Sahara Atlantique du Maroc
Turkey, june 2017
Some pictures of my trip to Turkey with my friends Enno Ebels, Lodi Nauta and Gernant Magnin
California, november 2015
Madeira, august 2015
Tenerife, february 2014
Blue Chaffinch teydae
Berthelot's Pipit
Atlantic Yellow-legged Gull
Barbary Flacon (?). It is claimed that large falcons on Tenerife can also have characters of Peregine Falcon F peregrinus broke as a result of hybridisation. I didn't see this bird very good and just took some pictures, but it seemed to me a Barbary Falcon due to the small moustachial stripe and the very light grey upper parts. I didn't see the neck.
I saw only two birds. One far away and this one hunting for some ten minutes above the hotel. Think it is quite difficult (and very annoying) when other large falcons for hunting purposes are involved.
Canarian Great Spotted Woodpecker. Note the characteristic brown tinge to the breast.
Canarian Goldcrest
Canarian Blackbird
Florida, april-may 2013
Pictures of my recent trip to the Western Sahara
Desert Eagle Owl
African Desert Warbler
Dunn's Lark
Western Reef Heron
Lanner Falcon
African Great Cormorant
Mediterrenean Gull
Western Olivaceous Warbler
Saharan Olivaceous Warbler
Thekla's Lark
Tree Pipit
Black-crowned Finch-lark
Atlas Long-legged Buzzard
Western Orphean Warbler
third Fieldfare for the country
Spectacled Warbler (Eric Koops)
Dunn's Lark (Eric Koops)
Cricket Warbler (Eric Koops)
Red-rumped Wheatear (Eric Koops)
Turkey, june 2017
Some pictures of my trip to Turkey with my friends Enno Ebels, Lodi Nauta and Gernant Magnin
White-throated Kingfisher
probable Caspian Reed Warbler
juvenile ochruros Black Redstart
male Lesser Kestrel
male Lesser Kestrel
Greater Short-toed Lark
Cucumiau
Rock Sparrow
libanotica Northern Wheatear
Squacco Heron
Alpine Chough
Collared Pratincole
record shots of Caspian Snowcock by Enno Ebels
In november 2015 we spent three weeks in november. It was a very fine family holiday with good quality birding: 175 species with 75 lifers. Also some mammals with my first ever bear, an American Black Bear! Along the pacific coast lots of Californian Sea Lions, Northern Elephant Seals, Sea Otters and harbour Seals.
Greater Roadrunner
first calendar Californian Gull
American Crow
Buff-bellied Pipit
Black-throated Sparrow
Black Phoebe
Black Turnstone
Black Oystercatcher
Brandt's Cormorant
California Gull
California Scrub Jay
California Towhee
Clark's Grebe
Western (left) and Clark's Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Ring-billed Gull
Forster's Tern
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Glaucous-winged Gull
Heerman's Gull
Heerman's Gull
Hermit Thrush
Hudsonian Whimbrel
Island Scrub Jay
Island Scrub Jay
Killdeer
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Long-billed Curlew
Marbled Godwit
Pelagic Cormorant
Brown Pelican
Bonaparte's Gull
Pileated Woodpecker
Raven
Rock Wren
Royal Tern
Greater Roadrunner
Song Sparrow
Verdin
Wandering Tattler
Western Gull
Western Gull
first calendar White-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Western Willet
Yellow-billed Magpie
Harbour Seal
Island Fox
Jack Rabbit
Northern Elephant Seal
Northern Elephant Seal
Sea Otter
California Sea Lion
California Sea Lions
Madeira, august 2015
In august 2015 we spent a week at Madeira. Main goal for me were the seabirds Had six new species (nine for the WP)
Zino's Petrel, Desertas Petrel, Bulwer's Petrel, Madeiran Strom Petrel, Trocaz Pigeon and Madeiran Firecrest were lifers. In addition Great Shearwater, Cory's Shearwater and Wilson's Storm-petrel new for my Western Palearctic list.
Of further interest were Madeiran Barn Owl, Madeiran Chaffinch, both splits in the future, I guess!
madeirensis Berthelot's Pipit
a few of the many Bulwer's Petrels
Atlantic Canary
Cory's Shearwater
Long-tailed Skuas
Madeiran Chaffinches
Wilson's Storm-petrels
Trocaz Pigeons
Tenerife, february 2014
From the 17th to the 23rd of February 2014 we visited Tenerife with the family. The fact that we had a family holiday ment that I had to concentrate on the new species and didn't bird as I am used to. No problem off course. Although the weather was bad (cold, cloudy and some rain) we had a nice week off.
