Texel twitching Spectacled Eider

   It has been a quiet month so far, spending my time in Paris working from home and not doing much birding, only eyeing up the local Ring-necked Parakeets and common birds outside the window. But some exciting birding news broke on Monday the 13^th When a drake Spectacled Eider was found on the island of Texel in the Netherlands. A bird from the high arctic between Alaska and Russia, it is a tricky bird to see anywhere in the world, so this individual presented a golden opportunity to see one, especially a drake. We weighed up our options and with the bird still present on Friday, we decided to make a move, hire a car and spend the weekend on Texel to get the bird seen.

  We left Paris at 05:00 on Saturday morning and drove the seven hours to Texel. Frustratingly no news of the bird came out until we were almost at the ferry terminal before midday, due to it being elusive in thick fog. Once we had arrived on the island we went straight to the location where it was being seen, but it was a foggy scene that opened before our eyes. In this gloom it took some time before the bird finally appeared, but it was distant and badly obscured by the fog. It was good to meet Tim Marlow there, who let me look through his scope at the bird since I did not have mine, it being back in the UK.

  With the conditions showing no signs of improving we decided to call it a day and try again the following day. On Sunday morning I arrived at the site before first light to find the fog had mercifully lifted. In the early morning gloom I eventually picked up the bird flying south, before some dutch birders found it swimming on the sea. It was still distant but it was nice to see the bird clearly at last.

  In the afternoon I returned for a third visit, with the early morning gloom fully lifted and the bird significantly closer, it was finally a good opportunity to watch it and appreciate it. The Eider was frequently diving for crabs and crunching them down, and huge thanks to Jonathan Mercer, a Gloucestershire birder I met there who let me use his scope and his teleconverter to get some photos and have excellent views of the bird. It really is a stunning individual, and well worth the effort of going to see.

  Besides the Eider there was some fantastic birding to be had all across Texel. Alongside the eider were a few Black-necked Grebes, a few Greater Scaups and overhead were constant flocks of Greater White-fronted Geese, Barnacle Geese and Brent Geese. These same species we regularly encountered in fields as we drove past, alongside Egyptian Geese and numerous species of common wildfowl. The waterways across the island had Spoonbills, Curlew and Turnstone frequenting them, and we saw two ringtail Hen Harriers quartering across the open fields. An absolutely brilliant place for birding.

  On the Monday we set off back for Paris, but on the way we called off at a location just north of Alkmaar to try to find the winter Baikal Teal. Sadly in the 90 minutes we had it was impossible to find the bird, although it did not help that it was in another location that we only got to with about 10 minutes to spare, where other birders told us it had just left. Still, exploring the various ditches in the area was enjoyable, with highlights including another group of Greater White-fronted Geese and a Woodcock. All this before we endured the grueling seven-hour drive back to Paris, in combination with Paris rush-hour traffic. 

-Spectacled Eider

-Spectacled Eider

Species List:
Texel:  Greylag Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Brent Goose, Barnacle Goose, Common Shelduck, Mandarin Duck, Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Spectacled Eider, Common Eider, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Eurasian Collared Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Pied Avocet, Eurasian Oystercatcher, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Curlew, Common Redshank, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Great Cormorant, Eurasian Spoonbill, Grey Heron, Hen Harrier, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Great Tit, Eurasian Wren, Common Starling, Redwing, Common Blackbird, Fieldfare, European Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Eurasian Chaffinch,

Langedijk: Greylag Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Mute Swan, Egyptian Goose, Common Shelduck, Gadwall, Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Woodcock, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, European Herring Gull, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Great Cormorant, Great Egret, Grey Heron, Common Buzzard, European Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Eurasian Blue Tit, Common Starling, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Meadow Pipit, Eurasian Chaffinch, 

Liechtenstein

  For New Years I found myself at something of a loose end, so Laura and I decided to make a short road trip from her parents house to the small country of Liechtenstein, just four hours drive away. It was a country I was unlikely to visit for any other reason than the novelty, but there were still a couple of interesting birds that would be new for me and other species I see more infrequently since I live in the UK. The weather was excellent throughout our stay, with a strong hawfrost on our first day and beautiful snowy scenes higher up in the mountains.

  We spent our first afternoon and only full day in the mountains near the village of Malbun. There was thick snow on the ground, and quite a lot of downhill skiers on the slopes, and cross-country skiers on the footpaths. Overall birdlife was obviously limited, but I still managed my easiest target of the visit with Alpine Chough. They were not rare and quite confiding, but maddeningly I had brought my camera but no battery and with it being New Years there was nothing I was able to do about it but try to phonescope them through my binoculars, with which I had varying success.

  Otherwise the snowy mountains did not have many birds around. There were occasional mixed tit flocks containing Coal Tit and Crested Tit, but little else. On a small stream we walked past we had nice views of a White-throated Dipper, which is obviously the continental Black-bellied subspecies. And deep in the pine forests we had excellent views of a male Crossbill.

  For our final day, we explored the lowlands hiking through various areas of forest to see what we might find. It was nice to find species I see infrequently in the UK common, like Firecrest and Marsh Tit, with species that it is not possible to see in the UK also on the agenda, with Black Woodpecker and Short-toed Treecreeper.

  As we were leaving we checked out a couple of small lakes at the south end of the country where there were a few wetland birds on eBird. Here there was a nice flock of 14 Eurasian Teal on the half-frozen water, but the real surprise came with a flock of at least seven Brambling moving between the trees on the edges of the lake. Although not a rare bird, it was a surprise to find them for sure.

  And with that we headed back, driving back to France in the rain and darkness after three very enjoyable days in one of Europe’s smallest countries. 

-Alpine Chough

-Red Crossbill

-Firecrest

-Brambling

-European Red Squirrel

-Liechtenstein Castle

-Liechtenstein Scenary

Species List:
Liechtenstein: Mallard, Eurasian Teal, Feral Pigeon, Common Wood Pigeon, Grey Heron, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Magpie, Alpine Chough, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Coal Tit, Crested Tit, Marsh Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Common Firecrest, Eurasian Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Eurasian Wren, White-throated Dipper, Mistle Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, White Wagtail, Eurasian Chaffinch, Brambling. Eurasian Bullfinch, Red Crossbill, European Goldfinch,