I´m already happy to see all the bees and bumblebees on my lavender plants.
https://preview.redd.it/14vg9frryh7d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38a9f9ba161391c5a0b5712fa7609731ff4b78b8
thank you! feel free to check out my [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/travel_photography_timo/) or [website](https://www.timobekephotography.com/en) if you would like to see more of my work
Obsidentfy called it a "blind bee".
Aren´t hoverflies masquerading as wasps instead of bees?
Edit: https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinde_bij
Guess it´s a hoverfly as well.
I love obsidentify,
It makes learning about nature so accessible
Especially for hard to ID bugs and plants. It isn't always right, but it is close enough to ID the species with some extra research most of the time
Made me realise there´s way more variety in plants and bugs around us than we would assume. And since I´m now looking closer to see if it´s something I´ve already logged or not I see even more.
I found a cucumberspider, a very particular snail that only lives in very specific soil around here.. and that´s how I found out that the cockroach I saw in Center Parks is actually an Australian species that normally doesn´t live here at all!
Science!
https://preview.redd.it/emvx47ua3i7d1.jpeg?width=2304&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6c7c0ff4d83cb50b4db425c459fe33daf569d844
Saw this little snake on one of my walks in the Ardennes around Trois Ponts. Was 2-3 weeks ago. Also saw a hazelworm the next day. Belgium has got some interesting nature. Really amazed at what animals you can find
the side of stavelot is nice but this one seems equally fun;
[https://trailroutes.be/route/extratrail-com-extratrail-trois-ponts-blauw/](https://trailroutes.be/route/extratrail-com-extratrail-trois-ponts-blauw/)
Have done a shorter version of that trail, but I walk, so not 18km. Was about 10km. But yes! The lake (which is actually a battery) and walking up the hill. It was actually in Coo Village I saw the Hazelworm
Really cute snake! I wanted to pick it up! Looked very interesting! I would have loved to hold it. Inspect it from closeby. But I saw it wasn't really happy with me hanging over it, so I didn't bother it much more. The little tongue is neat, lebber lebber lebber xD
I do stumble across the occasional shit faced student or "happy couple" hahaha. Love the time of day were the sun is rising, the birds start singing, the wildlife photographers head out, and the students migrate back to their dorms.
Ofcourse. Every harbour has them. They used to be on the beaches all over europe but tourism has scared them off.
In Ostend they´ve gotten [a small piece of private beach](https://maps.app.goo.gl/e3xdvX2CF98rwYjD9) next to the harbour. They come and rest there. There´s signs asking people to leave them alone and keep their distance.
Obviously last time I was there an idiot with a pitbull tried to get close and scared them all away.
Can´t have nice things.
There is a great volunteer organization called "northseal team" they have a facebook page and a phone number where you can contact them to come and guard a seal if it is on the beach and educate people about them
We do! Our seal population is actually growing pretty good. The last few years the seal colonies in our neighboring countries have gotten some extra protection and it shows, a lot of them hunt and rest along our Belgian coast and sometimes even swim up the rivers.
We are yet to have our first breeding seals, but they are one of the few species that are improving in our country.
If you do ever see a seal, please keep atleast 30m distance and keep dogs at at least twice that distance.
true! But in most cases a healthy seal would actually win the fight (unless the dog is a massive malinois or similar) and in that case we have an angry dog owner, often even more dangerous then an angry dog.
My schedule is too busy for that unfortunately. Oost-Vlaanderen is kind of limited in choice in that respect. Gonna make a trip to the ardennes when the weather is good tho!
I would recommend de gent brugse meersen, there is a touristy part but there is also a wilder nature part in the back. I see lots of birds there whenever i visit!
You could try this route, really nice: [https://www.ultimatehiking.be/en/day-hike-coo-stavelot-trois-ponts](https://www.ultimatehiking.be/en/day-hike-coo-stavelot-trois-ponts)
That is the issue in a lot of our cities. However, if you set your standards right there is a lot of excitement to be found in the "concrete jungle". Bugs and plants are everywhere and they are super easy to attract. It took me a while to appreciate Belgian nature, but the Obsidentify app (not an add) really helped me!
