I went to the Dutch migration hotspot of the Maasvlakte over the weekend. The two (yes, two!) White-throated Sparrows had, unfortunately, moved on and it was very quiet overall but the very first bird we saw was this showy Wryneck. The tiny cluster of bushes held just five birds; the Wryneck, two Song Thrushes, a Chiffchaff and this Long-eared Owl sunning itself in a perfectly-positioned gap in the foliage.
Not bad, considering how few birds there were, but we felt we'd seen everything that was there and thus moved on to the harbour of Stellendam on the other side of the water to sort through the shorebirds. We were enjoying the masses of Spoonbills, godwits, Oystercatchers etc when everything took to the air, and I noticed the huge silhouette of a juvenile White-tailed Eagle coming towards us. This soon drifted off down the coast but we then spotted two more, an immature and an adult! The immature even got harassed by one of three Ospreys that were loafing around the mudflats.
All photos by Theo Hortensius
