[StuartReeves]

For reasons of work I am in the process of moving to Brussels for a year or two. I'd be grateful for any hints or tips on good birding sites, useful websites and any other links and contacts in relation to birding in, or within reach of, Brussels.

Thanks in advance,

Stuart

[Jos Stratford]

At least the airport has good connections

[StuartReeves]

Originally Posted by Jos Stratford

At least the airport has good connections

Not that good; my first trip will be to Iceland, and I'll be flying out of Amsterdam as there weren't any direct flights from Brussels!

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Rail connections should be excellent for some casual Euro-birding in a number of different countries.

[StuartReeves]

So far, the conclusion seem to be that Brussels will be a good place to travel away from. Can anyone add anything to contradict this impression?

[François Doyen]

the website with all the bird sightings in Belgium : www.observations.be (there is a squacco heron at 20 min from Brussels)

what do you mean by within reach of Brussels? nothing Belgium is further than 2 hours drive from Brussels. Some spot (incl on the coast) are easy to reach by train.

I don't know the area of Brussels very well but If you want more information about birding in Belgium (good spot, where to find somes species,...) ask me (my e-mail is fouduclipon @ gmail.com)

FD

[Xenospiza]

My Belgian list is shocking... despite having lived not more than 20 miles from Belgium for over half my life (I did see Marmora's Warbler there).

My guide to birding the low countries mentions the "rather monotonous" Forêt de Soignes (Zoniënwoud) and Parc Solvay, where you should find common forest birds like Hawfinch, Black Woodpecker etc.
If Genappe and Leuze-Longchamps still have interesting water treatment plants I don't know.
The Dijle Valley east of Brussels appears to be nicely varied, although nothing shocking is to be expected. The "Bezinkingsputten" near Tienen are not too far from Brussels and nice stuff turns up with regularity (see www.trektellen.nl).
Also fine (probably better than any other area in Wallonia) is the area of marshes near Harchies (thankfully, despite the warnings in my guide, my car wasn't stolen or even broken into when I visited it purely by chance on my way to Charleroi Airport). This is quite a way from Brussels though.
Like anywhere in the Low Countries, choosing a site with a wide view and some forest and large water bodies in the vicinity should give you chances of observing visible migration (Kruiskouter Relegem-Asse (see www.trektellen.nl) appears to be the most regularly manned site near Brussels).
Of course, the mostly built-up coast is not too far away if you leave early ("all" Belgians take the E40 to the coast every weekend — which is a definite nightmare). However, the southern and northern tips are still nice, and further north Zeeland is even better for a day's birding.
And finally I should mention www.waarnemingen.be (which is the same as www.observations.be). I'm sure you'll learn both the French and Dutch bird names in no time, hahaha.

[StuartReeves]

Originally Posted by François Doyen

the website with all the bird sightings in Belgium : www.observations.be (there is a squacco heron at 20 min from Brussels)

what do you mean by within reach of Brussels? nothing Belgium is further than 2 hours drive from Brussels. Some spot (incl on the coast) are easy to reach by train.

I don't know the area of Brussels very well but If you want more information about birding in Belgium (good spot, where to find somes species,...) ask me (my e-mail is fouduclipon @ gmail.com)

FD

Thanks François, I might well take you up on your offer, and your email address has reminded me that the seawatching site of le Clipon is also not that far away. Thanks also X, those sites you mention give a useful flavour of the possibilities.

[François Doyen]

Sadly the site of the Clipon will maybe be inaccessible for the public soon (we have somes spots in Belgium but clearly not as good...)
You can find black and middle-spotted woodpecker near Brussels. Black woodpecker is now everywhere in Belgium (but never easy to see) and the middle-spotted is easy to see in the half south of Belgium.

Genappe is currently not accessible to public. the 3 other water treatment sites : Eghezée-Lomchamps, Tienen and Hollogne-sur-geer can be good mostly for waders if levels are good. The agricultural area between these 3 places (the best place is north of Boneffe) is good in august - early september for Dotterel (with flock sometimes of 40-50bids but more often of 5-20) and also, montagu's, hen and marsh harrier (with always possibility of the rare pallid...). Tawny pipit are also often seen along the little road in that area! Near Tienen, there is also a great place for marsh birds (great reed warbler, marsh terns) : Het Vinne.

The Dijle valley near Brussels is a great spot (better than a few year back I think) : several little lake with reed, somethimes mud,...you can see great white egret, osprey, a few waders (I saw marsh sandpiper there),...

