Vlieland island female spoonbill’s travels unveiled

This video says about itself:

Join us in preserving the nests of the spoonbills of the island of Nair in Mauritania

11 December 2013

The subspecies balsaci of Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) is present only in the PNBA. One of the most important nesting sites is on the island of Nair which is two hours windsurfing sailing from the village of Iwik. Birds by preference build their nests on the vegetation which lines the fragile dune that acts as a natural barrier on the coast. Unfortunately in recent years, the sea has been gaining ground on the island and is progressively flooding nests.

To preserve this rare bird, Ahmed and his Imraguen friends, with the help of FIBA, Natuurmonumenten and the local ONG «Nature Mauritania» filled gaps in the dune by placing sandbags. These sandbag barriers reduce recurrent flooding and enable the vegetation regeneration necessary for successful spoonbill breeding.

Petra de Goeij, Dutch spoonbill biologist, reports on female spoonbill YfLY/aLY.

Born on Vlieland island, she had nested on Schiermonnikoog island in 2013.

This bird had a data logger on, enabling scientists to find out where she had been.

Translated, about 2014:

First, she went to Schiermonnikoog from April 6 until April 25. From there she flew that day to the Lauwersmeer, and after a shorts break on Ameland island, to Vlieland. There, she went first to the Kroonspolders but on 30 April she decided to go to the Oude Huizenvallei. And there she is nesting now.

During the winter of 2013/2014 she had wintered in the Morbihan in Brittany. If you look at her life basing oneself on her colour rings, she appears to have done that every winter since 2006. And, coincidentally, she was born on Vlieland in the Oude Huizenvallei.

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