Amsterdam

Today I needed to go to the capital of Holland for an assignment for school.
Together with a hell lot of other children and some teachers we set off from the Hilversum Train station.
When you go by train to Amsterdam from Hilversum you go straight through the Naardermeer, today I saw a Great White Heron.
After visiting the Rijksmuseum we got a bit of free time and I walked to the Vondelpark, but not before I had a snack
This tupid Pigeon almost stole it, but I just killed the damn bird and left it to be eaten by other Pigeons.

The Vondelpark is now crowded by a group of Ring-necked Parakeet of which I saw 21, these birds are quite beautifull but they make the most awfull sounds.


This Egyptian goose was also present, how manny foreign birds can a man take??

On the way back home I spotted a Little egret from the train near the Naardermeer.

That's what I call Twitching!

My dad asked me if I would like to come with him to Groningen (a remote area in the northern part of Holland were I seldom have been). At first I didn't feel anything for the plan but when news broke that a Dusky warbler was spotted near the town of Groningen I immediately said yes.

So off we were on Sunday morning around 08:00... I really did need that sleep so I often fell asleep in the car.
After a 2 hour drive we arrived at the town Groningen, I forgot to tell that I had brought my bike with me so I could get everywhere!
The first thing I heard was a singing Song thrush followed by an Oystercatcher and some ducks.
This arrea was completely new for me so I really just followed my nose. My nose never lets me down and after an half hour or so I arrived at a spot called Vinkhuizen, since a few years a Siberian Lesser Whitethroat is wintering there.


I found the bird straight away and it showed really well.
I made some pictures with a camera I borrowed and was almost ready to go when 2 other birders arrived, I made quick chat with 1 of them and he told me that the Dusky warbler was showing well.
When I was seconds from leaving this guy (from Norwegian origin) told me that he was driving past the spot where the Dusky was set so he could drop me off if I wanted, the bike seemed no problem but it was in the first place (very small car...).
The damn thing just didn't seemed to fit in the car but after a lot of pushing and trying we finally got it right.
We chatted about vagrants and rarities and the drive that would have taken me 1.5 hour just took me 15 minutes!
When I arrived I immediately started looking for the bird and I wasn't the only one, 4 other birders were looking to including one guy that was already searching for 2 hours!
After I searched all along the campsite I started to look in the garden of a house near the camping.
When 3 birders arrived (and almost immidiately left) they told me that the bird was most commonly found in the North Western part of the site.
When I started to search these bushes together with an other birder we found the bird!
It was calling frequently and showed well for a few seconds!
After chasing it (in a good and loving way) for half an hour we lost it but after some time I re-found the bird in the garden and now it was showing really well.


After I made some pictures I was satisfied and left (being there for 2 hours).
I made a quick visit to the same Whitethroat and started cycling back to the spot were my dad should pick me up.
When I was almost there I heard a familiar sound, 9 Waxwings were calling from a large tree but when I wanted to make a picture they flew away in South Western direction.
On the way back to 't Gooi I saw some Rooks along the road.

Stunning day

The Red-flanked Bluetail was still present yesterday so I figured out a trick to get a non twitching friend of mine to get as close as I could to Zandvoort before asking: We could drop by the Bluetail....?
The plan was to go to IJmuiden first to catch up with some sea birds, Martijn (the non twitching buddy) and Diederik had never gone to IJmuiden before so I had to be their guide.
The first thing we spotted was a Rock pipit foraging along the shore, the second was a pair of Eiders. Especially the female got a lot of attention (we all know the males plumage from a 3 year staying bird on our local patch).
I was more interested in the flying gulls, I spotted one that had paler underwings then the Herring and a whiter head, a Yellow-legged!! The tail excluded Caspian.
A colleague of my dad was nice enough to loan me his Canon camera with a 200mm lense, since birds on the pier are very accustomed to the fishermen they are too to the other people, including 3 fanatic birders with camera's.
After seeing some Turnstones we spotted a Purple sandpiper foraging among more Turnstones, the poor bird got to hear a lot of digital 'clicks'.
Suddenly I spotted a gull that we immidiately identified as a Kittiwake, the bird flew by at close range. Later on we spotted 2 more.


