PeterHG's Big Year-4th time

[PeterHG]

15 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

Classy shots as usual Peter, and I have caught up with your posts at last. Been ever so busy recently so going back , the Willow Warbler is superb, the Tern and Windmill is very, well very Dutch...love it, and the Marsh Warbler is one I haven't seen. Great shots of nearly everything! Great score too for the half year, how many in Holland?

Thanks Dave, about 100 of the total were taken in Holland. I still have a little catching up to do and migration will bring a few more, I hope, but not too many. However, we've suddenly taken the plunge and taken out an option on a group birding tour to Colombia in November, so this may yet turn out to be a bigger year than expected. We've never done group tour before, so I don't know how we'll like that aspect, but Colombia is a top destination, of course. Having said that, it's by no means certain that we'll go, as there are only 3 options so far ( a friend of ours is interested, too) and they need a minimum of 6. Still, we've got some months left.

[Dave Williams]

Colombia! Nice one. Hope it goes ahead.

[xelas]

6 hours ago, PeterHG said:

( a friend of ours is interested, too) and they need a minimum of 6

 What are the dates, Peter?

[PeterHG]

34 minutes ago, xelas said:

What are the dates, Peter?

A 19-day trip starting 24th November, so return probably 12th December. 

[PeterHG]

332. White Stork. Ameide, June

 

[PeterHG]

333. Ruddy Shelduck. Lauwersmeer, June. Always a good place to see them, though mostly distant.

 

[Galana]

12 hours ago, PeterHG said:

We've never done group tour before, so I don't know how we'll like that aspect,

They are an acquired taste. No doubt they deliver the goods but some folks love them and others can't abide them. It is a very personal thing.

[Kitsafari]

your photos are just awesome @PeterHG . I finally saw a shelduck last month in Australia (never seen one before) so now I know how big these guys are!

[PeterHG]

9 hours ago, Galana said:

They are an acquired taste. No doubt they deliver the goods but some folks love them and others can't abide them. It is a very personal thing.

I always counted myself in the second category, but we'll take a chance

 

[PeterHG]

334. Hawfinch. Leusden, July. I rarely ever see them, but a friend of mine has a garden, overlooking a stand of big trees and at this time of the year they regularly visit them Distant, but happy with the sighting.

 

[PeterHG]

335. European Goldfinch. Arkemheen, July. On several occasions I have tried to grab a flight shot of this handsome finch, but without much luck, so far. This time, however, a little group of them were flying about and I noticed they would eventually always come back to the same tree. A little patience and lot of luck did the rest.

 

 

[pedro maia]

11 minutes ago, PeterHG said:

A little patience and lot of luck did the rest.

 

 

That´s all true but that´s not all you need to take those pictures, needless to say they are amazing.

[Zim Girl]

Gorgeous GIF pics.

[Peter Connan]

Magnificent!

[TonyQ]

superb pictures of the Goldfinch, really excellent

[PeterHG]

Thanks all for the kind words. As with quite a few fellow BY contributors birding and photography is very quiet at the moment. I used the break to put together a short video (15 minutes) of our trip to Costa Rica earlier this year. If anyone is interested: https://youtu.be/-TRkoLM4v3I

 

 

[Soukous]

Oh WOW! What a wonderful video @PeterHG, and what magnificent photographs, some truly exquisite, too many to mention. Suffice to say I now see Costa Rica in a completely different light.

 

I'm curious, did you use flash to photograph the red-eyed tree frog?

 

[PeterHG]

Thank you, @Soukous. For the frogs we borrowed a torch from a Canadian couple at the lodge. We only had a tiny one with us, but this one provided sufficient light to photograph the frogs

[Galana]

Great Video and commendable for two reasons.

First and more obvious is the superb presentation of the birds and beasties. Starting with that Basilisk Lizard.

Secondly. The choice of background music. Don't know what it was but it has to be some of the most suitable background I have heard on You Tube ever!

[Soukous]

8 hours ago, Galana said:

Great Video and commendable for two reasons.

First and more obvious is the superb presentation of the birds and beasties. Starting with that Basilisk Lizard.

Secondly. The choice of background music. Don't know what it was but it has to be some of the most suitable background I have heard on You Tube ever!

 

there's music???  I watched it in silence and assumed it was meant to be that way. Forgot to turn on the sound on my laptop. Duh!

It was still terrific.

and yes, the opening sequence with the Basilisk Lizard was mesmerising.

Edited July 26, 2019 by Soukous

[lmSA84]

Great video and really useful to try get more of a sense of the different locations 

[PeterHG]

Thanks @Galana and @lmSA84!

9 hours ago, Galana said:

The choice of background music. Don't know what it was but it has to be some of the most suitable background I have heard on You Tube ever!

I'm glad you appreciate it. Selecting the right sounds and music takes almost as much time as putting together the images....;)

 

 

[Soukous]

Peter, did you make all your arrangements through a local operator or contact the properties individually and build the itinerary yourself?

[PeterHG]

I did build the itinerary myself, Martin, but in the end we had a local (Dutch guy) book all the arrangements for us to avoid the hassle . Some of the accommodations  turned out to be fully booked already, so he found us  alternatives. I think I would perhaps just do the bookings myself next time through booking.com. It is probably not that much work and would also be a little cheaper, is my guess. He did arrange things perfectly, though, and we had a local phone number we could call (but never did) so no complaints there.

[Zim Girl]

Really well put together compilation Peter.  Loved it!