Belgianbirding
(Guided) Birding in Belgium and beyond
Friday 27 September 2024
Sibchat
Tuesday 13 August 2024
Corsican endemics
Wednesday 17 July 2024
Accidental lifer
Now I'm fast running out of new butterfly species to find in Belgium, I should perhaps start working on my odonata list!
Friday 12 July 2024
Cranberry craziness
I finally managed to connect with my first Cranberry Fritillaries last weekend. In Belgium, this species is restricted to peat bogs in the Ardennes and I have made several trips to try and find one over the years but only twice seen a distant fritillary in flight which may or may not have been another species. This time, the reserve seemed very quiet at first but I soon spotted a fritillary feeding on a thistle and managed to fire off a few record shots.
I was, however, standing on a boardwalk in the middle of a bog so couldn't get any closer and the butterfly quickly dropped down into the grasses and disappeared. I thus decided to try the cycle path surrounding the reserve since the verges had a lot more flowers than the bog itself plus my movements would be less restricted there. This was a wise move since I soon saw another Cranberry Fritillary, then two more, and eventually counted around 20 individuals over the next hour or two!
Saturday 6 July 2024
B(erl)ingo!
Wednesday 26 June 2024
POPLAR ADMIRAL!
Sunday 16 June 2024
Nocturne
I've had some good owl karma this year, seeing both Tawny Owl and Long-eared Owl in January, a hunting Short-eared Owl in March and two new species during my US trip in April. Two weekends ago, I tried an evening walk in the Sonian Forest and, although I heard at least three Tawny Owls, I was unable to locate any. A visiting birder had mentioned Tawny Owl was on his target list, so I suggested we give it a try last weekend, confident we should at least hear them but not really expecting to see one. We started much too early, however, and it took almost 90 minutes before we heard anything, but then we were suddenly surrounded by begging calls. After a good amount of searching, I finally found a recently fledged Tawny Owl sitting in a sapling at eye level, with a myriad of dancing fireflies making the observation even more magical. The Little Owls of Brussels, on the other hand, are not co-operating and have been hiding every time I have tried to see them so far this year, although I did find this Little Grebe sitting on an unusually exposed nest.