Eagle owl chick in the ENCI quarry on Sint Pietersberg mountain by Michelle Peeters

The Oehoevallei is a valley in Dutch South Limburg in the municipality of Maastricht. The valley is a peace and quiet area and lies on Sint-Pietersberg and the Plateau van Caestert and is part of the ENCI quarry. On the northern side of the ENCI quarry, there is a bulge in the quarry, a narrow valley that is about 160 metres wide at its narrowest and about 300 metres wide at its widest and has a length of about 500 metres. This valley is called the Oehoe Valley. On top of the slopes, the Luikerweg lies on the east side and the Van Schaikweg lies on the north and west sides. On the northern side of the valley, a viewpoint overlooking the valley has been created, the Kiekoet. East of the southern part of the valley is a viewing platform overlooking the quarry. Southwest of the valley, the ENCI forest is located on the quarry wall. The Oehoe Valley is characterised by steep marl walls where excessive bushes and trees have been cut back. Many plants grow on the limestone grasslands grazed by marl sheep, including orchids, winged flowers and the great centaury. The valley and its surroundings are home to bats and the eagle owl, Europe's largest species of owl. Every year, the eagle owl nests in one of the marl corridors. From the Kiekoet, the nest can sometimes just be seen. I was just lucky that one of the chicks flew a little closer and looked curiously around the corner.

This artwork is offered by Michelle Peeters

Michelle Peeters (1965) My interest in photography and film started around the age of 15. In 1987, I started my career as an ICT specialist. However, my spare time was spent travelling, photographing and filming. In 2006, photography finally won out. I followed my training at the Fotovakschool and started my own company, which mainly deals with photo reportage. However, my ICT background still often comes in handy, e.g. when editing photos in Photoshop, building websites and designing flyers, corporate identities and business cards (an increasingly important part of my portfolio). My assignments as a freelance photographer vary from making (group) portraits to school, wedding, product and (travel) reports. I also give and organise photography workshops at home and abroad, draw up life stories and make photo montages with image processing programmes. It is a very varied and exciting profession where boredom will not easily strike!

Learn more about Michelle Peeters?

• All artworks by Michelle Peeters