19 Feb 25 - Dutch Nuns

Pete Moore & I had had a good night's sleep & a decent breakfast at the Fletcher Hotel in De Koog on Texel on Day two of the Dutch Spectacled Eider twitch. There was time for a bit of Birding before we left the island. Plan A was to have a look to see if the Spectacled Eider was showing well. Pete had a look over the seawall, before quickly returning to confirm that it was even colder in the stronger on-shore wind, than on the previous day and none of the observers seemed to be watching it. There seemed to be little point in spending the limited time we had, to try relocating it.

An old style Dutch windmill

Plan B was to have a more leisurely drive back to the ferry and to catch the 10:00 ferry off the island. That would give us a bit more time on the mainland than if we had caught the next ferry an hour later. After a few stops to check Geese flocks and for a few tourist photos, we arrived a few minutes early at the ferry.

A large Brent Goose flock: There are about twenty-five Barnacle Geese and a few Greylag Geese in this flock

Two White-fronted Geese with a Greylag Goose

Many of the Dutch houses were photogenic

Even the more normal houses look good

Fort De Schans: This Fort has a Napoleonic look about it. It was commissioned by William of Orange had around 1574, to protect Texel and the channel past it from the Spaniards. It was later strengthened by Bonaparte in 1811, when it presumably took on the Napoleonic look. These days, the road is the same level as the top of the fort and the seawall towers above it

This was one of several buoys I saw, which were good at reflecting the maritime past

Cormorant: We had our eyes set on a more-interesting cousin

Within a few minutes, we were boarding the Texel ferry and thirty minutes later, we were in Den Helder.

The road from the ferry: This shows how low the land is compared to seawall

A replica of the Prins Willem in Den Helder: The original 17th Century Dutch East India Company ship made her maiden voyage to the Dutch East Indies in 1651. She sank near Madagascar in 1662 on a subsequent voyage. This replica was built in 1985, but it was badly destroyed by fire in 2009. After some rebuilding, the restoration was abandoned due to the cost

We were quickly through Den Helder and on the road to Lelystad. However, we took a quick detour to a channel near the village of Anna Paulowna to look for a flock of Smew.

Smew: Male. Initially, there were just three males & a couple of females present

Smew: Males are also called White Nuns, as their head pattern reminded Birders of a nun's white wimple

Smew: Females are often called Redheads by Birders (for obvious reasons)

Smew: The females have a lot of white in the inner wing

Smew: Another female showing off her wing pattern

Smew: Two males with a female

Smew: Males: After a few minutes, the males started displaying

Smew: Once the males started displaying, additional males and a female arrived, until there were seven males and three females

Smew: This female responded with a bit of head bobbing

Smew: In the end there were three females in the group

Smew: Males

Smew: Displaying males

Smew: Males. It was good to see these males as the last male Smew I saw in Dorset was in 2012

Smew: The males have a good head shape when seen face on

Smew: More responses from one of the females

Smew: The males were sometimes distracted with moving each other on, rather than displaying to the females

Smew: The highlight of the display was this almost vertical stretch

Smew: A final stretch from these two males. We were conscious that time was rolling on & we needed to get going, if Pete was to get into Amsterdam at the time he had promised to meet the family

It was a thirty minute drive to reach Enkhuizen, after leaving the Smew site. This is the start of a twenty-one mile raised causeway which crosses between the Ijsselmeer on the left and the Markermeer on the right of the road. Some parts of the causeway are just a raised road, but other parts are protected by a seawall. It's an outstanding piece of large-scale construction.

Part of the raised causeway between Enkhuizen and Lelystad: Going the long way around would force you through Amsterdam and easily add another hour to the journey

Finally, we arrived at the Nature Park on the edge of Lelystad. I will cover this in the next Blog Post.

18 Feb 25 - Geese Galore On Texel

This is part two of the day on Texel twitching the Dutch male Spectacled Eider. Having had good scope views and taken mediocre photos on the choppy seas in the first half of the afternoon, we headed out in search of Geese. Not a hard target, given there are many thousands of them on Texel. Our first Bird stop was for a small party of Fieldfares feeding on the seawall.

