Finally the sun came out, and with the high tides and snow it was the perfect time to get out with the drone. Added to this was the luck that the wild horses and Scottish Highlanders had come to the dike in the floodplains of Beuningen. It gave me the opportunity to make these unique drone images, will you enjoy with us?
Also read: Amsterdam from the air (with a drone) in 4K
Calf stuck in barbed wire
As you can see in the beginning of the video, a calf that was separated from the herd caught my eye. Calf and mother cow called to each other but they could not reach each other. The calf ran up and down some fellow in the icy water, calling out to mama. It was heartbreaking to hear! Some bystanders were also concerned about the calf because of course the freezing water can be dangerous. Meanwhile, the management of the nature reserve had already been called by a bystander.
Before the manager arrived, the calf itself started to climb over or through the fence. It briefly got stuck in the barbed wire and I captured the scene with the drone. Fortunately, it turned out well, and mommy cow and calf were reunited.
Respect, care and admiration for the animals
It was quite busy on the dike, many people came to watch the animals. I overheard a lot of conversations while flying and many people felt that the animals were neglected and couldn't move because of the high water.
I would like to get rid of that theory right away! The animals are closely monitored and there is a raised platform where the animals can graze without water. Sometimes they only choose to walk through the water towards the dike. Just after my batteries ran out, the entire group of horses ran through the water to the elevated platform. Unfortunately I have no pictures of that, but they move with ease through the high water.
Extra silent drone with zoom function
I also received some questions from bystanders whether the drone would disturb the animals in the Beuningen floodplains. I would also like to explain that. If you look closely at the images, you will see for yourself that this is not the case. I have equipped the drone with special 'stealth' propellers that significantly reduce the noise. In addition, I almost always film in the zoom function, so even if something seems close, the distance is usually 30 meters or more. The funny thing is that I immediately returned the question if they knew where the drone was flying at that moment, and that they then looked high into the sky, while the drone was barely 20 meters away from us, silently hovering at just 1,5 meters height above the water. I quickly got the response, 'Oh yes, that is indeed very quiet!'.
120 meters height: 360 degrees Panorama Floodplain Beuningen
In addition to the video above, I also took a 360 degree panorama photo of the snowy village of Beuningen and the high water level in the floodplains. You can open the 34-megapixel panorama photo by clicking on the photo below.
Tip:: Click below on the 360 degree panorama photo of the Beuningen floodplains to open. Click on the photo again to enlarge it completely and if you view the photo on a mobile phone, you can Bottom left again on it kompas click so that you can look around, zoom in, etc. completely free.
For another large panorama photo of the Beuningen floodplains in winter: click here.
