2016

2016 was hardly two weeks old when the first mega was discovered: on 15 January 2016 a beautiful male Siberian Rubythroat Calliope calliope was found in Hoogwoud, a village in Noord-Holland! Then on 20 January it became known a Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus was photographed on Terschelling between 3 and 5 January, but that turned out to be 3 November 2015. Also a tideline corpse of a Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus was found on Texel on 17 January. Then a male Redhead Aythya americana was found between Zuidhorn and Aduard, Groningen on 19 January but this bird proved to be very elusive and was subsequently seen on 2 February, 7 and 9 February.
March and April produced some Alpine Accentors Prunella montanella near Den Haag ZH and Egmond NH, Western Subalpine Warbler Sylvia inornata at Wageningen Gld and a Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri on Texel NH. The best bird in April, however, was the first record of Moustached Warbler Acrcocephalus melanopogon on 21 April east of Nijmegen Gld. On 28 April I went to Borneo and on 30 April till 4 May, a Black-headed Wagtail Motacilla feldeggi stayed on Texel NH, a long expected new bird for the Netherlands and twitchable for everyone willing to see this bird. Hopeflly for me a second record will follow soon next year. Another highlight in May was the finding if the second Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris for the Netherlands, this time an adult bird! From 20-22 September, the second Rufous Bush-Robin Cercotrichas galactotes for the Netherlands was discovered at the Maasvlakte and gave a lot of people who missed the bird in 2013 a chance to see this bird again. October started with a sensational finding of a Lanceolated Warbler at the Maasvlakte, followed by the second DNA-proved Stejneger's Stonechat Saxicola stejnegeri that was trapped and ringed on Vlieland on 9 October. October brought a large invasion of Siberian Accentors in Northern Europa and on 21 October the first for the Netherlands was found on the Maasvlakte ZH. The same date the second Eastern Crowned Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus for the Netherlands was trapped and ringed at Castricum NH. Also in October at least 7 Pine Buntings Emberiza leucocephala were reported and more will most probably arrive. Further on in November three Eastern Black Redstarts Phoenicurus ochruros phoenicuroides were seen on Vlieland Fr, Terschelling Fr and the Maasvlakte ZH. On 8 November a Dusky Thrush Turdus eunomus was discovered in Beijum Gr, the same quarter where in 2004 Pine Grosbeaks Pinicola enucleator and in 2014 the Slate-coloured Junco Junco hyemalis were discovered!

Queue of birders waiting for their turn at the Siberian Rubythroat, 16 January 2016, Hoogwoud NH; © Roland Wantia.

Birders looking at the Lanceolated Warbler, 4 October 2016, Maasvlakte ZH; © Hans Groot.
Siberian Rubythroat
Redhead
Moustached Warbler
Lanceolated Warbler
Siberian Accentor

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