Pintail, egrets, curlews, dunlin

This video is called Texel birding.

Texel, 24 October 2013. After the fungi of the dunes and the forest, back along a field, with many redwings.

In the afternoon, to the south, to the Mokbaai bay.

Ten Egyptian geese on a meadow.

A small tortoiseshell butterfly on a barn: a sign that autumn so far has not been that cold.

We see thousands of, mainly migratory, birds at the Mokbaai. At the front of this photo, feeding, a male pintail duck. Behind it, herring gulls. Still further to the back, male and female wigeons.

Shoveler ducks as well. Brent geese.

Shelducks. Many curlews.

Behind us, in the dunes, a pheasant calls.

Two little egrets. Sometimes, at some distance from each other; but most of the time closely together.

Many grey lag geese arrive. They try to fly in a way that each birds benefits from the aerodynamics of the one flying before it, taking turns at the windy front, somewhat like cyclists in a race.

On this photo, wigeons in the foreground; then, black-headed gulls; then, curlews; many dunlins in the background.

Sometimes, hundreds of dunlins take off for a group flight.

From the air, they are certainly able to see the old church of Den Hoorn village.

Eventually, the dunlins settle down again on the Mokbaai mudflats, behind the curlews.

Not far from the brackish water Mokbaai is the Petten nature reserve: fresh water marsh. White wagtail. A kestrel.

And a spoonbil. Maybe it thought that with such mild autumn weather there was no need for migration to Africa (yet).

Northern lapwings.

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