Belgium - May 2003

F 23^rd May 2003

Quedgeley, Glos to Nieuwpoort, West Flanders, Belgium via Dover, Kent and Calais, France

Weather: Cloudy and mild for the most part but with fog and rain at Dover

Today we set off for Nieuwpoort in Belgium on a weeks family holiday. We had an uneventful trip down to Dover in the morning in time for our lunchtime sailing. The only notable bird on the trip down was a Common Tern over the M4 near Reading services. The weather was horrible in Dover with visibility down to about 50 yards because of fog and rain. We sailed on time with Sea France on their new ship "Rodin". The crossing was devoid of any seabirds until we approached Calais where about fifteen Kittiwakes followed the ship.

We drove north soon crossing the border into Belgium although if you blinked you would miss it. Within an hour of leaving the ship we had arrived at Ysermonde at Nieuwpoort on the West Flanders coast.

The area looked promising but I soon found that Belgium would be much harder to find good birds than in France, however common birds were everywhere more so than at home. In the early evening I took a walk towards the Ijzer river mouth. A loud outburst of bird noise drew my attention to a low pine in a roadside garden. About six feet from the ground a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers had a nest in a hollow branch. I waited until a parent bird arrived, it was the female, and was vigorously "attacked" by very large fledglings. I checked this nest several times through the week and never saw the male there.

Arriving at the new boardwalk running alongside the river I could see an area full of potential, good areas of mud and the Ijzermonding Nature Reserve beyond. 2.1 million € was being spent on revitalizing the waterfront from the marina to the sea. There were a few notable birds here including 60 Cormorants, 20 Shelducks, six Sandwich Terns and a White Wagtail. Late at night I saw a Green Woodpecker flying to roost in the complex.

S 24^th May 2003

Nieuwpoort, West Flanders, Belgium

Weather: Cloudy with showers

I got up early and walked down to the boardwalk, pausing to check on the woodpecker's nest on the way. I was greeted with an amazing sight, obviously the tide had turned in the night and the mudflats were awash with waders. There were 100+ Ringed Plovers, 90 Oystercatchers, 80+ Redshanks, 30 Turnstones, seven red breeding plumaged Knots, six Dunlins, two Common Sandpipers and a Sanderling. This was a one day only spectacular and was never repeated despite checking several times here. Also here was a Little Egret, two White Wagtails and rather out of place, three Pheasants on the beach! I walked the lane behind the complex but the best birds I could find here were two Spotted Flycatchers.

After lunch the whole family walked along the boardwalk to Nieuwpoort-Bad (on-sea) and on the edge of the Mauritspark I found a singing Icterine Warbler, the best bird of the holiday so far. My first since 1995 in Sweden and also the first time I had heard one sing. It lacked the mimicry that is always present in Melodious Warblers song.

Su 25^th May 2003

Nieuwpoort and Zwin, West Flanders, Belgium and Breskens, Vlissingen and Sluis, Holland

Weather: Cloudy with showers at first but becoming warm and sunny at lunchtime 

I got up early again and took a walk down to the river. The woodpeckers remained noisy and I saw the female fly in. Almost all of the waders had gone, only eight Turnstones remained and what I suspected were local Redshanks and Oystercatchers. I relocated the Icterine Warbler and watched it for a while gaining even better views, a second bird was singing unseen in a garden behind the complex.

I arrived back for breakfast fairly damp and found we would be heading north for the day. My sister wanted to return to a reserve called Zwin on the Belgian-Dutch border, which she thought I would enjoy. To be honest knowing my sister I was expecting a zoo, but I was wrong and said so, it was fabulous there. On the approach road we saw five free-flying White Storks. All were unringed and I knew that they had been re-introduced here in the same manner as they have been at Marquenterre in France. I wonder if any of these birds account for unringed UK records. This park had been twinned with Marquenterre and also Pensthorpe in Norfolk. There was a collection purporting to represent all the avifauna of Belgium and although I wasn't quite sure of the value of some of the species in cages, they were certainly popular with the schools. Therefore I suppose the caging of a few of each species to educate and motivate future generations to look after what they've got was probably equitable. When I got out of the car I heard a loud unmistakable "chink" call. I had heard it many times on my visits to France and immediately knew that it was a Short-toed Treecreeper. I took me a matter of seconds to locate it and point it out to my Dad. A calling Short-toed is never an i/d problem.

