Grey wagtails at the Slinge river

After arriving in Brinkheurne village near Winterswijk town on 22 April 2017, on 23 April we went to the Buskersbos forest. Where the Slinge river flows, as this photo shows.

Early in the morning, there had been long-tailed tits in the garden again. A chaffinch sings. A starling on a tree.

At the beginning of the walk near a farm, two jays. A magpie.

Song thrush and chiffchaff songs.

A blackcap sings as well.

We arrived at the river Slinge in the Buskersbos.

Yellow archangel flowers.

Wood anemone flowers.

A grey heron flies.

Pheasant and great spotted woodpecker sounds.

Ground-ivy and other flowers attract large earth bumblebees.

A male mallard swims in the Slinge.

White dead-nettle flowers.

Then, a special bird: a grey wagtail on a stone in the river.

Goldfinches. We have left the Buskersbos and approach the Strandlodge.

Next to the Strandlodge is an open air swimming pool. It is still closed for humans: the water is too cold. Now, a male tufted duck swims in the pool. On the boardwalk, two oystercatchers. On the bank, a white wagtail and a little ringed plover.

A flock of rooks flying.

A bit later, more tufted ducks, both male and female, in the swimming pool. And a coot.

Lady’s smock flowers. A buzzard lands on a branch.

A robin.

We are back in the Buskersbos forest, and see a pondskater on the Slinge.

A great tit.

A nuthatch calls.

A wren on the opposite Slinge bank.

A goshawk calls.

Later in the afternoon, we decide to go back to Slinge; especially to the grey wagtails at the Borkense baan bridge.

Near the farm, these tulips grow.

In the Slinge, a mandarin duck.

The grey wagtails at the bridge often have their bills full of insects.

We see them disappear in the undergrowth on the bank. Very probably, their nest is there, and they feed the insects to their chicks.

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