Lake frogs! You can listen to a crazy frog concert just behind the fire station in Hainhausen, provided you’re calm enough to linger on the bank for a moment. If you move, all you can hear is splashing. Sure, storks and herons are hunting. But if you survive those 15 minutes, the choir starts croaking again, and the frogs even hop towards you. Unfortunately, the sun was on the wrong side… this would be a photo spot for the morning, but then you have to drop the kids off and go to work. Quark! (Means Nonsense! In German)


Hainhausen again, and even the same day. There’s a lot going on here! Master Adeba, just like the herons, finds plenty to eat here, and there’s even a nest post just behind the fire station that’s occupied. Let’s see if I can get the chicks in my lens. It’s striking that this one is even marked.


The first time I was in Hainhausen, I immediately spotted the kingfisher. While I was waiting for it and sitting on the Rodau, a buzzard came along with prey in its claws. It was flying so low and the river was not visible at that point that we were both really frightened when it burst through the branches just a meter in front of me. Luckily it didn’t lose its prey.
Last weekend I was looking for the kingfisher again – as you can see in the previous post – and guess who was there too.

… which translates to “ice bird” in German — Kingfisher for your englisch natives!
Perfect weather – clear, cold and lots of sunlight and all appointments cancelled. I need more forest and more sun… as much as I can get. If it’s already cold but the lakes don’t have any ice yet, wouldn’t a visit to the kingfisher be a good idea? No sooner said than done!
I stood in the wet mud for the first hour and no kingfisher came – but the buzzard from last time, which I almost collided with, did. Does he hunt here too? Perfect squared^2. Just as I decided to move on, he appeared next to me. We played cat and mouse for a good hour and a half and I chased him around the little lakes. Thanks to my lame autofocus, which has been getting it wrong a lot lately, I missed two or three wonderful opportunities. More training, Falk… others can do it too!
A few good pictures were taken, even if they aren’t action shots. Let’s see if Santa Claus has a camouflage net for me.


