Drought, frogs and otters.

After more than a month without rain, the entire area around the little bog was extremely dry, the waterlevel had dropped a lot and the ground was bonedry. The plants were also beginning to look like they were in need of water, their colors were fading and they were lying down on the forest floor more than standing in their usual upright position.

On Tuesday the weather finally changed and brought som much needed water, it rained almost nonstop the next two days, and I spent as much time as I could with my camera crawling around on the ground looking for anything interesting to photograph.

The wood anemones were still a bit damaged from the long drought, although they did look better than they did a couple of days ago, they had lost many of their leaves and the colors were not as bright as they used to. I did manage to find a few in the lower parts nearest to the water who still looked good.

 

One thing I was especially keen on finding out was if the rain had made the frogs become more active, but sadly I did not see that many frogs. I do not know if this is due to the lack of rain or there just are not that many frogs in the bog, there use to be many frogs in the area but the last couple of years it seems like many have disappeared.

All frogs and toads are protected in Denmark but sadly many of their natural habitats are destroyed as humans build roads, expanding cities or use the land for agriculture.

Fortunately this little bog is located in an area that is not suited for farming or building, and because several endangered species have been found there I have hope that this magnificent area will remain undisturbed and the frogs will once again flourish.

Another reason for the frogs disappearing could be that over the last 5 years otters have become more present, I have seen several otter slides in the area and frogs are on the otters menu.

Welcome to my blog.
My name is Ryan Sigwulf, I am a hobby photographer with a passion for nature, outdoor, fishing, extreme weather and fine beer. 

Being able to express my fascination for nature, animals and all the other things that means a lot to me is what drives me.
Nature has been under extreme pressure ever since humans started exploiding its ressources, and every day species are being whiped out. I hope that with my photos I can lend a helping hand in putting focus on how precious nature is, and how screwed mankind is if we destroy it all.
 
I have been interested in photography for many years but like so for many others,  daily work and chores has been taking up to much of my time the past many years, and I have not been able to get out with my camera as much as I would like.
I have, however, decided that this has to change, I have reached a time in my life where one begins to think about that we do not live forever, and it is time for me to pursue my dream and become a more serious naturephotographer.

 
Black sun phenomenon
In the beginning of April I went to Ribe, the oldest town in Denmark and also one of my favorite places, here I popped in at the local photoshop and had a good talk with the owner. We talked a lot about photography, photo equipment, and then we got to talk about some thing I have known about for many years but had never seen in real life, the black sun phenomenon. This thing only happens in the spring and autumn, and the starlings were there right now.
He showed me some pictures he got the day before, gave me directions to where I could find the birds and the very next day I went to Aventoft in Northern Germany.
Though I had never been there before I had no problems locating where it was going to happen, the dikes were packed with photographers, birdwatchers and a heck of a lot of other people who were out to see the show.
It took a little time before the birds showed up, but when they did it was a spectacular show.
 
 
 

The whole thing was over as quickly as it started, and it became clear to me that if I wanted to get great pictures of these spectacular formations the birds make, I needed to be fully focused the whole time. This was the first time I ever experienced this, and I learned many things so that when the birds gather again in the autumn, I will be better prepared.

I was not the only one who wanted to see the birds, hundreds of people had taken place on the dikes.

 
Anemones and frogs.
 
It is springtime in Denmark and I have spent many hours at a small bog just a little south of where I live, trying to get som pictures of mainly birds and frogs, but also experimenting a little with som macro photography of the spring flowers.
The area around the lake was packed with wood anemones, and I had plenty of opportunity to practice my macro skills. I still have a lot to learn but there is only one way to get better and that is to just keep practicing.
 
 

It was quite fun to once again spend some time on macro photography. Macro is one of my favorite types of photography but sadly also something I have neglected for to long.

The frogs also made their first appearences after the long winter, and especially one frog seemed to enjoy basking in the warm midday sun on top of some water plants.
 
 

I also had the pleasure of seeing, and photographing a frog amongst the wood anemones. I had thought about, for a couple of days, how cool it would be if I would be able to photograph a frog between the anemones, but there were not many frogs and they were mainly in the water so chances would be poor that one actually would come up between the flowers.

Then one day as I was lying on the ground photographing the anemones, a frog suddenly popped its head up between the dead leaves. It was quickly gone but I did manage to get a photo of it.