20220918 Oostvaardersplassen

Sunday morning September 18 I (Cor Visser) picked up Greg at 07:00 am for half a day to
increase his European species list. Greg had a list of 95 species he had seen in Europe.

The expectations were not really high because of the heavy rain this morning. The first
destination was the Osdorper Binnenpolder near Amsterdam where I was almost certain
that we would see the Spoonbill, a species that Greg wanted to add to his species list.
Fortunately we were not disappointed and on arrival we saw this immediately.

After this we continued our trip to IJmuiden where luckily it was dry for a while. Fortunately, the
necessary birds were present on the beach and Greg was able to further increase his list
with, among others, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwit, Sanderling, etc. Unfortunately, the South Pier
was closed and the hope of birds flying by unfortunately passed us by.

After this slight disappointment we decided to drive towards Polder IJdoorn. Had a drink in
the parking lot and the well-known stroopwafel. Then braved the rain and walked to the
lookout point where two birdwatchers were present who had the hope of seeing the Gray
Phalarope that had been seen the day before. However, the bird did not appear.

We did see some ducks and geese on the water. After a while, three Curlew Sandpipers flew over, still a
nice one in the porridge. There were still quite a few Barn Swallows and House Martins
flying.

The rain kept on and we decided to walk back to the car to do a round of Waterland.
The road to Marken was closed so turned around and drive towards Ransdorp. Along the
way we saw a few Spoonbills and some Collared Doves that Greg could add to his list. After
this wet morning I dropped off a satisfied Greg at his hotel in the center of Amsterdam at
mid day.