Today, April 14, I was able to guide Betsy, Kenneth and their daughter and son-in-law for half a day. At 07:00 I picked them up at the hotel in the center of Amsterdam. We decided to go to the Oostvaardersplassen.
Arriving at the Torenvalkweg we could immediately enjoy the many geese, Common buzzard, White wagtail and Yellow wagtail. The first stop was the Great Praambult where the numbers of Barnacle Geese were enormous. Here also the first Bluethroat and some other singers. Also on the plain Red deer, Heck cattle etc.
On the way to the hide De Poeltuiter we heard Cetti's singer and we saw Willow warbler. On the water near the hide were several ducks including Common pochard, Shoveler, Tufted ducks etc. On the waterfront we discovered a Roe deer.
On the way back a sanitary stop at the visitor center and then to the bird hide De Kluut. It was fairly quiet here and we decided to continue to the hide De Grauwe Gans. Along the way we saw, among other things Long-tailed tits and we heard the Cetti's warbler again and saw a flash of the bird. On the other side of the pond we saw the White-tailed Eagle in a tree.
By now it was around noon and we decided in consultation to drive to Amsterdam and do a short tour through Waterland, especially for the Black-tailed Godwit. On the way to Ransdorp we saw several birds. After this I decided to drive to De Kinsel to look for the Avocet that Betsy had missed earlier. There were seven Avocets present as well as a Pintail and three Black-winged Stilts.
Photo’s by Kenneth T. Fong
"Dear Cor,
Thank you very much for the superb birding trip today! The four of us were very delighted to see so many different species of birds! I appreciate your help in spotting the birds and the use of your scope. You went above and beyond my expectations to insure that we got a very complete tour in different habitats. We could not have had such a great experience with you guiding us!
Thanks also for the water, tea and snack.
Ken Fong sent you his 8 best photos separately.
Birding Netherlands is very fortunate to have you as a guide. I wish you much birding fun and success in the future!"