 HOLLAND and Flanders
Wintering geese and much more!
Sat 6 Feb - Sat 13 Feb 2010
Price: £1195 ssupp £80 deposit £300
 
More than one million geese winter in Holland, together with high numbers of waders, swans, divers, grebes and seaduck. Goose species should include Red-breasted, White-fronted, Lesser White-Fronted, Dark-bellied Brent, and 'Tundra' Bean Goose with Snow Goose a distinct possibility. Seaduck include Smew, and other water birds should include all three egrets, Eurasian Spoonbill and the first returning Black-tailed Godwits.
In the Netherlands whole areas are developed specially for birds, including Plan Tureluur in Schouwen-Duiveland and the Oostvaarderse Plassen in Flevo-Holland. We will visit the best places in Schouwen-Duiveland for the geese, and Flevo-polders for White-tailed Eagle, Marsh and Hen Harrier, Bearded Tit, Bittern, Great White Egret and much more.
This holiday is about much more than just waterbirds, with woodlands holding five species of woodpecker, Crested Tit and Firecrest, and many raptors including White-tailed Eagle, Marsh and Hen Harrier, Short-eared Owl and rarities perhaps including Rough-legged Buzzard. Other birds of note might include Caspian Gull, Crested Lark and Serin.
Our guide is Flanders native Jozef Leestmans. Josef now lives in Scotland, working in 2008 and 2009 as a Heatherlea guide from the Mountview Hotel. Josef was formerly a Reserve manager at Bootjesven in Flanders-Belgium, and still has daily contact with local birders here, not least his son, who organises bird surveys in the area. Bootjesven is a woodland area with lakes and ponds, and here we can expect all the woodpeckers including Black, and both Middle- and Lesser-spotted. Great Grey Shrike and Woodlark overwinter, and a whole host of other species can be expected.
Day 1 Sat 6 February
We fly from London to Amsterdam and drive to the area of Schouwen-Duiveland where goose concentrations are at their highest. Our comfortable hotel is approx two hours from the airport, so we should have time to investigate local goose flocks today.
Day 2 Sun 7 February
We are based in the part of south-west Holland which contains the highest concentration of wintering geese in Europe, and spend our first full day in Schouwen-Duiveland and Zeeland investigating these birds. Expect thousands of wintering Barnacles, with several Red-breasted likely to be mixed in, and Bewick and Whooper Swans nearby. Flocks of Whitefronts will probably contain Lesser Whitefronts, and all these birds attract raptors including Peregrine. White-tailed Eagle and Short-eared Owl are also found here.
Day 3 Mon 8 February
Today we travel to the Oostvaarderse Plassen in Flevoland near Amsteram. This wetland of over 5500 ha is situated below sea level, and consists mainly of reedbeds and shallow lakes and pools. Locally the area is called the 'new wilderness', because nature itself is still deciding how the landscape will evolve. Birds here might include White-tailed Eagle, Smew, Scaup, Marsh and Hen Harriers, Bearded Tit, Bittern, Great White Egret, Gadwall, Pintail and Shoveler. As we walk through the nature reserve we should see large herds of Konik-horses and Heck-cattle, wild creatures which exist without interference or regulation from humans.
Day 4 Tues 9 February
Our destination today is Noord-Brabant and Flanders in Belgium, where we look out for 5 kind of Woodpeckers: Black, Green, Greater, Lesser and Middle Spotted Woodpecker. This is also a good area for Tundra Bean Goose and White-fronted Goose, and our guide Josef will also be hoping to find Woodlark, Goshawk, Great Grey Shrike, Crested Tit and Peregrine. Josef helped develop the nature reserves in this area, so you should be in very good hands!
Days 5 - 7 Wed 10 - Fri 12 February
Back to Zeeland where we again search the goose flocks. All four divers are possible here, and we should see Long-tailed Duck, Common and Velvet Scoter and wintering grebes on the open sea. In the Mudflats we will search for waders including Greenshank, Avocet, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Redshank and both Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwit. On the shore we look for Sanderling, Snow Bunting, Lapland Bunting and Shore Lark.
Day 8 Sat 13 February
If we have time, a final search for wintering specialities before returning to the airport and our flight back to London.
Price includes return scheduled flight from London – Amsterdam, airport taxes, ground transportation, accommodation and all meals, incidental tips, and the services of experienced Heatherlea leader Josef Leestmans, joined by another from our main guiding team with more than 7 clients. Max 14 clients.
Please note: all itineraries are given as a guide only. Actual
holiday content may vary according to the judgement of your guide, and
elements beyond our control (eg weather).
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