
Did you participate in the Big Garden Birdwatch at the end of January? Or does that take place at a different time in your country or perhaps there is...
Read moreDid you participate in the Big Garden Birdwatch at the end of January? Or does that take place at a different time in your country or perhaps there is...
Read moreIn the coming weeks, garden birds will be counted all over the world again. In the Netherlands, the chaffinch has been in the top six for years. ...
Read moreThe oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) is increasingly visiting the city to breed. While it is originally a true coastal inhabitant who, driven by ...
Read moreThe bearded reedling (Panurus biarmicus) is a beautiful reed bird with a distinctive sound, which adapts itself in winter to the food supply....
Read moreThe time of peace on earth has arrived, including Christmas cards with the lovely robin. Although, lovely? Read about its true nature in my blog....
Read moreThe dipper is a rare bird in the Netherlands that forages for food while swimming and walking across the bottom of a fast-flowing stream....
Read moreThis time we shine the spotlight on one of the prettiest (in my opinion) and most graceful (that too is personal) birds of prey of the Netherlands: th...
Read moreThis time a somewhat longer story about a beautiful bird: the Montagu’s harrier (Circus pygargus). Towards the end of the last century this spe...
Read moreUpside-down T In my youth, a bird I would often see foraging in the fields when I was cycling to and from school, was the northern wheatear (Oena...
Read moreI hope my previous blog brought you a clear picture (how appropriate :-)) about how one bird can estimate distances very well while other birds hardly...
Read moreIn my previous blog I wrote about the woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) and why this bird sometimes literally crash into buildings. Some readers wondered...
Read moreSpring is in the air, nature is ready for it. Great tits (Parus major) are doing their utmost and are singing like squeaky bicycle pumps and the ...
Read moreSpring is in the air. Although last weekend it was still snowing, you can sense that spring is coming. Perhaps a few night frosts, a bit of snow and t...
Read moreSo, it’s winter. Birds leave the colder, northern parts of the continent and migrate southwards in the hope that there will still be enough food for...
Read moreOne of the bird species that reside in the Netherlands during winter is the great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor). It is not a common winter guest...
Read moreWhen we had just moved to our current residence, I had a chat with our new neighbor Klaas. At a certain moment we got talking about nature and birds. ...
Read moreIn the first weeks of 2017 we were under the spell of a mad American. One that kept the fascination of many people and had many eyes and cameras focus...
Read moreSometimes, mainly in January, media report on large quantities of long-eared owls (Asio otus) in trees. They may report about groups of five to nine o...
Read moreA bird that always comes last during my lectures about birds of prey is one you don’t often see. Although, at this time of the year your chances to ...
Read moreOn the extraordinary achievements of an ordinary bird One of these days I hope to find one in my mailbox, a postcard from Ivory Coast. Or Angola, or t...
Read moreRecently new residents have moved into our garden. Flying residents to be more specific. It has always been busy in our garden, especially in the wint...
Read moreSlowly but surely everything starts to turn green again, the trees are budding, the plants are awaking from their hibernation and the first migratory ...
Read moreSometimes your garden is flooded with cheerful and busy tweeting from a little flock of birds. This time not that of sparrows. It’s much more subtle...
Read moreAn impressive bird of prey, the buzzard (Buteo buteo). It’s the most common raptor species in the Netherlands. It’s often seen on poles and traffi...
Read moreThe whole of the Netherlands seems to be captivated by the kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). Photos regularly appear on Facebook and Instagram. That’s not...
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