Yesterday, I visited the polders around Doel nuclear power station, to the north-west of Antwerp. I'd never been there before and was surprised to see just how many birds were around, not least this colony of nesting Mediterranean Gulls. They have an instantly recognisable, catlike call, quite unlike any other gull, which was wonderful to hear echoing all around us. Lots of Avocets were nesting in the same area, presumably using the gulls as extra muscle to help fend off any predators. A summer-plumaged Black Tern was passing back and forth above at least six Spoonbills and, right at the end of the afternoon, we found a summer-plumaged Spotted Redshank, together with a very strange-looking, orange and black, male Ruff moulting into its breeding finery. There were also quite a lot of butterflies around, mostly Small Whites and Peacocks, as well as several individuals of the rather localised Brown Argus, which were very cooperative as you can see below.
