To be honest I never really took notice of Texel for birding until I heard several podcasts and checked sightings on Texel and it seems (duh) that it's absolute heaven for migrating birds from and towards Scandinavia. So That needed to be checked out and boy I was in for a treat. I have never seen/spotted (the difference I will explain later) so many birds. Still it was quite a challenge to get proper photos as some birds were really far away.

The last weeks I am starting to discover more birds in my area, especially directly in the area where I live. Meaning the first patch of green you will encounter when leaving the house. With the help of the Merlin Bird app, especially the sound recording feature - which is mind-blowing - I discovered more birds than I thought I would. Especially the Treecreeper and the Common redstart.

Spring’s green leaves, a perfect hiding spot for all birds. Birds making nests, birds that are migrating or just taking a rest. Especially in the area of Texel, one of the Islands in the Waddenzee (blog post incoming). This blog is more about the abundance of birds in my area at the moment and not only the ones you expect, but even more than I knew - thanks to Merlin birding app and the sound recording feature (game changer).

So new toys means new ideas and new opportunities. Not that it prevented me to do this in the past, but this reminded me of actually using a telephoto lens for more than just birding photos. This lens is also capable of doing semi-macro photos which I love and it sort of sparkled an old enthusiasm of macro photography.

Last year there was a couple of Marsh Harriers (Bruine kiekendief) breeding in my local area. Situated in the meadows or grasslands in Zaans Rietveld. Seeing that this was not the first time I expect that the same couple or new couple will do the same. So on a good day - sunny and clear skies - I went out in search of the Marsh Harrier. Spoiler in the blog photo I guess.

After my first outing with this good weather I headed out again to the same place, but now with a nice evening sun. The only thing is that it’s still early in the year so the sun is setting quite fast, that is a pity as it was really good light. I headed to the same area Zaans Rietveld by bike and was searching for others birds along the way.

The sun is shining, which with all the grey and rainy weather of late was a nice change. So I was keen to go out and see what type of birds were already nesting and visiting my local nature spot the Zaans Rietveld. I also had something to test. A piece of kit that probably will help to get more keepers while hiking around and not carrying all the weight all the time. I will dive into that topic later.