TOH Big Year 2021

Yesterday afternoon Paul van Eik reported a Red Pharalope in a ditch near Harlingen. I chose not to go directly, but to go the next morning so I had time to search in nearby area's for other birds, in particular in the hope to find an American Wigeon. Upon arriving I didn't see the pharalope right away. I met another birder who was walking along the ditch. He told me he also couldn't find the bird. I started to search a little further away until I saw the pharalope had been reported again. I rushed to the site and found the bird sitting silently in the water, occasionally moving its head, but not much else. As time moved on the bird was closing its eyes for longer and longer times. I reported my findings in the TOH app group and directly got a call from Andries asking if it was possible to take the bird out of the ditch and bring it to the animal care shelter where the works. The bird was on the other side of the ditch so I had to find a way to get onto the adjacent field. I looked at the time and saw I had too little time before a digital work meeting was about to start. I told Andries I would keep an eye on the bird and as soon as I had time I would pick the bird out of the ditch and bring it to the shelter. I told Andries I wasn't sure the bird would even live that long. Then after about ten minutes the bird let his wing hang and closed it eyes. I watch it for a couple of minutes but it became clear to me the bird had probably died. I can't remember ever having seen a bird actually die. I have seen lots of dead birds, but not actually see one die. A sad sight. The day before on the pictures nothing seemed wrong and now this.

While the meeting had started Jeroen texted me and offered to ask two of his students to come and help to get the bird out of the ditch. It didn't take long for one of the students to come. He grabbed a large rod out of his car. This rod wasn't long enough so he put on a wetsuit and walked into the ditch. He managed to grab the bird and it was clear it had actually died. He put the bird near my car so I could bring the bird to Andries. Andries had asked that even if the bird couldn't be saved he would like to have it for educational purposes in the shelter. In the following half hour two other birders arrived, and although I had reported that the bird had died this message hadn't reached them yet. So I had to disappoint them by telling they had come for nothing. At least I could show them the dead bird. Surprisingly how small it actually is. Birds in the field seem larger than they actually are. I warned them of the potential option the bird had died from bird flu so everyone kept their hands of the bird. What the cause of that was will be researched by someone Andries knows and who is going to stuff the bird.

After the meetings were finished I moved on to the puddle swamp area near Harlingen in the hope to find some new year birds. The thick fog of the early morning had cleared a little but visibility was still limited. Just before I entered bird hide I flushed a couple of plovers. I didn't get good views and didn't hear any calls. In the past few days there had been reports of little ringed plover which would be a new year bird. I did however find my first Avocets of the year.

Becasue of the limited visibility I couldn't identify all the wigeons in the area, so I planned I would move on and if visibility would improve I would go back. Next I tried the Kornwerderzand and Breezanddijk. Just on my way I see a small bird flying across the road and then perching on a fence. It turned out to be my first Black Redstart of the year.

There is a lot of construction going on at the afsluitdijk. This made it impossible to check the birds on the wadden sea side. On the Ijsselmeer side I did however find some Red-crested Pochards. A very good lucking duck. I started to film the birds and then someting unexpected happend. The birds began to mate.

Next I wanted to try a watchpoint near Workum which I previously had never visited. At this watchpoint I saw my first Ruff's of the year. Also lots of ducks present, but nothing of notice. There were a lot more ducks further away, but because of the fog I couldn't check them. Maybe another time. While walking back I suddenly heard a Cetti's Warbler calling. I grabbed my recorder but the bird remained silent for the rest of the time. The evidence has to come another time. Andries then texted me how late I would arrive. I told him I was about to leave and would be there within an hour. At the shelter I first took a picture of the dead pharalope and after that I got a tour around the shelter. we concluded with a good cup of coffee

165. Red Pharalope

166. Black Redstart

167. Pied Avocet

168. Ruff

169. Cetti's Warbler

Episode 24 - Border Patrol - 03-06

Yesterday afternoon a whatsapp message came through with a report of a Iceland Gull near Coevorden. The bird was mostly seen on a sand excavation lake on the German side of the border. But occasionally the bird was see flying overhead above Dutch soil. This meant it would be one of my target birds for march. I already had plans to go to the Dwingelderveld with Willem. I texted Willem to tell him of my plans to see this bird instead. Willem didn't want to join this time. He wanted to sleep in and maybe search for Moor Frogs which turn blue this time of year. This meant I had to go by myself this time. I used google maps for navigation and I arrived at my destination. I could see a part of the lake, but didn't see the Iceland Gull right away. I was also standing on the German side of the lake. I had to figure out how to get on the other side. A road that was visible on google maps wasn't there anymore so I packed my stuff and had to cross a field. When I arrived there I saw a group of gulls flying over and took some photo's to see if the Iceland Gull was between them. When I viewed the photo's at home the bird turned out to be in that group.

I waited for half an our and threw some bread on the shore of the lake in the hope this would attract the gulls. This didn't happen, but I noticed that I could park my car on a way better spot so I walked all the way back to the car and drove around the lake. After a couple of minutes I arrived at the other spot and there I noticed a lot of gull on the industrial estate. Luckily most of the industrial estate is located on the Dutch Side of the border. Suddenly all the gulls are flushed by something. Quickly I see two Peregrine Flacons flying overhead. I change the exposure of the camera two compensate for photographing against a light sky. The falcons are two quick for me so I fail to get a picture. I do however see another place were some more gulls are so I drive there. I park the car and immediately see the Iceland Gull. I take a photo, but forget to change the exposure back. So sadly the photo's are overexposed. I tried to get detail back on my computer, but the photo's are so overexposed that I can't get any details back. This is as much detail as I could get.

