Goldcrests, avocets and ships

On 24 October 2015, to the Maasvlakte, west of Rotterdam; as this blog reported earlier. We were there for birds, but saw many ships as well. Like this ship on its way to Rotterdam harbour; some of its containers had gone out of balance during the journey.

Some containers were still where they were supposed to be.

A great black-backed gull on a jetty.

As we walked back to the parking lot, there were a few goldcrests in bushes.

At another spot, a grey seal swimming in the sea.

Still more ships.

A kestrel on a lamppost.

Common scoters flying off the coast.

We come to a place called the Slufter of the Maasvlakte. Many shelducks there.

And about 100 avocets: sometimes flying, sometimes resting.

On the south side of the Maasvlakte, you could see seals on a sandbank from a hide. And oystercatchers.

Much closer to the hide, this female chaffinch.

This video is about a male and a female chaffinch in winter in Britain.

Still further, near the north coast of the Oostvoornse meer. A curlew calls.

Flocks of starlings on treetops.

Along the footpath to the hide of Hoekje Jans nature reserve, common self-heal flowers. A pheasant calls.

Related articles

• Watch daring rescue as wildlife sanctuary staff remove creel ropes wrapped around seal’s neck
• Ben Fogle: my encounter with a grey seal off Devon’s coastline
• World’s biggest ship no longer has nazi criminal’s name
• Great black-backed gull nest, first time on Texel island
• Desperate whalers go north
• This timber must be seized, not sold
• Hope Town Birders Spot 44 Species on South Abaco
• A whale of a time
• Five Elegant Gulls and a Smart Buoy: Birds of Abaco
• Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam, the Netherlands