Fieldfare

Fieldfare: I was surprised about how few Passerines we saw on Texel during the day: this was the highlight

A Dutch trip wouldn't be complete without some windmill photos

Another view of the same windmill: In case, there is a Dutch law of having to put windmills in any article or Blog about Holland

The first field of Geese we stopped at, proved to be a large flock of Brent Geese.

Brent Geese: This is only about a quarter of the flock

Brent Goose: This was one of three Brent Geese that were close to the road in another field

It didn't take us to find a large field of mainly Barnacle Geese.

Barnacle Goose: This was just part of a large Barnacle Goose flock that filled the whole field

A mixed Goose party: At the front of the Barnacle Goose flock was a real mixed Goose group, with an Egyptian Goose, two Greylag Geese, a Barnacle Goose and some White-fronted Geese (left to right)

Another large field, but this time it was mainly White-fronted Geese.

White-fronted Goose: These are the nominate albifrons subspecies which breed in North Russia and East to North East Siberia. They Winter from Europe to Southern Asia, North India, South China & Japan

White-fronted Goose: A closer crop

Many old Dutch houses have high, steep roofs which will maximise the number of rooms

As we that thawed out from the morning's bitterly cold wind, Pete was keen for another look at the Spectacled Eider in the late afternoon as the sun would be behind us. The light was better, but the Spectacled Eider was further out, due to the dropping tide. Despite the better light, I couldn't improve on the photos from the morning.

Brent Geese: This massive flock flew over as they were heading to roost

We decided to start heading towards our accommodation for the evening. There were more fields of Geese to check in the last of the sunlight. There should have been a few Tundra Bean Geese on the island, but finding them without detailed directions hadn't proved easy, given the large numbers of Geese-filled fields to check.

The sun finally set on an excellent day's Birding: It was time to head off to our hotel in De Koog

The sun might have given up for the day, but these Geese hadn't. They were still busily feeding in the fading light.

Barnacle Geese: With some White-fronted Geese in the penultimate field that we checked

White-fronted Goose

Greylag Goose: There were a couple of Greylag Geese with a White-fronted Goose in the foreground and some distant Barnacle Geese

A final post-sunset Geese flock: This party of White-fronted Geese with a couple of Greylag Geese were nicely lined up with the very last post-sunset glow

I had sorted out a room in the Fletcher in De Koog on the West side of Texel. I had hoped to be greeted by a life-sized statue of the most famous Fletcher in the foyer, but perhaps Ronnie Barker wasn't as well-known in Holland. It was a reasonable-priced hotel with a good breakfast, given Texel accommodation is not cheap. We briefly looked at the restaurant, before heading out to the Burgers, Beers & Blues restaurant that Pete had spotted as we walked from a nearby Lidl car park. We both reckoned this was a much better option for the evening meal.

18 Feb 24 - Making A Spectacle Of Itself

On 13 Jan 25, news broke that a male Spectacled Eider had been found on the island of Texel, in Holland (pronounced Tessel). This is only the seventh Western Palearctic record of this mythical Seaduck. There are five previous accepted records being seen high in the Arctic: three records from Finnmark in North Norway and two Svalbard records. In early Nov 24, A male was also briefly seen near Reykjavik, Iceland, but it wasn't relocated. I wonder if this is the Texel individual.

I was immediately interested in a trip to see the Spectacled Eider, if it stuck around. However, there were two problems stopping me heading off. One was the pale phase Booted Eagle had been found the day before in Cornwall and due to prior commitments, I had been unable to head West to look for the Booted Eagle until 16 Jan. The second was I was due in Pompey on 20 Jan, as I was one of the Wildlife Guides in the first ORCA team on a Saga Cruise in the 2025 season. Before I headed off for the cruise, Pete Moore had asked if I was thinking of heading to Texel and we hatched the beginnings of a plan for a trip during the Feb half term.

I was keeping track of the news on the Spectacled Eider which I was on the cruise and was pleased to see it was being seen daily along the East side of Texel. When I returned, I discussed dates with Pete for his first European twitch. To be honest, I've only been on one mainland European twitch to see the gorgeous and confiding Hawk Owl that turned in Zwolle in Holland in Nov 13. But I've been on eleven twitches to Ireland over the years.

