Who's the boss ?

Finally the roadkill is attracting some birds of prey. Both Northern Goshawk (Havik) and Common Buzzard (Buizerd) are coming over to eat. But who's the boss ? On the trailcam I could see the Goshawk arriving and starting to eat. After 1 or 2 minutes the Goshawk flew up, immediately followed by the Buzzard arriving. The Buzzard took it's time eating from the pigeon. When the Buzzard left a few minutes later the Goshawk arrived again. He was obviously making place for the Buzzard and waiting in the neighbourhood for the Buzzard to leave. It's clear the Buzzard is the boss ! You can 'see' the story on the trailcam photos.

Best wishes to you all for 2015 !! 
See you next year !

Goshawk arriving

Goshawk chased away by Buzzard

Buzzard arriving

Buzzard 'claiming' the prey

Eating Buzzard

Goshawk returning after Buzzard left

Finally winter !

Last weekend temperature dropped and we had some snow. Now weather is already changing with temperature above freezing point. Snow is already melting and with more positive daytime temperatures expected snow will be gone soon. Today I spend a short time in the hide. Outside it was 1°Celsius, inside 6°Celsius. The pool was frozen. It was very busy at the hide but no special or new visitors: 8 Great tit (Koolmees), 4 Blue tit (Pimpelmees), 7 Chaffinch (Vink), 2 Great spotted woodpecker (GB specht), 1 Blackbird (Merel), 4 Eurasian Jay (Gaai), 1 Robin (Roodborst) and 1 Wood pigeon (Houtduif). No 'great' species but nice to make some photos in the snow.
Earlier this month Redwing (Koperwiek) and 1 juvenile and 1 adult Goshawk (Havik) were also visiting. Goshawk first at the pool and lately eating roadkill prey. Hopefully the Red fox won't keep taking all my roadkill ... .

 Eurasian jay

 Chaffinch on the frozen pool

 Wood pigeon

 Great spotted woodpecker

 Blackbird

Blue tit

 adult Goshawk

juvenile Goshawk

Waiting for winter

I'm waiting for winter to come, hoping for real cold weather and snow. Last year we didn't have a winter at all. Hopefully this year it will be different.
It's still rather quiet at the hide. Nothing special visiting. I noticed only normal species when I spend 1 hour in the hide a week ago: Blackbird (Merel), Robin (Roodborst), 6 x Great tit (Koolmees), 2 x Blue tit (Pimpelmees), 2 x male Chaffinch (Vink) and a female + male Great spotted woodpecker (GB specht).
At the moment the roadkill, to attract birds of prey, is being taken by a Red fox (Vos).

 Great tit

male Chaffinch

Nature never ceases to amaze me

A few days I go I was walking to the hide to check the trailcam and to refill the feeders. I was in a hurry and not really paying attention. When I approached a kind of small dry canal I had to cross I suddenly noticed a Roe deer (Ree) lying on the ground, only 3 meters away. The deer was very calm and chewing it's food. I was very surprised the deer didn't run away since I was standing in the open. Mayby it was sick or hurt ? I took an old small camera out of the inner pocket of my jacket (I use this camera to see the results of the trailcam) and took a photo. Then, suddenly, a few seconds later the deer jumped up and ran off. It was obvious that the deer was not sick or injured but only thinking it was 'camouflaged' and that I couldn't see him. All together it took only 20 or 30 seconds but seeing the deer so close was really a beautiful experience.

 Roe deer

Autumn visitors

I didn't spend time in the hide so the only known visitors are those recorded by the trailcam.
A few days ago for the first time at least 3 Redwings (Koperwiek) were drinking at the hide. Two different Goshawks (Havik) are still visiting: one juvenile and one adult. Every now and then Sparrowhawk (Sperwer) and Tawny Owl (Bosuil) at night are also coming over. Other 'normal' species registered are Blackbird (Merel), Great Tit (Koolmees), Blue Tit (Pimpelmees), Chaffinch (Vink), European Robin (Roodborstje) and Eurasian Jay (Gaai).

 Redwings

juvenile Goshawk

adult Goshawk

Kingfisher

A little while ago I decided to visit another hide, not that far from home, in order to make new photos of the Common Kingfisher (IJsvogel). It's a public hide, free to come and go whenever you want, known for the visiting Kingfishers. The weather was cloudy and I was hoping for the sun breaking through the clouds. There were already  2 other photographers present, waiting for the Kingfishers. The few hours I spend at the hide a Kingfisher was visiting every 25 to 30 minutes on average. Twice the bird caught a fish in front of the hide. Due to the cloudy weather the background and coulours weren't what I expected. Nevertheless it was a nice experience.

