2010

2010 was only 3 days old when a Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula was reported in the place where I live, Alkmaar. After a unsuccessful search on 4 January, the bird was relocated on 5 January and from then on, the bird was seen feeding in birdtables in several gardens and showed itself very well. The bird stayed into April and was gradually obtaining its summer plumage.
On 21 January an Oriental Turtle-Dove Streptopelia orientalis was reported in Wergea, Friesland, the first new species for the Netherlands in 2010! The dove stayed into February.
Maybe the appearance of these two megas has set a new trend: always check feeders in gardens en keep on birding, even in winter and expect the unexpected!.
Spring was quite normal, but a Scops Owl Otus scops stayed for a long period at Kootwijkerbroek and showed itself very well and was photographically documented (I had only heard the bird in 1998 and saw a fleeting glimps of the bird in 2008). In summer on 28th July, a Grey-tailed Tattler Tringa brevipes was seen and photographed at IJmuiden, but was only seen by the photographer Arno Piek and could not be relocated again. If accepted It will be the first record for the Netherlands and the third for Europe!
Then another shocking bird appeared, a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus, the third record for the Netherlands, was discovered on 16th August and stayed for some three-and-a-half hours before it disappeared.
On 5 September a beautiful female Daurian Shrike Lanius isabellinus was found near Julianadorp, Noord-Holland. Then the 500th species for the Netherlands was found, a skulking Northern Waterthrush, another first for the Netherlands.

Do you like to go to the main index or the next year 2011?