Probably my last lifer of the year, a very much lost Hume's leaf warbler (Humes bladkoning), sidetracked from Central Asia. I love phyllos (as the family is affectionately called) so this inquisitive and not very shy bird being present very close to home was a real treat. #birds

I see wood warblers (fluiter) every year locally, but this obliging bird in May was my first time seeing one on Texel. It never disappoints! Its song may be repetitive but it is captivating and draws you in, its colours fitting in perfectly in a forest in spring sunlight. #birds

Two wigeons (smient) looking for food. At first I thought the male (on the right) was going to share and that this would be a wholesome interacton, but instead he quickly turned to the right so the female wouldn't be able to nibble at his seaweed. #birds

Today I discovered we have a fine 17th century engraving of Arnhem with a man on a unicorn on the opposite bank of the Rhine. However, the description on our site has a typo and instead of saying the man sits on an eenhoorn (unicorn) it says he sits on an eekhoorn (squirrel)...

It's the time of year where you look back on the things you've done, and in my case, on the animals you've seen. This group of wild boar (everzwijn) storming through a valley covered in flowers beside a reservoir in Spain was one such stand-out moment. #mammals

Vandaag was ik net op tijd voor het mooiste moment van de dag!

A curlew (wulp) after a long hard day working down the mud mines. De Cocksdorp, Texel, november 2025. #birds

Met onze jubilerende vogelwerkgroep en @sovonvogels.bsky.social e.a. gaven we een boek uit. Zelf deed ik wat redactiewerk. Gisteren kreeg ik het eindelijk in handen. Ik wist al dat het heel leesbaar was, maar het is ook prachtig geworden! Hier te bestellen: sovon.ccvshop.nl/Gelderse-Poort

By now I've photographed enough purple sandpipers (paarse strandloper) that I focus more on capturing the scene and less on the bird. This one was foraging amidst heavy winds along the Texel coast, with spray kicking up all around it. #birds #BirdOfTheDay

On a particularly windy morning (code yellow!) this grey plover (zilverplevier) was foraging in the De Cocksdorp harbour of Texel. It took note of, but tolerated, my presence. Less fancy than its golden cousin, this is still a very impressive bird! #birds #vogels

One of the highlights of a brief Texel visit was a group of horned larks (strandleeuwerik) that I had the pleasure to watch for a while, early in the morning before the dog walkers showed up. This individual was closely studying a shrub, probably to look for seeds or insects. #birds #vogels

Yesterday's walk on the local fens was gorgeous and I was even rewarded with a sighting of a great grey shrike (klapekster) which has chosen to winter there this year - the first since I started going to this nature reserve many years ago. It was far away but unmistakable! #birds

Last month I saw a Caspian gull (Pontische meeuw) unsuccessfully chase a black-headed gull for food before being turned away from a landing spot by some cormorants. The bird was ringed in Poland in 2021 and has since apparently spent most of its life at an Oss industrial estate. #birds

Earlier this year I stumbled upon two hoopoes (hop) near what must have been a nest. I didn't share these at the time because this is still a very rare bird here that tends to attract too many photographers, and I also didn't return, to give them rest. Hopefully they had a successful year! #birds

Rainy day. (Turnstone (steenloper) on the coastline of Schiermonnikoog, earlier this month.) #birds

A short-toed treecreeper (boomkruiper) ascending a tree branch near Nijmegen. In the Netherlands, this is the "common" treecreeper, but in much of the rest of Europe it is rarer or not present at all. They have a different song and slightly different colouring. #birds

For many years now, a local tawny owl (bosuil) has loved to sit on the chimney of a house next to the forest when it's cold. Luckily its continuing the tradition this autumn. ☺️ #birds

Sorting through old photos from June I came across this funny/weird scene: a small willow warbler (fitis) was shadowing a substantially larger wood pipit (boompieper) carrying food towards its nest. Not sure if the warbler was hoping to steal the meal but it looked very suspicious! #birds

The winter thrushes are returning! Yesterday I saw nice flocks of redwings (koperwiek) and, in these photographs, fieldfares (kramsvogel) looking for food. We only get these birds in winter and they nicely fill the gap left by the departure of many breeding birds. #birds #vogels

The Cetti's warbler (Cetti's zanger) is heard far more often than it is seen, but this one was the most cooperative one I ever encountered. It sat in full view for over three minutes (!), mostly at ease with one leg pulled up, occasionally performing its famous call. #birds

Close-up of a red knot (kanoet) halfway through moulting to its winter plumage. Its belly is still orange, while its head is already turning grey. It was foraging at high tide on Schiermonnikoog. #birds

A dunlin (bonte strandloper) foraging for food, undeterred by the waves breaking on the shore of Schiermonnikoog. #birds

A dunlin (bonte strandloper) foraging for food, undeterred by the waves breaking on the shore of Schiermonnikoog. #birds

Stormy today, but with moments of great beauty.

