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Day 2 -

An early start takes us to the province of Zeeland in the south-western corner of the country. Today's focus will be on waders and waterbirds, with possible highlights like Spotted Redshank, Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Ringed and Little Plover, Dunlin and Pied Avocet.

The province of Zeeland was severely hit by the 1953 disaster floods and has undergone serious changes since then. The Delta Project, a series of projects that have created several dams and dikes, not only made this part of the country safe from floods, it also created several new habitats for animals.

Before the Delta Project was put into effect, most water was salt water with a direct connection to the North Sea. Today salt water only remains at the coast itself and partly in the only connection Antwerp has to the Sea, the Westerschelde. Most other parts are either fresh water or brackish water and birds have found their way in this diverse eco system.

The birds that are present vary enormously with the seasons. Zeeland is the warmest part of the country in winter and because of this geese abound on the grassland: Greater and Lesser White-fronted Goose,  Black Brant, White-bellied Brant, Barnacle, Brent, and Greylag Goose and the very rare Red-breasted Goose.

Since most of the water doesn't freeze over, ducks like Long-tailed Duck, Pintail, Shoveler, Mallard, Goldeneye, Black Scoter, Surf Scoter, Eurasian Teal and Scaup are often present in the relative warm water here.

Other waterbirds to look out for in winter are up to five species of Grebes, three species of Loons and six species of Gulls.

In spring and summer some of these species will have left, but usually we are able to find a lot of these winter birds that stay during the summer, supplemented with new breeding birds and some migrants.

Birds to look for in summer include Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Garden Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Great and Blue Tit, Gargeney, Little Tern, Turtle Dove, Yellow Wagtail and Blackcap.

At the end of the day we drive back to our hotel to spend the night.

Overnight in a hotel in Zuid-Holland.

Day 3 -

We drive to Brabant, one of the southern provinces of the Netherlands. Depending on the time of year we may visit a wetland first, looking for Common Tern, Marsh Harrier, Greater Whitethroat, European Goldfinch and Marsh Warbler. Alternatively we may visit a grassland area which has wintering flocks of Bewick's and Whooper Swans, Greater White-fronted Goose and Tundra Bean Goose and sometimes rare geese like Lesser White-fronted or Red-breasted Goose.

Our target species for today will be the Black Woodpecker, the world's second largest woodpecker. The area we will be visiting to look for this bird also has Green Woodpecker, Greater and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Crested Tit, Goldcrest and in summer Common Redstart and Bluethroat.

We will spend most of the day walking on flat ground in this area looking for as many birds as possible.

Possible mammals here are Roe Deer, European Rabbit, European Hare and Red Squirrel.

Overnight in a hotel in Brabant.

Day 5 -

During spring and early summer we need an early start on this day, because one of the target species of the trip, Black Grouse, can only be seen in early morning near the lek.

Black Grouse used to be a not uncommon breeding bird with about 3000 individuals in the 1960's, but in recent years the population has plummeted to about 30 individuals. It is possible to see them in the vicinity of their main lek, which is where we will have to be early in the morning. Of course we will take every precaution possible not to disturb these wonderful birds. (Playback is strictly forbidden!)

During other times of the year, when the Black Grouse is not displaying, we will visit several good woodland sites in the central part of the Netherlands. Target birds will be Hawfinch, Bullfinch, Red Crossbill, Northern Goshawk, Common Raven, Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher.

Overnight in a hotel in Brabant.

Day 6-

A last chance to find some of the woodland birds we have not seen yet, including a good site for Tawny Owl, as we leave the central part of the Netherlands to go to one of the best birding sites of the country, the Oostvaardersplassen.

The Oostvaardersplassen were meant to be an industrial area when the Flevopolder was turned into land in 1968. Fortunately the remarkable status of the area was quickly noticed and the plans for the industrial area were abolished and the area was made into a nature reserve. Birds that were scarce in north-western Europe in the 1970's, such as Bearded Tit and Great Egret quickly found their way to the Oostvaardersplassen and are now relatively easy to see.

We will visit several areas within the reserve and will focus on birds like Pintail, Shoveler, Barnacle Goose, Pied Avocet, Northern Goshawk, Marsh Harrier, Eurasian Spoonbill, Smew, Snow Bunting, Kingfisher, Brambling, Rough-legged Buzzard, Bluethroat and of course possibly the best-known rare bird species in the Netherlands, White-tailed Eagle. The eagles have since long been coming to this area in winter to hunt the geese and ducks, but in recent years they have also become a breeding species. Nesting poles were erected to attract Ospreys to breed, but the White-tailed Eagles have - rather unexpectedly - taken possession of the nesting sites and have been breeding successfully for several years now.

Overnight in a hotel in Zuid-Holland.

Day 7 -

Even in the densely populated western part of the Netherlands, excellent birding is still possible. Depending on what we have seen during the previous days of the trip, we will visit a coastal area for the chance of seeing pelagic birds and birds associated with the coastline. In the afternoon we will visit a woodland area in the dunes where we hope to see some woodland birds. In winter these sites are especially productive with wintering populations of Redwing, Fieldfare, Whooper Swan, Smew, Goldeneye, Red-crested Pochard and sometimes Firecrest.

Other target birds for today are Guillemot, Shag, Glaucous Gull, Purple Sandpiper and Rock Pipit.

Since quite a few rare birds are found in this part of the country, we will also keep a close eye on rarities that are reported during the day. In the past we managed to see extreme rarities like Little Bunting and Short-toed Lark that had been reported when we happened to be in the area.

Overnight in a hotel in Zuid-Holland.

Day 8 -

Depending on your departure time we will have the opportunity to go birding close the hotel, visiting sites where birds like Little Owl, Purple Heron, Mediterranean Gull, Icterine Warbler, Tree Sparrow, Kingfisher and White Stork are regular birds.

If you have a flight leaving from Amsterdam we will drop you off at the airport. If you have an extended stay in the country, we can also take you to your hotel.