Hello all, well we did go to the Netherlands.
We booked last minute, this because we did not know what was going to happen in the world.
(still not....)(politics, wars)
But we took the chance and did see most of our family and friends and the Dutch birds of course.
We decided to stay nearby our family (nearby Amsterdam), so we could save time and did not loose too much time with travel.
This time earlier in the spring time, so that's why I start this story with the Eurasian Linnet. She was my champion in singing this year in the Netherlands.
I did have a few highlights of course..did see for the first time in my life a huge group of common Sandpipers. They breed in much of northern Europe and Siberia, and pass through the Netherlands in large numbers during migration.
You need to enlarge the photos a bit, but wanted to post them anyway. Had to zoom in quite a bit. These photos were taken in the "Waterleidingduinen" ..dunes... in North of Netherlands.
The goose is a Canada Goose, they are common...more and more.
We witnessed a fight between two Buzzards in a creek. I was filming it...but while filming I had had enough. It got ugly, stopped filming and we walked away...on the way back we saw one of the birds lying dead in the water. I had never heard of it and looked it up to see if it ever happened...this was the answer... Buzzards are territorial and protect their territory, which sometimes leads to fights with other buzzards or other birds of prey, but deadly fights are rare.
Mute Swans (Knobbelzwanen)
On a happier note.. it was quite a while ago that I saw a gray Wagtail, this was in Denekamp on the German border. At the same spot we saw two different Flycatchers. Both are migrants and had probably just arrived. They were singing at the top of their lungs!
a gray Wagtail male
spotted Flycatcher
European pied Flycatcher
In the middle of Amsterdam suddenly in a tree an Eurasian Goshawk:
What struck me is that I saw very few black-tailed Godwits (Grutto). Spoke to a gentleman who fixed my binoculars👌 He told me that he often goes out with his boat...and that he had only seen one black-tailed Godwit in the area so far, where normally many more can be seen. It was also super dry in the Netherlands, almost no rain fell and to this day still not enough rain.
Anyway... for sure there were also a lot of nice birds to see... my best pictures:
gray Heron (blauwe Reiger)
eurasian collared Dove (Tortelduif)
Egyptian Goose (Nijlgans)
European Robin (Roodborst)
white Stork (Ooievaar)
graylag Goose (grauwe Ganzen)
Barn Swallow (Boerenzwaluw)
common Moorhen (Waterhoen)
I did notice also that more and more people in the Netherlands are interested in Birds👍
Did see more Dutch people with binoculars. I notice that also in Panama... more Dutch people are
interested in birdwatching :)
The nice part of the Netherlands ..it is flat... no mountains, so easy😊😊
my sis with her binoculars
Me watching birds on 'Landje van Gruijters"
Me watching birds in "Buitenplaats Leyduin"
Me in heaven.. "in het Wormer- en Jisperveld"
I have the idea that the people who live in this house
are bird lovers 😍😍
And then ...the 9th of May 2025 we did arrive at home in Boquete Panama...and the next day it was
Global Big Day and so at 6am I was counting birds, starting on our farm and did go to two other areas and counted until 7pm.
Totally different world and of course a jetlag. But that was no problem..
I was SO awake, thanks to the many birds and the whole day great weather!!!
The highlights of this day were an immature emerald Toucanet..just fletched.
And a group of three wattled Bellbirds Juveniles were displaying.
I do have videos of both highlights, will post them on my Youtube channel.
Here some pictures of the GBD 2025, Panama is by the way nr. 7 on the GBD world list, everywhere
in Panama.. birdwatchers were counting birds..a lot of new birdwatchers, mostly very young people!
immature emerald Toucanet just fletched
not birds but I love this kind of encounters
a Bat Falcon in front of her nest
Okay not the best Picture of a resplendent Quetzal
tufted Flycatcher
almost 7pm and 161 birds further and ready for a cup of coffee 😉
So this was the month of May..up to the next month!
That is the month with a lot of immature birds...
So more stories to tell
Greetings from Terry
https://coffeeadventures.net/tinamou.html
https://www.youtube.com/@terryvanniekerktinamoucott7548
