White-tailed eagles and lapwings

Posted on October 7, 2012 by petrel41

Sunday 30 September 2012.

As my earlier blog post said, our ship passed through the lock in Lauwersoog from the Wadden Sea to the Lauwersmeer.

Like on 28 September, we were in Lauwersmeer national park again.

A great cormorant.

Five gadwall ducks flying.

Then, a highlight of our journey to Schiermonnikoog and Rottum islands and back: first, we see one white-tailed eagle.

Then we see two white-tailed eagles.

Finally, three eagles: the adult couple nesting here are flying around with their daughter, fledged this year.

As the ship comes closer to Zoutkamp harbour, scores, then hundreds, of lapwings flying.

A bit later, mute swans.

And a great egret.

The ship lands in Zoutkamp. We disembark, with many good memories.

The return of the Sea Eagle: Researchers say once extinct bird is now thriving on Scottish coast ( (dailymail.co.uk)
Dutch Rottum islands new animal book (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
6 October 2012 (cotswoldwaterpark.wordpress.com)
Muscovy ducks and hares (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Where eagles dare: Sea eagles look set to spread their wings all over Scotland (scotsman.com)
Wildlife Minister Refuses to Ban Deadly Bird Poison (zen-haven.com)
Decline in lapwing triggers study (granthamjournal.co.uk)
French cranes and sea eagle, first morning (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
White Tailed Eagle (Sea Eagle) – Hungary – Will Nichols (photobotos.com)
White-tailed Eagle by Young Sung Bae (500px.com)

From Rottum to Lauwersoog

Posted on October 7, 2012 by petrel41

This is a video about birds in Lauwersoog harbour in 2007. It shows common terns, black terns, black-headed gulls, herring gulls and a few turnstones.

Sunday 30 September 2012.

After our beautiful visit yesterday to uninhabited island Rottum, today we will sail from Rottum to Lauwersoog; and then on to Zoutkamp.

While our ship is still on the sandbank, we hear curlews calling.

Ten oystercatchers pass, flying, also calling.

Twenty brent geese fly close above the sea.

A bit higher flies a meadow pipit, calling.

We are on our way. A swimming harbour seal passes, its head above the water.

We arrive in Lauwersoog harbour. Many turnstones on a dock, like when we were here two days ago.

On the same jetty, a bit further, black-headed gulls.

On the next dock, herring gulls.

And a few greater black-backed gulls.

Quite some ships are waiting to pass through the lock, from the sea to the fresh water of Lauwersmeer lake. We are lucky, we don’t have to wait very long.

Rottum island birds and flowers

Posted on October 6, 2012 by petrel41

This is a video about common terns on Rottum island in the Netherlands. This species nested there for the first time in 2011. The video also shows an avocet passing.

Saturday, 29 September 2012.

After sailing from Schiermonnikoog, our ship allowed itself during low tide to run aground on a sandbank near the desert island Rottum, as the video shows.

Now, I have to walk barefoot on the sand and through the now shallow sea for about half an hour to Rottum.

I pass sanderlings and dunlins.

We reach the dunes of Rottum. Normally, it is illegal to go there. However, as the birds’ nesting season is over now, today is an exception.

Sanderlings on the beach.

Among the breaking waves swims a female eider duck.

On the beach, a bar-tailed godwit looks for food.

On the outer edge of the outermost dune, European searocket flowers.

The warden tells that the rare grayling butterfly lives on the island. It is too late in the year to see it now.

In the summer, there are two wardens on the island, studying birds and other wildlife and keeping out trespassers. In winter, about two times a month, birds are counted on Rottum and Zuiderduin islet not far away.

On the beach, a Zirfaea crispata shell.

On the sea-side of a dune, sea lyme grass. It grows here spontaneously, contrary to European beachgrass, often planted by humans to make dunes stronger against flooding.

On the inner side of a seaside dune, bittersweet flowers.

In the marshy area behind the dunes, grey lag geese. There has been a marine wash-over on the island this year. Bringing salt water, which is good for some species and bad for others.

Three pintail ducks.

Just before we reach the warden’s house again, a meadow pipit flying and calling.

Meanwhile, on the beach, a ringed plover.

As we walk back to the ship, many dunlins.

Brent geese fly past.

Rottum plants: here.

