Despite a good chance of fog again, we chose to do the Kamperhoek again today. At half past six in the morning I picked up Jan Verhoeven and Thijs Fijen. During the trip it became clear that today we would have no problems with fog.
Saturday morning we started at 7 hours to count migrating birds at the Kamperhoek. Jan Verhoeven, Thijs Fijen, Alwin Borhem, Christian Brinkman and I stood in a thick fog with visibility less than 100 meters. At 10 o’clock we decided to drive across the Trinteldijk toward North-Holland.
Today I celebrate my 48th birthday but that does not stop me to be in the field. Also today, the Kamperhoek is on the program followed by a visit to the Eempolder.
The first real spring migration at the Kamperhoek today. Nice numbers of White Wagtails and other species. At 7.15 o’clock we start the count in beautiful conditions.
Because you can usually find me at the Kamperhoek in March I miss a few relatively simple species on my month list. Today is dedicated to filling in the blanks. Target species for today were: Greater Yellowlegs, Black BrentGoose, European Shag, Pink-footed Goose, Short-eared Owl, Long-tailed Duck, Greenshank, Red Knot, House Crow, Sandwich Tern, Bufflehead and Red-necked Grebe. According to waarneming.nl these species were observed yesterday.
March has arrived and traditionally I start to count migrating birds at the Kamperhoek. This is the migration site by the Ketelbrug that connects the Flevopolder with the Noordoostpolder. I am usually found here in the weekends until about May.
It is very quiet in Birding Netherlands and the best option was a visit to North Holland where a Red-necked Grebe was reported yesterday. This one sat nearby and so there were photo opportunities.
Occasionally there are reports of the Eurasian Eagle-Owl at the St Pieterberg. Yet another reason to give it a try. At 8 o’clock Jan Verhoeven, Koen Rovers and myself of course drove south.