First rarity: Pacific Golden Plover

Yesterday afternoon I visited the Pacific Golden Plover that remains in Ottersaat since July. In this wetland beautiful birds like Terns (Common, Arctic and Sandwich, I think), pied avocets and Common Ringed Plovers can be seen breeding very close. Even birds were not breeding in these dates, twitching the PGP was also a delightful experience. The bird was very agressive with the Eurasian GP that were feeding near it. When this happened, it was easy to identify the main characters: lighter body and slimmer neck, that results in a big-headed look with bigger eye; slightly longer tarsus and greyish-brown armpits (no contrasting white as 1st winters of EGP). Also Black-tailed Godwits, Northern Shovelers, Ruffs, Pied Avocets, Oystercatchers, Common Ringed Plovers, Teals, Curlews,... In the surrounding fields: 300 EGP, 50 Greylag Geese, 15 Barnacle Gees, 1 Marsh Harrier adult male and 4 Northern Weathears.

Pacific Golden Plover. Adult moulting.

This morning I went to explore the southern heathlands in Moksloot and. In Mokbaai high tide made waders and gulls approaching to shore.

Waders, waders, waders...

Oystercatchers

Common Ugly Eider

Turnstones. 1st winters turnseaweeding.

Northern weathear. 1st winters.

Heathland landscape.

Meadow pipit. 

First birding: Mokbaai

Mokbaai's landscape

After settling in my new home and filling the fridge, I use this afternoon to make a quick walk around the nearest birding spot: the bay of Mokbaai.

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Thousands of waders were feeding here, mainly oystercatchers (Scholekster, Haematopus ostralegus), bar-tailed godwits (Rosse Grutto, Limosa lapponica), eurasian golden plovers (Goudpleiver, Pluvialis apricaria) and curlews (Wulp, Numenius arquata). Also spoonbills (Lepelaar, Platalea leucorodia), mallards (Wilde eend, Anas platyrhynchos), tufted ducks (Kuifeend, Aythya fuligula), greylag geese, common eiders (in eclipse plumage :( ) (eider, Somateria mollisima), sandwich (Grote stern, Sterna sandvicensis) and comic terns (Visdief/Noordse Stern, Sterna hirundo/paradisaea) or ringed plovers (Bontbekplevier, Charadrius hiaticula) were easy to see. Red knots (Kanoet, Calidris canutus), dunlins (Bonte Strandloper, Calidris alpina), greenshanks (Groenpootruiter, Tringa nebularia), common shelducks (Bergeend, Tadorna tadorna), and eurasian wigeons (Smient, Anas penelope) were in less numbers. 

 Oystercatcher, Scolekster.

In contrast the shore wasn't as lively as the bay. Only a set of ten migrating 1st winters of northern weathears (Tapuit, Oenanthe oenanthe), a meadow pipit (Graspieper, Anthus pratensis) and some juveniles of white wagtails (Witte Kwikstaart, Motacilla alba alba).

 Mokbaai eastern shore

Northern weathear, Tapuit. 1st winter.

A nice way to say goodbye...

...surrounded by red-backed shrikes (Grauwe Klauwier, Lanius collurio), northern weathears (Tapuit, Oenanthe oenanthe), bee-eaters (Bijeneter, Merops apiaster) and confident dotterels (Morinelpleiver, Charadrius morinellus).

Dotterel, Morinelpleiver (Charadrius morinellus). Juvenile. Matagalls (Catalunya). Photo by: Helena Navalpotro.

Dotterel, Morinelpleiver (Charadrius morinellus). Adult. Gallecs (Catalunya)

Bee-eater, Bijeneter (Merops apiaster). Adults. Palau Solità i Plegamans (Catalunya)

Bienvenidos/Benvinguts/Welcome/Welkom!

Welcome to my blog! 

My name is Robert. I'm studing Biology in University of Barcelona. In the next nine months I'm going to work with Royal Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) as an Erasmus internship program. Specifically we aim to understand a bit more about feeding and behaviour of red knots (Calidris canutus) during its stopover and wintering time in the Wadden Sea. However, the fact of living in Texel island from the postbreeding seabirds migration season in september until the breeding season of spoonbills, terns and oystercatchers in may-june is a temptation for a young birder. For this reason, I will try to spend some of my freetime to go birding, and use this website to share my sightings, photos, and more about nature in Texel and my project.

Only 4 days left, waiting for brent geeses, waxwings, waders, divers, smews, scaups, eiders, unidentifiable gulls, longspurs, snow buntings...