Wryneck - Jynx torquilla

Until last year, I had never even seen a Wryneck. I had tried to twitch it, but without succes. I missed birds, while friends had just seen it a couple of minutes before. And I had searched for them during Spring and Autumn migration. This species however stayed an enigma. Not only because I wasn't able to find one, but also because every birdwatcher in the Netherlands gets enthousiastic when they start talking about Wrynecks. What is it, that makes this bird so special?

First of all, it's rare in the Netherlands. Rareness makes a bird often more special. Simply because you won't get to see it very often and every time you do, it gives some extra excitement. This is probably a human trait, since human interest often increases if things are uncommon or rare. You'll also find this in economics or in art. Coals and diamonds are both allotropes of Carbon, but people get much more excited when they find a diamond then a piece of coal. And this also accounts for art, since true masterpieces are rare.

Wrynecks are Woodpeckers. They have, like other woodpeckers a very long tongue for grasping insects out of places that are otherwhise hard to reach. Their toes are placed zygodactylly (i.e. two toes pointing to the front and two pointing to the back) and their call is somewhat comparable to other woodpeckers. For the rest they don't look like them at all and are therefore placed in their own Genus. The Genus consists of two Species. The Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla and the African Rufous-Necked Wryneck Jynx ruficollis.

Although Wrynecks are woodpeckers, they don't behave like them. They usually don't climb vertically on treetrunks, they don't excavate their own nest and they don't drum. If you are lucky to get to see this bird (otherwise take a look at my pictures), you'll easily find these behavioural differences in it's morphology. Most woodpeckers have a pointed tail with very strong tailfeathers. They use their tail for support when they vertically climb treetrunks. The Wryneck however, doesn't very often climb this way and therefore doesn't need such a tail. Their tail is rounded. It's bill doesn't look like that of the true woodpeckers, not a chisel shaped strong bill, but more that of an insect eating Passerine. Furthermore the Wryneck is the only woodpecker with a regular long distance migration. They winter in Africa and migrate every year. Some other species of woodpecker sometimes disperse over long distances, but they won't do so every year and they won't make the same distances as the Wryneck does. Other species of woodpeckers show small irruptions, when unfavourable conditions force them to move. But these shifts are uncomparable to the long distances that Wrynecks fly.





Wryneck... Strange name, isn't it? If you wonder why it bears this name, take a look at this small movieclip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD52NLJw4Pk

You'll see a Wryneck wrynecking. It is twisting its neck in all directions. In many languages it bears a name that is pointing to this weird behaviour. In Dutch it is called "Draaihals" and the latin "torquilla" means turning. But why does it do this? Apparently the stretching of the neck and the turning make it look like a snake. It even makes a snake-like hissing sound. Wrynecks breed in old used woodpecker holes and if they are disturbed they can probably scare the predator with this behaviour. But they also seem to use it in courtship.

I was very lucky when my friend Casper Zuyderduin discovered this year a wryneck in Katwijk, since it was the first time I had a reasonable view of this bird. I had seen my first last year, but that was not really satisfying since it was on our bird ringing station and I had to leave the bird, because I was disturbing our nets by watching it and we had a small chance of catching it. So I was asked "friendly" to get into the hut. Off course we didn't catch and I was not as happy as I expected to see a bird so high on my whishlist. The Wryneck, Casper dicovered wasn't easy to find. At first we didn't find it and I made plans to never twitch a Wryneck again, but then suddenly Casper saw it again. And so did I, Magnificent! But things got even greater this year, when I was present when two Wrynecks were caught.

One was at the famous bird ringing station Castricum, where my friend Vincent van der Spek and I were to do our bird ringing exam for a Dutch ringing permit. I got to ring a Wryneck! Fantastic, but also a bird I had never ringed before and this didn't make my exam easier. Of course the identification was no problem, but the ageing was a bit harder. The pattern on the primary coverts was important to age the bird and this bird appeared to be a first calender year. It was an incredible day, with a lot of new ringing species, but because of all the excitement and the number of birds we got to ring, there was hardly time to enjoy the birds. The next day was therefore a fantastic second chance.

