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ANN AND ROLAND GO BIRDING IN THE NETHERLANDS
JULY - 20017
TRAVEL
We flew from Manchester to Amsterdam return with KLM. No problems.
CAR RENTAL
We rented a Volvo from Green Motion. It was a bit bigger and newer than we would have
liked but served us well though Roland hated the 6 gears and the fact that the car kept
telling him to put the car into 6th! Petrol was a little more expensive than at home.
ACCOMMODATION
We stayed at the Mercure Hotel in Zwolle. The hotel was lovely. Our room was a little on
the small side but we were only there to sleep so that didn’t really matter. If you agreed not
to have your room cleaned, you were given 5euros per day to spend in the bar or restaurant
so we did that. Breakfast was brilliant – a fabulous buffet. The evening meal was expensive
compared to what we normally spend at home but the food was good quality (except for
the fish and chips). Eating out was very expensive wherever we went and the hotel was a
convenient place to eat. We would certainly recommend the hotel as a base and would
happily stay there again.
Zwolle itself is a nice little town but the parking is horrendous and expensive. It is better to
park on the outskirts and walk in.
BIRDING
We planned our birding round information gleaned from Birding Netherlands
(www.birdingnetherlands.com), Birding Holland (www.birdingholland.com) and from the
Ramsar Sites Information Service.
Our first morning looked pretty dismal as we headed towards Oostvaardersplassen, one of
Europe’s largest and most important wetland reserves. This is an area of shallow lakes,
pools, marshes, reeedbeds, salix woodland and grassland within seasonally flooded
agricultural land. It is popular with birders, cyclists and walkers. We headed straight for the
Visitor Centre (De Oostvaarder)which is well set up with a shop and café plus information on
the area. We left with a sheet of A4 about the De Zeearend (the Sea eagle ) Walking Trail (1
euro) and went straight to the hide round the corner which was empty apart from a couple
of nesting Barn swallows. There was very little to see: a distant Spoonbill and a few Greylag
geese was about it. We set off to follow the 5 kilometre walking route but the heavens
opened so we retraced our steps and decided to explore the reserve by car, making stops
wherever we could. At the Oostvaarders Nature Observation Centre on the other side of the
reserve we had a coffee and a snack. There is a good hide there but, again, there was little
to see. As we headed back towards Zwolle, we decide to investigate the sign to the Nature
Park near Lelystad and what a surprise that turned out to be! Not only did it start to clear up
but we got free entry to a wildlife park – the ticket barrier wasn’t working but it only cost 3
euros to go in anyway! There was a big visitor centre with displays, a restaurant etc and the
park was divided up into areas where you could (allegedly) see such animals as
Przewalski horses Pere David deer, Bison, Elk etc. It was close to feeding time for the Otters so
Page 1 of 4
Page 2 of 4
we headed off in that direction first. There were lots of them but not all kept together
because the adult males fight with each other so they were quite spread out in allocated
sections. The keeper was very informative and chatty. We then had a wander round the rest
of the park. Well, not all of it but as much as we could manage on foot and in the time we
had! There are several walking and cycling tails to follow too. Unfortunately we didn’t see
any of the animals but we did see quite a few birds and enjoyed watching the nesting
White storks.
On the other days and in pleasant weather conditions we explored the areas listed below.
We enjoyed several walks of varying lengths and whilst we didn’t see a lot of birds, we did
enjoy ourselves. We also found the changing landscape interesting as contrary to belief, it
varies a lot and there are many small towns and pretty villages to explore. We found all the
Dutch people we came across to be really polite and friendly. Everyone said hello which was
really nice.
Wieden – Characterised by shallow freshwater lakes, reed beds, fens, wet meadows,
transition mires, quaking bogs, forested peatland and numerous canals created through
peat extraction activities in the 18th and 19th centuries Lots of walking/boating possibilities
with beautiful small villages and houses.
Weerribben – Low-lying peatland formed by bogs, marshlands, wet meadows, pools,
channels, heathland, and woodland. Great walks.
Engbertsdijksvenen. One of the last remaining raised bogs in the Netherlands with dry
heathland, birch forests, ditches and drainage channels. Fascinating.
Sallandse Heuvelrug – a National Park founded in 2004 with hills in it!! Forest and
heathlands. Very busy at the weekend round the Visitors’ Centre . Beautiful heathlands and
scenery. Nijverdal nearby is a pretty town with some good restaurants and a fantastic ice- cream/chocolate shop
Naardermeer –A complex of shallow, freshwater lakes, pools and canals, fens, reedbeds,and
swamp forests surrounded by wet meadows and marshland.
Rottige Meenthe en Brandemeer – An open landscape of seasonally flooded agricultural
land with small ponds and canals made by peat excavations in the past.