However the wild part of the reserve was jam-packed with birds. It was very well laid out and except for one or two fenced off areas access was unlimited.

When I walked up the approach path onto the high bank overlooking the flashes it was a wonderful sight. Not only that the sun had come out and it remained warm and sunny for the rest of the week. Several White Storks fed around the edges of the main flash, looking very grubby because they were all nesting and left-overs in a stork's nest must be very messy. A single Little Egret darted about the margins and eight Spoonbills loafed out in the middle and another four flew over. There were also masses of waders including 16 Avocets, ten Greenshanks, 40 Grey Plovers many in summer plumage, 30+ Ringed Plovers, five summer-plumaged Knots and best of all a Kentish Plover. A flock of twenty Common Terns swirled around and included three summer-plumaged Black Terns. The last good bird I saw was a Goshawk circling high above the reserve.

We decided to head north in Holland and caught the ferry over from Breskens to Vlissingen. As we left the jetty around 100 Common Terns and six Black Terns followed in the wake of the boat. A single Sandwich Tern was around the jetty when we got to Vlissingen side. Four female Eiders were in the harbour when we docked and two immature males and three females were around when we returned later. We stopped at Sluis, a Dutch market town on the border with Belgium, where storks had previously nested on roofs, but were not there this time. 

M 26^th May 2003

Nieuwpoort and De Panne, West Flanders, Belgium

Weather: Warm and sunny

I got up early and walked down to the river. The female Great Spotted Woodpecker arrived to feed her noisy brood as I walked past. It was very quiet this morning with few waders apart from the regulars. A Bar-tailed Godwit was new for the holiday and there were also three Turnstones, three Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin. The Icterine Warbler was at its usual song tree. The remainder of the day was spent at the Plopsaland theme park at De Panne. We had a lovely fun day there. A Terrapin was sunning itself on a log in one of the many channels, it was probably Red-eared. Outweighing the birds and the rides was the play-off Final with my beloved Wolves against Sheffield United. As the score came through on my mobile phone I could hardly believe it 1-0 to Wolves, 2-0, 3-0 at half-time, then a penalty save. With twenty minutes to go I cracked and ran to the car where I listened on Radio 5 to the end of a nineteen year wait. The Premiership at last! 

T 27^th May 2003

Nieuwpoort, Ieper (Ypres) and Blankaart, West Flanders, Belgium

Weather: Very warm and sunny

I went out early but walked towards the town of Nieuwpoort-Bad rather than the river. After about twenty minutes I came to an area of dunes and low scrub which I had seen on the map. It looked good on paper and was as good in reality. It was a warbler haven where most of the common warblers were abundant. A male Cuckoo called and bubbled and gave excellent views. Two Icterine Warblers sang loudly and were a pleasure to watch. A Turtle Dove crooned from a bare tree before disappearing into a denser area of vegetation. Finally two Nightingales duelled in the warm early morning sunshine, one showing very well after a short wait. I returned for breakfast before we headed south for Ieper (Ypres) for the day.

I saw a White Wagtail near Alveringem on the journey, later another was on the Menen Gate. The town was bustling and attractive, in contrast with the poignant Flanders Field museum which showed it as being levelled in World War One. Hundreds of thousands died here in the battles which took place, a sombre reminder of man's inhumanity to man. We visited the Menen Gate and found the family relative's name amongst the 55000 listed here, who died without having graves.

After lunch we parted company with my sister and family and headed back to Nieuwpoort. We stopped at Blankaart ponds, which was listed as a good birding site. We didn't stop for long but I could see the potential of a second visit. Bridgette quizzed the warden about Otters and Bluethroats, whilst Michael and I explored. He said the former hadn't been seen since 1975 but they were hoping to attract them back, and of the latter he said there were thirty pairs. Now I'm not sure if something was lost between the Dutch and the English, but when I returned the next day, after a fruitless search, I asked the same warden about Bluethroats and he said they hadn't been seen for a very long time. Obviously lost in the translation somewhere.