I send out a text to other birders that I re found the bird on Dutch soil. Thom Schroot arrived very quickly. It turned out he was just around the corner when I put out the text. In the meantime however I lost the gull so together we start searching again. A car drives by and suddenly it turnes out we have parked our car behind a fence that was open by coincidence. The fence gets closed behind us. Slightly in panic Thom walks to the fence explaining to the guard what we are doing. He decides to open the fence one last time, so we pack our stuff and drive out of the parking space. Then we see some gulls in a puddle on the adjacent field. I decide to try another bread, but no gulls are attracted. All the gulls are flushed again by someone walking on the terrain. We can't find any candidates Iceland Gull so I decide to head back and search at a different spot. Thom and I decide we would call each other when we see the bird. After I couldn't find the gull anywhere on the industrial estate so I headed back to the sand excavation lake and there was the gull. I called Thom and at that moment the gull flew of. I told him to watch out for the single gull flying over the road. I hang up, but then the gull returned so I called Thom again. Thom arrived and luckily the gull stayed on the lake. Edwin the Weerd also arrived and with the three of us we watched the gull for some time. Sadly we had strong backlight.

Now we hoped the gull would fly to the industrial estate again so Thom and Edwin could also count the bird, as the rule is the bird has to be on or above dutch soil for it to be countable. After 30 minutes or so this it wat the bird did, so my job was done. Now I had to figure out wat to do next. Would I go home or visit another area? I decided to go to the Dwingelderveld in the hope of seeing my first lesser spotted woodpecker of the year. Maybe I could also see the Ferruginous Duck this time. After walking some time to the area were I had found Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in other years I heard a soft but fast ticking sound on a branch. After some time I found the bird that was doing this and it turned out to be a foraging female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. I grabbed my camera, but the bird flew of. The next hour I tried to re find it to get a photo, but although I heard it ticking a couple of times, I was never able to find it again. Another bird I have to get evidence of on a later moment. To make up for this I did get a photo of a Red Crossbill so thats another bird I now have a photo of this year.

Further I saw a Sparrowhawk hunting on a Long-tailed Tit and I heard a Northern Raven calling. The Ferruginous Duck was again nowhere to be found. Not seeing the bird was made good by multiple singing Wood Larks. Next I tried another spot where a Little-ringed Plover was reported and where in the past had been some reports of Little Owls. I didn't see any owls, but did find a nest box where the bird was possibly in. The Little-ringed Plover took some effort, but I was happy seeing the first of the year.

170. Iceland Gull

171. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

172. Little-ringed Plover

Episode 25 - Border Patrol part II - 03-17

The last ten days nothing very exiting happend. Although a nice male Pied Wagtail is always a treat. On the 8th I twitched the Siberian Chiffchaff in Groningen. Before I found it, I found my first Common Chiffchaff of the year. Right after I found the Siberian Chiffchaff. My second of the year and autumn hasn't even started.

On the 6th Julian Overweg found a possible Todd's Canada Goose. Canada Goose stood on the Dutch list for more than 15 years. There is a large feral population in the Netherlands but there have been reports of proven wild Canada Goose in the Western Palaearctic so the thought was that un ringed Canada Goose could also be of wild origin. In the winter of 2020 this changed. The feral population of Canada Goose in the Netherlands consist of the subspecies Branta Canadensis Canadensis. This subspecies is on the basis of range not likely to turn up in the Western Palaearctic and there haven't been any proven wild birds of this subspecies either. Two other subspecies are more likely to turn up and that are Branta Canadensis Interior and to a lesser degree Branta Canadensis Parvipes. The identification of the subspecies of Canada Goose is not straight forward but the bird Julian had found missed the very light breast patch that the canadensis subspecies has. It also looks slightly smaller and the neck looks thinner, although this is dependent of the posture. Just for the sake of it I decided to twitch it. I don't have the hope the bird gets accepted bij the CDNA, but maybe this bird could start the conversation and we will found out more about the Canada Geese in the Netherlands.

The next day I did my usual round at the Lauwersmeer in the hope of finding a Pied Wagtail (White- and Pied wagtails are counted as separate species in the Netherlands. At the Oude Robbengat I hit the jackpot. A small jackpot that is, cause the bird was far away, so very difficult to get any evidence. At the Bantpolder I heard my first Spotted Redshank.

The next new year bird came as a surprise. On the 14th after dinner Jannie and I did a walk around the village when I suddenly heard the screeching call of a Barn Owl. I shouted: " Barn Owl!" Scaring the shit out of Jannie who was lost in thought.

The next year bird had a bit of history. On the 9th Gijs shared a link in our app group about a storm that was developing in the gulf of Mexico and that was crossing the Atlantic Ocean fast to reach us a couple of days after. I had hopes that this storm would maybe bring some early American Migrants like Snow Goose, American Wigeon, Green- and Blue-winged teal and so on.

On March 16th I got an alert of a Snow Goose just across the Drenthe border. As with the Iceland Gull, when a bird is that close tot he border chances are that when the bird takes the wing it crosses the border and can be counted for the year list. As I got the alert I texted Thom Schoot, because he is doing a Big Year in Drenthe. I didn’t have the time to go that same day. Thom did, but he dipped the bird. That afternoon there was another alert of a possible Lesser Short-toed Lark at the Lauwersmeer. A potential first fort he Netherlands. As I was finished with work I went there, but couldn’t find any larks. It then started to rain and the forecast was that it would keep raining until dark. The next morning I tried the lark again. Although the description given by the observer was pretty good I was the only one searching. I found a couple of skylarks, but nothing exiting. Although I enjoyed views of a low flying White-tailed Eagle.

Then I looked if the Snow Goose was reported again and it had. Again just across the border in Overijssel. Now I had the time to go and I could wait there a couple of hours fort he bird to fly into the TOH borders. When I arrived the bird was actually nowhere to be found. I searched for a couple of hours on all places it has previously been seen, but I couldn’t find it. I looked at google maps and found a potential spot in Drenthe where the bird could be. At first I didn’t see anything here also, but I had to take a pee anyway so I stopped. As I pulled over I noticed some geese flying overhead. A couple of Greylag Geese and a white geese with Black Wing tips.