We also made a return visit to Oostvaardersplassen to complete the walk. This time the sky
was blue, the sun was shining and I managed to get my head sunburnt! The walk was lovely
though we did miss the turning left along the boardwalk as there was no sign. Instead we
went straight on. This takes you to another hide and if we hadn’t gone wrong we wouldn’t
have seen our only lifer of the trip namely a Lesser spotted woodpecker. Wonderful
views, We also had Bluethroat and Redstart on the approach road seeing others during the
course of the day. I was amazed to see an Otter in the water near the Visitor Centre :0
Again, there was little to see from the nearby hide but there were lots of Barn swallows
plus Grey heron, Robins, warblers, Chiffchaff in the trees and bushes round there. In fact,
we heard Chiffchaff absolutely everywhere we went in the Netherlands!! There were also
wild horses (Konik ponies) on the reserve.
A word of warning though – this walk is VERY popular and you get loads of noisy joggers and
families with children though they don’t all do the full circuit!
One place we didn’t go to but which I would have liked to visit was Hoge Veluwe National
Park in Otterlo. It was 18euros60 each to go in plus parking. It would probably be worth it if you
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Page 3 of 4
wanted to visit the museums as well as go birding the park but we just wanted to go birding and
ruled it out at that price. Maybe next time and at a different time of year!
We also managed to visit MacDonald’s in Almelo, Preston’s twin town. We are not fans of le Macdo
but do enjoy McFlurries and buy one in every country we visit if we can! Florida is still winning hands
down a) on quantity and b) on cost!!
FULL BIRD LIST
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis
Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
Bluethroat Luscinia svecica
Canada Goose Branta canadensis
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo
Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus
Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
Common Swift Apus apus
Common Tern Sterna hirundo
Common Wood-Pigeon Columba palumbus
Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca
Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula
Eurasian Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra
Eurasian Jackdaw Corvus monedula
Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
Eurasian Magpie Pica pica
Eurasian Marsh-Harrier Circus aeruginosus
Eurasian Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea
Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
Eurasian Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia
Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
European Greenfinch Chloris chloris
European Robin Erithacus rubecula
European Serin Serinus serinus
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola
Gadwall Anas strepera
Goldcrest Regulus regulus
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Greylag Goose Anser anser
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
Page 3 of 4
Ann and Roland Go Birding in The Netherlands July 2017.pdf
Displaying Ann and Roland Go Birding in The Netherlands July 2017.pdf.
1
/4
Page 1 of 4
ANN AND ROLAND GO BIRDING IN THE NETHERLANDS
JULY - 20017
TRAVEL
We flew from Manchester to Amsterdam return with KLM. No problems.
CAR RENTAL
We rented a Volvo from Green Motion. It was a bit bigger and newer than we would have
liked but served us well though Roland hated the 6 gears and the fact that the car kept
telling him to put the car into 6th! Petrol was a little more expensive than at home.
ACCOMMODATION
We stayed at the Mercure Hotel in Zwolle. The hotel was lovely. Our room was a little on
the small side but we were only there to sleep so that didn’t really matter. If you agreed not
to have your room cleaned, you were given 5euros per day to spend in the bar or restaurant
so we did that. Breakfast was brilliant – a fabulous buffet. The evening meal was expensive
compared to what we normally spend at home but the food was good quality (except for
the fish and chips). Eating out was very expensive wherever we went and the hotel was a
convenient place to eat. We would certainly recommend the hotel as a base and would
happily stay there again.
Zwolle itself is a nice little town but the parking is horrendous and expensive. It is better to
park on the outskirts and walk in.
BIRDING
We planned our birding round information gleaned from Birding Netherlands
(www.birdingnetherlands.com), Birding Holland (www.birdingholland.com) and from the
Ramsar Sites Information Service.
Our first morning looked pretty dismal as we headed towards Oostvaardersplassen, one of
Europe’s largest and most important wetland reserves. This is an area of shallow lakes,
pools, marshes, reeedbeds, salix woodland and grassland within seasonally flooded
agricultural land. It is popular with birders, cyclists and walkers. We headed straight for the
Visitor Centre (De Oostvaarder)which is well set up with a shop and café plus information on
the area. We left with a sheet of A4 about the De Zeearend (the Sea eagle ) Walking Trail (1
euro) and went straight to the hide round the corner which was empty apart from a couple
of nesting Barn swallows. There was very little to see: a distant Spoonbill and a few Greylag
geese was about it. We set off to follow the 5 kilometre walking route but the heavens
opened so we retraced our steps and decided to explore the reserve by car, making stops
wherever we could. At the Oostvaarders Nature Observation Centre on the other side of the
reserve we had a coffee and a snack. There is a good hide there but, again, there was little
to see. As we headed back towards Zwolle, we decide to investigate the sign to the Nature
Park near Lelystad and what a surprise that turned out to be! Not only did it start to clear up
but we got free entry to a wildlife park – the ticket barrier wasn’t working but it only cost 3
euros to go in anyway! There was a big visitor centre with displays, a restaurant etc and the
park was divided up into areas where you could (allegedly) see such animals as
Przewalski horses Pere David deer, Bison, Elk etc. It was close to feeding time for the Otters so
Page 1 of 4
Page 2 of 4
we headed off in that direction first. There were lots of them but not all kept together
because the adult males fight with each other so they were quite spread out in allocated
sections. The keeper was very informative and chatty. We then had a wander round the rest
of the park. Well, not all of it but as much as we could manage on foot and in the time we
had! There are several walking and cycling tails to follow too. Unfortunately we didn’t see
any of the animals but we did see quite a few birds and enjoyed watching the nesting
White storks.
