Tour date:



|Tour date: |2014 October 7th. |

| | |

|Name of area visited: |Oostvaardersplassen, 5600 ha wetland between Almere and Lelystad |

| | |

|Guide(s): |Robert de Groot |

Remarkable: Northern Wheatear

Weather: Dry, but very windy, up to 5 Beaufort from the south. 16 °C

| |Nederlandse naam |English name |Scientific name |

| |Fuut |Great Crested Grebe |Podiceps cristatus |

| |Dodaars |Little Grebe |Tachybaptus ruficollis |

| |Aalscholver |Great Cormorant |Phalacrocorax carbo |

| |Grote zilverreiger |Great Egret |Casmerodius albus |

| |Blauwe reiger |Grey Heron |Ardea cinerea |

| |Lepelaar |(Eurasian) Spoonbill |Platalea leucorodia |

| |Knobbelzwaan |Mute Swan |Cygnus olor |

| |Grauwe gans |Greylag Goose |Anser anser |

| |Bergeend |(Common) Shelduck |Tadorna tadorna |

| |Nijlgans |Egyptian Goose |Alopochen aegyptiacus |

| |Wilde eend |Mallard |Anas platyrhynchos |

| |Krakeend |Gadwall |Anas strepera |

| |Slobeend |(Northern) Shoveler |Anas clypeata |

| |Wintertaling |(Common) Teal |Anas crecca |

| |Tafeleend |(Common) Pochard |Aythya ferina |

| |Kuifeend |Tufted Duck |Aythya fuligula |

| |Bruine kiekendief |Marsh Harrier |Circus aeruginosus |

| |Sperwer |(Eurasian) Sparrowhawk |Accipiter nisus |

| |Buizerd |(Common) Buzzard |Buteo buteo |

| |Torenvalk |(Common) Kestrel |Falco tinnunculus |

|(H) |Waterral |Water Rail |Rallus aquaticus |

| |Kievit |Northern Lapwing |Vanellus vanellus |

| |Kokmeeuw |Black headed Gull |Chroicocephalus ridibundus |

| |Stormmeeuw |(Common) Gull |Larus canus |

| |Zilvermeeuw |Herring Gull |Larus argentatus |

| |Grote mantelmeeuw |Greater Black-backed Gull |Larus marinus |

| |Houtduif |Wood Pigeon |Columba palumbus |

| |Holenduif |Stock Dove |Columba oenas |

| |IJsvogel |(Common) Kingfisher |Alcedo atthis |

| |Graspieper |Meadow Pipit |Anthus pratensis |

| |Witte kwikstaart |White Wagtail |Motacilla alba |

|(H) |Winterkoning |Wren |Troglodytes troglodytes |

| |Tapuit |Northern Wheatear |Oenanthe oenanthe |

| |Merel |Blackbird |Turdus merula |

| |Spreeuw |(Common) Starling |Sturnus vulgaris |

| |Gaai |(Eurasian) Jay |Garrulus glandarius |

| |Ekster |Magpie |Pica pica |

| |Zwarte kraai |Carrion Crow |Corvus corone |

| |Huismus |House Sparrow |Passer domesticus |

| |.. |.. |.. |

| |37 |2 |39 |

| | |(H) = Alleen gehoord / |Total |

| |Soorten waargenomen / Species observed |Heard only | |

Locations that were visited in chronological order. Numbers in brackets correspond to numbers on the map below.

First we follow the dike along the shore of Lake IJssel. Grebes, Cormorant, Black-headed Gulls. Near the floating houses we find Mallard, White Wagtail and in the grass a number of Northern Wheatear. Why do birds, belonging to a group that is so linked to stoney deserts, sit on a grassy patch next to water. Anyhow, they are beautiful.

Kwelwater (15): Check for passerines. Especially for Bearded Reedling. The wind however is too fierce, the reeds bend and wave, birds keep low. On the open lake Common Gulls.

Trekvogellandje (18): Only a small number of Grey Herons. But a flash of orange and blue signifies Kingfisher. Too fast for good views, too clear tob e anything but. Walking towards the next point, we hear a Waterrail calling, sorry: screaming. A wren in the forest.

Lepelaarplas (4): Someone lost a pair of glasses on the path, the second person entering the hut after us is the owner of the glasses. We hand them back and get thanked several times. 15 Great Egrets stand along the perimeter of the lake. Cormorants all over the place, Great Crested Grebe and Little Grebe. All grebes are now almost completely in their winter plumage. Pochard and Shoveler, of which the last are still in eclipse. Most birds again shelter from the wind or are standing on branches and the two islands.

Parking Noord (17): Try for the nest of White-tailed Eagle. In the howling wind, they were not at home or very low down in the bowl of the nest. On the breakwater we find Greater Black-backed Gull, Common Gul land Black-headed as well as Herring Gulls.

Keersluisplas (9): The shallow lake south of the Knar-dike. Shovelers. The deeper lake on the north, Bovenwater, holds Coots, Grebes and Common Pochard. No winter visitors yet.

Krakeendhut (5) and Poelruiterhut (6):: We find Egyptian Geese, Greylag Geese and Great Egret here. The area is slowly becoming more quiet, after the great upheaval to create new landscapes.

Grote Praambult (8): We take a long period to scan the area. A threesome of Spoonbills flies past. The only ones we see that day. Buzzard comes into view. A Red Fox runs in the distance, scared by the waggon of the Forester. Stock Doves come into view. The sheer size of the area is still very impressive, as is the damage by the grazing and browsing fraternity: Konik Horse, Heck Cattle and Red Deer.

Road East of A6 motorway On an area next tot this road we see a huge flock of Starlings. They are busily foraging in huge densities. The average distance between the birds in the middle seems to be less than about two bodylengths. They are frequently picking items from the grass and from a tilled patch of land. One of the birds near to us attracts attention: an almost white Albino Starling. Only the edges of the feathers show some brown, giving it a scaled appearance. Due to the amount of grass it is difficult to get good shots with the camera.

If you want to read more or see more pictures? Books about the “ Oostvaardersplassen”:

Title: De Oostvaardersplassen, voorbij de grenzen

van het vertrouwde. Fotography: Ruben Smit.

Text: Rinske Hillen and Jan Daan Hillen, in samenwerking

met Frans Vera. ISBN 978-90-816300-1-6.

|Title: Oostvaardersplassen, nieuwe natuur op oude zeebodem. Samenstelling: Bremer, P., Berg, L van den, |

|Euverman, G., Wigbels, V., Tempel, J. Publisher : Staatsbosbeheer |

|ISBN: 90-805009-2-5 |

Observation points in Flevoland, near the Oostvaardersplassen area.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download