I had found the bird, and more importantly in Drenthe! I texted Thom and asked if he was in the neighborhood. He wasn’t, but he was planning on going in the afternoon. I drove in the direction the bird was flying and found it just across the border in Overijssel. I waited for another hour to see if the bird would fly off again, but this didn’t happen. Even when some people with two dogs walked by the geese didn’t move. For me it was time to go home. Later that day Thom had the bird flying back to Drenthe again. The next day it wasn’t reported anymore. Before and after the reports in this area there were reports of a Snow Goose in Overijssel at a different location. So this Goose didn't came with Evert (the name that was given to this storm). Nonetheless I am happy with it. Now all of the regular rare Geese are on the list.

173. Common Chiffchaff

174. Spotted Redshank

175. Pied Wagtail

176. Western Barn Owl

177. Snow Goose

Episode 26 - Frustrating Wigeon - 03-20

In episode 22 I wrote that one of my target birds for march would be American Wigeon. I had searched far and wide for the species, but failed to find one myself. On the third of march I visited a watchpoint near Workum. At that day there was a thick fog so I couldn't check the wigeons present that day. On the 20th of march it was Patrick Agterberg who found a American Wigeon between the Wigeons present there. He reported the find trough the TOH app group. I was at my mom's house cleaning the driveway. I quickly finished the job and went there. Sadly the bird was already out of sight. I was hoping the bird would return so I stayed searching for a couple of hours, but failed to find the bird. A little consolation was a Red Kite that was hovering alongside the highway.

On the 23rd I tried again. I searched for hours and hours. I searched at multiple locations. Wigeons were everywhere, but no American Wigeon. Sadly out of the humongous group of Wigeons a large potion was so far away they couldn't be checked. To give an impression I made a video.

Although I failed to find the American Wigeon again, I did manage to get two new year birds: Red-breasted Merganser and Mediterranean Gull. Also a nice adult Caspian Gull was present.

Two days later I tried again. And again I failed to find the American Wigeon. An Eared Grebe was new for the year list. I also did a little preparation for our upcoming Friesland Big Day in May and found a colony of Great White Egret and a nesting White-Tailed Eagle. The Eagle was filmed from really far away to not disturb it. You can see its head on the left side of the nest.

After three dips I had enough. Last year an American Wigeon stayed in the area until the twenty-first of May. I hope the American Wigeon is still in the area, but at this moment just out of sight and it will be re found again in the coming weeks. Hopefully by myself, but I'm happy to twitch it when necessary.

Then, on March 30th another message from Patrick Agterberg. He had found another American Wigeon. This time at a wetland near Leeuwarden. I grabbed my stuff and jumped in the car. Not crossing the speed limit I reached the spot some ten minutes to late. The bird had flown off, and was lost. But it still had to be in the area as the group of Wigeons had landed again. Couple of people helped me search for it, but as hard as we tried, the bird couldn't be found again. Now there's beginning to form a pattern. Patrick finds a American Wigeon which is gone when I arrive. Now I am faced with a dilemma. The bird is possibly still in the area, but the next day Willem and I would do a Big Day at the Fochteloërveen again. I texted Willem and we decided I would try the American Wigeon in first light. Willem would start the Big Day on his own and I would join as soon as I had found the American Wigeon. The next day and the day after I dip the bird again, bringing the total dips for American Wigeon to six.

178. Red Kite

179. Red-breasted Merganser

180. Mediterranean Gull

181. Eared Grebe

182. Yellow Wagtail

183. Common Sandpiper

184. Eurasian Whimbrel

Episode 27 - Another Fochtelo Big Day - 03-31

Since Willem did a Big Day in the Fochteloërveen in January plans were made to do one each month. I like Big Days so I joined Willem in February and would also join him in March. About a week ago we decided to do the Big Day on the 31th. The last day of the month would give us the best changes to get some early migrants on the list. As the week moved on the weather forecast got better and better. For the time of the year the temperature would be high and there would be almost no wind. Perfect conditions for early migrants. Willem wanted to do the Big Day by bike and I agreed. We set out a route of about 50km visiting the entire area.

Before I could join Willem I had to try the American Wigeon again. from one location I didn't find any Wigeons and from the original spot I had such backlight I could distinguish the Wigeons. This was going nowhere so I gave up and went to the Fochteloërveen. Willem had started already and had found 70 species already. My list had a good start to with Marsh Tit, Green Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail and Firecrest. While I cycled to Willem I found a lot of common species. Willem was already at the Esmeer. Just before I arrived I hear my first Willow Warbler of the year and my first ever in March. On the same time I heard a Black Woodpecker and Common Cranes. We visited some wetland patches adding species like Little Ringed Plover and Red-necked Grebe to the list, but the most unexpected species was a House Swallow which I heard before we found it flying overhead.

After visiting a sand extraction lake where we found another five swallows which were to distant to put a name on we went to the watchtower at the Ravenswound. Here I found my first Bard Swallow of the year and we saw two Common Cranes standing in the field. A singing Lesser Redpoll and Brambling were also nice additions to the list. Next we went on to the house in the forrest where Tree Sparrow is a guarantee. We also found a small group of Whooper Swans. When visiting the area behind the information centre my eye caught a blue moor frog sitting in the open. My first blue moor frog that asked for a photo.

Then I got a message in the Grunn twitchers app of a Cattle Egret near Groningen. A good bird for the year list so I looked at Willem and he was willing to give the Big Day a small break to twitch the Egret. As we Arrived we saw the Egret standing on the side of a ditch next to a breeding Mute Swan. That was easy!

It didn't take long before the Egret flew away. I ran after it to see if it would land. I lost the egret behind the visiting centre but managed to pick it up quickly. Here I saw the Egret landing in a field. Now it was time for us to go back to out Big Day. After about 30 minutes we got a text the Egret had flown of high and wasn't relocated again. Lucky for us we reacted so quickly, otherwise we would have dipped the bird.

Back in the Fochteloërveen we first went back to the wetlands behind the visiting centre. Here we sat on a bench for sometime enjoying our dinner. A further three Barn Swallows flew over, but we couldn't find any new birds for the list. Then it was the turn of the cycle path that runs through the peat. Willem was sharp and found a nice male Hen Harrier flying in to its roosting spot. Next Willem also found a very distant Great Grey Shrike. Willem now had seen 99 species this day. I wasn't far behind, but had missed Long-tailed Tit, Common Gull, Woodlark and Garganey because I joined Willem later on the day. Also Willem had heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker while I didn't.

