It is not unique, but it is special. Because the European flamingo is not seen too often in Drenthe. That was the case yesterday, when a flamingo landed in the Boerenveensche Plassen near Pesse. Raimond Huizing was one of the lucky ones who managed to capture the bird on film.
The hobby photographer from Stuifzand had to look twice on Sunday morning when he drove on the Kerkweg south of Pesse.
“I took part in a tour with old mopeds, when I suddenly caught sight of the flamingo,” says 45-year-old Huizing. He left it for what it was, but when he came home in the evening, he couldn’t resist taking the camera back to the Boerveensche Plassen. “And yes, he was still there.”
Just like earlier in the day, the flamingo was standing alone, Huizing noticed, who wanted to photograph the pink bird well at all costs. That was not possible from the Kerkweg. “So maybe I did a little smuggling,” he laughs. At that moment he met another photographer who had already spotted the flamingo. This morning Huizing was curious if the animal was still in the nature reserve, but alas. “The bird had flown.”
The hobby photographer is happy that he managed to capture the flamingo on Drenthe soil, but as befits a down-to-earth Drenthe, it’s not exactly cause for celebration. “I like to photograph all sorts of things in nature and if it’s just that little bit different, I’m already satisfied. From plants and insects to Scottish highlanders. A flamingo is sometimes nice for a change,” Huizing laughs.
According to district manager Harald de Graaff of Het Drentse Landschap, the flamingo has not caused crowds in the area with bird watchers. De Graaff was also able to tell that it is a ringed flamingo from Germany. In the Zwillbrockervenn, not far from the Dutch town of Groenlo, the animals have a permanent breeding place, among other things.