A Friday morning, a familiar place, and the promise of sunrise.

At Huys ter Heide, just as the sun began to rise, I found myself standing by a small lake. The water was perfectly still—no wind, no ripples—turning it into a natural mirror. The sun, still low on the horizon and partially hidden, painted the scene in deep yellows, oranges, and blacks. A quiet moment where light and reflection became one.

Scenes like this are a reminder of how much timing matters. A single breath of wind would have broken the illusion.

Not long after, two cranes rested near the water’s edge during their journey north. A rare and beautiful sight… but sometimes nature gives, and sometimes it takes away. A passerby startled them before I could capture the moment.

And that’s okay. The memory remains.

Captured with my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and Sigma 100–400mm, 250mm, 1/500 sec, ISO 100.

#HuysTerHeide #DutchNature #Sunrise #Reflection #MirrorWater #GoldenLight #MorningLight #NaturePhotography #LandscapePhotography #NatureMoments #CalmWaters #Stillness #LightAndReflection #OutdoorPhotography #NatureWalk #WildlifeMoments #Cranes #BirdMigration #NatureObservation #CanonPhotography #Canon5DMarkIV #Sigma100400 #250mm #PhotographyTechnique #NaturalLight #ExploringNature #QuietMoments #MoodyNature #NatureLovers #DutchLandscape #EarlyMorning #NatureStories #SimpleBeauty #WonderingLens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #PixelfedPhotography #LightAndLife #MomentsInNature #reflections

A little flash of yellow in the backyard

Pine warbler 📸🐦

#PineWarbler
#SetophagaPinus
#Warbler
#Warblers
#WarblerWednesday
#BackyardBirding
#BackyardBirds
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#EarthCapture

Lessor Black-backed Gull ‘RHRF’, Havergate Island, Suffolk. Ringed there as a chick in 2016. Next sighting was El Jadifa, Morocco in March 2020, then seen back annually on Havergate since 2021. #nature #birds #gulls #birdmigration

Herring gull ‘VNF’. Ringed as a chick on Havergate Island, Suffolk, on 27.6.14. Recorded on Guernsey, Channel Islands, in Aug 2014 then the French Atlantic coast in Feb 2015 and the following two winters. Recorded back at Havergate in April 2017, were all subsequent sightings have been recorded except for a record from Dungeness, Kent on 03.03.18. #birds #gulls #birdmigration

Nine cranes, one imposter

Red kite and Common Cranes / Rotmilan und Kraniche (Worms, Germany)

#cranes #kites #birds #vögel #milan #kranich #birdmigration

This goose has been migrating from its breeding ground in Sweden (~1100 km away) to spend the winter in my local area for 8 years in a row.

Greylag Goose / Graugans (Biblis, Germany)

#geese #birds #birding #vögel #gänse #birdmigration