Birds on Tenerife (a volcano island, are few and far between, but it is quality rather than quantity that makes Tenerife birding special. I saw 29 wild species of birds with a total of 19 new taxa, including seven new species. New: Laurel Pigeon, Bolle's Pigeon, Plain Swift, Blue Chaffinch, Atlantic Canary, Canarian Chiffchaff and Berthelot's Pipit.
Some other interesting birds included Canarian Goldcrest, Canarian Blue Tit, Canarian Chaffinch, Atlantic Yellow-legged Gull, North African Raven, Canarian Blackbird, Canarian Robin and Barbary Falcon. May be some of these result in armchair ticks in the future.
All birds were easily found, but the two pigeons were quite difficult due to bad weather and habitat destruction. Had some luck with the swifts as I saw only once a group of 20 in the mountains.
Canarian Chiffchaff. Note long bill and short wings. Song very distinctive with a kind of Cetti's Warbler quality
I saw only two birds. One far away and this one hunting for some ten minutes above the hotel. Think it is quite difficult (and very annoying) when other large falcons for hunting purposes are involved.
Florida, april-may 2013
From 15th of april to 6th may 2013 I made a birding trip to Florida, United States, with my brother and parents. Main purpose was to see as many bird species as possible and of course photography.
Florida means lots of birds and easy birding. It is being said that winter is presumably best as many north american species winter in Florida, but spring offers besides some remaining wintering species loads of migrating birds, mainly warblers and shorebirds. We traveled almost the whole of Florida, including the Panhandle and the Keys. Off course we made the trip to the Dry Tortugas as well. The Dry Tortugas is a group of remote islands which attract many migrating birds, especially during spring.
We saw a total of 211 species, including 88 lifers for me.
Good birds were Florida Scrub Jay, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Piping Plover, Mississippi Kite, Antillean Short-eared Owl, Antillean Nighthawk, Acadian Flycatcher, Thick-billed Vireo, Cave Swallow, Golden Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Western Spindalis and Shiny Cowbird. Besides that, we found a very good bird for the United States, the below depicted Black-faced Grassquit, a straggler from the Bahamas. It was present for a few days on Key Biscayne and consequently twitched by many, the last being in 2002.
Cabbot's Tern
Ecuador august 2012
From 03-08-2012 to 26-08-2012 I visited my good friend Dusan Brinkhuizen, who lives in Ecuador. Together we traveled the east slope of the Andes, from 4000m to the foothills varying from 1300 to 600m and Amazonia. In Amazonia we stayed two weeks in Sani Lodge (9 days) and Napo Wildlife reserve (4 days). It was hardcore 24/7 birding and this trip resulted in 684 species, of which 72 heard only (c. 11%).
This is an incredible high total, thanks to Dusan, who knows the sounds, which makes finding the birds much easier. Besides that we had a very competent guide in Sani, Domingo!
This is an incredible high total, thanks to Dusan, who knows the sounds, which makes finding the birds much easier. Besides that we had a very competent guide in Sani, Domingo!
Best birds were Agami Heron, Zigzag Heron, Harpy eagle (distant views), Red-and-green Macaw, Spot-winged Parrotlet, Long-tailed Potoo, Great Potoo, Occelated Poorwill. 50 Species of hummingbird with Fiery Topaz being the best, Rufous-headed and Red- necked Woodpecker, Brown Nunlet, Greater Scythebill, 60 species of antshrike/bird/wren, best being Wing-banded Antbird, Cocha Antshrike and Bicolored Antvireo. Further five species of antthrush (Rufous-capped, Barred, Striated, Black-faced and Short-tailed), 11 species of antpitta with the first ever good pictures of White-lored Antpitta, 91 species of flycatcher, Black-necked Red Cotinga, Southern Martin (only the second for Ecuador and the first to be documented by photo's) and 75 species of tanager.
