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PeterHG's Big Year-4th time


PeterHG

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As a farewell gift to our Slovenian guests, a Dunnock showed itself in our little garden. We had to make do with shots through the double-glazed windows, but it turned out it was a first for the BY thread for both of us. Happy birding @xelas, it's been great having the three of you staying with us!

351. Dunnock. Amersfoort, October

 

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Edited by PeterHG
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Together with @xelas and his family we did a few birding trips, mainly to coastal areas. The weather was not ideal: cloudy with regular patches of rain, but we had a good time anyway. I know @xelas managed to get a number of additions for the BY, but even for me the trip to Zeeland provided a few new ones for the year:

 

351. Brant. Zeeland, October. Local, but quite common in winter, if you go to the right areas. Almost exclusively a coastal goose.

 

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Now I was a little hesitant about this one. i thought it might be one of the rarer subspecies: Branta bernicla nigricans. Each year small numbers of this so-called 'Black Brant' are seen along the coast. The main differences with the regular species are the species are the prominent white flank patch, contrasting with the dark grey back and underside  and the larger white neck patch. But I'm not really sure, in fact on reflection I doubt it. Probably the underside should be a little darker still. Just a colour variety then.

 

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Edited by PeterHG
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353. (Red) Knot. Zeeland, October. I have no doubt you already spotted it in the last picture, but it deserves its own place, I think ;)

 

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354. Northern Gannet. Zeeland, October. Rather unusual to see this juvenile Gannet along the Brouwersdam in Zeeland as the dam is situated a little inland so the seaside is more or less a bay there. But we (still with @xelas and family managed to get off a few shots before it was just a speck on the horizon. It flew off north, so this juvenile either still has a lot to learn or is gambling on climate change.

 

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So it looks like we are being treated to a preview of pre-processed examples to arrive from SLO later on. No harm in that and double enjoyment.

Pssst. I think your Brent Goose is what those other folk call a Black Brant. (Nigricans). The thicker neck ring and more fore and aft gradation of the dark/light belly looks right to me. Good call.:D

 

That juv Gannet knows something. His elders are still around outside my window as I write. Normally long gone by now.

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Thanks for the heads-up on the Black Brant, @Galana . It is certainly strange to hear that your adult Gannets are still about. Nice for you, though ;)

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I heard that two rare ducks had been spotted just a short drive from where I live, so I went to have a look. The weather was still pretty miserable as it has been the whole week (sorry about that @xelas), but at least it was dry. And I did find them! The reason I hardly ever go after the 'twitches' is that there will often be a large crowd of people there, but now there were only four of us. The weather, no doubt.

The most sought-after duck of the two was the:

355. Hooded Merganser. Flevoland, October and a beautiful male at that. There is no telling whether this is a genuine vagrant from North America or an escape. Both are a possibility. But for now I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt and count it ;). The quality of the photos is not very good, but I might try again later in the week if the sun returns and the merganser doesn't.

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And even a short video:

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Edited by PeterHG
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The other duck was

356. Ferruginous Duck. Flevoland, October. A rare breeding bird and migrant. Again I'll try for a better photo if they remain in the area a bit longer'

 

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357. Red-crested Pochard. Flevoland, October. About 30 of these were also present, though they stayed at the far end of the lake. We have about 400 breeding pairs in the country, so not a common duck at all. In autumn and winter they gather in larger numbers in some areas, mostly at the edges of the IJsselmeer,

 

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Edited by PeterHG
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What a gorgeous Merganser. Within a reasonable range of vagrancy and free winged who cares if it is an escape? I would object to an Ostrich mind you and a Penguin would be distinctly suspect!

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that's a beautiful merganser - worthwhile going back for a second try in better light - it'll be stunning. 

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4 hours ago, Galana said:

I would object to an Ostrich mind you and a Penguin would be distinctly suspect!

 I have spotted a Guineafowl, but knowing your harsh stance, I have decided not to take a photo of it :D

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6 hours ago, xelas said:

I have spotted a Guineafowl,

I thought they were all Spotted!

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I took another trip to Zeeland with a birding friend of mine (still dark and rainy most of the day, like we had on our  @xelas...) and made a detour to the Maasvlakte area. The Maasvlakte is a massive man-made westward extension of the Europoort port and is built on land reclaimed from the sea. Oil tanker terminals and refineries do not provide a scenic setting for birding, but during migration time rarities are regularly spotted in the area. Not on our visit, though there were flocks of Redwing, Pipits, Finches and we did see a Woodcock (only for a few seconds, so no photo. One little group of migrants on the barbed wire.

358. Brambling. Maasvlakte, October.

 

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Edited by PeterHG
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Nice! One more bird I will probably miss this year although in spring, we have had one massive gathering of Brambligs in Slovenia.

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Very nice @PeterHG.

I don't know this area well despite being a frequent/annual visitor to Europort where the road sign says "Engeland". 1st October I saw some lbjs in the kanal/seawall but they were not staying still. Next year I know who to ask  for a guide.

It is fun to drive around the newly reclaimed places as it drives my Garmin mad. The screen shows we are several kms out at sea and the altitude is negative. I just cannot programme it to find some birds!!

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Along the Brouwersdam (part of the Delta Works to protect the province of Zeeland against floods) we spotted a few regulars for the area like on the previous trip, but also a couple of new ones for the year:

359. Common Ringed Plover. Brouwersdam, October.

 

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360. Common Scoter. Brouwersdam, October. Two female, far out at sea, so only visible through the telescope. In Costa Rica I met a few guides who were an expert at digiscoping with any smartphone, but It was quite a challenge for me to position the little camera of the phone in the right spot. Well, at least the result only requires some cropping, so I get a taste of that, too ;)

 

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361. Purple Sandpiper. Brouwersdam, October. Not really rare, but pretty localized. Only one was present at the dam, so a lucky find.

 

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2 hours ago, Galana said:

Next year I know who to ask  for a guide

Please let me know. If the timing matches I'd be happy to come and do some birding with you!

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Ok, time to do some scraping of the barrel and thus free up precious time in December ;). When comparing the spreadsheets of last year and this year,  I reached some baffling (:wacko:)conclusions. No Blackbird, no Robin, No White-fronted Goose, no Pochard, no Chaffinch....? What kind of competitor are you, Peter? Is age slowing you down already? I kicked myself awake ('Old age should burn and rave at close of day';))

and browsed through this year's photos to find some of the missing species. I found a few. Then I went out to the local park to chase Robin and Blackbird. Both proved cooperative. So here we go.

First one I somehow skipped from the Costa Rica Collection:

362. (CR 231) Olive-throated Parakeet, Sarapiqui, January)

 

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Edited by PeterHG
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263. Common Pochard. Arkemheen, May. 

 

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364. Egyptian Goose. Arkemheen, August. 

 

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365. Greater White-fronted Goose. Arkemheen, January. Here I was, trying to show @xelas this goose in the pouring rain and I had not even posted it myself. This was taken in January during a period with snow, which provided some nice reflection light for the underside of the bird.

 

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