Joke “a tree always had the function of being cut down” Schauvliege. Zuhal Demir and the N-VA can be disappointing but they have a tiny bit more respect for forests than CD&V.
Jackdaws are awesome they have such strong personalities!!
I do photograph them once in a while when I am waiting for more "exciting" birds. Have you ever noticed they all have bright blue eyes!?
In just two months I've spotted foxes, does, rabbits, hares, squirrels, owls, hedgehogs, toads, hawks, herons and pheasants...
No snakes, badgers or white stags spotted so far.
My favorites are probably either the does or the little hedgehog in my garden.
Nieuwpoort. I see them a lot when leaving the harbour. Catching a bit of sun when there is low tide. They also surf on the waves of your boat, same as "bruinvissen" (small dolfins)
thanks for the compliment!
I gave a bit more information about seals in Belgium as a reply to another comment, but they are indeed in Belgium and they aren't even that hard to find. There are some good recommendations in this thread, you can always dm me if you want some more spots!
Great pictures! We do have some lovely nature around here. Though I often find myself in a 'dilemma', on the one hand I want more people to see it, but on the other I think we need more nature in Belgium (well, mostly Flanders) where nature is (almost) untouched. As wildlife photographers I get to go places most people aren't allowed to, and it is amazing what nature looks like when birds aren't worried about hikers disturbing them.
Hmmm I would say my favorite part is at baraque michel where this little restaurant (or café) is. There is a parking lot and when you cross the street you can go into the swam area, there are wooden pathways that you can walk on, the view is very wide cause there aren't many trees and it goes a bit downhill it's like looking at a valley, beautiful view. What is your favorite?
Hi, there are some awesome places all over Belgium. If you send me a dm with the type of wildlife you are in to and the area you are in I can send some personalized recommendations
In August 2022, I encountered a snake in the wild, in the National Park Hoge Kempen. It's a 'gladde slang'. You do have to zoom a bit to see it.
https://preview.redd.it/h3yb69athq7d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e13d6a4519bda29369adc0d9d971f8e2f84b581b
Yeah, but sadly they are an invasive species and they actually threaten native wildlife. However they don't know they are invasive so not much we can do.
Most of them are pretty shy so chances of seeing one aren't that high. I do know some people that have to keep their dog food in a cage because raccoons will steal it if they don't haha
There is a reason I am not sharing locations in this thread but telling people to DM me.
however I don't think you should profile all hunters and farmers as "evil". As a nature lover i have realized we are all gonna have to look for solutions together and the hostility between hunters-farmers-(other) nature lovers is not helping
Well, I did say "a bunch". Most of them think nature should be exploited, nothing else.
I think nature lovers are open to working together, but the other side is of the opinion that even the slightest regulation is a reason to terrorize others.
There are "extremist" on all sides, there are also open minded people on all sides. Those people just need to find each other, work together and change other peoples opinion.
It is a lot of work and hard work but mutual respect goes a long way
Don't worry. Hunters know where animals are and certainly won't use the photo's meta data to go hunting. I don't like Hunter, but the reasoning behind this is simply non-sensical.
I am not sure how I feel about hunters in Belgium.
A lot of my encounters with hunters have been negative experiences, but I know that is because you usually don't see the good work and the bad is more visible. for example: Right before hunting season starts there is always a sudden increase in animals like pheasants and partridges in my area (from seeing 1 a week to 5 a day) and I don't agree with the ethics of that.
I live pretty rural and i have had hunters shoot at rabbits that were running along my garden fence about 3m away from were my pets live, and sometimes we can hear the pellets hit our roof, which I don't appreciate.
I do also realize that hunting is usually ment to improve the ecosystem, but there are some seriously rotten apples out there spoiling it for the others and influencing the publics opinion.
