A Stormy Birding Adventure in Oostvaardersplassen
The forecast looked awful: heavy rain, strong wind, maybe even thunder. Normally that's a good excuse to just stay home. But you know how it is — when nature calls, it's hard to say no. So I got in the car and drove almost two hours to Oostvaardersplassen anyway.
I picked the 4 km Zeearend Trail for my walk. Honestly, the gray, moody sky made the wetlands look even more beautiful. Oostvaardersplassen is one of the best birding spots in the Netherlands, with huge reed beds, open water, grassy fields, and all kinds of wildlife. Most people start their visit at the Buitencentrum Oostvaardersplassen, which works as the main entrance to the reserve.
One of my favorite spots there is De Grauwe Gans bird hide. There's a small parking area on the dike with room for about ten cars, and you can also bike there from nearby parking lots.
The water was quite low that day, so a lot of the birds were feeding far away — not great for photos, but there was still plenty to enjoy. I saw a large flock of Ruddy Shelducks/Casarca for the very first time, and the mudflats were packed with wading birds. Pied Avocets/Kluut were everywhere, easy to spot with their black-and-white feathers.
Then came the moment that made the whole trip worth it.
Far in the distance, I noticed something odd in a tree. I grabbed my binoculars for a closer look — and there they were: eight White-tailed Eagles/Zeearend, all sitting together in the same tree. Even from far away, seeing that many of Europe's biggest birds of prey in one spot was amazing. This is exactly why I keep coming back to places like this.
On the way back to the car, I made a small detour to another hide, De Schollevaar. It turned out to be worth it — I spotted a Water Rail in the distance. It was far away, but I could still tell what it was. Since Water Rails are usually heard rather than seen, it felt like a nice little bonus to end the day.
Right as I was finishing the trail, the weather finally caught up with me. Heavy rain came down all at once, and my walk ended pretty abruptly.
Between the Ruddy Shelducks, all the waders, the Pied Avocets, the surprise Water Rail/Waterral, and — best of all — eight White-tailed Eagles sharing one tree, the day gave me way more than the weather forecast promised
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