We still had a couple of target birds to go. We drove all the way around the area to the Bankenbos and walked onto the cycle path again in the hope of hearing a displaying Common Snipe. It didn't take long before we found it and Willem had his 100th species. We walked back into the forest and hear another snipe: Woodcock snipe! We drove back to Willem's house at Veenhuizen were I loaded my bike on the car. We hoped to hear a Tawny Owl as our last species, but it wasn't calling. Before heading home a took a slight detour to the Onlanden to hopefully hear my first Spotted Crakes of the year. As I got out of the car I heard a Garganey calling and just 5 minutes before the curfew would start I had my Spotted Crake. Just enough time to get home before the curfew. This day made well up for the dip of the American Wigeon, but of course I still want to see one for my year list.

185. Bluethroat

186. Eurasian Blackcap

187. Willow Warbler

188. Tree Pipit

189. Common House Martin

190. Green Sandpiper

191. Barn Swallow

192. Western Cattle Egret

193. Garganey

194. Spotted Crake

Episode 28 - That was March

At the beginning of March I set a couple of target birds:

American Wigeon
Green-winged Teal
Tengmalm's Owl (hopefully the curfew will end soon)
Snow Goose
Glaucous Gull
Iceland Gull
Waxwing (although its a very bad winter for the species, so my hopes are for next fall)
Cattle Egret
Glossy Ibis

Of these target birds I managed to see Snow Goose, Iceland Gull and Cattle Egret and I saw a Red Pharalope. I took a couple of trips to search for Tengmalm's Owl, but the curfew hold me back. About American Wigeon I wrote enough, but lets hope I get another change in April or May.

My year list now stands at 194 species of which I've documented 168 species. Of the rare birds I miss documentation of Dusky Warbler and Cetti's Warbler.

Now lets compare the rare birds between myself and the lists of Andries and Vincent in 2020 and my own list of 2012.

I am ahead on rare species, but I am 1 behind on very rare species. For april I am hoping for some nice days of migrant watching and hopefully the first really rare birds of the year. My target list for April is the following:

American Wigeon!!
Green-winged Teal
Glaucous Gull
Glossy Ibis
Marsh Sandpiper
Black-winged Stilt
Pallid Harrier
Black Kite
Red-rumped Swallow
Richards Pipit
Tawny Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
European Serin

Episode 29 - Chasing Serins - 04-05

On the morning of the 5th I took a walk in the Onlanden. Suddenly I saw my first Northern Wheatear of the year. I didn't have my camera with me so just for fun I filmed the bird using my phone.

However, the story about the bird of this episode starts in episode 28. I wrote that one of my targets for April is European Serin. The last couple of days there were some reports and claims of this species. On March 20th Emo Klunder had a female in his garden in Wildervank. I texted Emo and asked him to let me know when the bird would re appear. He agreed but the bird didn't return. Then at March 30th another report of two European Serins on a feeder in a garden in Winschoten. I chose to try and twitch the American Wigeon Instead. The next day was the Fochtelo Big Day. On that day one bird was still present. Also on the 31st a Serin flew over the migrating watchpoint the Kustweg at the Lauwersmeer. On the 2nd of April there was a report of a Serin at the Drentsche Aa, so on the 3rd I gave that bird a try. I searched for over an hour, but couldn't find it. Thom Schroot had also searched later that morning with the same result. I then went to Winschoten in the hope that that bird was still present, which it wasn't. Then on the 5th another report came in of 2 birds in Oudermirdum. First I took a shower because I would have an easter diner at my dad's place. Upon arrival it was a little difficult to find the right spot. It turned out the bird was seen in a garden of a house in a holiday park. When walking around the park I met Peter Schutten who was also searching. After a couple of minutes we found the right house and I immediately heard the bird singing and then calling. I saw a man walking in the garden and he approached us. It turned out he was the one who put out the report of the birds. We were welcome to visit the garden to hopefully get views of the Serin. It didn't take long before I heard it singing again. Then the bird bird was found sitting on a small branch of a tree. Now I could get the evidence I was hoping for.

195. Savi's Warbler

196. Northern Wheatear

197. European Serin

Episode 30 - A Pointless trip to the sea - 04-06

Weather forecast for the 5th, 6th and 7th were very promising to see some seabirds.

Accidentally I booked the ferry to Ameland for the 12th instead of the 5th. On the 5th Martin Olthof saw a Long-tailed Jaeger flying past the Kustweg. Expectations for the next day grew as a result so the next day I took the 7:15 a.m. ferry from Holwerd to Ameland. After the ferry and the bus I arrived at the beach pavilion near Buren. When checking the sea I noticed how empty it was. Only a few lesser Black-backed Gulls and a couple of distant Common Scoters. After a few minutes of watching it started snowing for some time, but then the weather cleared. Still the sea was empty. I also wanted to see if i could get a video of distant seabirds so I set up my camera and started filming while in the meantime just checking with my scope to see if there was anything special flying. After some more snow had fallen and the weather had cleared again I quickly saw the first auk of the day. I was struck by the features it showed. It was pretty black overall. More like a Razorbill and not like a Guillemot. I also noticed that the bird looked top heavy, having the wings placed more at the back of the bird. Then I noticed the head had a grey color and started to think this could be an Atlantic Puffin. I hoped I would get good views of the bill but this didn't happen. I did noticed the underwings were pretty dark. Because I picked up the bird pretty late I only saw it briefly from the side and then mainly from the back. I watched if I could see white on the flanks, but the flanks were dark. Also a good feature for a Atlantic Puffin in comparison with other auks. Because this was the first auk of the day and it was flying solo I didn't have any reference. Also the bird was pretty far away and was flying really fast. Maybe I had fallen victim to wishful thinking and without any other birder present I couldn't count the bird for the year list. Because the camera was still videoing I had the hope that it would have recorded the bird so I could check the identity again. The screen on the back of the camera is too small to see any details so this had te be done at home. More on that later this episode.