In the short time we were there we found the first Marsh Warbler of the holiday as well as a few Reed Warblers, ten Long-tailed Tits and a Coot with young.  

W 28^th May 2003

Blankaart & Nieuwpoort, West Flanders, Belgium

Weather: Hot and sunny after a misty start 

I arrived back at Blankaart just before 7am. An Icterine Warbler was singing in the car park and a Green Woodpecker flew over. As I walked down into the reserve past the impressive building which was an ecology centre I added Robin and Goldcrest to my holiday list. At the turning towards the first hide I discovered my second Great Spotted Woodpecker nest of the week, and I watched as the male brought in food. I saw another five Great Spotted Woodpeckers here during the course of the morning. From the hide I could see a few Shelducks including a pair with four young. This seemed quite an unusual breeding site, an inland lake some way from the coast. I also saw a pair of Egyptian Geese with six goslings, and later another four adults. Two male Shovelers were new for the holiday and a Common Sandpiper which "teetered" up and down the channel.

I left and walked on round the lake and over the bridge where the Marsh Warbler I had seen yesterday continued to sing and show well. I added a pair of Little Grebes, a Cetti's Warbler (heard only), a Sedge Warbler, four Stock Doves and a Garden Warbler to my holiday list, all the while searching for the non-existent Bluethroats. I looked out from the Tower hide and noticed that there were a lot of Cormorants here and apparently there was an out of sight breeding colony. A Buzzard on a post was my only one of the week, raptors proving to be difficult to see anywhere, unlike France where they seem to be abundant.

I returned to the original hide and a male Garganey flew up out of the channel in front of me giving its football rattle call. I walked back towards the car park and heard an instantly recognisable mellifluous song - it was a Golden Oriole - seconds later I watched as this lovely bright yellow and black male flew between a gap in the poplars. Despite waiting for a long while, whilst it sang constantly, it did not show again.

I  headed for home and we spent a lazy afternoon on the beach. In the evening we walked up to the town where we had a very nice meal in the Sun Beach Brasserie. On the way an Icterine Warbler was singing in the Mauritspark and near to town we saw a bright male Black Redstart, the only one of the week.

Th 29^th May 2003

Ijzermonding, Nieuwpoort, West Flanders, Belgium

Weather: Very hot and sunny 

Today dawned very hot so I drove the short distance to Ijzermonding reserve on the opposite bank of the Ijzer from where we were staying. It was already too hot for birds and birders alike. Up to 100 Shelducks lingered in the fields in small parties, cackling noisily as I walked by. A Marsh Warbler sang from some scrub near the farmhouse at the reserve entrance. It was the first of three with another seen and a third singing unseen. There were very few waders on the estuary, just a few Oystercatchers, a couple of Redshanks and a single Common Sandpiper. Linnets and Stonechats were the commonest passerines. A Little Egret fed at the river’s edge. When I reached the lighthouse a Turtle Dove flew up out of the dunes and startled me. I saw the same birds on the return route and was sure this would be much better when passage was in full swing. The best bird was the last one I saw as I left the reserve, a superb male Blue-headed Wagtail that was feeding amongst the cattle.

The remainder of the day was spent on a visit to Bruges, seeing the sights and sampling some fine Belgian beer. 

F 30^th May 2003

Nieuwpoort, West Flanders, Belgium to Quedgeley, England

Weather: Hot and sunny 

This was the last day so we had to check out by 10am. The plan was shopping in Calais before catching the 3:15pm ferry home. We saw fifty Mute Swans and other assorted common wildfowl from the car on a small lake as we crossed the border into France. A Cuckoo flew over the motorway as we entered Calais. Shopping then ensued with a vengeance, but my reward for this was us all taking our picnic lunch to the salubrious surroundings of Calais Hoverport lorry park. This is probably the nearest point to England where Crested Larks are guaranteed. They did not disappoint, within 15 minutes I had found a couple and had great close views as well as one of the birds song-flighting. My final birding encounter was as we left Calais for England aboard the “Rodin”. Amongst the hundreds of gulls alongside the departing ship I found three cracking adult summer Mediterranean Gulls and also two second summer birds. A nice finish to a relaxing week. 

My thanks to Frederik Willemyns and Jeremy Demey for information provided.

© Mike King 2003