On the coast, the best area is between Ostende, Brugge and Knokke : migrant and breeding waders, tens of thousands of gooses in winter, passerines in autumn along the coast (well it's not Fair isle ;o)), also the best spot in belgium for visible migration, the Fonteintjes between Blankenberge and Zeebrugge (http://trektellen.nl/trektelling.asp...0110508&taal=3) It's almost finished this year but we'd : 2 night heron, 85 purple heron, 900 spoonbill, 10 black kite, 3 red kite, 350 marsh, 26 hen and 8 montagu's harier, 10 osprey, 50 merlin, 6 crane, 12 dotterel, 6,500 knot, 11 temminck's, 12 curlew, 1 marsh sandpiper, 1500 greenshank, 130 woodsandpiper, 10 gull-billed tern, 11 caspian tern, 400 black tern, 1 whiskered tern, 20,000 swift, 35,000 hirundines, 6 red-rumped swallow, 110,000 meadow and 3 tawny pipit, 110 ring ouzel, 2 ortolan,...

an other good area is the yser (of Ijzer) valley : there is first the best place for waders in Belgium between Beveren and Stavele (near France) then the area of the Blankaart (lake, wader spot, thousands of goose in winter), then the Viconia Kleiputten in Stuivekenskerke : small pool with reed (also savi's warbler there) and a pool that is sometimes good for waders. The last spot is the river mouth (the only in Belgium) in Nieuport with good mudflat. Crested larks breeds in the dunes between Nieuport and De Panne.

For waterbird, the area west of Antwerpen is also very good, the area of Doel, Kieldrecht, Verrebroek and kallo has lots of spot for waders, marsh bird, ducks. There is now a singing male little crake! It's also the only place were spoonbill breeds in Belgium!

The south of Belgium is better for "forest" birds, butterfly and scenery : black grouse (a very small population but easy to see from a vieuwpoint in marsh-april), corn crake (very rare), black stork, black and red kite, honey buzzard, big number of crane in active migration, eagle owl, tengmalm's owl (very rare), barn owl (common), nightjar (scarce), grey-headed woodpecker (very rare but possible around the lake of Eupen), wryneck, dipper, redstart, winchat, medodious warbler (common), great grey (scarce) and red-backed (common in somes place) shrike, spotted nutcracker, raven,...And the lake of Virelles is the best spot in Belgium for osprey in autumn (up to 10!) and also good for spotted crake

FD

[StuartReeves]

Thanks again François, that's a very useful overview. Tengmalm's Owl is one of my most wanted birds... Are migration watchpoints like the Fonteintjes only good in Spring or can they also be good in Autumn?

[François Doyen]

tengmalm's owl is very difficult (spot are hidden...). I know of a good area but we didn't find one this year...The migration along the coast can also be good in autumn. There is less species, less rareities than in spring but numbers can be huge (tens of thousands of chaffinch some days and the record is 150,000...). The fonteintjes can be good mostly for huge number of spoonbill and somes suprise like this little bunting that spotted at a few meters from us : http://trektellen.nl/trektelling.asp...datum=20080909 For huge number of passerines (and maybe richard's and red-throated pipit), The dunes near De Panne and Koksijde are by far the best but there is rarely someone who watch from there...

FD

[LesaPink]

Peregrines nest in the city centre

http://www.peregrinefalcons.be/live2.jsp?lang=en

[François Doyen]

Yes peregrine breed now everywhere in Belgium (buildings, cliff, quarry,...) I've 4 couple at less than 15km from my home. It seems you just have to put a nestbox on a big building to have a couple!

FD

[TwoDipsfromAmsterdam]

Stuart

Have a look at one of James Lidster's recent posts on his blog: http://jameslidster.web-log.nl/. The 5 May post concerns Breskens - although it's in the Netherlands it's sort of on the Belgian border and should be reasonably accessible from Brussels. Haven't got there myself yet but clearly looks to be a good spot.

David

[StuartReeves]

Originally Posted by TwoDipsfromAmsterdam

Stuart

Have a look at one of James Lidster's recent posts on his blog: http://jameslidster.web-log.nl/. The 5 May post concerns Breskens - although it's in the Netherlands it's sort of on the Belgian border and should be reasonably accessible from Brussels. Haven't got there myself yet but clearly looks to be a good spot.

David

Thanks David, one for next spring I think.

[Denzil]

Stuart, you mention "contacts". There are a number of French- and Flemish-speaking birdwatchers groups in and around Brussels that you might like to try out, depending on your language abilities. For example, in the northern/eastern area of Brussels you have www.vogelwerkgroepnwb.be who I've been out with a few times and they are generally friendly. Slightly further away, towards Leuven, is www.natuurstudiegroepdijleland.be . As you can see, both these are Flemish speaking; French groups also exist but I don't have any personal experience of them.

My site www.discoveringbelgium.com also gives some good ideas of places to visit, many of the posts include birds to see.

[Olivier Dupont]

Perhaps a bit late, but it can still be useful. Here's a forum for birders in Brussels : http://brusselsbirding.forumotion.com.

[StuartReeves]

Thanks Olivier, I have just signed-up.