That bar-tailed godwit (rosse grutto) from the previous post has been hanging around a little longer. Got some nice action shots when it was spooked by a dog. The bird was fine, it returned shortly after to a very successful feeding ground. #birds

This bar-tailed godwit (rosse grutto) was in the area over the weekend, foraging along the shore of a nearby lake, rather than along the coast, where it is usually found here. I took up position and eventually it wandered right up to me. Very nice to get such a good look! #birds

While watching a bar-tailed godwit (rosse grutto) forage in the water, a common ringed plover (bontbekplevier) suddenly landed right in front of me. It turned out my reaction speed was on point, and I don't think I'd ever caught the plover's tail as well! #birds

A bit of an abstract image but I enjoyed the way the light fell on this dunlin (bonte strandloper) and on the waves behind it last weekend. There were a couple of them hiding in a group of sanderlings (drieteenstrandloper). #birds

Mocht op de radio vanochtend heeeel kort iets vertellen over de Belgische vluchtelingen in Arnhem tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog. Erg leuk om te doen! www.nporadio1.nl/fragmenten/s...

One day trip to Zeeland yesterday to watch seabirds. We made a brief stop at Vlissingen, where a storm had blown a juvenile black guillemot (zwarte zeekoet) into the harbour, where it was eating all the crabs. Very cool to see it up close! #birds

Got very lucky yesterday in my local patch when I saw an impressive heron fly towards me. Something was off about it, so I figured it wasn't a regular grey heron (blauwe reiger). I was right: it was a migratory purple heron (purperreiger), which stayed in full view for two hours in a treetop. #birds

A juvenile spoonbill (lepelaar) looking for food. #birds

I see kestrels (torenvalk) so often that it's easy to overlook them. But this male made sure I paid attention when it caught a vole and landed quite close to me to devour it. #birds

Before they start their long journey south, the barn swallows (boerenzwaluw) need to eat to survive the trip. A nearby lake provided a great source of nutrients yesterday, with a large group of the birds skimming the water and picking off insects. Mesmerising to watch! #birds

Glad to have gone on an after-work bike ride yesterday to catch this little stint (kleine strandloper). It's a rare visitor to the region and usually viewed from much greater distance. It wasn't shy although it did fly off when some horses threatened to trample it. #birds

Probably my favourite falcon: the hobby (boomvalk). It catches dragonflies and even birds like swallows in mid-air, and will eat them as it soars. The difficulty in photographing them is that you can never predict their path, but I was very lucky this one came quite close to me! #birds

Always nice to see one of the local little owls (steenuil) out and about! #birds

There's still a lot of pics from my Extremadura trip in april that I didn't post. One I was really happy to see was this western subalpine warbler (w. baardgrasmus). Like many warblers, they creep through the foliage, which makes them hard to see and photograph. Not perfect, but decent shots! #birds

Back in May on Texel, I witnessed a little tern (dwergstern) impress its mate by catching fish for her at the beach, over and over again, for at least two hours (probably more, but that's when I left). A small stream of sea water separated us and the terns did not mind me. #birds #TernTuesday

It's autumn migration and that means there are ospreys (visarend) trying to catch fish at a nearby lake every day, to build up some reserve for the trip down south. Always impressive to see! This individual was escorted to the exit by a displeased black-headed gull (kokmeeuw). #birds

It was far away so this image is much more heavily cropped than I usually do - but I had to share this photo I took yesterday of a noble peregrin falcon (slechtvalk) sitting on a pile of horse shit. #birds

Niet naar de hei geweest op mijn vrije dag.

Always a bit of a melancholy moment when you realise the best birding of the year - with birdsong rising from every bush and tree - is over. Haven't seen this guy for a while for instance: a nightingale (nachtegaal) photographed in april. #birds

Weird recent bird sightings: a diamond dove (diamantduif). This little dove is from Australia, but you can sometimes find escaped birds here. We had some when I was a kid, before my parents decided keeping birds wasn't great, so I recognised it immediately. It hung out with some shrikes. #birds

Weird recent bird sightings: a diamond dove (diamantduif). This little dove is from Australia, but you can sometimes find escaped birds here. We had some when I was a kid, before my parents decided keeping birds wasn't great, so I recognised it immediately. It hung out with some shrikes. #birds

I've always been a fan of stonechats (roodborsttapuit) - they were one of the birds that got me into birding years ago. They often sit in clearly visible spots, like this dark ruffled adult male, and are quite vocal, and I still stop to try and find them every time. #birds

There's a fen near my house filled with little grebes (dodaars) and the reflections of the pines and heather around it. It's always a delight to visit. #birds

A mass of feathers descending: a juvenile red-backed shrike (grauwe klauwier) about to land on a branch. Unfortunately part of a wing ended up outside of the frame as I was focused on two other birds, but I was still more than happy to catch this bird in motion! #birds

Encountered multiple families of red-backed shrike (grauwe klauwier) yesterday, which are now thriving in the region. Had a chuckle at one of the kids apparently being outraged at the dad catching and eating a grasshopper for himself. #birds

For #TernTuesday, a white-winged tern (witvleugelstern) on the hunt. Terns are among my favourite birds and the white-winged tern is perhaps the fanciest I've seen. This was a rare breeding pair in the Onnerpolder near Groningen in 2021: their usual populations are much further east. #birds