Welcome to Glenn Vermeersch Bird Photography!

Although this website is mostly written in Dutch, here you will find all the necessary information to visit the growing network of bird photography hides in Kalmthout, Belgium. 

At the moment we can offer 10 different bird photo hides in Belgium. All these hides are situated in Kalmthout, a small village at the northernmost border of the country. An additional 6 hides are available in southeastern France, find out about these great hides here!

The seasonal range of bird species in the various hides is impressive. They are situated in different landscapes: forest and/or heathland (Hide 2, Hide 7, Hide 8, Hide 9), farmland (Hide 6, Hide 10), marshland (Hide 1) and a mixture of forest and farmland (Hide 3). Some hides specialise in only species such as Hide 4 (Little Owl) and Hide 5 (Tawny Owl and occasional mammals such as Pine Marten, Red Fox or Roe Deer).

The hides offer good opportunities for a number of sought after, difficult to photograph and/or photogenic species such as Black Woodpecker, Honey Buzzard, Snipe, Green Woodpecker, Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Kingfisher, Firecrest, Hawfinch, Bullfinch, Water Rail, Grey Wagtail, Whimbrel and many other wader species, Redstart, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Little Owl, Tawny Owl, Cuckoo, Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Kestrel, Bluethroat, Crossbill, Whinchat, Tree Pipit, Spoonbill and many, many others. Of course there are differences depending on the season and the weather conditions on the day itself.

In addition to the hides I can also provide individual workshops. These include workshops with a floating hide (very good for wader species, ducks, grebes, etc...), Kingfisher (flight) photography and general bird photography + post-processing (Lightroom + Photoshop CC) workshops in Hide 9.

All hides can be rented per day. For the cost per hide and the possible number of photographers per hide I refer to the figure at the bottom of this page. In the online agenda on this website, you can check which hides are still available per day (the numbers listed per day are still open for booking and not the other way around!). You can book by simply sending me an email (info@glennvermeersch.be) with the date(s) and hide(s) of your choice.

In almost all hides (except Hide 4), we work with high-quality mirroring glass resulting in a great, panoramic and low-angle view on the different habitats. All hides are spacious and are equipped with comfortable chairs or a couch. Most have heating in winter. Ground pods are available in all hides except for Hide 1 and Hide 2 where you need to bring your own tripod and/or bean bag. The hides were built in such a way that the birds present sometimes pose very close. Telephoto lenses from 300 mm can all be used. Zoom lenses (eg 100-400 mm) can be useful.

Because of the diverse range of hides, the region is very suitable for a multi-day visit where you can alternate a few days of photography with hikes, visits to nearby nature reserves, etc...

From May 2022, a brand new ecolodge is also available, fully adapted to the needs of nature photographers! On the large private grounds (>4000m2) you will even find your own photo hide: www.silvesterlodge.be.

Take a look at the slide show below to get a general idea of the variety of species. Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions and who knows we might meet soon in Kalmthout!