Good New Zealand bat news (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Back from treasure island (backpackingbongos.wordpress.com)
Izembek National Wildlife Refuge: Road For Alaska Village Rejected By U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service (huffingtonpost.com)

Schiermonnikoog, marine peregrine falcon, Rottum

Posted on October 5, 2012 by petrel41

This is a video of a red-breasted goose, a rare species in western Europe, among a flock of barnacle geese, on Schiermonnikoog island in the Netherlands.

Saturday 29 September 2012.

After yesterday in Schiermonnikoog, the ship spent the night in the harbour.

In the morning, we sail to the east, the direction of our next island destination, Rottum. Not in a straight line, in order to avoid the many sandbanks.

Brent geese flying low above the sea.

Sometimes it rains; sometimes, there is a rainbow.

On one of the beacons, marking where it is safe to sail, a peregrine falcon sits. Alone.

On the next beacon, a greater black-backed gull on top, and five great cormorants a bit lower.

About a hundred wigeons flying quite high.

Two female eider ducks fly close to the water surface.

A shelduck flies much higher.

As we approach Rottum from the south, hundreds of eider ducks flying.

A harbour seal shows its head above the waves.

An Arctic skua. It flies sometimes high, sometimes low; a bit like shearwaters.

It is low tide. We allow our ship to run aground. As the sandbanks get bigger and bigger, two bar-tailed godwits come to feed.

We will have to walk on the sand and through now shallow water to reach the desert island Rottum.

New island size of 25 football pitches appears off German coast after sandbanks emerge from the North Sea (thisismoney.co.uk)
Colour ringed Oystercatchers and Brent Geese (parrotletsuk.typepad.com)
Exploring the back yard (russelrayphotos2.com)
New sandy bird island rises off German coast (thelocal.de)

Golden plovers and shelducks

Posted on October 5, 2012 by petrel41

This video is about northern lapwings and golden plovers in Biesbosch national park in the Netherlands.

Friday 28 September 2012.

This is the sequel to the blog post with the earlier Schiermonnikoog wildlife photos made that day.

We returned to the harbour after walking in the western part of the island.

Here, golden plovers on a mudflat near the harbour. Our ship is in the background.

Flocks of starlings flying around.

These are shelducks, on the same mudflat.

A shelduck and a golden plover.

This golden plover still has a bit of the black of its summer plumage on its belly.

One golden plover among shelducks.

Shelducks coming closer to the camera.

More shelducks.

Finally, shelducks flying away.

Flocks of lapwings.

Near the dike leading to our ship, a northern wheatear.

After this, our journey continued; sailing from Schiermonnikoog to Rottum.

Stay tuned for more, about Rottum!

American golden plover photos: here.

Little ringed plover breeds at Salina (timesofmalta.com)
Rottum island wildlife report (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Goldcliff & Sluice Fm (glamorganbirds.wordpress.com)
A Recent Visitor (burgessart.wordpress.com)
Rescued snowy plover chicks to be released back into wild (oregonlive.com)
Rutland Water Visit June 29th 2013 (abbeybirder.wordpress.com)
Rutland water visit 20/07/2013 (abbeybirder.wordpress.com)
Ten thousands dunlin, one curlew sandpiper, six seals (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)

Schiermonnikoog birds and fungi photos

Posted on October 4, 2012 by petrel41

This video is about Schiermonnikoog island in the Netherlands.

This blog post is about birds and fungi on Schiermonnikoog on Friday 28 September.

And now the first Schiermonnikoog, 28 September photo. It shows, behind the harbour water, a reddish glasswort field, with white spots: gulls and shelducks.

After our arrival at the harbour south of the only village on the island, we first walked on a dike through mudflats.

As we walked on the harbour dike, two bar-tailed godwits and a redshank on a mudflat.

Not far away, two turnstones in winter plumage, showing where their name originated 🙂

A herring gull was present as well.

A bit further, many shelducks. And a ringed plover.

Further away from the coastline, a dragonfly flying around: a migrant hawker.

Migrant hawker eaten by great green bush-cricket, on Terschelling: here.

A blue tit on a treetop.

We continue to the hide near the Westerplas lake.

There, this male gadwall duck swam …

… like this female shoveler duck …

… and this male shoveler (still in not-so-colourful late summer-autumn plumage. This species was very numerous at the Westerplas) …

… and this group of pintail ducks, male and female.

Teal. Also wigeons, but not as many as here four years ago. Probably, most migratory wigeons are still to come.