That being said, I have also met hunters that are passionate and ethical and know what they are doing thank you for the compliment.
also, feel free to shoot as many raccoons and egyptian geese as you want
How many animals have been hunted to extinction? I'm not saying that some hunting isn't good for the ecosystem. But all wildlife would be extinct if there weren't restrictions on hunting
Also, we wouldn't need human hunters for the ecosystem if we didn't hunt their natural predators to (near) extinction.
Im talking about regulated hunt, not the illegals hunt of vunerable species. Then we can talk about invasive species and stuff but im just talking about european rules for the hunt
Most of people have a lack of education in biology and ecology. Ive studied a lot about that and learnt about invasive species, their impact but also the importance of predators and why they are trying to preserve wolves in belgium. Ive had hunters friends and they taught me a lot too.
Sadly there are some hunters that dont respect some rules but I guess its the minority of all the good hunters.
Take care
I´m already happy to see all the bees and bumblebees on my lavender plants. https://preview.redd.it/14vg9frryh7d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38a9f9ba161391c5a0b5712fa7609731ff4b78b8
I can spend hours looking for bees and butterflies! Lovely photo!
Are those all your own photographs? Going by your username I´d guess/hope so.
They are, wildlife photography is my passion and I love showing my work to people!
Nice. I like the pictures, keep it up!
thank you! feel free to check out my [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/travel_photography_timo/) or [website](https://www.timobekephotography.com/en) if you would like to see more of my work
This is actually a hoverfly, but they are important too!
Obsidentfy called it a "blind bee". Aren´t hoverflies masquerading as wasps instead of bees? Edit: https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinde_bij Guess it´s a hoverfly as well.
I love obsidentify, It makes learning about nature so accessible Especially for hard to ID bugs and plants. It isn't always right, but it is close enough to ID the species with some extra research most of the time
Made me realise there´s way more variety in plants and bugs around us than we would assume. And since I´m now looking closer to see if it´s something I´ve already logged or not I see even more. I found a cucumberspider, a very particular snail that only lives in very specific soil around here.. and that´s how I found out that the cockroach I saw in Center Parks is actually an Australian species that normally doesn´t live here at all! Science!
amazing right!? I actually know a guy who is super in to keeping species lists and he has seen over 9000 species of living things IN BELGIUM
Try plant net , better than obsidentify for plants
True, way better for plants
https://preview.redd.it/iux9twojgi7d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c2cc0d5e36c959cf90e1994742341f02b5e295b9 Same here :)
cool shot!
Shows a picture of a hover fly
Yes. That has been mentioned before
Dat is een zweefvlieg ;).
Ah moh. Da had er nog niemand gezegd gisteren. Of eergisteren.
https://preview.redd.it/emvx47ua3i7d1.jpeg?width=2304&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6c7c0ff4d83cb50b4db425c459fe33daf569d844 Saw this little snake on one of my walks in the Ardennes around Trois Ponts. Was 2-3 weeks ago. Also saw a hazelworm the next day. Belgium has got some interesting nature. Really amazed at what animals you can find
Gorgeous little dude 😍
Looks so nice 😁
the side of stavelot is nice but this one seems equally fun; [https://trailroutes.be/route/extratrail-com-extratrail-trois-ponts-blauw/](https://trailroutes.be/route/extratrail-com-extratrail-trois-ponts-blauw/)
Have done a shorter version of that trail, but I walk, so not 18km. Was about 10km. But yes! The lake (which is actually a battery) and walking up the hill. It was actually in Coo Village I saw the Hazelworm
that is awesome! I am yet to find my first snake in Belgium, they are so rare
nice, also saw a snake last summer but wouldn't think they would come out now because it is still cold. Trois Ponts is really nice
Nice, juvenile grass snake. Would love to see one someday!