^Kittiwake

Martijn and I spotted a diver spec. flying to the north, although I don't have much experience with divers I was most certain that this was a Red-throated Diver.
The bird landed on sea and as we watched it with our telescopes it was clear that it was a Red-throated one.
At the end of the pier is a lighthouse were people (when it is the right time and the wind comes from the best direction) often watch seabirds, there was nothing to see.
2 Turnstones came very close and enjoyed Diederik's Sultana's, we got very nice views when foraging 5 ft away. ^Turnstones

4 Snow buntings were foraging near the car park.

^Snow bunting

We decided that we would twitch a little (yes!) and headed for a Pallas' Leaf Warbler near Driehuis.
We didn't spotted the 10 birders watching the bird and drove straight past the spot...
Because it was a dead end we headed back and then I saw a photographer through the buses, this must be it!
The bird was gone for 10 minutes now and people were leaving, I thought I'd seen a better spot so I walked straight to it.
An other birder spotted the bird at the spot were I was heading!
The bird gave some splendid views in the next half an hour, then suddenly Martijn said: It is getting dark, should we go by the Red-flanked bluetail?
I didn´t even needed a lie to get him their, what a relief!
I pointed out the way and as we arrived in the area we didn´t see anny birders, did the bird left or wasn´t annybody interested annymore?
The bird didn't left and there was some interest in it from some locals and photographers but they were all hidden in the bushes.
I found myself a real nice place to photograph next to Martijn de Jonge ( www.martijndejonge.nl ), he assured me that the bird will show up and that I should be capable to get some shots even with the 200mm.
The bird did show up and it showed extremely well at close range, there wasn't a binoculars needed for this bird, I even found it kind of dull to watch it through a telescope...




^Red-flanked Bluetail, sitting on his favorite branch

Treecreeper Magic

A few days ago a Eurasian Treecreeper was discovered at a camping sight called: Franse kamp.
Missing the bird on 10 minutes I rediscovered the bird the next day, very nice bird indeed with the white belly and huge white eye-streak!
Unfortunately it wasn't the best weather at the time.

Seeing the nice weather today I almost skipped all my lessons and went birding all day long, I didn't do it though.
Seeing the sun drop fast I went just after school to the Franse kamp and started searching for the treecreeper.
After an hour or so I found 3 fellow birders that told me that they'd seen the bird! But it was gone now.
After 2 of them left and 1 started searching elsewere I decedid to scan the treetops in the middle part of the Franse kamp.
I found 1 female Green woodpecker enjoying the last sun-rays and a Black woodpecker flew by.
A calling Wood lark flew high over, allso I heard 5 Hawfinches.
After hearing a familiar sound at the other end of the field I walked down to that part and started to search for treecreepers again.
The call seemed to come from a tree close by and after a few Short-toed Treecreepers flew by I walked around the tree seeing a whitish treecreeper flying to another tree, when it landed it foraged for a few seconds and started flying to an other tree.
I noticed that this treecreeper was whiter than the others and it sure could be the Eurasian!
Finally the little rascal had settled down on a birch tree and I got a better look at the bird, it immediately was clear to me that this was the Eurasian treecreeper and I finally saw it calling to! That was the absolute proof for me that this was an Eurasian.
I got a few great views on the bird but it ultimately flew away in eastern direction.
When cycling back I noticed a Raven calling somewhere in the forrest.

Hello

Because my other blog pulled quite a lot foreign viewers I decided that it would be time to start a little blog in English, most of the time they are just summaries and not as extensive as the Dutch blog.
I hope to reach a larger public with this blog and that everybody can enjoy birds as much as I do!
I'm Dutch so don't be mad if you can't read the posts ...
Greetz,
Christian

^The strange guy adding this blog ;-)

Rook-o-holic

There is something about Rooks that has always attracted me.
Maybe their facial features? They obviously have a better sound than Carrion Crows.
Today I came across a few of those funny creatures near Vleuten.
Vleuten is a hell of a distance away from my homepatch so what the **** am I doing there?
I just wanted to get better views over the Blyth's Pipit and because I just love to cycle I jumped on my bike and drove the whole way (it's about 50-60 miles).

The way to Woerden wasn't that hard, the way back to Hilversum wasn't quite hard either, but so soon after eachother was to much for comfort...
The vexation of not seeing the Blyth's pipit today was almost enough to drive myself into the nearest pond... Nah... that's nothing for me, I just found it dreary that I drove the whole way and didn't see the bird, but that's what birding is all about! When you saw everything you'd hoped for there would be nothing about it annymore!!
I did actually searched for the bird (together with 10 or so) but that didn't pay off.

When I cycled along Vleuten I noticed a Rook! Rooks are not common in 't Gooi so this was an opportunity I couldn't resist!
I threw the bike in the bushes, got my telescope out and started digiscoping.
After 1 shot the group flew away to a more distant patch, I managed to get 1 decent shot.


When I drove near Tienhoven I saw 2 Red-Breasted goose foraging, amazed by this observation I started photographing the 2 birds.
Note the ring by the 2 birds and the fence surrounding then (you guessed it, their not wild..).
But it was a funny opservation because yesterday I saw my first foraging Red-breasted Goose! (I did see a bird a year ago that flew by).
Because the bird I saw yesterday didn't show well I just got a closer look at these 2 beauties.



2 Tawny owls were roosting at a spot near Breukelen.