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Happy belated vernal equinox. I read that it occurred sometime last evening, depending on your time zone. Anyway, I’ve got some pictures left over from the weekend that “didn’t fit the narrative,” so I thought I’d use them to help celebrate this special occasion. First up, here’s a handsome tufted duck drake from Saturday, whenContinue reading “Happy Spring!”

I spoke too soon about the spring weather, I guess, because the cool breeze this morning cut right to my bones even with another layer on, but I should thank my lucky stars that at least it wasn’t also raining. The chill was worth it, however, to catch a glimpse finally of the aptly-named bluethroatContinue reading “‘Tis the season…”

With any luck, we are finally done with snow and heavy overnight frost. Today I got away without wearing my poofy coat for the first time this season, and I mostly left my gloves in my pocket. Another noticeable change is that the chiffchaff are back and singing up a storm. This morning it wasContinue reading “Starting to get on Spring’s good side…”

Oof, what a morning! At first, I was all excited because the rain did quit early, as I am sure you all hoped, and the radar looked nice and clear. Then, when I got out to the Ackerdijkse Plassen, I was reminded that soaking drizzle does not appear on radar, and I only dared take outContinue reading “Almost drizzled out.”

The trip to Bavaria I mentioned last weekend didn’t pan out, so I’m still here in South Holland, and what a beautiful day it was, especially after the rain and snow we had for most of the week. It was cold, and most open water had a skin of ice, but the sun was out,Continue reading “A brand-new bird, some returnees, and a vagrant, oh my!”

Besides all the new birds I saw yesterday or was finally able to photograph for the first time, there were plenty of old favorites around, too. While I was checking out the falcons up on the School of Architecture tower, I noticed a pair of European jays in the tree right over my head. TheyContinue reading “Weekend Wrapup”

Wow! What a “morning”, and I’m using scare quotes because I didn’t get home till 1pm, even though I headed out right after sunrise, at around 7:30. I must admit that some of that time was spent waiting out rain showers, under a roof if I could find one, or just under my umbrella ifContinue reading “A morning of many firsts…”

I haven’t been able to take pictures for a couple of weeks, sorry, but I have been able to pay attention to the birds around on my walk to and from work, and I’ve been hearing this guy, a European green woodpecker like the one we saw in Ljubljana, in nearly the same tree forContinue reading “A couple of surprises on a soggy Saturday”

Here are a few pictures from the last three days that haven’t yet “fit the story”, for “reasons”. First up is an ever-adorable European robin at the edge of the playing fields at the south end of campus Saturday morning. I rarely catch them on the ground like this. Next is a shot of theContinue reading “Midweek Dutch Grab Bag”

Besides all the newly-arrived migrating birds, freshly-hatched goslings, and nesting grebes, here are some additional signs that spring is on its way in South Holland. There was at least a half dozen jackdaws on this gnarled tree trunk Saturday morning noisily trying to stake out one of a few cavities that might be suitable forContinue reading “More Signs of Dutch Spring…”