I've had a fanastic seven-day wildlife trip with some friends to the north of the Netherland to once again find birds, in particular coastal waders and terns. We first birded our way towards the tip of Noord-Holland. We then went to the island of Texel for a few days, and on the boat trip we already spotted a Parasitic Jaeger flying among the many terns. At Texel we enjoyed the thousands upon thousands of waders, gulls and ducks. We had surprise sightings of several rarities, but the heavy rain also surprised us. my binoculars got wet and took two days to dry. It can't be great trip without at least some minor complications!
After we had seen the birds of Texel to our satisfaction, we left the island and drove to Friesland. On our way, we went looking for a very rare shrike (see list). In Friesland the Lauwersmeer (meer = lake in Dutch) was our main destination, and it yielded again large numbers of birds, including spectacular hunting Caspian Terns. In the Zuidlaardermeer in Groningen we found White-Tailed Eagles and Wiskered terns, although we had to walk many kilometers in the burning sun to see the latter. The absolute highlight however was in the Fochtelooërveen (veen = bog), which it known for it's breeding population of cranes. At a viewing platform we saw a group at least thirty of them flying at eye-level right in front of us, which was an unforgettable experience. The last day we twitched some rarities (including again a shrike very high on my wishlist!) on our way back the south.
The trip was very succesfull, with 140 species seen and an additional 7 heard. We found all tern species that breed in the Netherlands bar one, and I added many species to my year list, including several lifers!
Birds
219. Stilt Sandpiper, Calidris himantopus
220. Gull-Billed Tern,
Gelochelidon nilotica
221. Curlew Sandpiper,
Calidris ferruginea
222. Red-Necked Phalarope,
Phalaropus lobatus
223. Spotted Redshank,
Tringa erythropus
224. Sandwich Tern,
Thalaseus sandvicensis
225. Parasitic Jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus
226. Whimbrel,
Numenius phaeopus
227. Bar-Tailed Godwit,
Limosa lapponica
228. Red Knot,
Calidris canutus
229. Little Tern,
Sternula albifrons
230. Bearded Reedling,
Panurus biarmicus
231. Purple Heron,
Ardea purpurea
000. Pied Crow, Corvus albus*
000. Red-Tailed/Isabelline Shrike, Lanius phoenicuroides/isabellus**
232. Little Stint,
Calidris minutus
233. Caspian Tern,
Hydroprogne caspia
000. Ross's Goose, Anser rossi*
234. Great Bittern,
Botaurus stellaris
235. Whiskered Tern, Chlidonias hybrida
236. Common Crane,
Grus grus
237. Water Rail,
Rallus aquaticus
238. Woodchat Shrike, Lanius senator
239. Montagu's Harrier,
Circus pygargus
Herptiles
11. Marsh Frog, Pelophylax ridibundus
Invertebrates
169. Rusty Tussock Moth, Orgyia antiqua
170. Shuttle-Shaped Dart, Agrotis puta
171. Twenty-Plume Moth, Alucita hexadactyla
172. Compass Jellyfish, Chryoaro hysoscella
173. Small Tortoiseshell,
Aglais urticae
174. Dotted Rustic, Rhyancia simulans
* Both the Pied Crow and the Ross's Goose were seen "in the wild" but are unlikely to be real vagrants (escapees probably), so I don't count them. If any of them turns out to be accepted by the authorities I'll count them.
** There is no consensus yet on the identity of this vagrant shrike, although it seems that Red-Tailed is the most likely option, but as far as I know Isabelline is not entirely excluded (maybe
@Vision knows more about it). I'll count it as soon as there's any certainty on the matter. It's a lifer anyway!