Vincent and I both got our permit. We were very excited and couldn't wait till we could ring on our own station (V.R.S. Meijendel). The next day we arrived at Meijendel where Maarten Verrips (one of our tutors) had already set out the nets and welcomed us. There were many many birds and we had to work very hard. Luckily Kasper Hendriks and our guest Engbert van Oort were also there to help. Then when numbers decreased a bit, Vincent and I walked a round to get the birds. We were joking and laughing a little and celebrated our ringing permit. Then ... a Wryneck!! Vincent got a Wryneck from the nets.. We walked on and unbelieveble, the next bird we got was a Thrush Nightingale!!! But that's a story I will write about later.

The Wryneck was beautiful. It looked like a moth or a reptile. At least something ancient. The cryptic colourpatterns were very nice. Now there was time to enjoy the bird. The sound, the feet, the twisting of the neck... We took some pictures and released the bird. It flew off on it's way to Africa!

I found this interesting blog about European woodpeckers, where you can read more about the wryneck: http://woodpeckersofeurope.blogspot.com/search?q=wryneck

Montagu's harrier - Circus pygargus

In the North-east part of the Dutch province of Groningen is a small stronghold of a magnificent species: the Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus. These harriers were quite common in the nineteenth century, but the habitats it inhabited (open dunes, moorland, reedbeds) changed and got apparently useless for the harriers. Above the changing landscapes came the DDT problems. Montagu's harriers feed on rodents and large insects, and the use of DDT as an insecticide took its toll on the harrier population. Apart from the accumulation of poisoness chemicals there were also no large insects left. The numbers of Montagu's Harriers declined in the Netherlands and by 1987 there were only 3 pairs left. Things didn't look very promissing.

By 1990, when everybody probably gave up on the Montagu's Harrier as a Dutch breeding bird, things changed unexpectedly. In that year the European Union decided to no longer subsidize the wheatfarmers in order to get rid of the surplus of wheat and to get a better and more natural wheatprize. Instead of subsidizing the farmers for their production they subsidized the farmers when they took agricultural land out of production. Since the wheatprizes were so low, the farmers could better set-aside some of their land and benefit from the European money. Unexpectedly this set-aside agricultural land, had an amazing side effect. Many species that were having difficulty in surviving in the barren Dutch agricultural landscapes, florished in this newly created mozaic. Two species that were never seen before breeding in agricultural land started to breed in the Oldambt area. One was the Corncrake and the other was the Montagu's Harrier. The area became some kind of surrogate Steppe area. But because this was off course still agricultural land, the birds needed some kind of extra protection. In order to provide the birds with this protection, a Foundation was created: Stichting Werkgroep Grauwe Kiekendief. They were succesful, numbers increased to about 40 breeding pairs, last year! the project co-operates closely with its German counterpart.

The project is really nice. Everybody seems to co-operate, from politicians, to farmers, to volunteers and to scientists. The birds are ringed, wing tagged and some receive a satellite device. The volunteers build nest-protectors and the farmers don't harm the nests. In order to keep people involved, they name some of the satellite birds after the farmers or the volunteers. The project gathered a massive amount of information about these beautiful birds. Read all about them on the website of the foundation: http://grauwekiekendief.nl/index_eng.php

The satellite tracked birds gave us more insight into their lives, especially during the time they were on migration into Africa. It all started with two females Marion and Beatriz. Read here about their sad but fascinating stories. Every satellite bird tells his or her own story, which makes it really personal and very interesting, more birds got a satellite device and I can advise you to read their stories as well. If this got your interest, there are more projects concerned with satellite telemetry of Montagu's harriers: http://malimbus.free.fr/trakindx.htm

My friend Vincent van der Spek, joined the project for an internship. He invited me and some other friends to help him with his project. It was mutual benefit, since we would be able to enjoy the Montagu's harriers and he would have some company and a car to drive him around. I'm still very thankful, since the two days I was able to visit him, were absolutely fantastic. And especially the first day, was one of the best Birding experiences I ever had.

