Summer storms rolled across the sky barking loud claps of thunder while intermittently dispersed with a few bright flashes of lightening now and then as I sat beside a pond in a treed depression out west. I was photographing Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings taking advantage of the insect hatch that was occurring. They'd fly out across the open water grab an insect and fly back to a fence wire or twig to eat or rest. Waxwings are my favourite "LBJ" and I never cease to be impressed by their feather detail although they are uncommon at this time of year. I knew I was going to get wet or worse still risk being a lightening conductor as I sat holding this big metal lens but I knew I had a small window of opportunity to get some images and I was going to make the most of it.  

As spring evening settles over the small Alberta pond i'm sitting at, the enthusiastic laughing calls of the red necked grebes add a wonderful dimension to the still evening air as they mix with the songs of red winged blackbirds and the croaking of frogs. So it was, my spring and summer would be taken up studying a couple of pairs of this fascinating bird....

Having lived in the UK for the first 30 years of my life I did get to travel to several European countries, sometimes several times over the years but the Netherlands was never one of those countries I managed to get to visit until now....  

It's early summer now and most of the raptors have fledged with exception to a few of the larger hawks like the red tail, Swainsons and Ferruginous Hawks

I've been studying this particular Ferruginous nest and only one of the two chicks have made it to pre-fledgling stage so far.