Langeoog – Birdphotography in winter

Langeoog is one of the larger islands in the Wadden Sea. The Wadden Sea is habitat to an incredible number of shorebirds, sea ducks and seagulls. Especially in winter and during migration. At low tide, the shorebirds look for food on the large sandbanks in the Wadden Sea, while at high tide many birds show up on the numerous islands. Some birds also stay near the islands at low tide and can be observed on the steeper northern beaches.

On Langeoog and the other islands of Friesland, shorebirds such as Oystercatcher, Curlew, Sanderling, Dunlin, Redshank, etc. spend their winter. On the beaches and in the sand dunes you can also observe snow buntings, shorelarks (also known as horned larks) and, rarely Lapland buntings. Various gulls are to be seen on and around the islands. Species of gulls include the herring gull, the smaller gulls like black-headed- and common gull and the more contrasting lesser- and greater black-backed gull. Various species of geese can be discovered in the fields. However, the diversity of geese is much smaller than on the mainland and is mainly limited to grey-, barnacle- and brent goose. On the website ornitho.de many people upload their observations of birds. There you can see, which species you might be able to see on your trip.

Out in the sea I could observe a few common scoters and eider ducks flying along the beach fighting against the strong wind. The high waves together with the dark clouds in the background created a strong atmosphere. Fortunately, for a short moment the sun showed up, which gave the picture the necessary contrast and colour.

Because of the strong wind, tracking and focusing was a big challenge. After several passing eider duck troops and hundreds of blurry and shaky photos I finally had a sharp photo on my memory card.

Especially in the uninhabited, eastern part of the island, many greylag goose flocks were looking for food in the salt marshes. To get to the eastern end of the island I rented an e-bike from one of the dozens of bicycle rentals. This was of rather cheap quality. But against the strong wind it did its job. The good rain jacket and my rain trousers protected me quite well against the rain. But what I could not protect was my face and especially my eyes from the oncoming graupel. So, with pinched eyes therefore half blind, I cycled to the east end of the island. Unfortunately, I had overlooked a goshawk at the roadside. Suddenly it flew directly over my head and off into the distance. Some small troops of greylag geese of up to 8 individuals were also resting right next to the cycle path. But they were all quite shy. With a little caution and patience, I was able to get a little closer and I managed to get a few images.

Until the last day this encounter remained the only one. On the last walk along the beach I discovered a larger group of sanderlings. At least 20 sanderlings were running along the beach. As before, I laid down on the ground in front of the Sanderlings at the waterline. Like the first time the sanderlings weren’t bothered by my presence. When the sanderlings were next to me at the shoreline, suddenly a big wave came up the beach. The little shorebirds ran away from the wave and suddenly stood right around me. But the wave didn’t stop yet and was still moving towards me. I quickly had to make a decision. Either I would probably scare away the sanderlings but I would stay dry or I would get a little wet, but I could photograph the sanderlings at close range. I decided on the second option. I was able to take pictures of the beautiful shorebirds looking for food before they finally ran further along the beach.

As I was not sure if I already had a good picture on the memory card, I decided to overtake them and try again. But they were surprisingly fast, and I had to run a good distance along the beach so that I had enough distance to lay down on the ground again. Again, I didn’t seem to bother them much. One of the sanderlings decided to run up the beach and so I was able to take a picture some colour in the background. Despite the Raincoat the camera was now a bit sandy and so I decided to go back to the accommodation to clean the camera. Unfortunately, the sunset was covered by the clouds again and so the photos of the sanderlings remained the last of this trip.

Despite the very bad weather and only few sightings of wildlife, I got back on the ferry with some photos that I like. Photography on Langeoog was an endurance test for me as well as for all the equipment and I am now looking forward to some better weather again. But I am sure that this wasn’t the last time I was on Langeoog. But hopefully the weather will be a bit better next time.