After this first exiting moment of the day I watched for another hour, but then decided no sea birds were to be found so I headed back to the mainland. In the hope of seeing some new year birds I decided to check the Ezumakeeg on my way home. Maybe a Greenshank could be present. The water level is still very had at the Ezumakeeg this time of year so there are only a few spots were you can find the waders. At one of these spots I noticed, although very distant, two interesting plovers. After checking some features I identified the plovers as Kentish Plovers. Not a very rare bird, but pretty scarce and a nice one to find myself and for the year list. I also noticed a small stint foraging nearby which turned out to be my first Little Stint of the year.

Now it was time to head home and see if my camera had recorded the auk. It turned out it actually did, but I couldn't identify the bird at all from the footage. Although I'm not sure if it is even possible to film and identify distant seabirds with my camera and lens I know that a lot can be improved with different settings. I will try that out the next time. The video was slowed down to 12,5% speed and was cropped from 4k to 1080P.

198. Kentish Plover

199. Little Stint

Episode 31 - What a Beauty - 04-08

On this ordinary day in the beginning of April I was doing chores in the garden and I missed an alert of a Black Stork in Erm. As I was done I checked my phone and saw a couple of vague reports. There were reports of a Booted Eagle and a Little Swift. The description of the Eagle was wrong for the species (the bird was smaller dan a Common Buzzard). The Little Swift was propably a wrongly reported Common House Martin. In Dutch the two names look a lot like each other (Huisgierzwaluw vs Huiszwaluw). Because of all these reports I forgot about the the Black Stork. Then I decided to take a walk in my local patch the Onlanden. About 15 minutes in my walk I got a text from Willem telling me about the Black Stork Sighting. Thanks again Willem! The report was even accompanied by a photo. I couldn't exclude an escape Abdim's Stork that was seen in Drenthe last year, but decided it was worth the try.

After a trip of about 50 minutes a arrived on site and directly saw a large black bird foraging in the field. I parked my car on the roadside and put on the hazard lights of the car. I grabbed my binoculars and saw the bird was the Black Stork. As it was foraging it came closer and closer and I took loads of photo's.

Then I tried to make some movies, but all of the sudden the Stork took off, circled for a couple of minutes and the flew far away in a northwestern direction. I informed various app groups and headed back home. What do I love Black Storks, especially an adult bird like this one.

200. Black Stork

Episode 32 - 200! - 04-10

For this Saturday I had plans to make a round trip at the Lauwersmeer. I asked Willem and Gijs if they wanted to join. They both wanted join but Gijs needed a good night rest after a busy working week in which he had to get out of bed early every day. So we decided I would pick up Willem at 9:45 a.m. and Gijs at 10:00 a.m. I brought Jannie to her salon at 8 a.m. so I had some time to spare. Before I picked up Willem I decided to check the Black-winged Stilts that have returned for the breeding season at the Zuidlaardermeer. An oncoming birdwatcher told me the Black-winged Stilts were there and it didn't take long for me to find them foraging very close to the road. I enjoyed some 15 minutes with them, taking photo's and videos. A nice 200th species for the year list.

my clean clothes had to be sacrificed for a low point of view, but the results are worth it.

After this nice beginning of the day I tried my luck in finding a Penduline Tit, but to no avail. Then it was time to pick up Willem and Gijs. At Kardinge a Red-throated Loon had been found the day before and was also seen this morning foraging in a ditch. A nice opportunity to get some up close photo's of the species. After the initial report in the early morning the other birders failed to relocate it so we abandoned this plan and went to the Lauwersmeer. The first stop was the Jaap Deensgat. Willem quickly found two White-tailed Eagles and when we searched from the bird hide he also found a Merlin. I decided to film a Water Pipit that was foraging near the hide.

From to watchtower at Achter de Zwarten we heared our first Sedge Warbler of the year singing and I found a Spotted Redshank, so I could get my first photo of this species this year. We had hoped for an Osprey or Caspian Tern, but they were not here. On the way back to the car we took a long detour. This brought us our first Sand Martin of the year and Willem found a very distant Northern Raven circling in the air. Thanks to my camera we could Identify it. Then a very confounding Meadow Pipit sits very close to us on a branch, begging for a photo.

A quick walk at the surroundings of the marine harbor for a first Wryneck or Common Nightingale of the year produced nothing so we went on to get some groceries. Next stop was the Ezumakeeg. Just before we arrived we got a text about a possible Moroccan Wagtail at Castricum. I told the others that there was a possibility that we directly would head that way. We decided to searched the Ezumkeeg first and wait for someone to conform the report. We noticed a couple of birders standing on the road targetting their scopes or camera's on something further on the road. We asked what they were looking at. It turned out just before we arrived a Marsh Sandpiper had been found. One of my targets for April. Even better was that the bird was foraging very close to the road. A great opportunity for good photo's and videos.

After this incredible moment Willem looked at his phone and saw a report of a Ross' Goose at Marrum. I look at the others and within a minute we headed that way. Upon arriving we directly saw the bird foraging between a large group of Barnacle Geese. At first glance the bird seemed to be un ringed. But after filming the bird a little blue ring showed up, making this bird an escape. The second rare white goose this year with a ring, and the second time I'm birding with Gijs when this happens. I hope there is not a pattern forming ;)

One last stop at the Lauwersmeer to search for a Ring Ouzel before heading back home.

201. Black-winged Stilt

202. Sedge Warbler

203. Sand Martin

204. Marsh Sandpiper

205. Ring Ouzel

Episode 33 - Mega!....or rubbish? - 04-12

In the afternoon of the 11th a photo was shared of a raptor that was seen at the Marnewaard. It was obviously a dark brown colored bird with a bright yellow bill. Thoughts went directly to Yellow-billed Kite. A species never recorded in Europe. With birds of this extreme rarity its always the question if it just isn't an escape bird. Last year a learned a hard lesson when a swift with white rump was seen at Schiermonnikoog. White-rumped Swift, Little Swift and Pacific Swift were ruled out so we thought the only option would be a hybrid bird or an aberrant Common Swift. This made me desided not to go. Now it turns out the bird is was probably a Horus Swift which I missed. I won't let something like that happen to me again so now the motto is: See the bird first, discuss later. I consulted Jannie and together we decided to first eat our dinner and then try to see the bird.

