We’re saying good-bye to the island Ameland in the north of the Netherlands by taking a last hike through the grassy dunes. It’s very quiet – not a living soul around. Some scattered, broken snails indicate a thrush had dinner. We see deer droppings but no deer, rabbit droppings but no rabbits, pheasant feathers but no pheasants, the feather of a kestrel, leftovers of a curlew’s meal... Where is everyone? I long for Spring when the dunes are bursting with birdsong...

All of a sudden I see pheasants! A male with a few ladies. He’s already working on his harem. They disappear as soon as they see us. Perhaps when the world appears so bare, we really notice the rich “skin” of mother earth – the protective layer of mosses, ferns, grasses and reeds. We’re offered a wide variety of gray, ochre, beige...and gold when the sun peeks through.

Oh this wonderful island! Meanwhile, seagulls and oystercatchers fly overhead, towards the mainland. A kestrel still flies overhead, searching for mice.