In search of the European Bison the Wisent part II - with the Fujinon 100-400
Full screen gallery below
It all started with the idea to go to another part of the dunes, namely Nationaal Park Zuid Kennemerland. The first time I visited the park, I was in search of the European bison, also called the Wisent here. In this blog you can read my first attempt, failed attempt by the way. However I did not want to give up, so more than a year later, a retry.
Well the thumbnail gives it away, right. This time around I did encounter a group of Wisent. It was at the exact opposite of where I previously visited the park. Go figure. I was helped by the fact that this area is a new area with a path crossing this part of the dunes, where the Wisent now live. So logically I had to encounter them, but you will never know or can be sure you do. In this case I was lucky and glad I did.
The walk started off at the edge of the dunes, in the south of Zandvoort. the path is actually called the Wisenten path. Starting somewhere here, see map below.
You will need to take the entrance Wurmenveld, follow the path and eventually after about 200m you will see the first yellow marker. You will need to follow this path and it will lead you into the Wisent area.
I encountered them about 30-40minutes after I started the hike. So quite quickly. The weather though was a whole other issue that day. It started out promising, but quickly became dull, grey and light downpour was noticeable. Nothing really stopping you from taking photos, however good light wasn’t directly available. Luckily the sun, due to the wind, could peak through one or two times. In that small window I was able to capture some of the animals - Bison - just sound way cooler than Wisent.
All in all not a bad day, but not the killer photos I hoped I would get when leaving my house in the morning. I’m slowly becoming a light snob I think. Well, that means I can go again to this beautiful place and these majestic big animals!
For now, if you want to know more about the Wisent, take a look here. Else enjoy the photos below. See you soon! And don’t hesitate to leave a comment or an e-mail. All photos are taken with the Fujifilm X-T3 and the Fujinon 100-400mm. Click to view larger in a light box and navigate with mouse or arrow keys. Enjoy!