It was very cold at the dike and the bird was nowhere to be found. Despite de dip I still thought the bird had to be in the area. It was too late for it to migrate any further and it was seen two times with 1,5 our in between.

This meant I had to be there again the next morning. When I arrived I saw one other car and was a little surprised. I had thought that at least a couple of tens of birders would be trying to see the bird. I asked in the Grunn Twitchers app who was searching and it turned out only Martin Olthof and Jacob Bosma were searching. Martin stood in the field and Jacob was scanning the Marnewaard from the migrate watchpoint.

The road, called the Kustweg, that runs between the Marnewaard and the dike is closed during the week. So I parked my car in front of the gate and first put out my laptop to do some work. After about an hour Martin Olthof texted that he found the Kite and that it was flying towards Jacob. It didn't take long before Jacob had eyes on the bird as it flew over the treetops to the east. I was very close but couldn't find the bird. I decided to grab my gear and walk towards Jacob when all of the sudden a brown raptor flew above my head. Thinking this had to be the kite a started taking photo's. After I took a quick look at one of the photo's the first thing I noticed was a grey instead of a yellow bill, but maybe this was do to a lighting effect? Then Jacob called me to inform me a Western Marsh Harrier had just passed me. I the realized I had photographed the wrong bird.

The kite was lost so we scanned the sky in the hope to re find it. After about 15 minutes Jacob shouted that he saw the kite flying. So I fired my camera again, this time photographing the right bird.

It turned out that Anne van der Wal: the birder who discovered the Yellow-billed kite, had pretty good photo's on which the unringed legs are clearly visible. The bird has some feather wear, but considering it hasn't started moulting yet this is to be expected from a wild bird. It is far from sure if the bird gets accepted bij the Dutch rarities committee, but for now I'm counting it for my year list.

206. Yellow-billed Kite

Episode 34 - A pink surprise - 04-14

On the 13th a Greater Flamingo was reported at the Breedbaartpolder. It was an unringed second calendar year bird and since no Greater Flamingo's had been born at the Zwilbrocker venn last year it could very well be a wild bird from southern Europe as last year two Greater Flamingo's that had been ringed at Fuente de Piedra in southern Spain turned up in the Netherlands, proving that wild Greater Flamingo's can turn up in northern Europe. So the next day when I got out of bed I directly went there and luckily the Flamingo was still present. Also my first Common Greenshank of the year was foraging there.

207. Greater Flamingo

208. Common Greenshank

Episode 35 - Preparation - 04-15

Almost every year in may me and my friends are doing a Big Day. In 2016 we managed to take the still standing Big Day record in the Netherlands and in 2017 we took the also still standing record in the TOH. Last year we tried a Big Day only in the province of Friesland. We failed to get the record so this year we give it another go. Last year we lost momentum in the forest, missing a lot of target birds in the morning route. As always the focus is heavily on woodpeckers as they can be very hard to find on a Big Day. We had noticed two locations which looked promising for especially Lesser-spotted Woodpecker and Middle-spotted Woodpecker so Willem and I decided to take a preparation round. We started at the Ketlikerskar and with little effort we found a Lesser-spotted Woodpecker. We also found a Black Woodpecker flying out en in of a hole in the tree.

Next stop was Oranjewoud. Here things also went pretty well. A Middle-spotted Woodpecker flew from the path and sat against a tree. We quickly lost it, but heard it a couple of times while we were there. Another target for this location is a Common Kingfisher. After searching for some time we suddenly heard it calling and saw it flying over the ditch. It then caught a fish and was sitting on a branch so I could take a photo.

With this nice routine in the forest behind u we decided to try our luck at the Lauwersmeer. We found my first Caspian Tern of the year and some nice White-headed Long-tailed tits. At the last stop of the day we Also found a nice Yellow-crowned Wagtail. A full species in the Netherlands.

209. Caspian Tern

210. Yellow Crowned Wagtail

Episode 36 - Checking rings - 04-16

This winter a drake Blue-winged teal was present at a pond in Groningen. It was ringed on both legs and was very approachable. On the 15th a drake Blue-Winged teal was reported in a wetland area near Scharmer. It was supposedly pretty shy and no rings were noticed. The next day there was another report and again no rings were seen. As april is a good time for rare ducks I had to give it a try. As I expected the bird did turn out to be ringed and it was indeed the same bird as in Groningen this winter.

Episode 37 - Another pink beauty - 04-17

The day started out by giving Jannie a lift to work. I then went on to the Lauwersmeer for some birding. First stop was the Kustweg for some migration counting, but as the wind it still mostly coming from the north there wasn't flying much. I decided to take a long walk in search of my first Wryneck of the year, but failed in doing so. I went on to the Frisian side when a report came through of a Rosy Starling photographed at Lemmer. It was a second calendar year bird moulting into summer plumage. Upon arriving I saw another birder searching for the bird. After searching for some time I got a call from Marchel Stienstra telling me I was at the wrong side of the houses. It took a while for me to figure out where Marchel was and when I found him a had to take a detour around the block before I could finally lay my eyes on the bird which was sitting still in a Holly. After some time it began foraging on some peanut butter for birds that one of the residents had put up in her garden. This gave me a nice opportunity to film the bird. Later on it even got better when the starling flew in a tree near us and started singing which I also managed to record.

211. Rosy Starling

Episode 38 - When does the wind turn? - 04-19/04-20

For weeks on end we are dealing with a cold, mostly northern airflow. This isn't good for migration and in particular for rare raptors and pipits I like to see for the year list. On the 19th it finally looked like we got some easterly windflow so I went to the Kustweg as i thought that for the Noordkaap there had to be some southern direction in the wind.

Sadly I was wrong. There wasn't anything noticeable flying past so I turned my attention to working. Later that day I tried my luck at finding a Wryneck again on the cycling path near the marine harbor. I couldn't find one, but noticed my first Common Nightingale walking on the path.