If you have a few days available, a mini-break trip to Holland provides plenty of Birding and sight-seeing options. We favoured heading over on the evening of Mon 17 Feb and taking the ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland. While this was a bit more expensive that travelling via Calais or Dunkirk, it would be only be a couple of hours journey to the Texel ferry and it would give us about seven hours of sleep. I was happy to drive as I'm insured to take my car to Europe for three months in a year. The car's built in European Sat Nav is a nice advantage. Our plan was to have a day and night on Texel, before heading off to Lelystad to the North East of Amsterdam for a Pygmy Cormorant, which would be a bonus Tick for Pete. I would then drop him to catch a train into Amsterdam to meet up with his wife, Claire and youngest son, Rowan. I had a rough plan for an extra day or two in Europe, but more of that in future Blog Posts.

Green ideas, Dutch style: There were a lot of wind turbines across the country, especially in the more open Western side. Even, the car is being transported in a green way

I picked Pete up in his Wareham house about 15:30 and we were soon heading for Harwich. The check-in for the 23:00 ferry to the Hook of Holland closed forty-minutes before the ferry's departure. We thought we had an hour of time when we could find some food that evening and still arrive well in time for the ferry. We expected to hit the M25 around the rush hour, but being half term, we were banking on the traffic to be lighter than normal. As we got close to the M25, Pete said there was a two hour or so delay on the North bound route and my Sat Nav was showing heaving congestion on the South bound route. We weren't going to risk the long delays on my preferred route, so I would have to head for the Dartford Tunnel and add the toll into the cost of the trip. It was a slow crawl through Surrey and again at the Tunnel, but finally the traffic improved once we were North of the Thames. We arrived at the port about 21:30 and we were quickly through immigration. Surprisingly, we didn't have to wait for the next hour before could board the Stena ferry. By 22:15, we had had a look around the ship, found our cabin and bunked down for the night.

After about two & a half hours driving, we were in Den Helder: The ferry to Texel departs from the North end of the town

The alarm was set for 07:00 European time, to give us an hour for some breakfast and drinks in the cabin before our arrival. However, the ferry decided to wake us thirty minutes earlier, to advertise the restaurant was open. Still we had had a good night's sleep. We were quickly off the ferry and through the Dutch immigration with just one small worry. My car had the old GB numberplates. One of the million or so failures that Johnson's was responsible for, was the GB numberplates are no longer legal in Europe. We needed a UK sticker or new UK numberplates without the EU symbol on them. Due to a misunderstanding, the metallic sticker Pete brought along was also a GB one. I was worried I would get pulled over by the police at some point in the trip, but fortunately that didn't happen. I will have to get a new UK metallic sticker before I head off abroad again.

HNLMS Tonijn (S805): This is one of the main exhibits in this interesting-looking Naval Marine museum in Den Helder. Something I will have to check out if I get back to Texel

HNLMS Tonijn (S805): She was commissioned in Feb 1966 and decommissioned in Jan 1991

The Texel ferry departs from Den Helder on the half hour, for the twenty minute crossing to Texel. It was clear that it was going to be very tight to connect with the 10:30 ferry, having encountered slow traffic as we left the Hook of Holland. I wasn't wanting to race to try to catch that ferry while I adjusted to driving a UK car on the wrong side of the road. But we could take it steady and easily arrive in time for the 11:30 ferry. The Texel ferry is very impressive as it is a community-owned, not for profit ferry to benefit the islanders. Such a contrast to the Studland ferry which is owned by a hotel chain that wants to massively increase ferry prices to prop up the struggling hotel chain. Pete had been pre-warned by James Lowen, that we should pre-book the ferry. The twenty-eight euro return ticket was valid for a mid-week departure on any ferry. They have numberplate to speed up the check-in process. Perhaps the Scottish government should get the TESO company to run the ferries to the outer islands, as these ferries would be a massive improvement on the current Calmac fleet.

