Subject: Holland Bicycle Birding Trip
Date: Oct 17 15:29:21 1996
From: "W. William Woods" - wwwbike


We thought subscribers to Tweeters might enjoy reading about our
September, 1996 bicycling and birding tour of the Netherlands. It
was great! Although we did not see huge numbers of some of the
migrating shorebirds, we did see a good variety of them. We saw
thousands of Avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) perusing the
extensive mudflats of the Waddenzee. It was a spectacular sight.
There were also hundreds of Oystercatchers (Haematopus
ostralegus) and many Shelducks (Tadorna tadorna). At three
different places we saw a few Spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia),
beautiful pure-white birds with black legs and a black spatulate
bill tipped with yellow. About a dozen were resting at a Nature
Preserve near Leiden where a bird blind provided an excellent
view. There were also hundreds of Eruasian Wigeon at that spot
along with many Shovellers, some Mallards, Common Snipe,
Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) , Moorhens and Great-crested Grebes
(Podiceps cristatus). We also saw a pair of Spoonbills feasting
in the muddy lands in Middelburg. On Texel Island at De Slufter,
we saw another dozen Spoonbills with a few young ones still
begging for food. Most of the Spoonbills who nest in the
Netherlands had already left for their winter home in Africa
(don't know where) so we feel lucky to have seen as many
Spoonbills as we did.
At De Slufter on Texel Island we also saw a small flock of
Dunlin, a few Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), Spotted Redshank
(Tringa erythropus), Redshanks (Tringa totanus), Bar-tailed
Godwit, Ringed Plover and Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria).
Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and a female Marsh Harrier (Circus
aeruginosus) were flying over the dunes while Ring-necked
Pheasants and Wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) scooted among the
brush and bushes.
At Mokbai on Texel Island we watched as a few hundred Greylag
Geese (Anser anser) landed; quite a sight. Many resting Avocet
and Curlew (Numenius arquata) were there too. A small flock of
Ruddy Turnstones were feeding along the N.E. beaches of Texel
along with Oystercatchers , many Curlews and a few Common Eider
and Brandt (Branta bernicula).
In the pastures all over Holland were huge flocks of Lapwings
(Vanellus vanellus) gathering for their migrating flight to
Africa. They are large, impressive plovers.
In Flevoland, the most recent land rescued from the sea, we found
several Nature Preserves and got excellent views of Mute Swans,
Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo), Black-headed Gulls (Larus
ridibundus), Great-blacked Gulls, Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea),
female Hen Harrier (our Northern Harrier) plus a very exciting
"Lifer" the Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus). We were at the
Knardijk in Flevoland by an unfinished blind when we heard the
sound, so we watched and waited as the sound continued and
finally at the water's edge out stepped this beautiful blue-grey
and olive-brown rail with a long red bill. The flanks were barred
black and white and the under-tail coverts were white. The color
plate in the "Field Guide to birds of Britain and Europe" really
does not do it justice. The light was perfect for viewing this
usually secretive and difficult to observe bird. We were alone,
at the right place at the right time. What a thrill!
At the Lepelaarsplassen in Flevoland we found another temporary
blind and got some exciting views of Greylag Geese, Green-winged
Teal and Cormorants sharing a little island with two brilliant
red foxes. The birds paid the foxes little attention. We also saw
a small deer on the shoreline beyond the island. We got a good
look at a bobbing Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) along the
mudflats when a little Robin (Erithacus rebecula) and a female
Blackbird (Turdus merula) came down to join the sandpiper. In the
trees and shrubs nearby were flocks of Great Tits (Parus major),
Blue Tits (Parus caeruleus), Marsh Warblers (Acrocephalus
palustris) and a Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla).
At another Nature Preserve near Amsterdam called Naadermeer we
found another blind and observed Pochard, Tufted ducks, Mallards,
Coots, Gadwalls, Great-crested Grebes, Eurasian Wigeon, Mute
Swans, an Osprey and a Pied-billed Grebe. The Pied-billed Grebe
is not very common in Europe.
Other small birds that we saw in our visit to the Netherlands
included flocks of Coal Tits (Parus ater), beautiful, pink, white
and black Long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus), and spectacular
Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis). Gaudy grey-brown-black-blue-
and-white Jays (Garrulus glandarius) inhabited the oak and pine
forests along with Green Woodpeckers (Picus viridis) and Great
Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopus major). Magpies (Pica pica),
Jackdaws (Corvus monedula) and Carrion Crows (Corvus corone,
corone) could be seen all over Holland.
At the dams holding back the sea at the Rhine delta we saw Common
Terns , Sandwich Terns and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Other birds
seen along the bicycle paths (fietspads) of the Netherlands
included many White Wagtails, a few Yellow Wagtails, Wood
Pigeons, Collared Doves, Stock Doves, Rock Doves, Swallows (paler
than our Barn Swallows), House Martins (Delichon urbica), Mistle
Thrush (Turdus viscivorus), and of course Starlings and House
Sparrows. We did see one Buzzard (Buteo buteo), a couple of
Barnacle Geese, a few Herring Gulls , a few Black Grouse (Tetrao
tetrix), one male Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula), and one Pied
Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca).
All in all it was a marvelous birding trip. The weather was
pleasant with mild temperatures and just a few sprinkles of rain.
We did have a strong easterly wind on Texel Island, some of it
attributed to the presence of a hurricane in the north Atlantic,
one that had brushed the east coast of the U.S.

Bill and Erin Woods Woods Tree Farm Redmond, WA U.S.A.
<wwwbike at halcyon.com>