PeterHG’s sixth. Wherever it may take us.

[Kitsafari]

On 7/26/2021 at 10:31 PM, PeterHG said:

That depends on the status of the country one is travelling from. If the country is yellow/orange/ amber a green card ( I take it that it's a proof of full vaccination?) is enough. If one comes from a 'red' country, a recent negative test is required, even if the person has been vaccinated. The other consideration for travellers is, of course, that we are a very red country ourselves..,,

 

 

hmmm Singapore Airlines has just restarted direct flights to amsterdam.........

But we have a punitive 2-week quarantine at a facility assigned to us on our return.  

Edited July 31, 2021 by Kitsafari

[Galana]

6 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

we have a punitive 2-week quarantine at a facility assigned to us on our return.  

How do you treat visiting double jabbed Birders?

[Soukous]

1 hour ago, Galana said:

How do you treat visiting double jabbed Birders?

EU entry ban exemption categories

An EU entry ban is in effect for people travelling from non-EU countries with a high COVID-19 risk,

If you are a resident of a country that is not on the list of safe countries and fully vaccinated, you can be exempted from the EU entry ban unless you are travelling from a country that has been designated as a very high-risk area due to the presence of a variant of concern.

 

UK is not on the safe list 

[Kitsafari]

2 hours ago, Galana said:

How do you treat visiting double jabbed Birders?

 

at the moment, still a 2-week quarantine at your cost at an assigned facility. you still need to apply for approval to enter though which i think at the moment is very very strict. My colleague says she has noted those from the UK (returning citizens or PRs) are quarantined at Swissotel Hotel which has great views and a small balcony. 

 

our government is considering relaxing rules on double-shot travellers, perhaps reducing quarantine to 1 week or having a load of antigen/fast covid tests - which is more bearable than a 2 week isolation! 

Edited July 31, 2021 by Kitsafari

[Galana]

Thanks both of you. I was looking at that Singapore Airlines flight from AMS and sorely tempted.

[Soukous]

14 minutes ago, Galana said:

Thanks both of you. I was looking at that Singapore Airlines flight from AMS and sorely tempted.

 

sorry, maybe I misunderstood. I thought you were asking about NL.

[PeterHG]

A day trip up north to the Lauwersmeer area brought a total of 63 species, so a rewarding birding day. Only a few of them were new additions, though as could be expected at this stage. The area is interesting in any season, as the reedbeds, wetlands and mudflats often produce a good variety of species. Mostly it is not the best area for photography: the birds are often too distant. The first addition came close enough, though

 

172. NL 172 Greater Black-backed Gull. Lauwersmeer, August. 

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by PeterHG

[PeterHG]

There is a little pool, right at the northern edge of the area we always visit, hoping to find some specialties. Often the poolis completely empry, but while I was scanning it with the telescope I noticed two little waders. And special they were..

 

173./ NL 173 Red-necked Phalarope. Lauwersmeer, August. Like I said, distant, but adding the 2x teleconverter to the 300mm lens still got me some nice shots.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by PeterHG

[PeterHG]

174. NL 174 Caspian Tern. Lauwersmeer, August. There are always a few dozen to be found on migration, but usually only with the telescope. Today, however one of them ventured closer on its fishing expedition.

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by PeterHG

[PeterHG]

Now let's deal with a few that I hadn't included up till now, for reasons unknown to me

 

175. / NL 175 Greenfinch, Flevoland, April

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by PeterHG

[PeterHG]

176 / NL 176. Common Moorhen. Arkemheen, August. 

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by PeterHG

[PeterHG]

177/ NL 177. Osprey, Groningen, April. I did see an Osprey on the Lauwersmeer trip, but so far away that a photo was impossible. I had hoped for a better opportunity, but it wasn't to be.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by PeterHG

[Galana]

Excellent. Good to see you still getting out. The RN Phalaropes especially rewarding.

[elefromoz]

All beautiful as usual, the northern Lapwing IF is brilliant

[Dave Williams]

Edging up there Peter and you have given me a tip too!

[PeterHG]

Another (and probably the last) batch of birds I hadn't posted yet. 

 

178 /NL 178. Great Tit. Amersfoort, February. As you can see, this was taken some time ago....;)

 

[PeterHG]

179 /NL 179. Skylark. Biesbosch, March. I did expect to get a better one, but not so.

 

[PeterHG]

180 /NL 180. Temminck's Stint. Texel, May. I had hoped to see more of them on my recent trip to the Lauwersmeer, but I didn't see any, so this extremely cropped one from Texel will have to do for this year.

 

[PeterHG]

181 /NL 181. Common Starling. Arkemheen, August. I used the search function on this topic twice to see if I really hadn't posted any starling yet. Well, here it is, at last...;). As the name implies, it is common (although declining in numbers) and thus often overlooked, When  you look at it closely it is quite beautiful.

 

[PeterHG]

All for now, I suppose. In a week or so we aim to drive south, to Spain and Portugal. The Pyrenees, Tarifa, Cota Donana. Extremadura and the south-eastern part of Portugal are places we hope to visit. As things stand now, the Covid risks and regulations are such that we'll be able to do this. In these times, one never knows, of course, but if things would become complicated or risky we could always break off the trip and be back in the Netherlands in two or three days. We are looking forward to crossing some borders again, seeing different scenery and adding some non-native birds to the list. We'll keep our fingers crossed....

[Dave Williams]

Good luck on that one Peter. Being on mainland Europe and part of the EU does have advantages. I wish it was me going to those places but I do have a week's visit back to Scotland imminent although it will most likely add very few, if any birds.Further than that who knows but the list of green countries is very limiting at the moment and amber ones can turn red at the drop of a hat.

[Zim Girl]

That is a beautiful picture of a Starling, Peter.

Hope your road trip goes ahead, sounds great!

[xelas]

I wish you a great trip, Peter! Although situation is complicating again here.

[Galana]

Travel safe and good luck.

[TonyQ]

Have a great trip Peter!