On Saturday 6 October 2012 Han Zevenhuizen and Eddy Nieuwstraten were birding on Vlieland. It had rained that night and the rain forced several migrating birds to go ashore. Just west of the village of Oost-Vlieland (the only village on the island) they found a stonechat Saxicola sp. Closer inspection revealed the bird had white in it's tail-feathers, so it had to be one of the southeastern taxa, either variegatus, a new taxon for the Netherlands!
Next hours several birders came from all directions, even by boat from Texel or Ameland! I tried to see in the next day, but the bird did not show itself during the short period I was on the Island, so two days later I did a second attempt, this time with success!
The bird stayed on the island till Saturday 20 October.
It was accepted as the first record for the Netherlands (cf Dutch Birding 34: 378-385, 2013). Closer inspection proved the bird was an adult male. New taxonomic insights gave the name hemprichii priority over variegatus, while the name variegatus is given to the southern population of the Caspian Stonechat-complex. Hemprichii is given to the northern population.
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