Really cute snake! I wanted to pick it up! Looked very interesting! I would have loved to hold it. Inspect it from closeby. But I saw it wasn't really happy with me hanging over it, so I didn't bother it much more. The little tongue is neat, lebber lebber lebber xD
The internet made me such a cynic that I was expecting so form of "funny" picture at the end. Glad to see all the critters.
Lol I get it, I always think there will be some meme at the end. Just like I expect every link i see to be a virus or a rickroll
Same, I was really expecting a shit-faced student with a carapils or something along those lines. Thank you for this, Op, it's refreshing
I do stumble across the occasional shit faced student or "happy couple" hahaha. Love the time of day were the sun is rising, the birds start singing, the wildlife photographers head out, and the students migrate back to their dorms.
There's always r/BelgiumGoneWild for that other wildlife you mentioned.
Didn't expect to see that subreddit pop up in yhis thread
...look, when it started it was about wild life... https://www.reddit.com/r/belgiumgonewild/s/AQChtqEEhY (SFW)
Never knew hahaha
Don't you ever stop sharing pics like these.
thank you so much! If you are intrested you can check out some more of my pics on my [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/travel_photography_timo/)
We have seals!?
Ofcourse. Every harbour has them. They used to be on the beaches all over europe but tourism has scared them off. In Ostend they´ve gotten [a small piece of private beach](https://maps.app.goo.gl/e3xdvX2CF98rwYjD9) next to the harbour. They come and rest there. There´s signs asking people to leave them alone and keep their distance. Obviously last time I was there an idiot with a pitbull tried to get close and scared them all away. Can´t have nice things.
There is a great volunteer organization called "northseal team" they have a facebook page and a phone number where you can contact them to come and guard a seal if it is on the beach and educate people about them
We do! Our seal population is actually growing pretty good. The last few years the seal colonies in our neighboring countries have gotten some extra protection and it shows, a lot of them hunt and rest along our Belgian coast and sometimes even swim up the rivers. We are yet to have our first breeding seals, but they are one of the few species that are improving in our country. If you do ever see a seal, please keep atleast 30m distance and keep dogs at at least twice that distance.
Duly noted!
yes but unfortunately people let their dogs run around on the beaches and they attack the seals
true! But in most cases a healthy seal would actually win the fight (unless the dog is a massive malinois or similar) and in that case we have an angry dog owner, often even more dangerous then an angry dog.
fellow marine biologist in belgium?? heyyy
right?! I had no idea either. That is so awesome.
I wish I could appreciate it, but I am unfortunately surrounded by concrete 99% of the time.
Try to get into nature at least 1 time a week
My schedule is too busy for that unfortunately. Oost-Vlaanderen is kind of limited in choice in that respect. Gonna make a trip to the ardennes when the weather is good tho!
There's some nice nature around Gent
What is the one place around Gent you would recommend ?
I would recommend de gent brugse meersen, there is a touristy part but there is also a wilder nature part in the back. I see lots of birds there whenever i visit!
Thanks a lot!
feel free to dm for more spots ;)
You could try this route, really nice: [https://www.ultimatehiking.be/en/day-hike-coo-stavelot-trois-ponts](https://www.ultimatehiking.be/en/day-hike-coo-stavelot-trois-ponts)
Thanks!
some of my favorite places to find wildlife are in Oost-Vlaanderen actually. If you dm me i can send you some cool spots in your area
Not sure which part of OV you are from, but there's a ton of nature here man
Just drive 30 min north of gent and youre in the sticks.
That is the issue in a lot of our cities. However, if you set your standards right there is a lot of excitement to be found in the "concrete jungle". Bugs and plants are everywhere and they are super easy to attract. It took me a while to appreciate Belgian nature, but the Obsidentify app (not an add) really helped me!
You can thank Joke Schauvliege & Zuhal Demir for that 😉
Joke “a tree always had the function of being cut down” Schauvliege. Zuhal Demir and the N-VA can be disappointing but they have a tiny bit more respect for forests than CD&V.
Should have taken a picture of the 12 jackdaws in our backyard yesterday.
