During our recent trip to the Netherlands, Arthur and I twice visited one of our old birding grounds, Starrevaart. We primarily birded the lake from the hide “de Vogelknip.”
In preparation for the trip, I checked the blog of a Dutch birder who frequently visits Starrevaart. I was shocked to read that the bird hide there had burned down in June 2009. It was a total loss! But then I was pleasantly surprised to read that a new hide was built just a few months later. Phew! It’s a sturdy little hide, very similar to the previous one. A nice addition was a site-specific bird ID poster.
Brand new shutters. See the shiny new latches? They all worked! (That won’t last)
Some of the birds you might see from de Vogelknip
Of course, the wonderful view as just about the same as we remembered it.
What the birds see
Looking northeast
A Great Crested Grebe living up to its name
Greylag Geese, swimming and landing; looking west-southwest
Three Mute Swans
More Mute Swans; looking northwest
It was great to go back to one of our old regular birding spots and sit for a while, quietly watching the birds. One of my favorites was a Great Crested Grebe having a nap on the choppy water. I also took a short video of this weary bird.