One swimming bird is the only specimen here of its species, but it is special: a young red-throated diver.

Not swimming, but standing: this parasol mushroom.

It grew a bit further, in the dunes, among other big parasol mushrooms. The mushrooms have big hats, which mean that they sometimes hinder fellow parasol mushrooms’ growth, as one can see on the photos here. These photos are from Vlieland island. So, parasol mushrooms seem to be doing well on all Wadden Sea islands this September.

Parasol mushrooms on Texel: here.

Still further: lapwings and golden plovers.

There are more Schiermonnikoog bird photos, from when we were almost back at the ship, at this blog post, Golden plovers and shelducks.

The blog post Schiermonnikoog, marine peregrine falcon, Rottum is about what happened after leaving Schiermonnikoog on 29 September.

Ten thousands dunlin, one curlew sandpiper, six seals (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Schiermonnikoog (bernardrylance.wordpress.com)
Sea eagle, osprey, egrets and fungi (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Bird migration on Terschelling island (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Lazy-writer (ilikerain.wordpress.com)
Black headed Gulls in Flight (parrotletsuk.typepad.com)
Crossbills and white-fronted geese at EuroBirdwatch 2013 (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Little Stints at Frampton Marsh (aflingofsandpipers.wordpress.com)

Birds of the Wadden Sea

Posted on October 2, 2012 by petrel41

Friday 28 September 2012.

As I described earlier, our ship passed through the lock joining the Lauwersmeer lake to the Wadden Sea.

On a jetty in Lauwersoog harbour just outside the lock, scores of noisy turnstones. Black-headed and herring gulls as well.

When we have sailed about half-way to Schiermonnikoog island, two male eider ducks fly past.

When we are just a few hundred meter away from the island, another four eider ducks flying. Six brent geese fly over the harbour.

On the harbour jetty, again turnstones. And redshanks.

A flock of curlews lands on a mudflat.

We see the south-west coast of Schiermonnikoog island, looking red from the autumn colour of many glasswort plants.

Trends of Migratory and Wintering Waterbirds in the Wadden Sea 1987/1988-2010/2011: here.

Wadden Sea region nesting birds: here.

Corner View “what to do in your country”. (susiart.blogspot.com)
Settling (sasastories.wordpress.com)
AWI Announces Commissioning of New Research Ship (Germany) (worldmaritimenews.com)
Newbuild Research Vessel ‘MYA II’ Ecquipped with Ecospeed Protection (Germany) (worldmaritimenews.com)
Country diary: Church Norton, West Sussex: Migrants en route from the tundra (theguardian.com)
Dutch sea eaglets will be tracked electronically (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Kaap Skil Maritime and Beachcombers Museum by Mecanoo (dezeen.com)
Brent geese, sanderlings and plovers (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Aldebaran and oystercatcher against light pollution (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
Is this the world’s biggest oyster? Massive mollusc is over a FOOT long and weighs more than TWO bags of sugar (dailymail.co.uk)

Birds of Lauwersmeer national park

Posted on October 1, 2012 by petrel41

This 2015 video is about Lauwersmeer national park.

Friday, 28 September 2012.

Yesterday evening we went aboard the ship, originally built for fishing.

In Zoutkamp harbour early in the morning, coots and a great crested grebe swim. Herring gulls fly.

The ship passes five flying lapwings. Six flying barnacle geese.

This is a video about birds in the Lauwersmeer national park in the Netherlands.

A female marsh harrier. The weather is a bit foggy this morning in Lauwersmeer national park. Not really good conditions for seeing ospreys and white-tailed eagles, which we won’t see this morning. We do see other birds.

A grey heron.

Lots of grey lag geese on the banks.

A bit further a great cormorant.

Two tufted ducks in the water. A great egret on the bank.

A lesser black-backed gull.

An Egyptian goose flies past.

Mute swans swimming. A juvenile great black-backed gull swimming.

Barn swallows flying. If all goes well, their autumn migration will bring them to Africa.

Twenty spoonbills standing in the water. Most of them will migrate to Africa as well.

Meadow pipits flying across the water, calling. Some will winter here; some in south-west Europe; some in Morocco or even further south.

A buzzard on a tree.

The Lauwersmeer used to be a part of the Wadden Sea. In 1969, a dike was built. Our ship passes through a lock in the dike to the Wadden Sea.