Peter B's 2024

[Galana]

Good to see in country 'lifers' still coming. Great photos.

[TonyQ]

Superb photos of the Bearded Tits - really beautiful. Well done - and I agree on the Home Lifers!

[BRACQUENE]

Thanks a lot @Zim Girl@Galanaand @TonyQ !

 

Another sighting high in the sky I just discovered : 

 

114/ Hobby ( Falco subbuteo - Boomvalk ) Groot Rietveld Kallo 7th of May 2024 : 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

woohoo on the bearded tit - congrats on the lifer with some excellent shots!

 

 

[Peter Connan]

Lovely shots of that pretty little bird!

[BRACQUENE]

Thanks for the appreciation @Kitsafariand @Peter Connan!

We came back yesterday from a second " long " weekend at the Belgian coast this year and birding was inevitable of course especially with this kind of weather

We booked in Rewind hotel in Oostduinkerke and on Friday morning we walked from there on the beach to Nieuwpoort harbor , one of our favorite walks :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The usual birds waited for us :

 

 

 

  

 

New life ....

 

Other wildlife ...

And a local birder drew my attention to this lonely duck which proved to be a new one for 2024 : 

115/ Common Eider ( Somateria mollissima - Eider ) Nieuwpoort 10th of May 2024 : 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

Looks like a lovely place to spend a relaxing time at. 

[BRACQUENE]

To arrive at Ysermonde Nature Reserve we took the ferry on the 11th :

 

 

 

A new one in the air ...

116/ Sand Martin ( Riparia riparia - Oeverzwaluw ) Nieuwpoort Ysermonde 11th of May 2024 : 

 

And on the ground ...

117/ Grey Partridge ( Perdix prefix - Patrijs ) Nieuwpoort Ysermonde 11th of May 2024 : 

[BRACQUENE]

Some nice sightings on our walk there : 

 

 

My fourth Northern Wheatear in 2024 this time a lady !

 

And a Common Stonechat for the third time ! 

[BRACQUENE]

But returning to the Simliduinen and finding some new species if possible ( amongst them the Nightingale ) was my main objective and so I visited the area twice in late afternoon on the 10th and 11th : the terrain is difficult and the sun made it even more challenging : 

 

 Common Linnet to start with much closer than a few weeks ago in Kobbegem : 

 

 

And the first new one : 

118/ Garden Warbler ( Sylvia borin - Tuinfluiter ) Nieuwpoort Simliduinen 10th of May 2024 : 

 

 

 

[BRACQUENE]

A nicely posing Chiffchaff .... 

 

 

And a "like always"  somewhat hidden sneaky new one ...

 

119/ Lesser Whitethroat ( Sylvia curruca- Braamsluiper ) Nieuwpoort Simliduinen 10th of May 2024 : 

 

 

[BRACQUENE]

A singing Common Whitethroat : 

 

 

But also a much more interesting one to find singing ..

 

120/ Melodious Warbler ( Hippolais polyglotta - Orpheusspotvogel ) Nieuwpoort Simliduinen 11th of May 2024 :  

 

 

 

 

[BRACQUENE]

And it took me a long time to finally have a few pictures of the one I was looking for and not from inside the reserve but from the road !

 

121/ Common Nightingale ( Luscinia megarhynchos - Nachtegaal ) Nieuwpoort Simliduinen 11th of May 2024 : 

 

 

    

 

[BRACQUENE]

On Sunday morning returning home we first went to a reserve called "Viconia Kleiputten" near the river IJzer in Stuyvekenskerke close to Diksmuide with a new watchtower that you can climb during the walk and from where you have a good view of the surroundings 

 

 

 

 

 

A nice walk and a beautiful place but again coming close to birds as usual ( except for Kallo ) is not always easy ;  I missed a great shot of the Savi's unfortunately but here

are some others to compensate that miss : 

 

Sedge Warbler 

 

Goldfinch 

Marsh Harrier

 

We will return to the place : 200 meters further there is a fantastic hotel in an historic castle which would make a nice weekend and birding possible from early morning 

 

[BRACQUENE]

Moreover we were very close to De Blankaart in Woumen and had a walk there as well be it a short one , first to say hallo to our White-Tailed Eagle and we found the 

female on the nest : 

 

 

And we went further to a part of the reserve we missed last month because of the muddy conditions ... Common Redshank , Common sandpiper, Common Greenshank were

present as were the beautiful Black-winged Stile much clearer than my first sighting 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we left with the sound of the bird of the day :

 

[Galana]

I am going to stick my neck right out pending a different/better view. Check out your Grey Partridge again.

 

A good outings or outings.

[TonyQ]

Excellent additions. Well done with the Melodious Warbler!

[BRACQUENE]

I’m sorry Fred  @Galanano mistake definitely a Gray Partridge; not the clearest of shots I admit but it passed all the tests to verify your doubts? 

[BRACQUENE]

Mistakes can be made but I am verifying always everything several times before posting so this close up shows a Partridge even if it won't win a price 

[BRACQUENE]

And from Kallo another shot from the sky ...

 

122/ Common Swift ( Apus apus - Gierzwaluw ) Kallo Groot Rietveld 7th of May 2024 :

 

[Galana]

4 hours ago, BRACQUENE said:

it passed all the tests to verify your doubts?

No problems. I was hoping I had found you a Corncrake. The Partridge was not the only one sticking his neck out.

[BRACQUENE]

A short visit today to "De Rietbeemd" close to my former home in the Marcq Valley trying to find like last year the Golden Oriole I just saw in Michaels @michael-ibk impressive collection ;  I didn't hear it today so will return soon or go to Meiligem where last year I had a picture .

Instead I found like last year on the 16th of May a local Bird of Prey : 

 

123/ European Honey-buzzard ( Pernis Apivorus- Wespendief)  Rietbeemd - Les Prés Rosières Geraardsbergen - Deux-Acren 14th of May 2024 :  

[michael-ibk]

You're making good progress Peter. Lots of beautiful places you are visiting. Congrats on the Reedling lifer, that's such a fantastic little bird.