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| Greater Scythebill |
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| White-lored Antpitta, below first ever movie of it |
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| Hoatzin |
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| skulking Black Bushbird |
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| Zigzag Heron (photo by Dusan Brinkhuizen) |
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| Orange-eyed Flatbill |
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| Long-tailed Potoo |
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| Occelated Poorwill on nest |
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| Southern Martin (second recording, first photo for Ecuador). This drab species should be commoner in Ecuador. It is a quite common austral winter lowland visitor to Peru. We found it by checking the Grey-breasted Martins... |
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| Rufous Antpitta |
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| Hoatzin |
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| Long-tailed Potoo |
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| Long-tailed Potoo (same bird) |
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| Stout-billed Cinclodes |
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| Tawny Antpitta |
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| Black-chested Mountain Tanager |
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| Blue-crowned Trogon |
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| Cinnamon Flycatcher |
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| Amazonian (White-tailed) Trogon |
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| Golden-green Woodpecker |
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| Black-fronted Nunbird |
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| Black-capped Donacobius |
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| Black-bellied Cuckoo |
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| Ladder-tailed Nightjar |
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| Long-billed Woodcreeper |
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| Long-tailed Sylph |
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| Many-banded Aracari |
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| Many-spotted Hummingbird |
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| Rainbow-bearded Thornbill |
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| Red-capped Cardinal |
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| Rufous-collared Sparrow |
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| Shining Sunbeam |
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| Slate-colored Hawk |
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| Smooth-billed Ani |
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| Southern Yellow Grosbeak |
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| Torrent Duck |
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| Great Kiskadee |
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| White-eared Jacamar |
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| White-eared Jacamar |
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| White Hawk |
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| Blue-throated Piping-guan |
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| White-lored Euphonia |
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| Slender-footed Tyrannulet |
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| Blue-grey Tanager (amazonian type with much white in the wing) |
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| White-throated Toucan |
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| Yellow-billed Jacamar |
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| Yellow-tufted Woodpecker |
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| Yellow-browed Sparrow |
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| Yellow-billed Nunbird |
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| Agami Heron |
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| Agile Tit-tyrant |
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| White-tailed Hillstar |
Thailand january 2011
In the last two weeks of january 2011 we visited Anne's family in northern Thailand. Anne's father drove us to places like Doi Inthanon, Bong Borapeth, Chiang Saen, Mae Sai and so on. It was a leisure birding trip with a good deal of tourism with side trips to Laos and Burma.
I managed to see about 160 new species, which I consider a good result for a family visit. Thailand in winter is a very good place to see some would-be vagrants to western Europe. I saw among others Two-barred Warbler, Arctic Warbler, Siberian Rubythroat, Thick-billed Warbler, Brown Shrike, Taiga Flycatcher, Brown Flycatcher and Pallas' Grasshopper Warbler)
Olive-backed Sunbird
Olive-backed Sunbird
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Barn Swallow (photo by Anne Karliczek)
Long-tailed Shrike
Grey Bushchat
Striated Heron
Dark-backed Sibia
Intermediate Egret
Thousand of Lesser Whistling Ducks
The usual suspects
Purple Swamphen
Lineated Barbet (morning fogg)
Red Collared Dove
Oriental Darter
Siberian Rubythroat (photo by Anne Karliczek)
Paddyfield Pipit
Paddyfield Pipit
Spotted Dove
Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
White-vented Myna
Failed to see these (last confirmed singhting 1980...). This at the monument for the White-yed River Martin at Bong Borapeth (photo by Anne Karliczek)
Ecuador august 2010
Slaty-backd Forest Falcon
Ecuadorean Thrush
Club-winged Manakin
Black-breasted Puffbird
Andean Emerald
Black-cheeked Woodpecker
Blue Cotinga (photo: Dusan Brinkhuizen)
Blue Cotinga
Blue-fronted Parrotlet
Blue-headed Sapphire
Blue-winged Mountain Tanager
Booted Rackettail
Masked Trogon
White-whiskered Puffbird
Western White-tailed Trogon
White-rimmed Brush-finch
Flavescent Flycatcher
Giant Antpitta (the famous Maria)
Golden-chested Tanager
Oilbird (photo by Dusan Brinkhuizen)
Star-chested Treerunner aka Fulvous-dotted Treerunner
Plate-billed Mountain Toucan
Silver-throated Tanager
Common Potoo
Crested Quetzal
White-capped Tanager
Tanager Finch
Crimson-mantled Woodpecker
Golden Tanager
Golden Tanager
Golden-breasted Puffleg
Great Thrush
Green Thorntail
Green Honeycreeper
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
Slate-throated Whitestart
White-necked Jacobin
White-necked Jacobin female
Sword-billed Hummingbird
White-lined Tanager
Scaled Fruiteater
Velvet-purple Coronet
Velvet-purple Coronet
Toucan Barbet
Brown Violetear
Spotted Antbird
Chestnut-backed Antbird
During march 2005 my brother Sybrand and I visited Colombia. During that trip, which was guide by Jurgen Beckers, we discovered a new species for Colombia, Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus. Back than I didn't have a camera, so not many pics of myself
photo by Jurgen Beckers
This bird was resting between lot of waders at Riohacha at the caribbean coast of the mainland