Such was the view during a 16-km hike across the Reuland plateau on Monday. This is the best place in Belgium I know to see Nutcrackers and the three of us were not disappointed, with eight different sightings of these shy birds flying back and forth, and another perched at close range for us to admire. The day started off very promisingly indeed with both Hawfinch and Bullfinch almost as soon as we stepped out of the train, and the first half hour was rather overwhelming, with groups of Fieldfares flying in all directions and quite a bit of visible migration, mostly Chaffinches and Starlings, as well as four Rook. We kept hearing and catching glimpses of Common Crossbills in flight and eventually found a dozen or so feeding atop a spruce tree as another sang its melodious, almost Woodlark-like song in the distance. Having enjoyed the Nutcracker feast, we continued down into Stavelot, where I heard a call I didn't recognise and looked up to see a long-tailed passerine fly quickly past us. The call didn't fit any of the pipits and it was too big for a wagtail so I was stumped until I got home and thumbed through the field guide for potential solutions, this flight call of Great Grey Shrike perfectly matching what I heard. This brought our very successful day's total to 50 species, which, considering the total lack of gulls and shorebirds and only Mallard and Mute Swan representing the waterfowl, is amazing for this time of year.
