Baby baby

A couple of weeks ago, I twitched this pair of Bee-Eaters which seem to be breeding in the province of Antwerpen.  This is only the third time I've seen this species in Belgium, averaging out at once every ten years!

Just as exciting though, was this Grey Wagtail nest I discovered when an adult was walking around calling just ahead of me and I noticed begging calls coming from a crack in the concrete pillar right next to the path.

The ever so cute nestlings looked like they were ready to fledge and kept clambering around on the edge of their nest every time mum or dad returned with a beakful of insects.

Moorlinse grebery

Last weekend saw me back in Berlin for another city trip and a much anticipated third visit to what has quickly become one of my favourite places to birdwatch.  My two previous visits in October and May produced a whole range of species from Tundra Bean Geese and Cranes to breeding Red-necked Grebes, Marsh Harrier and Nightingales, so I was eager to see what else might be there in June.  Reed Buntings were particularly confiding with this male singing and preening right next to the observation platform.

New species for my budding Moorlinse Buch list included a singing Icterine Warbler it took me a good 15 minutes to locate, Honey Buzzard and two heard-only Great Reed Warblers but, once again, the grebes were the stars of the show.  I saw several pairs of Red-necked Grebes feeding young but these were easily outnumbered by Great Crested Grebes and their offspring, with quite a few Little Grebes also present.  I don't think I've ever seen such a concentration of young/breeding grebes in such a small area.  I decided to take my time and also explore the nearby Karower Teiche, where singing Golden Orioles, two Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and a family of Redstarts completed the day's list, which totalled an amazing 70 species. 
I can't wait to go back again!

Back to butterflying

 

Having missed last year's butterfly season due to my ankle injury, I was eager to do some proper butterflying this year and finally got to do my first real butterfly outing in almost two years earlier this week.  I visited my favourite butterfly reserve near Couvin but it seemed very quiet at first, with an unexpected Kingfisher and a Black Kite making it look as if the birds were going to have the upperhand.  This Black-veined White was the first butterfly I saw and, together with Small Heath, the only ones present in good numbers but there were also quite a few Adonis Blues, which only have a few Belgian colonies, around.

By the end of the day, though, I'd somehow managed to identify 20 species, including other rare species restricted to this area such as Scarce Swallowtail and Large Wall Brown, with two Red-backed Shrikes as an additional bird bonus.