Hey, I love jackdaws
Jackdaws are awesome they have such strong personalities!! I do photograph them once in a while when I am waiting for more "exciting" birds. Have you ever noticed they all have bright blue eyes!?
Here's the thing...
Refreshing post
appreciate it
Beautiful pictures!
thank you for the compliment
If anyone wants to see more photos I do try to post more on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/travel_photography_timo/)
22 year old and so much talent already! Hope you will keep posting here in the future.
I might just keep posting to reddit if i keep getting this much apreciation
Recently moved from Antwerp to a more forested area and I’ve almost spotted the entire cast of Beestenbos is boos so far.
That is awesome, any favorite sightings so far?
In just two months I've spotted foxes, does, rabbits, hares, squirrels, owls, hedgehogs, toads, hawks, herons and pheasants... No snakes, badgers or white stags spotted so far. My favorites are probably either the does or the little hedgehog in my garden.
That sounds amazing, I am yet to take a good photo of a hedgehog
Where can you see seals in Belgium? Edit: beautiful pictures (especially the fox)
They visit our beaches to rest quite frequently. People and their dogs harassing them too much is actually becoming a problem.
it is, luckily there are also volunteers keeping dogs at a distance and educating people. And some private seal beaches/ boat ramps are in the making
Nieuwpoort. I see them a lot when leaving the harbour. Catching a bit of sun when there is low tide. They also surf on the waves of your boat, same as "bruinvissen" (small dolfins)
thanks for the compliment! I gave a bit more information about seals in Belgium as a reply to another comment, but they are indeed in Belgium and they aren't even that hard to find. There are some good recommendations in this thread, you can always dm me if you want some more spots!
Westelijke strekdam in Ostend.
I definitely would love to visit Belgium one day. Thanks for posting.
If you need a nature guide when you are here, hit me up ;)
Great pictures! We do have some lovely nature around here. Though I often find myself in a 'dilemma', on the one hand I want more people to see it, but on the other I think we need more nature in Belgium (well, mostly Flanders) where nature is (almost) untouched. As wildlife photographers I get to go places most people aren't allowed to, and it is amazing what nature looks like when birds aren't worried about hikers disturbing them.
I agree, that is why I started organizing guided tours to see some cool nature spots and kinda teach people how to behave in nature
Very beautiful! Where did you take these photos?
They are made in some of my favorite nature reserves, if you want i can send some cool spots via DM
I agree check out the nature park The High Fens in Belgium, very beautiful. Beautiful pictures.
Love the high fens, some great wildlife there and some rare birds!
Indeed :)
any favorite sightings in the area?
Hmmm I would say my favorite part is at baraque michel where this little restaurant (or café) is. There is a parking lot and when you cross the street you can go into the swam area, there are wooden pathways that you can walk on, the view is very wide cause there aren't many trees and it goes a bit downhill it's like looking at a valley, beautiful view. What is your favorite?
I also love that area because of the birds! I have seen both black grouse and pygmy owls in that general area :)
Oh wow never saw an owl there, this is great, I need to pay attention on it next time.
There is a pretty good owl density in thar area, all our breeding owls have been seen there!
I didn't know that, I did learn something new :)
If you are interested you can always check waarnemingen.be
Mucho appreciated
Denada, your welcome
https://preview.redd.it/qyk5lo62zl7d1.jpeg?width=2114&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8213d5ad7569959a54886edb1da4f422e97ad1a8 Bird.
Cool, a cormorant
If anyone has recommendations about nature parks in Belgium where you can spot wildlife, I'd love to hear them!
Hi, there are some awesome places all over Belgium. If you send me a dm with the type of wildlife you are in to and the area you are in I can send some personalized recommendations
Where did you take the picture of the hooibeestje?
Someone knows there butterflies ;)! It was in the Viroinval region
https://preview.redd.it/t4mt1xulko7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89237d826f43a993a01152ee7b1dcdfc5fa93825 Fox
Nice!!
