Photography by Lars Birkeskov Andreasen

Category: Birds

Greylag Geeze (Grågæs) 2024

The Greylag Gooze (Grågås) is one of the most common visitors we have in the migratory season. These images where shot early in my ‘career’ with a 100-400mm Tamron lens, and though not technically impressive, I still think they are worthwhile to include since it is such a handsome bird 🙂

Flaps? Check! Tail Feather Brakes? Check! Landing Gear? Check! I

I caught the image above a very early morning at ‘Klostermølle’. Again not a technical masterpiece, the sun was barely out so there was very little light to work with, but I think it illustrates quite well how this bird can both be an elegant aviator and dumpy at the same time 😉
The couple on the right where taken at the field just west of Hou Beach. I often see many migratory birds gather here while foresting.

September 27, 2025
Grave Ducks (Gravænder) 2024

In Denmark we have a quite a few species of ducks. The Grave Ducks (Gravand) are one of my favorites. With its very distinctive plumage and brightly colored beaks it makes for a great subject to photograph. The males are easily distinguished from the females by their ‘bumpy’ brightly colored beaks.

September 26, 2025
Kestrel Falcon (Tårnfalk) 2024

The featured image of this post is hands down my favorite shot of 2024.
This Kestrals (Tårnfalk) territory follows Hou Beach where lots of people walk their dogs or just enjoys the environment. So this bird is very accustomed to human presence and very approachable.
The Kestral is my favorite bird to photograph because it is one of the few birds that can hover absolutely still in the air over an area while looking for pray, making it the perfect subject to photograph as you actually have time to dial in your settings while capturing a bird in flight.

Photographers Note:

One of the things I love the most about these pictures is that they where taken with the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary. Especially the picture of the Kestrel in flight I think demonstrates that you really don’t need a 20K $ prime F4 lens to get good pictures. Having never handled such a beast of a lens, I can of course not say for sure if the image quality couldn’t have been even better, but for hobby photography I think this is plenty sharp enough!
If you want to get into wildlife photography on a budget I can highly recommend this lens. You can usually pick them up second hand for around 8-900 $. Especially on an APS-C camera body this will give you great reach for most wildlife photography.

September 24, 2025
Common Woodpeckers (Flagspætter) 2024

Getting these photos of a woodpecker catching dragonflies was a real stroke of luck! I had a tip that this was a good place to find snakes swimming on the lake.
I didn’t see any snakes that day but suddenly this little fellow landed a few yards away on a branch in a tree right next to me.
I had been trying to get some good photos of a woodpeckers cause to me it is one of the prettiest birds we have here and for weeks I had no luck. That is one of the most rewarding things with wildlife photography, when you least expect it mother nature surprises you like this 🙂
I had no time to fiddle with the settings and just a few seconds to take some quick handheld shots. They ended up with ISO 12800 but thanks to DxO Raw I was able to still get some good results.

This image was captured a bit later in the year in the peak of the mating season. I had been walking the local woods ‘Ravnskoven’ where I could hear there where at least one woodpecker in the neighborhood.
I finally got lucky and found the nest where an adult couple was flying to and from, taking turns to feed the chicks.
This allowed me to set up my tripod and test my latest addition to my gear, a Sirui Gimbal head, and it did not dissapoint. Having that gimbal made it easy to sit for hours and have the camera and the heavy Sigma 150-600mm perfectly balanced pointing at the nest ready to take the shot when the woodpeckers landed.
Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get a shot of the chicks being fed, hopefully next year the pair will return and I can try my luck again.

September 23, 2025
Heron (Fiskehejre) Ravnskoven 2024

When found in rural areas Herons can get used to humans, in some cases to such a degree they can be hand feed.
These pictures where captured in the wild, and getting these shoots took quite a lot of patience.
The pictures where taken at the end of the mating season, where two adults and two young ones would come to this little inlet almost every day.
I used a hunting hide I had set up and left there for a few days so they would get used to it not being a threat.
Whilst in my hide I finally managed to get close enough to get some good photos with my trusty Sigma 150-600mm on my Canon R7.
But one little noise or quick motion from me and puff! They would take off and not show themselves for the rest of that day..

September 22, 2025
Cormorant (Skarv / Ålekrage) 2024

Comrmorant Skarv Ålekrage

Comrmorant Skarv Ålekrage

The Cormorant is a very common bird here in Denmark. You can find them out at sea, on the shores and as well as inland near lakes.

While not the prettiest of birds, I still think it is quite fascinating to watch both while fishing, in flight and at rest and grooming.

It is an accomplished diver and fisher equally at easy under water as above it. When diving it can stay under water for quite some time, then pop up again with a small fish or a crab.

The image where it is resting on a stone I shot from my small dingy some ways off shore. I can nearly always find some at Hou Harbor as well sitting on the poles just pondering life, grooming or drying their feathers.

Comrmorant Skarv Ålekrage

September 21, 2025
Red Kites (Rød Glente) Hylde 2024

The Red Kite (Rød Glente) is probably one of the most magnificent predatory birds to be found in Denmark.
This is a shy bird to approach which often hangs gliding way out of reach of most contemporary zoom lenses. However in the harvest season when the tractors stir up critters in the hay this is a good time to try your luck, as they often come down looking for prey.
These images where taken while driving around at random, looking for places where the farmers where active in the fields. I spotted this pair being very active around a field that was being worked. I stopped and asked if it would be alright for me to walk on to the field to photograph the birds. As is so often the case, if one asks nicely most people will not object 🙂

Photographers Tip:

Predatory birds like kites, eagles, vultures, buzzards and similar often glides at a fairly high altitude. Mostly this means you will have a big contrast between the sky and the subject in anything but the most dreary days. I get the best results in these circumstances by using Center-Weighted Exposure with an Exposure Compensation of -1 to -2 EV. For most cameras this means you need to keep the subject at the center of the frame to get the exposure right. It’s a balance between getting enough color information and brightness of the shadow side of the bird while not blowing out the background completely.

September 19, 2025