PeterHG’s sixth. Wherever it may take us.

[PeterHG]

The terns were not the only additions of the trip. 

151 / NL 151. Garden Warbler, Zouweboezem, 20/5. I hear them every year, but getting a photo is another matter.

 

[PeterHG]

152 /NL 152. Icterine Warbler. Zouweboezem, 20/5. Not exactly rare (though numbers have been declining and it's on the red list now), but very localised. 

 

Edited May 27, 2021 by PeterHG

[PeterHG]

153 /NL 153. Marsh Warbler. Zouweboezem, 20/5. Looks very much like the Reed Warbler, but the song is completely different and much more varied. Once the fog had lifted we got nice views.

 

[PeterHG]

I have yet to catch up on the Swallows and Martins....

 

154 /NL 154. House Martin. Arkemheen, 26/5

 

[PeterHG]

155 /NL 155. Barn Swallow. Arkemheen, 26/5

 

 

[Galana]

Impressive House Martin.

[Tdgraves]

9 hours ago, Galana said:

Impressive House Martin.

agreed. After trying the same thing this week, I concluded that they are the hardest of the three to photograph..

[michael-ibk]

Excellent Martin indeed!

[Peter Connan]

Beautiful flight shots!

[Kitsafari]

great shot of the house martin!

[PeterHG]

Thank you @Galana, @Tdgraves, @michael-ibk, @Peter Connan, @Kitsafari!

 

A few more additions from the last few days:

 

156 /NL 156. Spotted Flycatcher (I know....). Flevoland, May 2021.

 

[PeterHG]

157 /NL 157. Blackcap. Arkemheen, June 2021. I had seen it before, but always hidden in thick leaves or high up in a tree. This morning this little bird gave me much better views.

 

[PeterHG]

158 / NL 158. Honey Buzzard. June 2021. While I was trying to get a flight shot of the Cuckoo, this uncommon raptor flew by.

 

[PeterHG]

I did get the Cuckoo in the end. They were calling all the time from across the canal and occasionally one flew by, but always low against the background of the trees, so almost impossible to catch. Still the Olympus did not let me down and managed to focus on one, in spite of the distracting leaves.

 

Edited June 1, 2021 by PeterHG

[Galana]

More of the anticipated good quality from you. Always nice when skulker lets it's guard down and you get a decent pose. Two nice BIF too.

[michael-ibk]

Very cool Cuckoo shot. Impressive AF capabilities!

[Soukous]

Excellent cuckoo IF

[elefromoz]

The Black and White Winged Terns are gorgeous, of course your photography captures them perfectly. Ive not seen either before.

[PeterHG]

A few days ago my son ( we have both been fully vaccinated) phoned me to ask if we could do a little birding trip with the two of us. He is 28 now and hasn't really shown much interest in birds since he was in his early teens, but his girlfriend has rekindled the fire and we spent a pleasant morning in one of our larger reserves in Flevoland: the Oostvaardersplassen. It is getting much harder to find any new additions, but we did get some good sightings and his enthusiasm when we a White-tailed Eagle flew by was no less than mine. A few duplicates then:

 

White-tailed Eagle

 

We also got great views of a male Marsh Harrier

 

Another Blackcap:

Edited June 11, 2021 by PeterHG

[PeterHG]

The day after I took a friend to the Black Tern reserve, hoping to show him the White-winged Tern, too. Fortunately a pair of them were still around at the nesting site.

 

 

The area is also a reliable spot for the Purple Heron. We saw several flying by in the distance, but when appproaching the reserve by car, one was standing quite close to the road and was less shy than they often are.

159 /NL 159. Purple Heron. Zouweboezem, June

 

[PeterHG]

We knew that a rarity had also been spotted in the area, but we hardly expected to see it on one of the disregarded nesting islands of the Black terns....

 

160 /NL 160 Hooded Merganser. Zouweboezem, June. Whether it is an escape or not, has to decided yet, but for now, I'll grab it . It has not been reported for the last few days.

 

[PeterHG]

Another transatlantic duck surprised us in one of the last lakes of the area.

 

161 /NL 161. Wood Duck. Zouweboezem, June. Orininally also escapes, of course, but we have a small but stable feral population of them in our country. And it's a beautiful little duck!

 

[PeterHG]

Back at the local patch, I finally managed to get a shot of this little bird. I knew it is breeding in the area and I had even got some glimpses, but this time it briefly sat on a branch. In Dutch it is called Braamsluiper (something like bramble skulker) and sure enough, that is exactly what they were doing.

 

162 /NL 162. Lesser Whitethroat. Arkemheen, June

 

[PeterHG]

To my surprise a scruffy-looking Black Redstart showed for a few seconds on the roof of a nearby farm. That is quite unusual in this area.

 

163 /NL 163. Black Redstart. Arkemheen, June

 

[PeterHG]

And I got slightly better views of the local Little Owl...