On the other days and in pleasant weather conditions we explored the areas listed below.
We enjoyed several walks of varying lengths and whilst we didn’t see a lot of birds, we did
enjoy ourselves. We also found the changing landscape interesting as contrary to belief, it
varies a lot and there are many small towns and pretty villages to explore. We found all the
Dutch people we came across to be really polite and friendly. Everyone said hello which was
really nice.
Wieden – Characterised by shallow freshwater lakes, reed beds, fens, wet meadows,
transition mires, quaking bogs, forested peatland and numerous canals created through
peat extraction activities in the 18th and 19th centuries Lots of walking/boating possibilities
with beautiful small villages and houses.
Weerribben – Low-lying peatland formed by bogs, marshlands, wet meadows, pools,
channels, heathland, and woodland. Great walks.
Engbertsdijksvenen. One of the last remaining raised bogs in the Netherlands with dry
heathland, birch forests, ditches and drainage channels. Fascinating.
Sallandse Heuvelrug – a National Park founded in 2004 with hills in it!! Forest and
heathlands. Very busy at the weekend round the Visitors’ Centre . Beautiful heathlands and
scenery. Nijverdal nearby is a pretty town with some good restaurants and a fantastic ice- cream/chocolate shop
Naardermeer –A complex of shallow, freshwater lakes, pools and canals, fens, reedbeds,and
swamp forests surrounded by wet meadows and marshland.
Rottige Meenthe en Brandemeer – An open landscape of seasonally flooded agricultural
land with small ponds and canals made by peat excavations in the past.
We also made a return visit to Oostvaardersplassen to complete the walk. This time the sky
was blue, the sun was shining and I managed to get my head sunburnt! The walk was lovely
though we did miss the turning left along the boardwalk as there was no sign. Instead we
went straight on. This takes you to another hide and if we hadn’t gone wrong we wouldn’t
have seen our only lifer of the trip namely a Lesser spotted woodpecker. Wonderful
views, We also had Bluethroat and Redstart on the approach road seeing others during the
course of the day. I was amazed to see an Otter in the water near the Visitor Centre :0
Again, there was little to see from the nearby hide but there were lots of Barn swallows
plus Grey heron, Robins, warblers, Chiffchaff in the trees and bushes round there. In fact,
we heard Chiffchaff absolutely everywhere we went in the Netherlands!! There were also
wild horses (Konik ponies) on the reserve.
A word of warning though – this walk is VERY popular and you get loads of noisy joggers and
families with children though they don’t all do the full circuit!
One place we didn’t go to but which I would have liked to visit was Hoge Veluwe National
Park in Otterlo. It was 18euros60 each to go in plus parking. It would probably be worth it if you
Page 2 of 4
Page 3 of 4
wanted to visit the museums as well as go birding the park but we just wanted to go birding and
ruled it out at that price. Maybe next time and at a different time of year!
We also managed to visit MacDonald’s in Almelo, Preston’s twin town. We are not fans of le Macdo
but do enjoy McFlurries and buy one in every country we visit if we can! Florida is still winning hands
down a) on quantity and b) on cost!!
FULL BIRD LIST
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis
Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
Bluethroat Luscinia svecica
Canada Goose Branta canadensis
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo
Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus
Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
Common Swift Apus apus
Common Tern Sterna hirundo
Common Wood-Pigeon Columba palumbus
Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca
Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula
Eurasian Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra
Eurasian Jackdaw Corvus monedula
Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
Eurasian Magpie Pica pica
Eurasian Marsh-Harrier Circus aeruginosus
Eurasian Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea
Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
Eurasian Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia
Eurasian Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
European Greenfinch Chloris chloris
European Robin Erithacus rubecula
European Serin Serinus serinus
European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola
Gadwall Anas strepera
Goldcrest Regulus regulus
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Greylag Goose Anser anser
Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
Page 3 of 4
Ann and Roland Go Birding in The Netherlands July 2017.pdf
Displaying Ann and Roland Go Birding in The Netherlands July 2017.pdf.
