20260110 Zeeland

On Saturday, January 10th, I went on a trip with Patrick to the South Holland Islands and the northern part of the province of Zeeland.

After equipping Patrick with a warm coat, hat, and gloves—his winter clothing was still on the plane due to issues with the baggage hatch—we left Schiphol.

On our drive south we spotted a Woodcock flying overhead, along with several other birds such as Carrion Crow.

After about an hour’s drive, we arrived at a promising site for Red-breasted Goose. We searched for more than an hour among thousands of Barnacle Geese, but without any luck.

The search for Smew followed a similar pattern. At the first site they had already moved on, and the second location also turned up empty. Finally, however, we found six birds: two female-type and four drakes. Not far from there we enjoyed excellent views of an Arctic Diver—another lifer for Patrick.

It was a very cold day, with wind chill making it feel like –10°C, so we did much of our birding from the car.

Toward the end of the day, on our way back to Schiphol, we checked a site for Red-crested Pochard, but like the goose earlier, it was not present. As a consolation prize, Patrick luckily spotted a Water Rail—beautiful, though it only showed itself briefly before disappearing into the reeds.

At the end of the day we tallied the results, and despite the cold and windy conditions, we recorded 71 bird species. Of these, 20 were lifers for Patrick, along with four species of mammals.