BIRDS:
219) Black-winged stilt, Himantopus himantopus
220) Temminck's stint, Calidris temminckii
221) Spotted flycatcher, Muscicapa striata
222) White-tailed eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla
223) Wood warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix
224) Eastern subalpine warbler, Curruca cantillans
225) Lesser whitethroat, Curruca curruca
226) Eurasian griffon vulture, Gyps fulvus
227) Lesser grey shrike, Lanius minor
228) Western osprey, Pandion haliaetus
229) Great reed warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus
230) Marsh warbler, Acrocephalus palustris
231) European honey buzzard, Pernis apivorus
232) Terek sandpiper, Xenus cinereus
233) American golden plover, Pluvialis dominica
234) Little stint, Calidris minuta
235) Curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea
236) Red-crested pochard, Netta rufina
237) European bee-eater, Merops apiaster
238) Eurasian scops-owl, Otus scops
239) Red-rumped swallow, Cecropis daurica
240) Thrush nightingale, Luscinia luscinia
+12 heard only (252 total):
000) Lesser spotted woodpecker, Dryobates minor
000) Bearded reedling, Panurus biarmicus
000) Eurasian penduline tit, Remiz pendulinus
000) Eurasian treecreeper, Certhia familiaris
000) Iberian chiffchaff, Phylloscopus ibericus
000) Common nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos
000) Common grasshopper warbler, Locustella naevia
000) Savi's warbler, Locustella luscinioides
000) Eurasian golden oriole, Oriolus oriolus
000) Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella
000) Icterine warbler, Hippolais icterina
000) European nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus
MAMMALS:
12) Bank vole, Myodes glareolus
INVERTS:
14) Aradus depressus
15) Common heath, Ematurga atomaria
16) Minotaur beetle, Typhaeus typhoeus
17) Small emperor moth, Saturnia pavonia
18) Small bloody-nosed beetle, Timarcha goettingensis
19) Small heath, Coenonympha pamphilus
20) Small dusty wave, Idaea seriata
Another good month of birding since my last update! The best highlights were:
- A day with Baillon's crake, Rosy starling, River warbler and Thrush nightingale! Twitched the crake in the evening and stayed until just after midnight, telling myself "in case something else nice shows up I'll have a good day list" - bam, next day 2 wonderful adult Rosy starlings and a very active (but invisible) River warbler show up!
- Blyth's reed warbler has been a long-awaited one, while they're becoming increasingly regular in the UK and NL this was only the third field record ever, and my recordings of this bird are probably the best recording of the species in Belgium (not saying much about the quality, moreso about the rarity!). After an initial dip spending all afternoon at the site I returned at like 4AM the next day, and was the only succesful twitcher!
- A really cool last minute trip to try and find Boreal owls. I did find a nest box that seemed to have been active until recently, but there was no activity at all close to it all evening so I walked back for half an hour through the pitch black forest. Within 500m from my car, I suddenly hear a male singing! Can't count it for this thread (
), but absolutely one of this year's birding highlights.
- Cheeky little Cinereous vulture twitch - because 2 vulture species in the Benelux wasn't enough this year!
- A short week family trip to Luxembourg (the country, not the province), which apparently still has decent amounts of Grey-headed woodpecker, and in the extreme southeast even a pair of Cirl bunting! Both possible but really tough birds in Belgium/Netherlands, so I'm glad to add them to my Benelux list and prove that the "Lux" is more than just a technicality! Decent numbers of Palmate newt and Fire salamanders there were nice, too.
- Finally, a Lesser yellowlegs in Belgium just yesterday, after having missed out on like 3 the past two years. Really cool bird!
BIRDS:
241) Rosy starling, Pastor roseus
242) Little bittern, Ixobrychus minutus
243) Melodious warbler, Hippolais polyglotta
244) Blyth’s reed warbler, Acrocephalus dumetorum
245) European turtle dove, Streptopelia turtur
246) Red-backed shrike, Lanius collurio
247) Cinereous vulture, Aegypius monachus
248) White-winged tern, Chlidonias leucopterus
249) Cirl bunting, Emberiza cirlus
250) Eurasian bittern, Botaurus stellaris
251) Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella
252) Lesser yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes
+15 heard only (267 total):
000) Lesser spotted woodpecker, Dryobates minor
000) Bearded reedling, Panurus biarmicus
000) Eurasian penduline tit, Remiz pendulinus
000) Eurasian treecreeper, Certhia familiaris
000) Iberian chiffchaff, Phylloscopus ibericus
000) Common nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos
000) Common grasshopper warbler, Locustella naevia
000) Savi's warbler, Locustella luscinioides
000) Eurasian golden oriole, Oriolus oriolus
000) Icterine warbler, Hippolais icterina
000) European nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus
000) Baillon's crake, Zapornia pusilla
000) River warbler, Locustella fluviatilis
000) Boreal owl, Aegolius funereus
000) Grey-headed woodpecker, Picus canus
MAMMALS:
13) Beech marten, Martes foina
14) Brown rat, Rattus norvegicus
HERPS:
2) Palmate newt, Lissotriton helveticus
3) Fire salamander, Salamandra salamandra
4) Sand lizard, Lacerta agilis
INVERTS:
21) Cockchafer, Melolontha melolontha
22) Emperor, Anax imperator
23) Early hawker dragonfly, Aeshna isoceles
24) Dainty damselfly, Coenagrion scitulum
25) Red admiral, Vanessa atalanta
26) Map butterfly, Araschnia levana
27) Brickwork woodlouse, Porcellio spinicornis
28) Garden grass-veneer, Chrysoteuchia culmella
29) Comma, Polygonia c-album
30) Pine weevil, Brachyderes lusitanicus
31) Marbled white, Melanargia galathea
32) Small skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris
33) Beautiful demoiselle, Calopteryx virgo
34) Green shield bug, Palomena prasina
35) Dor beetle, Geotrupes stercorosus
36) Large skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus
37) Black-tailed skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum
38) Black-veined white, Aporia crataegi
39) Escargot, Helix pomatia
40) Rose chafer, Cetonia aurata
41) Large yellow underwing, Noctua pronuba
42) Brown house moth, Hofmannophila pseudospretella
43) Pied hoverfly, Scaeva pyrastri
44) Tinodes waeneri
45) Small fan-foot, Herminia grisealis
46) Box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis
47) Drinker, Euthrix potatoria
48) Migrant hoverfly, Eupeodes corollae