That evening I saw that the Eemshaven had a pretty good count with multiple Ospreys and Black Kites, so I decided the next day I would try my luck at the Eemshaven. Sadly it wasn't half as good as the day before and it even turned out to get worse as I heard that a Tawny Pipit flew past the Noordkaap the day before and for two days a Penduline Tit had been present at the Eemshaven. I did a quick search for the tit, but only found my first Common Grasshopper Warbler for the year. I then went to the Noordkaap to see how the situation was there. At the Noordkaap I noticed a lot more Meadow Pipits were flying by in comparison to the Eemshaven so I decided to stay a little while. I managed to miss the only Osprey of the day because I left my sunscreen at the car and no other new year bird flew past so I decided to head home.

212. Common Tern

213. Common Nightingale

214. Common Grasshopper Warbler

Episode 39 - Chasing Pipits - 04-21

On the evening of the 20th I saw a report of a Red-throated Pipit on the isle of Schiermonnikoog. A bird not to be overlooked as it can be very hard to get on the year list. After consulting Jannie I decided to take the 9:30 a.m. ferry from Lauwersoog. On the ferry I did some work and after arriving on the island I rented a bike and started searching for the pipit. I found a Pink-footed Goose. A new bird for the island list for me. I also find a cute mouse.

The pipit wasn't easy to find. I had to look for over an hour in the area before I heard it for the first time. I had the recorder running the whole time so I checked if it recorded the call, which it did. I happily texted Jannie and some other app groups that I had found the bird. I still wanted to get a photo so I searched for the bird some more. Only half an our later I had found it again, but I only saw it flying overhead so getting a photo proved very difficult.

Now it was my plan to try and find a Wryneck, but this plan was abruptly abandoned by a report of the first Mamora's Warbler for the Netherlands near Den Helder. I took the first ferry back to the mainland and successfully managed to twitch it. On our way back we tried a Penduline Tit, but dipped it.

215. Red-throated Pipit

Episode 40 - Rarest of the commons - 04-23

On waarneming.nl species are split into four categories: common, scarce, rare and very rare. In each categorie there is of course also a difference in rarity. Some common birds are just more common than other common birds. If we split it up in just two categories: common and rare, the rarest of the common birds would be the Penduline Tit. A species that is declining in the Netherlands and only a few breeding pairs remain. The avoid getting to much attention on these birds waarneming.nl has decided to not upgrade the species rarity to rare, making it the rarest of the common birds. Penduline Tits are well sought after birds and especially nesting sites attract lots of birders and photographers. This can lead to disturbance and possibly a failed breeding result which would be devastating for this declining species. Then there is also the problem of poachers who cut off the nest from te tree because they think its a nice thing to keep at home -_-.

This year looks to be a better year for the species with multiple sightings and multiple breeding attempts. I was lucky to find this one.

216. Penduline Tit

Episode 41 - Checking rings part 2 - 04-24

On the 23rd I heard of a Bufflehead in the Bargerveen that was discovered on the 17th. Thom Schroot found it the same day, but failed to see if it was ringed. In the Netherlands a Bufflehead is only accepted if there is proof of it being un ringed. The next day this task was upon me and in good spirits I went that way. I loaded Jannies bike on the bicycle carrier so I didn't have to walk all the way from the parking spot. It took a while for me to find the bird and it was in a difficult spot to check if it was ringed. The bird was in a small fen surrounded by birch. After some searching I found a spot between the trees were I could film the duck, hoping it would start brushing its plumage with its feet. A good way to determine wether a duck has rings or not. After taking video's for a while the Bufflehead suddenly flew out of the fen. I searched all the fens in the area, but failed to re locate it. Disappointed I returned home, only finding three common new year birds.

When checking the footage I took for this blog I noticed I had captured some short footage which show un ringed feet. So I do count the bird for now and have submitted the observation to the rarities committee.

217. Bufflehead

218. Common Cuckoo

219. Common Whitethroat

220. Common Redstart

Episode 42 - Birding with friends - 04-25

Last weekend Mirna and Klaas-Jan were supposed to visit us, but their child was sick so they couldn't come. This weekend we gave it another try. We had dinner together and filled the evening with the board game wingspan. A board game based on birds. An hour before the curfew we tried to hear a Eurasian Bittern, which would be a new species for Klaas-Jan. I possibly heard one calling from far away, but nothing certain. We did however hear a Water Rail and a Spotted Crake, also new birds for Klaas-Jan. We went in not to late to get up early. Together we went to the Fochteloërveen. Another target bird was Black Woodpecker. We got treated with a nice show of a pair of Black Woodpeckers who were chasing away Stock Doves. We also heard two new year birds: European Pied Flycatcher and Wood Warbler. Now it was time to see the bird of the area: Common Crane. We found a group of 18 birds far away in a field and two loose birds. Klaas-jan then noticed a couple of Ring Ouzels in the same field!

We were also treated by multiple Ravens and the first Common Swifts of the year. We searched for Eurasian Hobby, but didn't find any. While we were searching for the Hobby we saw a Sparrowhawk chasing a buzzard. As Jannie and I had another visit planned for the afternoon we went home, but detoured through the onlanden to try and find a Western Osprey that is present for a couple of days now. We found it easily. luck was not over yet because we also found a Pied Wagtail and finally heard a Bittern! Mirna even managed to see it walking in the reeds.

221. European Pied Flycatcher

222. Wood Warbler

223. Common Swift

224. Western Osprey

Episode 43 - YANK! - 04-27

for the first time this spring, the wind once came from a southeasterly direction. My hopes were high for a good day of migration watching. Upon arriving at the Noordkaap I saw I was not alone as some ten other birders were also present. Later that morning another five joined. Despite the perfect wind conditions there were little to no birds flying across the dike. The wind had blown out of the wrong direction for too long the last couple of days so there weren't enough migrants in the field to even be migrating across the dike. This is very frustrating as these weather conditions of the last weeks definitely will cost me some year birds. When the wind is coming out of a southern to eastern direction we often get to see more rare migrants and rare birds in general. For example: Tawny Pipit and Red-rumped Swallow are very hard to get in de TOH otherwise. And then also birds like Citrin Wagtail, Woodchat Shrike, Iberian Chiffchaff, etcetera appear much more frequent under the right circumstances. But it is what it is. Can't change the weather.

