20230408 Oostvaardersplassen mvd

The steam comes from the can as we poor in our coffees at the first site of the day. It's just above freezing with a clear sky before sunrise. We have an early start hoping to find the woodpeckers.

There's a lot of activity of Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, several species of tits and we hear the first Hawfinches of the day. We walk along the forest edge but no sign of a Black Woodpecker, only a distant laugh of the Green Woodpecker.

On the heather we see a pair of Stonechats and some Crested Tits in the pines. When we get back to the car we spot a Marsh Tit and hear several songbirds like Blackcaps, Dunnocks, Robins and Chiffchaff.

A short drive brings us to a park with some old oak trees where we look for Middle Spotted Woodpeckers. We do see many Nuthatches, Short-toed Treecreepers and finally hear the woodpecker. We find the male chopping the old wood for making his nesting hole.

A half hour drive brings us to the Oostvaardersplassen. As it's already later in the morning it's busy with people bit still plenty of bird activity. Trees are filled with Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs and in the undergrowth we hear and see one after the other Cetti's Warbler. Sadly some trails are closed which are normally good for Bluethroats, Bearder Tits and other marshland specialties. We take a long walk to a hide where we're other birdwatchers point us a Jack Snipe hidden in the reed.

Along the road side we observe tree male Bluethroats but they won't show themselves good enough for a decent picture, which is one of our objectives for today. We have lunch at the visitor center and see our first Barn Swallows of the season. Marsh Harriers are patrollingover the reed but then we spot a Red Kite heading north. Above the water of a large lake hundreds of Black-headed Gulls feed on emerging midgets and we find some nice summer plumage Little Gulls among them.

At the car park on the dike we find a pair of White-tailed Eagles on a prey. The female is harassed by some Carrion Crows and takes off. On a field that's partly submerged we find Northern Lapwings, Common Redshank and a flock of Black-tailed Godwits fly overhead. So do some Yellow Wagtails with Meadow Pipits and a Water Pipit.

On a newly created nature reserve the high water levels attract many waders, including some summer plumage Ruff, Little and Common Ringed Plovers. There's a large variety of ducks but we can't find the targeted Garganey instead we're surprised to find a male Smew!

We still haven't got some Bluethroats shots so we hope for the best at the last stop. A nice parkland with a lot of water and reeds. The wintering pair of Ferruginous Ducks are found in the large flock of Tufted Ducks and Common Pochards. When we walk back to the reeds a Bittern starts his booming call and allmost at the end of the track we're treated with a stunning male Bluethroat that perches picture perfect on the reed in the evening sun (photo by Gretchen Locy in the header). What a fantastic end of a productive day!