PeterHG’s sixth. Wherever it may take us.

[PeterHG]

139 / NL 139. Little Owl. Arkemheen, 7/5. Well a true EBC, but it's been some years since I've even seen one.

 

[PeterHG]

140 / NL 140. Pied Flycatcher. Leusden, 8/5. Another one I had not seen for a number of years.

 

 

[PeterHG]

An a duplicate, but I just loved catching one in its display flight. Common Whitethroat.

 

[Galana]

Some more lovely captures and even an EBC. Re the Baikal. When you first posted I thought 'escape' but when I googled a couple of searches I found that there are 'rumours' of a breeding flock of 'escapes' in central europe.

Whist I would not wish to see captive birds counted if the thing is free winged I see no harm in counting it.

NB. Just don't go round some guys exotic collection and open all the gates.

[PeterHG]

Thanks for your thoughts, Fred. 
 

35 minutes ago, Galana said:

Just don't go round some guys exotic collection and open all the gates.

Now there's a thought...:)

 

[michael-ibk]

Great Whitethroat shot, spectacular! Yeah, Cuckoo is always such a toughie - I have a terrible photo waiting to be unleashed on the poor BY audience but I´m still hopeful I´ll get a decent one. And I´d post any Little Owl photo - another species I have yet to see in Austria.

[xelas]

Darn good shot of the Cuckoo, Peter. So far I can only hear them, in far distance .

[Soukous]

Lovely shots Peter. I'm enjoying them all

[shazdwn]

Wow that teal sounds like a great sighting, even if distant.  Love the whitethroat in flight shot

[elefromoz]

On 4/29/2021 at 10:59 PM, PeterHG said:

The hide (a covered viewing tower really) is approached by a 160 metres long tunnel.

Wow, that's quite a structure, the Grebes are lovely.

Gorgeous  "Common Whitethroat IF whilst singing"  shot, what a perfect little bird.

[Dave Williams]

On 5/8/2021 at 2:03 PM, PeterHG said:

Thanks for the kind words, @Galana, @Kitsafari @Peter Connan, @Zim Girl, @michael-ibk! I just can't resist the challenge of flight shots...;)

 

Apparently they breed in north and east Siberia and usually migrate to Japan and Korea. They are known to be long-distant migrants. Occasionally one wanders off to Europe and in  our country there have been 13 accepted instances. This bird (although it does not appear to be ringed) will still have to be approved by the Dutch Vagrant Committee. If it is judged to be an escape I will have to subtract one from the count, but for now it is too good to pass up

 

 

A rare escapee is worth double points in my book!

I had no reservations about my Plum-headed Parakeet!!

[Dave Williams]

On 5/8/2021 at 3:00 PM, PeterHG said:

Thanks for your thoughts, Fred. 
 

Now there's a thought...:)

 

Indeed , I have an Owl sanctuary just down the road ...they even have a Pel's fishing Owl there I believe.

[PeterHG]

Last week my wife and I visited the Island of Texel for a few days. Temperatures were low and often there was a lot of wind but we did have quite a few sunny intervals. Texel can be a interesting place for some birding in all seasons, but in spring it is especially attractive for a mixture of breeding birds not easily seen on the mainland and lingering migrants. Rarities are always a possibility there. A Black Guillemot had been hanging about in the little harbour for a number of weeks and I sincerely hoped it would stay until we arrived. It didn't. It left the day before and has not been spotted since. Some fellow-BY participants see them all year round, but we only get them on migration and even then it's rare. Well that is what birding is about and we did see some nice species. One speciality of the island is the Arctic Tern. It is one of the  few places one might see them in our country and I'm glad we did.

 

141 /NL 141. Arctic Tern. Texel, May 2021

 

 

 

[PeterHG]

142 /NL 142. Common Sandpiper. Texel, May 2021. As the name implies, it's common, but I had not seen one so far.

 

[PeterHG]

Even more common, but somehow I had not taken a photo yet.

 

143 /NL 143. Grey Heron. Texel, May 2021

 

[PeterHG]

144 /NL 144. Bar-tailed Godwit. Texel, May 2021. I was hoping to see them here and I was not disappointed. Fairly large numbers were still around. The second picture clearly shows the slightly upcurved bill of this Godwit species.

 

 

[PeterHG]

145 /NL 145. Little Tern. Texel, May 2021. Another species that I was looking forward to seeing here. It is pretty rare and we only saw it quite distant, but it's a beautiful tern.

 

[PeterHG]

One of the rarities that was reported during our stay was the Dotterel. Three of them were seen feeding on the ploughed fields in the centre of the island, but very distant. Scope views gave a good impression of the birds, but only record shots were possible. Even so, a nice tick for us!

 

146 /NL 146. Eurasian Dotterel. Texel, May 2021.

 

[PeterHG]

147 /NL 147. Ruddy Shelduck. Texel, May 2021. A good find, though hopefully we'll see more later in the year.

 

 

 

[PeterHG]

148 /NL 148. Eurasian Spoonbill. May 2021. This is a species you really cannot miss when visiting the island. The breed in some lakes in the dunes on the western side, but they can be seen feeding throughout the island and mostly they are not shy at all. Not even in the rain...

 

 

[Kitsafari]

lovely additions! the second shot of the godwit is marvellous.

your record shot of the dotterel is the standard of my photos. 

[PeterHG]

And for some duplicates: Texel is Tern country. Apart from the two I just added we also saw plenty of the next two.

 

Common Tern

 

 

Sandwich Tern

 

The Pied Avocets were carefully guarding their chicks

 

 

And there were quite a few Yellow Wagtails.

 

All in all we had a very good time there and will certainly return!

[Towlersonsafari]

hello @PeterHGyour photos are splendid as always, can I ask about your Yellow wagtail? Is that the subspecies you normally see in the Netherlands as i think if it turned up here it would generate a lot of interest as a blue Headed Wagtail!

a few were about in our local nature reserve and attracted a lot of birders

[PeterHG]

4 minutes ago, Towlersonsafari said:

 Is that the subspecies you normally see in the Netherlands as i think if it turned up here it would generate a lot of interest as a blue Headed Wagtail!

Thank you @Towlersonsafari. Yes the Blue headed Wagtail is the one we usually see here. We do get the occasional "English Yellow Wagtail", as we call it but that would be a sought after subspecies here!.

[Galana]

Some lovely subjects here Peter. The Godwit in flight stands out in a host of excellent contenders.

Sorry about the Black Guillemot. I am willing to trade a few for a Spoonbill or Avocet..