Notes from nature

Op 19 februari 1937 tekende koningin Wilhelmina op haar vakantieverblijf in Zell am See het kortste Koninklijk Besluit ooit, luidend: "De kleuren van de vlag van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden ...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2017/09/rood-wit-en-blauw.html

Er zijn nogal wat dieren met een vlekje. Bij insecten worden ze vaak vernoemd naar het aantal vlekken, dat ze hebben. Maar bij zoogdieren of vogels zijn het er meer en dienen ze als camouflage....

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2017/08/vlekjes.html

Ik moest ineens aan het rijmpje van de reclame denken: koning, keizer, admiraal...p*** kennen ze allemaal. Een beetje flauw weliswaar, maar ik besefte dat er in de natuur vele dieren zijn die kon...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2017/08/koning-keizer-admiraal.html

Vandaag een blog over beekjuffers. Echte modepopjes onder de libellen. Je hebt werkpaarden en sierpaarden. Deze "tutte(li)bellen" vallen onvoorwaardelijk onder de tweede categorie. Maar mooi zijn...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2017/08/beekjuffers.html

Na bijna twee jaar begin ik weer eens aan deze blog. Het grote verschil is, dat ik vanaf nu Nederlands schrijf. Want in Nederland zullen de meeste van mijn foto's worden geschoten. Maar een ter...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2017/08/de-draad-oppakken.html

This year has been an interesting butterfly year so far. I have seen three new species, of which one was more of a re-discovery…that I didn’t know I had seen before. You are never to old ...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2015/08/my-year-in-butterflies.html

Unfortunately, my Summer Holiday is over. But I had set a target to see as many birds, butterflies or dragonflies (damselflies included) as possible…through my camera. I did help that I fou...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/08/dragonflies-birds-and-butterflies.html

Just recently I learnt the differences between the Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) and the Ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguinemum). From a distance (and before you study the picture at home...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/08/lookalikes.html

This afternoon I saw a juvenile Blackbird (Turdus merula) on the garden fence. It was the last of a series of pictures I took last week of all kinds of phases leading towards new life in natu...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/07/new-life-and-new-venues.html

This morning I went out on a walk to find some butterflies and other insects. But I wondered why I hadn’t seen any Gatekeepers (Pyronia Tithonus) so far. because in my memory those were the...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/06/where-is-gatekeeper.html

It was just one of those Saturday afternoons; sunny after some heavy rainfall and nothing else to do than to walk in the woods. And so I did, following my standard route to Ruislip Lido and ...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/06/on-sunny-afternoon.html

This weekend seemed to be perfect for insect chasing. It was sunny and dry and there was not too much wind; I was not disappointed at all! But I did not expect to see the ones I am about to ...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-weekend-of-insects.html

Although the White Rhinoceros’s (Ceratotherium Simum) did no seem to be up for any exercise, yesterday at Whipsnade Zoo there was quite some of it going on. Whipsnade Zoo is part of the Zo...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/05/exercise-and-babies-at-whipsnade-zoo.html

They say that Spring has truly sprung when you see the Brimstone (Gonepteryx Rhamni) fly in the woods. So Sunday two weeks ago and Yesterday I went out on a mission to take a picture of this...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/03/spring-has-sprung.html

It is always exciting to visit a new sight for nature watching. Today I visited Rainham Marshes , an RSPB sight that was constructed on an old military firing range. The area was closed for t...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/03/rainham-marshes.html

After a long and wet period of absence I have decided to give a little update on the nature in my neighbourhood. Because there were no outings further afield, and even my own garden has been...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/02/local-nature.html

Now that 2013 is truly over, I want to start with a Happy New Year. This in my last blog on pictures I took in the second half of last year. And there will be less words to read, since a pict...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2014/01/2013-year-in-pictures-july-december.html

It must have been the very sunny weather, between the end-of-this-December low pressure systems that have tortured western Europe lately. But with the clear blue sky and almost no wind, it w...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-remarkable-weekend.html

It is only fair to start this blog with new life in the world of the Canada Geese (Branta Canadensis), since my last blog showed a dead one. The circle of life is best shown in these three m...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-year-in-pictures-april-june.html

It is only a week until the year 2013 ends and I see all kind od lists an overviews being published to reflect on the past 12 months. So I have looked in my photo archive and tried to find th...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-year-in-pictures-january-march.html

This weekend was full of surprise encounters. First a little story. In 1951 the Hollywood movie “African Queen”, with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn, was partly shot at Isleworth ...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2013/11/weekend-surprises.html

Today I saw quite some Northern Shovelers (Anas Clypeata) in London Wetland Centre. And I realised that I never wrote a blog about this typical duck. It’s name is obviously derived from th...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2013/11/shovelling-along.html

With the autumn definitely started, there will be thousands and thousands of geese coming to this side of Europe. But there are also geese who are permanent residents of the UK, such as the ...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2013/11/goose-bumps.html

Everybody knows the simple House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus). It is (or should I say: was) the first bird you learn to recognize and every garden in the country has them as a visitor…or no...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-rare-house-sparrow.html

I had one of my many walks around Ruislip Lido today. When I returned home I realised I never wrote about it in my blog. And that is not fair, since it is a very pretty little pond with a cu...

http://gloomy-moose.blogspot.com/2013/10/ruislip-lido.html