Slowly gowing up towards Homestead and Fort Lauderdale. Mangroves, mangrove cuckoo, pelican, lots of other animals like lizards and butterflies and at sunset beautiful skies filled with clouds
Florida – day 3
Florida – day 2
Next morning we were welcomed by this Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) walking through our garden. A miniature deer, but what beautiful eyes!
These colors of the mangroves!
Snorkling at the reef
Schematic display of a stay in the Keys, Florida USA
Portraits in the rain
“Shall we postpone?” she asked. “The weather forecast is bad. A lot of rain.”
“Let’s just try,” I replied. “It will be dry between showers. And actually I think portraits in the rain are quite special. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll decide on the spot to go again another day.”
We did take some great portrait photos in the sun and in the shade. Then the rain came. And yes, of all these pictures, the ones in the rain are definetely my favorites!
Ranomafana and on the road to tana
Portrait of Rita
FKE Exhibition
Really happy with the opening today of the exhibition in the St. Aegtenkapel in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, of our photoclub FKE. A bunch of great photographers with so much creativity! Former chairman Rob Renshoff has succeeded in realizing this exhibition – what a succes!
Fall
Ameria
Bye bye 2023!
Madagascar 5: Chameleons, geckos, snakes and frogs
Back to Madagascar. Lots and lots of chameleons, lizards, frogs and snakes. Too much, I’d say. So here’s a whole bunch of them. Pay attention to the perfect disguise of the different chameleons (the smallest less than 5 cm!), the mossy leaf-tailed gecko’s, the beautiful frogs…
And did you know they even have Nile crocodiles? It’s all too much!
And now: Birds
Yes, it was a birding trip to Madagascar. So it’s about time to show some of the beautiful birds that live there. Almost all of them endemic to the island as well, just as the lemurs. First the Madagascar Pygmy kingfisher Corythornis madagascariensis. An amazing success of our guide ‘Jacana’, who was able to spot this tiny bird in the trees of the rainforest
There is another kingfisher that looks a lot like our Eurasian kingfisher. At first glance they appear to be the same. But look closely: there is no blue cheek and less white on the chin. It’s a Madagascar malachite kingfisher Corythornis vintsioides
Incredibly graceful these Madagascar paradise flycatchers (Terpsiphone mutata mutata). Same species, white and brown morph
The Madagascar crested ibis Lophotibis cristata; quite shy and difficult to find. It took several days of searching before he showed up. “It has always been an endangered species,” the guide said, “but when the Covid pandemic broke out and tourists didn’t come anymore, lots of them were eaten…”
The hoopoe! And again an endemic: the Madagascar hoopoe Upupa marginata. I’m afraid I don’t see the difference with the Eurasian hoopoe
Souimanga sunbird – Cinnyris souimanga. That reflection of light on the feathers!
Another colourful bird: the Pitta-like ground-roller Atelornis pittiodes. Also very difficult to find, as he is walking in dense dark forests. So many colours: Green wings, ruby breast, blue spotted head… truly amazing
The family of rollers is one of my favourites. This is a Broad-billed roller Eurystomus glaucurus, mostly brown but it has beautiful blue feathers in the wings and tail
Last one for now: two Madagascar scops owls Otus rutilus happy together
De Portrettenmaker 