself better. This time though I just sat or lay flat on the beach (still cold) and waited for the birds to come to me. This was the better choice as a few were not really bothered with my presence and I could be relatively close to the birds. Which made for some nice photos, my first of Sandpiper birds. Next blog I got even better ones at also a new location to me.
The last part of my day and hike was to go around the long way across the dunes and get back to the car. It was here I got the last cool photos of the day. With a nice Wren (Winterkoning) that was posing for me quite nice. Even saw a buzzard (Buizerd) hunting and again a nice common reed bunting sitting in the sun.
All in all a really good day at a beautiful new location. All shot with the Sony combo! And don’t hesitate to leave a comment or an e-mail. Click to view larger in a light box and navigate with mouse or arrow keys. Enjoy!
