I first visited Vlieland thanks to 2023's Yellow-browed Bunting. I really liked the island and its birding opportunities, especially during autumn migration and so have been back there every year since. My 2024 visit was timed too early and ever so quiet as a result, although I did discover how good the island can be for seeing rainbows. This past week was ever so windy with yet more rainbows but the birding was quite good too, by far the highlight of my 2 days on the island being the 1st-winter Common Rosefinch I found. Bramblings were absolutely everywhere and one of the few species migrating into the strong westerlies.
The same winds were pushing seabirds ashore, with Guillemot, Arctic Tern, Kittiwake, Little Gull, several Red-throated Diver and a distant Fulmar, while the Kroonspolders held the usual collection of waterfowl, including several Pintail.
The second morning started rainy so I spent the first few hours in my room, watching passing flocks of Oystercatcher, until I heard a gull screaming and noticed this magnificent adult Arctic Skua chasing it around the ferry harbour, giving me one of my best-ever looks at the species. Whilst birding on Vlieland can produce rarities, for me it is more about the sheer numbers of birds with the constant calls of Brent Geese everywhere, and I ended up seeing or hearing 85 species on the island, plus a Rook in Leeuwaarden station on my 7.5 hour journey back to Brussels.
