[Karl J]

Last Thursday (16th Sept) i went off for a bit of cycling & birding in the Netherlands, travelling from Amsterdam to Arnhem and Nijmegen and then on down to Venlo in Limburg clocking up 62 species and 445km (275 miles) on my bike. As i've just moved house i had to keep it cheap & cheerful so camping and cycling were really the only way this trip would happen, and i also managed to get a cheap 'Anglia One Railways Dutch Break' ticket with all train & ferry journeys inclusive.

I suppose 62 sp. is not a huge total but i was happy with it, and happy also at how easy birding is there. It seems to me there are simply more birds about, even with species common to the UK there are just more of them over there. I did manage to see some good ones that i'd never even thought of before so they were a real bonus but I'd think a committed serious birder would come away having seen plenty more, my 62 was done with little effort at all.


Friday. Naardemeer reserve, Ankeveensche plassen, Vinkeveensche plassen & Botshol reserve ... This was the first of two full-ish days birding near Amsterdam. It's a lovely peaceful area, especially in the sunshine, and is generally very similar to broadland Norfolk ie. flat countryside with 'broads' type lakes and slow rivers / streams, reedbeds, grazing marshes etc. Noted that the water levels were a good bit higher than when i visited in May, which made looking for waders a little difficult.


Snipe, flock of 20+
Curlew
Ring-necked Parakeets, in woodland near the town of Weesp
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Great Egret ... 1 ... (rather poor photo at the bottom)
Marsh Harrier, 2
Common Buzzard, 5+
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk, 1 mobbing a buzzard
Teal

Total of 40 sp.


Saturday ... Leperlaarplassen reserve and the road along the Markemeer. A wide open area that seemed a bit of a wild & lonely place which wasn't helped by the overcast sky and chilly strong wind, but still made for a pretty good day.


Little Gulls, 7 heading south struggling into the wind, from the coast road near the wind turbines (good place for wind turbines, cycling a little tough though !) ... (Yr )
Herring Gulls
Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Black-headed Gulls
Pied Wagtails
Bearded Tits
Redshank
Dunlin
Northen Wheatear, 2
Pochard ... lots on the mere, from the hide.
Tufted Duck, several groups around and about.
Little Grebe, c8 from the hide
Cormorants, probably a large colony nearby (?) as there were some large gatherings, both on the reserve and out on the Markemeer
Marsh Harrier, 1
Common Buzzard, inc. one at no more then 3m distance, and another having dinner ... pic at the bottom

Total of 42 sp.

.... would have got to Oostvardesplassen also if it wasn't for the roadworks. Maybe i should have got the train ? Nah ... that'd be cheating.



Sunday ... biked from Amsterdam to Schaarsbergen, near Arnhem. Sunny day, at times.

Spent a bit of time looking about, but not very much as i had a few miles to cover ... but ..
a few buzzards
1 Great-Spotted Woodpecker
And 9 Common Swifts flew over as i set up my tent, i ceratinly didn't expect to see them.
Calls of local Tawny Owl in the evening and next morning.


Monday ... started off sunny until the rain and cold wind closed in during the afternoon. After finding the Kroller-Muller museum closed, as it was Monday (if only i'd actually read my Lonely Planet guidebook !) i biked about in a rather vague manner on the Hoge Veluwe heathland and set up scope a couple of times and saw these ...

Willow Warbler
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Marsh Tit
Crested Tit (L )
Blackbird
Jays
Woodpigeon
Stonechat
Chaffinch
Goldcrest
Nuthatch, inc. a (family ?) party of 6+ in one tree (L )
Robin





Tuesday ... biked from Schaarsbergen, through Nijmegen to Lottum on the bank of the River Maas. Heavy crosswind for lots of the trip and some rain, cold. Bit of problem with the bike as well.
But, on the island between Arnhem and Nijmegen (sorry, don't know what it's called)
Another great close view of a Buzzard, this one hunting. Good stuff.
c40 Lapwing,
Grey Heron,
Meadow Pipits, Goldfinch etc
some unknown waders at scope distance, though i didn't have time to stop & set up.
Kestrel
2 x Wheatear

Wednesday ... i had hoped to bike to Maastricht but with it still windy, raining & cold with storms forecast, and the bike problem wouldn't go away i called it off and biked to nearby Venlo & got the train back to the Hook of Holland. Still time for 2 more though, on the ferry back to Harwich ferry i spotted ...
a single Shag (Yr ), flying low almost alongside the boat.
3 or 4 Gannets.

As i said above, there seems to be more birds than the UK and though i aren't a serious birder i noted that these sp. were generally common.

Grey Heron
Cormorants
Gt Crested Grebe
Greylag Geese
Canada Geese
Coots
Mallard
Mute Swan
Goldfinch
Magpie
Jackdaw
Crow
Blackbird
Starlings
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Meadow Pipits
Goldfinch
Jay
Lapwing
Stock Dove
Woodpigeon
Swallow, though not too many
House Martins
Common Gulls
Common Buzzard, even small stands of trees often had a pair or more circling above or 'hanging' on the wind. Good to see for someone who lives in east Norfolk.
Kestrel



All in all a good trip in spite of a few problems, and i'd certainly travel that way again. Good birding, happy & very friendly dutch people, mostly free (self powered !) transport with an excellent cycling culture, and cheap accomodation. It was interesting to note how much more of a social thing cycling / birding / birdwatching is ... a few times i saw, and spoke to, groups out on bicycles who would stop somewhere & get the bino's out for a few minutes then all pedal off again, which is not something i've ever seen over here. The trains run spot-on time as well.

Bargain of the week was at Camping Warnsborg in Schaarsbergen where it cost me 5.30 Euro's (~ ... £3.60 or $6.50US) per night including 2 shower tokens and a free 6 am Tawny Owl wake-up call.

[Edward]

Originally Posted by Karl J

I suppose 62 sp. is not a huge total but i was happy with it, and happy also at how easy birding is there. It seems to me there are simply more birds about, even with species common to the UK there are just more of them over there. I did manage to see some good ones that i'd never even thought of before so they were a real bonus but I'd think a committed serious birder would come away having seen plenty more, my 62 was done with little effort at all.

Sounded a successful trip, Karl. As I told you when you sent out a RFI before the trip, the Netherlands is like East Anglia on steroids! Cycling in the Netherlands is a delight as you are so well provided for by the brilliant network of car-free paths. I'm sure you'll go back for more.

E

[Andrew]

Sounds like you have become attached to Netherlands and rightly so. Only been once a long time ago on a fishing trip and found it very agreeable with good people too. Sixty two species on bike is a good tally especially when it includes Crested Tit!!!

[Tero]

You could probably do the same in Denmark. Lots of bicycles on commuter trains. Most Europeans countries will accommodate, but you have to "ship" your bike in the baggage car.

Sounds like fun. I might actually plan the Denmark trip some day. But my fellow bicyclists are not birders, so they need extra loops to ride while I bird.

[Karl J]

Yes Andrew great place i think, as Ed says it caters for both interests so very well.

Denmark next ? ... i've got the winter to think about it but yes, may well be part of next years plan