 

Woodpecker-time

Summer is gone now... but last week we still had a few dry and sunny days.
While in the hide I noticed there was more activity, more birds drinking and bathing. After spending a few hours in the hide I was happy with the result. Finally I had a Green woodpecker (Groene specht) visiting. As long as I know it was only the second time it came to the hide (first time on trailcam). Also Great spotted woodpecker (Grote bonte specht) came over a few times.
Other visitors that day: Great tit (Koolmees), Blue tit (Pimpelmees), Chaffinch (Vink), Blackbird (Merel), Song thrush (Zanglijster), Robin (Roodborst), Short-toed treecreeper (Boomkruiper) and Eurasian Jay (Gaai). Northern goshawk (Havik) and Sparrowhawk (Sperwer) are also still visiting every few days.
More new photos here on my website.

Green woodpecker

Green woodpecker

Green woodpecker

female Great spotted woodpecker

Blue tit

Short but nice visit

The last couple of days it was really quiet at the hide but I still had the feeling that I had to go there and be patient. Goshawk keeps visiting every few days so I had to be very lucky. I got rewarded, not with a Goshawk but with a short visit of a female Sparrowhawk (Sperwer). The visit was short, the bird was shy. I could only make 3 photos before she flew off, scared by the noise of the camera-clicks. Nevertheless I was happy with the first Sparrowhawk visit while in the hide. Also had a Roe deer (Ree) drinking at night.
The visiting Goshawk (Havik) is the one who was in juvenile plumage last winter and spring, the one with the ring on the right leg. He now is changing to adult plumage and keeps on visiting.
A few more photos of the Sparrowhawk you can see here.

 Sparrowhawk

 ringed Goshawk

 Roe deer

Great end of the summer !

New species are still appearing at the hide. Last time I was there after 15 minutes a  Eurasian nuthatch (Boomklever) made a quick visit to drink at the pool. Other visitors were Great Tit (Koolmees), Blue Tit (Pimpelmees) and Eurasian Jay (Gaai). Not a busy afternoon but I was hoping for the Goshawk since it was already 8 days since the last visit of one of the  2 Goshawks. Both the adult and the 2nd summer juvenile were regular visitors lately. My patience paid off ! Suddenly a juvenile Goshawk (Havik) landed in front of the hide, only 1 meter away, sitting at the edge of the pool. Then he jumped in the pool to drink at only 1,5 to 2 meters from the hide. What an experience, so close ! After a few minutes he flew up to sit on a branch in a tree for a few moments before taking off. Nice to know: this was another Goshawk than the 2 visiting before. I left the hide in a happy mood. Afterwards I was a little dissapointed when I saw on the trailcam a Sparrowhawk (Sperwer) visited the hide only 20 minutes after I left.
More photos of the Goshawk by clicking here !

juvenile Goshawk

juvenile Goshawk

Eurasian nuthatch

Eurasian jay

New visitors...

The last 2 weeks some new species were spotted at the hide by myself or the trailcam.
For the first time I had Willow warbler (Fitis) and Pied flycatcher (Bonte vliegenvanger) while sitting in the hide. On trailcam I had a female Sparrowhawk (Sperwer) and Green woodpecker (Groene specht). Besides the common species 2 different Goshawks (Havik), Short-toed treecreeper (Boomkruiper) and Tawny owls (Bosuil) are still coming over to visit.

 Willow warbler (Fitis)

Short-toed treecreeper (Boomkruiper)

 

juvenile Great spotted woodpecker (Grote bonte specht)

Blue tit (Pimpelmees)

 

female Sparrowhawk (Sperwer) on trailcam

Green woodpecker (Groene specht) on trailcam

 

Rainy summer

This summer hasn't been a real summer, meaning a lot of rainy and colder days. Mayby this is one of the reasons the hide doesn't give in the summer what I expected. Being busy with work and family holidays, together with the weather, made that I didn't spend a lot of time in the hide. The visitors that came over were nice, but they didn't visit frequently enough to spend time in the hide. Visitors lately spotted by the trailcam were adult Goshawk (Havik), 2 Tawny owls (Bosuil), Red squirrel (Eekhoorn), Red fox (Vos), Hedgehog (Egel), Great spotted woodpecker (GB Specht) and Blackbird (Merel). The Red fox is another one then the one visiting before. To me it's looks like a juvenile.
In the near future I might have to leave the forest where my hide is situated because it probably will be used fot other things. I'm looking for a new location... !
Some photos of the last few weeks:

 2 Tawny owls

drinking juvenile Red fox

adult Goshawk

adult Goshawk

adult Goshawk

adult Goshawk

The trailcam did it !

Lately I didn't have the opportunity to spend time in the hide. The only observations I have are these from the trailcam. After seeing the results of the last few weeks I surely have to make some time to sit in the hide. Goshawk (Havik) is becoming a regular visitor at the pool the last 1 to 2 weeks. Mainly the same juvenile bird that was also visiting in the winter but also once an adult one. Other interesting visitors were Common Buzzard (Buizerd), first time in summer, and still regular the Tawny Owl (Bosuil) during the night.
Regarding the smaller there are no new species. Numbers are rather low, mayby because of the cat that is hanging around the hide lately.

juvenile Goshawk

adult Goshawk

adult Goshawk

juvenile Goshawk 

 Common Buzzard