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The Netherlands in late summer Wednesday 24 August to Sunday 28 August 2011 with James Lidster as leader
Cost: £840 (2011) Maximum group size: 7 with 1 leader. |
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It is remarkable that a country so close to the United Kingdom can hold so many bird species that are so different to the ones we normally see in the UK, and even species we are used to seeing can be vastly more numerous in The Netherlands. For instance, there are the tens of thousands of Black Terns that gather there every summer, and flocks of Ruff and Curlew Sandpipers that number in the thousands. Our late summer tour is perfectly timed to coincide with the return migration of many birds and we hope to see over 25 species of wader, perhaps including Marsh and Broad-billed Sandpipers, Red-necked Phalaropes, and Temminck’s Stints, along with a real rarity or two. In addition we will look for a host of local specialities including Montagu’s and Marsh Harriers, Honey Buzzards, Gull-billed and Caspian Terns, Spotted Crakes, Bluethroats, Red-backed Shrikes and Penduline Tits. We'll travel through some classic low-country landscapes of long horizons broken by lone windmills. There will honey-coloured reedbeds, still lakes and endless dykes and canals, all under immense skies that create an amazing sense of space. The tour begins and ends at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport thereby allowing participants to take advantage of the various ways of getting there - budget airlines, ferry, Eurostar etc. - or to take time before or after the tour to visit other places on their own. The website http://www.seat61.com/Netherlands has useful information about getting to The Netherlands by means other than flying. Day 1: After meeting at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport we'll head north into the low-lying polders of Noord-Holland. This area is famous for its flowers and tulips, sadly long gone at the time of our visit. Instead we hope to find flooded fields, a deliberate technique used to ‘clean’ the bulb fields each season. This new habitat can be very popular with waders and terns and if we are lucky we could see Gull-billed Tern and an assortment of waders such as Green Sandpiper to Ruff. From the first week of August onwards there is a good chance of a rarity in the form of an Aquatic Warbler or Marsh Sandpiper turning up, and if one is in the vicinity we'll arrange our day accordingly. If not then we'll visit a huge Black Tern roost numbering many thousands and see maybe our first Common Eiders or Marsh Harriers. Night near Flevoland. Day 2: After breakfast we'll drive along the Afsluitdijk, a huge dam that forms the northern edge of the Ijsselmeer. The IJsselmeer was created in 1932 when the Zuiderzee was closed by the 20 mile-long dam. This was part of a major hydraulic engineering project which, years later, led to the reclaiming of land from the IJsselmeer, forming the province of Flevoland. Once over the Afsluitdijk we'll continue our search for new waders, and we can expect over 25 species in this short tour. Depending on the tide we'll stop and check through flocks of Bar-tailed Godwits, Grey Plovers, Curlew Sandpipers, Red Knot and Dunlin. Our destination for the evening will be the Lauwersmeer and if time allows we may search for White-tailed Eagle, Montagu’s Harrier or Red-backed Shrike, all of which breed in the area. Night near Flevoland. Day 3: We spend the whole day exploring the Lauwersmeer, and a small lagoon called Ezumakeeg, one of the best sites for waders in The Netherlands. At this time of year we can expect to see hundreds of Ruff, Spotted Redshank and Greenshank, Wood, Green, Common and Curlew Sandpipers, Temminck’s and Little Stints, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, as well as Avocets and the chance of scarcer species such as Pectoral, Marsh and Broad-billed Sandpipers or Red-necked Phalarope. The reedy edges are home to Bearded Tits, Reed and Sedge Warblers, and careful scanning should produce Water Rail and Bluethroat, or maybe even a Great Bittern, Spotted Crake or Penduline Tit. The nearby fishing harbour of Lauwersoog may hold Common, Sandwich and Arctic Terns as well as Common Eider. Throughout the day we stand a good chance of seeing Marsh and Montagu’s Harriers, Caspian and Black Terns, Eurasian Spoonbill, Ruddy Shelduck, Garganey, Eurasian Hobby, Peregrine and flocks of both Blue-headed and White Wagtails. Although famous for geese in the winter, many pairs of Barnacle Geese now breed in The Netherlands, and the numbers of Greylag Geese seem ever increasing, good news if you’re a White-tailed Eagle and looking for a decent dinner! Many of the songbirds will be silent by now but we should still see at least 10 species of warbler. Night in Drenthe. Day 4: After another visit to Ezumakeeg or the Lauwersmeer we'll journey inland to an area of mixed heath, forest and bog that can sometimes be good for Common Crane, and in the last few years has been a regular site for a vagrant Short-toed Snake Eagle. Of course these are exceptions but whilst searching we hope to find both Honey Buzzard and Eurasian Hobby. Other species we may encounter include Black and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Woodlark, Tree Pipit, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Firecrest and Hawfinch, and time spent in the forests and on the heaths will hopefully reap rewards. In the evening we may be lucky with a late flying Eurasian Nightjar. Night in Drenthe. Day 5: If time allows we'll enjoy some more birding close to our hotel, maybe seeing a family of White Storks, or a Great Egret, before returning to Schiphol airport where our tour concludes.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated August 2011 |
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