At about 10 a.m. some photo's were shared in a rarities app group which clearly showed a Dark-eyed Junco. It was supposed to be in a garden in Koudum. That would be a great bird for my year list. As migrating birds were still absent at the dike Jeroen and I decided to head to Koudum directly. The precise location wasn't known yet, but we hoped we got more information before we were even in Koudum as it is a trip of 1,5 hours.

Upon arriving in Koudum new information was shared and we got a text the bird was actually been seen in a backyard by other birders who got there before us. We quickly went to the right house and were greeted by very welcoming people. If we put on a face mask we could enter the backyard. Sadly we were just too late as the bird had flown into a bush and was out of sight at the moment we entered the backyard. We were waiting patiently as I suddenly heard it calling. We then saw it being chased by a European Robin. It perched on a fence for a brief moment, just too short for me to take a photo. Jeroen did manage to get a photo. As I really wanted a photo of the bird we decided to stay and wait for it to show up again. About half an hour later it flew back into the garden and perched in a tree. Here I could get my first photo's, but from then on things got a lot better. The junco decided it was time for a snack and flew towards a feeding table just a couple of meters in front of me. After having had its snack it even flew in the tree right above me and started singing a little. I took a lot of photo's of which these are the best ones:

I the decided it was time to get some moving images.

After the bird had flown away it was time for some more preparation for the Friesian Big Day. Jeroen and I started at a location were last year a couple of Caspian Terns stayed longer in may than is usual. Normally Caspian Terns leave the country before we have out Big Day, but maybe this location will provide us this nice bird. After checking out this location and ineens finding a Caspian Tern we went on to some locations on the coast of the IJsselmeer.

At the Kornwerderzand we found a couple of new year birds and at the wetlands near Harlingen it was like a birding party with many nice birds very close to the path. We even witnessed two crows praying on a young European Hare and we saw a couple of Mediterranean Gulls mating.

225. Dark-eyed Junco

226. Yellow-legged Gull

227. Eurasian Reed Warbler

228. Little Gull

229. Lesser Whitethroat

230. Curlew Sandpiper

Episode 44 - Finally some migration? - 04-28

Today the wind would still be easterly so I went to the Noordkaap again. There was more migration than yesterday, but still not what I hoped for. Around noon I decided to go to the Eemshaven because raptors were better there yesterday. When I arrived it turned out I had just missed an Ortolan Bunting...never in the right place...

At least I found a Black Kite migrating northeast.

231. Wood Sandpiper

232. Black Kite

Episode 45 - Eemshaven - 04-30

Today I went to a Pallid Harrier at a disclosed site. It took me a while, but I finally found it!

Then I went to the Eemshaven in the hope of finally finding a Wryneck. I failed, but I enjoyed the presence of good amounts of Whinchats and Northern Wheatears. I also found a couple of Ring Ouzels.

Just as I was about to go home Rik Wever had found either a Blyth's Pipit or a Richards Pipit at Harpel in eastern Groningen. Both would be new for the year list so I decided to try it. When I arrived it already had turned out te be a Richards Pipit instead of the much rarer Blyth's Pipit, but a good year bird nonetheless. After searching the area some time I had lost my custom made windjammer for my sound recording device so I walked back to get it before going home. I then noticed a couple of Meadow Pipits and Yellow Wagtails further ahead at the edge of a pond. As it looked interesting I gave it one last try. Then the Richards Pipit suddenly called and flew around the area. The batteries of my recorder had just died, but I managed to get some record shots. A nice way to end April.

233. Pallid Harrier

234. Whinchat

235. Richard's Pipit

Episode 46 - That was April

For April I had the following targets:

American Wigeon!!
Green-winged Teal
Glaucous Gull
Glossy Ibis
Marsh Sandpiper
Black-winged Stilt
Pallid Harrier
Black Kite
Red-rumped Swallow
Richards Pipit
Tawny Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
European Serin

Of these I saw: Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Pallid Harrier, Black Kite, Richards Pipit, Red-throated Pipit and European Serin. I additionally saw a Black Stork, Greater Flamingo and a Rose-coloured Starling. Three nice birds, but not the most exiting for the year list as I would probably get other changes for these birds. But its nice to have them already which can save some valuable time later down the road. The best birds of the mont however were the Dark-eyed Junco and off course the mega Yellow-billed Kite.

April was, on the other hand, a bit of a disappointment. Because of the persistent northerly windflow there wasn't much visible migration. I was lucky with both a Red-throated pipit and Richard's pipit on the ground and a fly by Black Kite, but I had hoped for some more. There were reports of one Red-rumped Swallow seen briefly at the Kustweg and a Tawny Pipit on both the Noordkaap and the Eemshaven. There was even a observation of a fly by Ortolan Bunting at the Eemshaven. But I can only be at one watchpoint at the same time so I would have missed them anyway. It isn't fully out of the question that I will see these birds this year, but chances are getting slimmer.

And because of the persistent northerly winds there weren't much rare birds that probably would have turned up with southerly winds like Iberian Chiffchaff, Woodchat Shrike etcetera. There was a Citrine Wagtail on Vlieland, but it was found to late on the day to take the ferry and the next day it couldn't be re found. Also The American Wigeon didn't gave another appearance. These birds can also turn up later this year so lets hope for a great second half of spring.

So for the comparison:

As can be seen in the above chart I'm way ahead on rare birds (I'm even ahead on Andries and Vincent compared to the end of may), but not so much on the very rare birds, and the Yellow-billed Kite and Buffelhead are far from sure to be accepted bij the committee.

For May I have the following targets:

Tawny Pipit
Red-rumped Swallow
American Golden Plover
Terek Sandpiper

Otherwise it is just important to get all the common and scarce birds, except Common Redpoll and seabirds and to twitch as many rare birds as possible.

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