A little owl folds its wings. Picardie, France.

With the size of a starling, the little owl is one of the smallest owl species. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in character. The ancient Greeks were particularly enchanted by it and considered it to be the special bird of Athena, goddess of wisdom. This is likely why we see owls as purveyors of wisdom in Western societies. With its large eyes, round head and chunky body, you can’t help but fall for the charm of this little creature when you watch it excitedly bobbing up and down on a branch. Though cute as it may appear, it has a fierce temperament and can kill prey close to its own size. A spectacular example is this little owl captured by André Eijkenaar with a weasel in its talons.

For two centuries the Greek tetradrachm coins (5th century BC pictured) carried an image of Athena’s head on the obverse, and a little owl with an olive branch and a crescent moon on the reverse. The new Greek one euro coin shows the same little owl design. Images by Classical Numismatic Group (tetradrachm coin; CC BY-SA 3.0) and European Central Bank (euro coin).

This week I was finally able to get out in the field again, the first time since my adventure in Chile past February. I drove to France and my friend Joris De Raedt joined me on the way (who made the beautiful blue whale illustration for my feature story in National Geographic this month). I have thoroughly enjoyed the attention that the award brought forward, but spring always feels like a race against time—everything I’ve been longing to photograph happens in the span of just a few weeks—and it’s a relief to be back in the French countryside.

While I was photographing barn owls last summer, I built a nest box tailored to little owls and installed it in a walnut tree. I was hoping we would get a chance to photograph the little owls in the walnut, but on our arrival we found a rather different family of birds living in the nest box. Three bold, helpless starling chicks lie waiting for their parents, who are slaving away to bring enough food to their rapidly growing offspring and carry out their poo.

A family of starlings took up residence in the little owl nest box. One week old chicks. Picardie, France.

After eight days the young starlings open their eyes for the first time. Picardie, France.

Luckily we received reports of little owl sightings nearby. We set out with a portable speaker playing little owl recordings to try and find Athena’s bird, hoping the owls in the area would respond with their characteristic call. This would make it easier to find them and allow us to cover a lot of ground quickly.

Playing back little owl sounds to locate nests. Picardie, France. Photo by Joris De Raedt.

Looking for little owls with Joris De Raedt (left). Picardie, France. Photo by Joris De Raedt.

But covering a lot of ground didn’t turn out to be necessary. We soon located three pairs, one nest, and even caught a glimpse of a mating. The next day we set up two camera traps near a group of pollarded hornbeams lining a meadow where we had heard a pair. Old pollards often become hollow and provide excellent nesting opportunities for little owls.

Whenever you work with a new animal, whether it is as a biologist or as a photographer, it takes a while to get used to its behavior. This is an issue particularly when you use camera traps. Where is it going to land? How fast does it fly? From which direction will it come? Lacking the experience we didn’t have high expectations when we settled into camping chairs with our binoculars to start our first evening of observations from the edge of the meadow. Much to our surprise we were both rewarded with several photos of little owls landing on a post—still a long way from the images I’m after, but it is definitely an encouraging result.

Pollarded hornbeams lining a meadow make for excellent little owl habitat. Picardie, France.

Just yesterday afternoon we found three more nest holes only several hundred meters from the other ones. I’m really surprised by how many owls there are in the area. Unfortunately Joris had to leave shortly afterwards, but I will be here for a few more days. At the moment the owls don’t show much activity during the day and I have a sense that this means it is still a little early in the season for chicks. Time will tell. In the mean time I’m working on a different project that I hope to share with you soon.

Stay tuned!

Opening spread of 'Passie voor de walvis' in National Geographic Magazine Netherlands/Belgium, May 2012.

Ten pages of it! Now in newsstands and stores across the Netherlands and Belgium. My first feature story for National Geographic, Passie voor de walvis (Passion for the whale), about my adventures with the Centro de Conservación Cetacea protecting the blue whales of Chile.

It’s a very special feeling to hold the first copy in my hands—to say I’m excited would be an understatement. I’m very pleased with what the editors have done with it. The layout is beautiful, and I’m also very happy with a beautiful drawing contributed by Joris De Raedt that illustrates the sheer scale of this giant of the oceans. You can read the first paragraphs over at National Geographic.

Now what are you waiting for? To the newsstand, go and get it! And don’t forget to tell me what you think!

Panoramic view point. Rhône Alpes, France.

I just returned from a week’s vacation in the French Alps. My map marked this bench as a “panoramic view point”—how do you like the panorama?

My friends Nate Dappen and Neil Losin at Day’s Edge Productions are working on a noteworthy conservation project and they need your help to get it off the ground. They want to put photography and science together into an original coffee-table book about the threatened Ibiza wall lizard that inhabits Ibiza, Formentera, and the surrounding islets. You may remember this alluring reptile from a short film Nate and I created last year.

Who better to introduce the project than Nate himself?

Over the past years Nate and Neil have already completed a lot of work for the book, but they need to return to Formentera one more time to finish it, and they need to raise funds for the publication of the book’s first edition. They are now running a Kickstarter campaign that you can join. As I write this, they have already raised almost half of their $15,000 goal, with 29 days to go. If the video piqued your interest, head over to Kickstarter to learn how you can help, and what you will get in return.

And finally, if it makes any difference, funding their project will also bring new photos from Formentera to this blog—perhaps even a new film—as I will be sure to pay them a visit in the field if they succeed!

Noor van Schaik at the entrance of the academy building. Groningen, the Netherlands.

After a brief hiatus while I was on assignment in Chile, my photo feature in Universiteitskrant Groningen is back this week with a photo of Noor van Schaik. As head of student information & administration, she’s responsible for the enrollment of the university’s 28.000 students every year. To symbolize her role as ‘gatekeeper’ I asked her to pose at the entrance of the university’s academy building.

Get the paper from the familiar blue bins around town, or read the digital edition below to learn more about Noor van Schaik:

Click to enlarge (requires Flash).

European tree frog in the reeds. Kiskunsági Nemzeti Park, Hungary.

I’m introducing a new regular feature to the blog, the Photo of the Month. This will be a place to highlight a photo from my archives every now and then that hasn’t seen the blog before. First up is this photo of a European tree frog in the reeds. I made it in 2007 when I was in the marshlands of Kiskunsági Nemzeti Park in the south of Hungary to study penduline tits.

You can find tree frogs by tracing their mating calls during spring. Males will sit near ponds in overhanging trees or low shrubs near the water and call to attract females. They’re only about three to four centimeters in size, but they can leap ten times their own body length! This is what a tree frog serenade sounds like:

Northern Pike in 't Veenmeer, the Netherlands.

Noorderkrant, March 7, 2012.

My underwater photography will be on display as part of the new exhibit Festival de l’Animal at Atelier Horneman in Ten Boer. In addition, the exhibit features beautiful paintings by Eduard Bezembinder, Gerda and Theo Onnes, and Martin Horneman, as well as sculptures by Ingrid Mol, and etchings by Jittie Wildeman.

The exhibit opens this Sunday, March 11, at 15.00 and can be seen until June 9, 2012. Naturally, there will be snacks and drinks at the opening. I hope to see you there!

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