End of 2023

Like last year, I figured I'd round of the year by writing a quick blog to showcase some images that didn't get a spot in a blog this year, but are worth sharing. Considering my broken leg (see: Italy 2023) there isn't a lot to show here, especially since most of the invested photography time before I broke my leg was in some cool herps, which already got their own blog post. I spent this year counting every bird species I saw in the Netherlands, ending up at 180 species, a decent number considering a lack of worthwhile outings for 4 months. Despite seeing this many species, I only got a few noteworthy images, showcased below. I took more images with of empty space this year, either my taste is changing or my skills in approaching birds are going to ruin.

Besides birds I got a surprising amount of mammal shots, although nothing comes close to beating last years beaver shots. Still a couple nice pics.

Invertebrates were represented as well, in various groups. I also spent some time getting more pics of natterjack toads (Epidalea calamita), these pretty toads truly never bore. Decent numbers allowed me to get a pretty diverse series of pics.

A very wet autumn brought out lots of mushrooms and coinciding with this I was actually able to go outside again and transport myself, these mushrooms providing a lovely subject that didn't require much mobility from me.

Closing of the year I spent some time in a commercial photography hide with a friend. We got very lucky when an adult male Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipter nisus) took a bath in the pond in front of the hide. Besides that various small songbirds were around the hide the whole day. A great experience to view these species up close, although taking nice images isn't challenging, unique images usually won't be produced on a day in one of these hides. That didn't spoil my fun though and it was a lovely way to close of the year. Hoping to get out a lot more again next year, without any broken bones to pay for it this time ;)