I spent half a day birding in IJmuiden 🇳🇱 with my friends. We walked at the famous site IJmuiden Zuidpier, with some brilliant close-up waders.
February 17th, 2024. The Netherlands.
Leiden
Some thin clouds speckled the sky. While it was not sunny, my second day in the Netherlands was milder compared to the harsh Swedish winter, where I had stayed for the past three months. After an instant twitch to the Iceland Gull in Leiden with my friend Chengyi, we had a proper lunch and boarded the train to Ijmuiden. The Dutch train swayed gently when moving. I looked at the scenery outside the window: endless fields, windmills turning slowly in the breeze, geese, ducks, sheep, and White Storks grazing. It subtly coaxed you into a state of calm and leisure without any awareness.
The Iceland Gull in Leiden still lingered in my mind. Winter usually brings a sense of nostalgia. It was the fourth year that the same individual of Iceland Gull visited Leiden. People there have witnessed it grow and get new plumage each year, and now finally enter adulthood. Its whitish wing tips stood out from other Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls when flying above the bustling traffic. For birders, the return of such a rare vagrant is fortunate, but for the gull, whether it is luck or not to have an abnormal wintering place remains a question.
IJmuiden Zuidpier
IJmuiden is a port city in the north of the Netherlands. The port has two sections, both extending to the sea several kilometers. The south pier (IJmuiden Zuidpier) is a famous birdwatching hotspot. After getting off the train at Haarlem, we took another two bus rides and finally arrived there.
At the port, where it was said to be good for European shags, every rock was occupied by Common Cormorants. As it was a Saturday, there were even more tourists than usual, including many children and dogs. We then decided to avoid the beach and went along the pier instead.
Here, Ruddy Turnstone was the most common bird. They were surprisingly common, just like the feral pigeons in the city center. You may see them running everywhere, sometimes even stealing the worms from the fishermen’s bags. At the side of the pier, several Rock Pipits fed on the algae with turnstones. That was more than usual, said Chengyi. A few Coots and Eurasian Oystercatchers were also there. That was my first time seeing a coot feeding on algae. Many gulls are around, mainly Herring and Lesser Black-backed.
After about one kilometer, the pier started to bend northward. I finally saw some close-up Purple Sandpipers, which I had longed for. Flocks of Sanderling were flying around and sometimes would land and join other wafers. The pier ended with a small lighthouse and many fishing people. A few Common Murre appeared on the sea surface and soon were replaced by countless Great Crested Grebes. We stayed for a while and decided to go back. No shags in the end.
Kennemermeer
Dusk was approaching, so we decided to visit a nearby small lake. The lake is called Kennemermeer, and it is surrounded densely with reedbeds. Based on the information on dutchbirdalerts.nl, there was a Ring-necked Duck in the morning. Although common in North America, it is a rare vagrant for the Netherlands, another aim of ours today.
We departed from the north side of the lake and walked halfway to the west bank. There were some gulls and cormorants but no ducks. We met three Dutch boys who looked like high school teenagers. They seemed unfamiliar with bird names in English. We showed them the Collins Bird Guide App image and discovered they were also looking for the Ring-necked Duck. However, they found nothing but “a big flock of Common Pochards.”
We stepped further south. We saw a big flock of Common Pochards near the other side of the lake. I checked with my binoculars and found a Ring-necked Duck immediately. It was similar in size to the pochards, but this one, a male in breeding plumage, was too outstanding. I sometimes wonder why it is called “ring-necked” but only with a ringed bill.
Chengyi shouted at the three Dutch boys. I set up the telescope and showed them the Ring-necked Duck. After seeing this rare bird, they happily took out chocolates and beer to celebrate and generously shared them with us. Have I ever had such carefree times like them? With that, my day in IJmuiden ended.
For the Chinese version of this essay, check here 中文版本.
Explore more about birds of East Asia:
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IJmuiden🇳🇱
Madrid🇪🇸
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