A fascinating detail: The beak of the common snipe is twice as long as his head.

Endangered species: the black-tailed godwit prefers to breed in bog areas, of which there are ever fewer. © Andreas Trepte

The beak of the Eurasian curlew is a precision tool that allows it to remove mussels and snails from their shells.

The Eurasian curlew in flight is a majestic sight. © NLWKN

The eggs of the northern lapwing were once considered a delicacy – today you are not allowed to collect them. © Andres Trepte

The common redshank prefers to brood in salt marshes or bogs. © Goetz Nowak

Outside of brooding periods the habitat of the common redshanks is not in the bog but rather in the intertidal mudflats. © Andreas Trepte

The Esterweger Dose is one of the last refuges of the golden plover. © NLWKN

The golden plover gets his name from the golden yellow tips of its feathers. © NLWKN

The golden plover’s chicks are perfectly camouflaged in the bogs because their down looks very much like a peat moss. © NLWKN

The flamboyant plumage of the golden plover is only seen in spring during mating season. © NLWKN

The golden plover on a set of discarded narrow gauge rails. Nature, bog, and human have not always lived in harmony. © NLWKN

Moor Frogs clasping: The clasping reflex during the breeding period serves to synchronise the egg and sperm release into the water and ensure successful spawning.

The red-eyed damselfly prefers large bodies of water – it’s not even bothered by the presence of the morning dew. © NLWKN

These dragonfly wings are covered in dew in the early morning. © NLWKN

Dragonflies are between 20-110 mm in size – raindrops are usually not larger than 3 mm. © NLWKN

Impressive photo showing detail of typical inhabitants of the bog: Peat moss, sundew and dragonfly. © NLWKN

The common spreadwing is a social animal: populations often consist of hundreds of dragonflies.

Multi-facetted: sexually mature common spreadwings can stay underwater for up to half an hour.

Swampy bog landscapes constitute the habitat of the black darter.

In Germany there are only two types of poisonous snakes – The common European adder is one of them. © Kerstin Kattke

The common European adder prefers areas with relatively high humidity such as that found in bog areas. © Kerstin Kattke

Ritual fights serve to rank the animals without the risk of them seriously injuring one another. © Kerstin Kattke

The common European adder is an ambush predator that sits and waits for its prey.

Massive bodies: The four-spot orb-weaver is the heaviest orb-weaving spider in Germany. © NLWKN

Male wasp spiders grow to be about 6 mm long, while females grow to a length of up to 25 mm! © NLWKN

Every child can recognize the small tortoiseshell butterfly. Its habitat is throughout Europe. © NLWKN

The very distinctive large heath butterfly lays its eggs in raised bog areas in the cotton grass, which the caterpillars then eat. © Carsten Heinecke

The drainage of many raised bogs has endangered the cranberry fritillary with extinction. © Carsten Heinecke

A name that suggests its entire beauty, the cranberry blue. © Carsten Heinecke

The Bentheim sheep stems from the Emsland and in the 19th century was popular throughout the North. © Tobias Böckermann

Das Bentheim sheep is an ideal working animal. It is robust and may be left outside in the winter. © Tobias Böckermann

Even adverse feed and weather conditions don’t seem to affect the Bentheim sheep. © Tobias Böckermann

The Bentheim sheep nearly became extinct in the 1970’s but is now being bred in a number of associations. © Tobias Böckermann

Bentheim sheep help with grooming the bogs, as they eat re-growing shoots. © Tobias Böckermann