The Texel ferry approaching Den Helder: There is a ten minute loading and unloading time and a twenty minute crossing time, with a second ferry ready to cope with busy times of the year

Inside the Texel ferry: There is a spacious top deck area, with a cafe, plenty of seating, free phone charging and good toilets

Inside the Texel ferry

Spoonbill sign: Spoonbills and Little Terns breed on Texel

Texel Island dated : The island is about fifteen miles long and six miles at its widest. There were clearly a lot of ships wrecked on its seaward side

There are large sandy beaches at the Southern end of Texel

We were quickly off the ferry and heading for the Spectacled Eider site. Since it was found, it has been feeding on the East side of the island about three or four miles North of the coastal town of Oudeschild, with a large, scattered flock of Eider. Over the several hours we were there, it drifted North as it was feeding, before finally drifting South again to the Iron Cape Monument (shown as IJzeren zeekaap on Googlemaps). It was easy to locate where we needed to park, as it was the only place on the road next to the seawall, where there was more than a couple of cars parked.

The Texel fields are well below sea-level

This shows how low the fields are below the top of the seawall, which is another five to ten metres above the road

The parked cars for the Spectacled Eider twitch were next to this gorgeous-looking house

The Iron Cape Monument: This modern-looking structure was designed and built in 1854 as a daytime beacon to shipping. it was moved and strengthened when the seawall was raised in 1977. The Spectacled Eider was feeding in the first mile North of this obvious landmark, which is only visible once you walk up to the top of the seawall

The outer side of the seawall had a good cycle track

It was good to see this sign promoting the wildlife

It was a small twitch, but there were generally about ten birders and toggers throughout the time we were there

Eider: A small group of the hundred or so Eider feeding offshore

Spectacled Eider: Male. Although I located the Spectacled Eider quickly with the scope, it proved harder to pick up with only a 100 - 400mm lens on the camera in the choppy seas. Frequently, when I did see it, it became hidden behind waves in the time it took to take a batch of photos

Spectacled Eider: Male. Most of the time we were there, the Spectacled Eider kept near to, but separated from, the Eider

Spectacled Eider: Male. The Spectacled Eider was noticeably smaller than the Eider, with a smaller beak and lacking the long, sloping forehead of the Eider

Spectacled Eider: Male. Given they have a limited range around Alaska and the now out of bounds, adjacent Russian territory, this is a species I never thought I had much chance of seeing: especially, as the cost of the trip to Alaska is very expensive and they are not easy to see once you get there

Spectacled Eider: Male. On a number of occasions, it half rose out of the water

Spectacled Eider: Male. This is easily my favourite species of Wildfowl that I've seen & there are only fifteen species that I've not seen

Black-necked Grebe: This Black-necked Grebe popped up close to the shoreline and closer than I'm used to at Studland

Black-necked Grebe: It was good to see around ten Black-necked Grebes offshore

The photos are all very deceptive as it looks to be a nice sunny Winter's day. What they don't convey is there was a bitterly-cold twenty mile an hour wind coming straight into our faces and there was no shelter from the wind. By mid-afternoon, it was clear that the Spectacled Eider wasn't going to come any closer and I headed off to find a shop to get some food. But first, I nipped a quarter of a mile North. The coastal road is called Lancasterdijk (Lancaster Dyke), as it has a memorial to the one hundred and eighty-nine Allied aircrew who were killed on and around Texel during WW2. Many of the night-time bombers stationed in Lincolnshire and the Yorkshire coast, would have used the Dutch islands as a final landmark before heading out over the North Sea.

The Lancaster Monument: The memorial has the propeller from Lancaster ND363 PM-K which crashed here on 15 Feb 1944, after being shot down on its return from a Berlin air raid with the loss of its seven man crew

Texel honours the Allied war pilots with this monument. Died on or near Texel during the Second World War

The memorial also commemorates Eugene Darter of the US Air Force, who was killed on Texel on 16 Dec 1943

A windmill in Oudeschild

Confirmation in Oudeschild where babies come from

The best-looking biscuits in the Spar and fortunately, we weren't eligible to buy them: I did wonder if I should get some for those Birders who were checking out a rumoured Wallcreeper in Cornwall at the time, given that report came to nothing

After returning to pick Pete up, we headed out in search of Geese. Not a hard target, given there are many thousands of them on Texel. I will cover the Geese in the next Blog Post.