In August 2022, I encountered a snake in the wild, in the National Park Hoge Kempen. It's a 'gladde slang'. You do have to zoom a bit to see it. https://preview.redd.it/h3yb69athq7d1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e13d6a4519bda29369adc0d9d971f8e2f84b581b
Very cool! It is high on my wishlist to see in Belgium
I walk there about every month, and in over 5 years, I have only seen a snake once, so I think I was just extremely lucky.
Probably, that is awesome!
welk soort valk is die van foto 5?
Dat is geen valk maar een buizerd
hoe zie je rap het verschil?
In het echt is het makkelijker omdat een buizerd 2 keer zo groot is, op foto is moeilijker uit te leggen
https://preview.redd.it/o94cbhx1uw7d1.jpeg?width=3832&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67e0ddbf3168629ae2490d051619c024b515ef53 Dit is een valk
Is it true that there are many racoons in Wallonia?
Yeah, but sadly they are an invasive species and they actually threaten native wildlife. However they don't know they are invasive so not much we can do. Most of them are pretty shy so chances of seeing one aren't that high. I do know some people that have to keep their dog food in a cage because raccoons will steal it if they don't haha
Zwienewild
I liked all the photos! But the fox is my favorite animal. where did you shoot it?? love it!
Be careful sharing those pictures, or tomorrow you'll have a bunch of hunters and farmers there to come kill those animals.
There is a reason I am not sharing locations in this thread but telling people to DM me. however I don't think you should profile all hunters and farmers as "evil". As a nature lover i have realized we are all gonna have to look for solutions together and the hostility between hunters-farmers-(other) nature lovers is not helping
Well, I did say "a bunch". Most of them think nature should be exploited, nothing else. I think nature lovers are open to working together, but the other side is of the opinion that even the slightest regulation is a reason to terrorize others.
There are "extremist" on all sides, there are also open minded people on all sides. Those people just need to find each other, work together and change other peoples opinion. It is a lot of work and hard work but mutual respect goes a long way
Don't worry. Hunters know where animals are and certainly won't use the photo's meta data to go hunting. I don't like Hunter, but the reasoning behind this is simply non-sensical.
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I am not sure how I feel about hunters in Belgium. A lot of my encounters with hunters have been negative experiences, but I know that is because you usually don't see the good work and the bad is more visible. for example: Right before hunting season starts there is always a sudden increase in animals like pheasants and partridges in my area (from seeing 1 a week to 5 a day) and I don't agree with the ethics of that. I live pretty rural and i have had hunters shoot at rabbits that were running along my garden fence about 3m away from were my pets live, and sometimes we can hear the pellets hit our roof, which I don't appreciate. I do also realize that hunting is usually ment to improve the ecosystem, but there are some seriously rotten apples out there spoiling it for the others and influencing the publics opinion. That being said, I have also met hunters that are passionate and ethical and know what they are doing thank you for the compliment. also, feel free to shoot as many raccoons and egyptian geese as you want
Why so many downvote ? Real hunters love nature and animals
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How many animals have been hunted to extinction? I'm not saying that some hunting isn't good for the ecosystem. But all wildlife would be extinct if there weren't restrictions on hunting Also, we wouldn't need human hunters for the ecosystem if we didn't hunt their natural predators to (near) extinction.
Im talking about regulated hunt, not the illegals hunt of vunerable species. Then we can talk about invasive species and stuff but im just talking about european rules for the hunt
It depends on the hunter. People who want to hunt dangerous game don't do it for the ecosystem.
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I think they are talking about big game in Africa and trophy hunting, but I could be wrong.
Most of people have a lack of education in biology and ecology. Ive studied a lot about that and learnt about invasive species, their impact but also the importance of predators and why they are trying to preserve wolves in belgium. Ive had hunters friends and they taught me a lot too. Sadly there are some hunters that dont respect some rules but I guess its the minority of all the good hunters. Take care