Photography tour in the Top of Holland

With some of the largest nature reserves of the Netherlands such as the Wadden Sea and Lauwersmeer National Park, the northern part of The Netherlands is a must for visiting photographers. Hundreds of thousands of waders visit the Wadden Sea during their migration and   seeing these birds at close distance at one of the high-tide roosts is an unique experience. The large number of roosting birds attract birds of prey like Peregrines, Merlins, Sparrowhawks and harriers,  looking for an easy meal. Another spectacle is the vast number of geese that winter here in the cultivated fields and seeing (and hearing!) the geese fly to their roosting sites at dusk or dawn is an experience you will never forget.

 

This is the best time to visit the Wadden Sea if you want to see the waders in breeding plumage.

On the mostly dry mudflats the brightly coloured Red Knots, Bar-tailed Godwits and Curlew Sandpipers mix with the beautifully marked Grey Plovers and Dunlins and in the meadows you will find Black-tailed Godwits, Lapwings, Redshanks and Avocets vigourously defending their territory and their chicks. Common Terns and Arctic Terns take advantage by breeding close to these protective neighbours, together with Common Ringed Plovers and Little Ringed Plovers.

 

Sky Larks perform their song high up in the sky, Yellow Wagtails perch on their singing posts and White Wagtails forage in the fields. The reedbeds are home to Reed Buntings, Reed Warblers, Bluethroats, Bearded Tits, Great Bitterns and Marsh Harriers, and in the bushes Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat and Icitrine Warbler never stop singing. A visit to the woodlands in the Top of Holland will get you to the habitat of Pied Flycatcher and Spotted Flycatcher, Crested Tit, Willow Tit, Golden Oriole and the only breeding pairs of Short-toed Eagle and Common Crane in The Netherlands.

 

The most popular time for many birders and photographers when wintering swans, geese and ducks can be found in particularly large numbers. Especially when the temperature drops below freezing, birds gather in areas of open water and if there is snow you willl be able to shoot the prettiest pictures of Barnacle Geese in the snow imaginable. Other sought-after birds like Red-breasted Goose, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Black Brent and White-bellied Brent can be found among the groups of Barnacle Geese, Brent and Greater White-fronted Geese.

The northeastern part is well-known for wintering Tundra Bean Goose and Taiga Bean Goose. In years with lots of mice it’s not uncommon to find several Hen Harriers, Rough-legged Buzzards and Short-eared Owls  hunting in just one small area. Along the Wadden Sea dike groups of Twite, Snow Bunting and Horned Lark can be found and in the harbours Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Goldeneye and Long-tailed Duck occur, and can often be seen and photographed at close distance.