Great Bittern by Phil Gunson
I had a big birding weekend this past weekend, starting on Friday with a quick visit to the female Ferruginous Duck which has returned to the canal in Anderlecht every winter since 2013. On Saturday, I guided a visiting birder to a lake in West Flanders, finding him three lifers - Bittern, Smew and Long-eared Owl. The Bittern was showing exceptionally well right in front of the hide, as you can see, and seemed to be blowing bubbles in the water to attract fish. This is not a behaviour I have heard about before but it seemed to be working since we witnessed it catching a young perch.
Long-eared Owl by Phil Gunson
Sunday was my annual wild goose chase around Zeeland with my Dutch birding friends. The Brouwersdam was unusually quiet, apart from lots of Red-breasted Mergansers and a single Razorbill, although we did spot a 1000-strong flock of Brent Geese on the way. We then moved to the location of last year's 3000+ Barnacle Geese, which were back in exactly the same spot. This time, however, they were concealing several other species - one Tundra Bean Goose, at least two Cackling Geese, a presumed escape Ross's Goose, plus a Red-breasted Goose I only saw very briefly before the whole flock took flight and we lost it again. By the end of the weekend, I had seen or heard a total of 95 species!
Barnacle Geese by Theo Hortensius