One of the nesting sites

Nest protector

Vincent showed us that the Montagu's Harrier is colony breeder. Don't think of a colony like that of herons, but think of a couple of nests in the same wheatfield a couple of hundred metres apart. All kinds of interesting facts were told and seen in the field. We saw the adult males bringing food to the nests and females co-operatively chasing away a Marsh Harrier. What beautiful and elegant birds! We heard their calls, saw a young and tagged bird and enjoyed the landscape. Then when our survey time was over, Vincent had another surprise.

There was a nest to be ringed that afternoon and we were allowed to be present. Wow! That was a great wish. It was just as I hoped it would be. We measured, ringed and wingtagged 3 birds. Have a look at the pictures (from both days) and you probably know how I felt.

female of the second day.

The ringer: Erik Visser

The day wasn't over yet. There was a good wader area called Polder Breebaart. A few days before, there was a sighting of two Broad-billed Sandpipers and a Marsh Sandpiper. We (Ben Wielstra, Luuk Punt, Vincent van der Spek and me) had already been there in the afternoon, but then things weren't really promissing. When we returned in the evening, with the right tide, things were completely different, there were many, many birds. At least a thousand Dunlins and a couple of hundred Spotted Redshanks. We scanned the area and saw a few Curlew Sandpipers in breeding plumage, a few Red Knots and then Ben discovered a Broad-billed Sandpiper. We didn't have much time to enjoy watching it, because Vincent discovered an odd looking Golden Plover. It was indeed odd and after an identification discussion (small bird, long-legged impression, dark undertail coverts, barring on the sides, yes, ...dark underwings, ...) we agreed it was a Pacific Golden Plover! A bird that can look much the same as an American Golden Plover, with which it was considered conspecific in the past and as a Golden Plover, so we had to be careful with the ID. But everything was alright for this species. What a discovery and what a day!!

The second day I was with Kasper Hendriks, Rob van Bemmelen and Maarten Verrips. We weren't as lucky as the first day, but this was also a very nice day. We could join two ringing sessions of two different nests. But this time much more people were present. A nice thing was that the proud farmer was also invited. The wader area was however less succesful. We weren't there with the right tide, which did matter! I did see about 75 Common seals and a couple of thousand Common Shelducks, which was also nice.

The farmer, who owned the land where this bird hatched.

Common Seals at the Dollard.

The Montagu's harriers might be under pressure again. This year, for the first time in 18 years, there were hardly any lands set-aside. The European Union stopped subsidizing this out of production taking, since there is a shortage of wheat and other agricultural food products on the world market. This year will therefore be a very important year for the harriers. How will they cope with this change of land use? Will they be able to get enough food? And will they be able to adapt? Please contact the foundation if you like to support them!

Balearic Shearwater - critically endangered

Sorry for my low output lately. I just couldn't make time to write and also lost a bit of interest in writing (June is always a bit of a quiet period for birds in the Netherlands). But things changed completely yesterday!

My friends (Luuk, Frank and Ben) called me to go birding in the province of Noord-Holland. Their main goal was to try to get a view of a Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus. Problem with Balearic Shearwaters is, it takes hours and hours of watching over an empty sea to get a short glimpse of this bird. The species is really hard to get in the Netherlands. Not really promissing, certainly not when the weatherforecasts were also not really nice. I had plans visiting some Musea and said no to them. After an hour, fear took over me. Ben was quite convincing, Lucky Luuk was part of the team and although early in season it was the right time of the year: Saturdaymorning 5.20 a.m. I stepped in Luuk's car to visit Camperduin (the best place to see this species in the Netherlands!). On the way, clouds became darker and darker and there was heavy rain. When we arrived at the spot, there was no way we would go and watch this empty sea for hours in the rain. We decided to change plans and visit a sad grounded Eurasion Griffon Vulture in Wieringen. (our luck with the Balearic Shearwater would change later that day, please read on!)

The Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus, was discovered two days before. Probably due to the bad weather the bird had stayed here. Vultures need thermal vents to fly without using too much energy. It was a sad sight, the bird didn't move at all and looked more like a beheaded stuffed bird than a large fearcefull scavenger. A bit boring, but it was at least something.

The wheather changed a bit and things looked more promising. We went to Den Oever, where a few White-winged terns had been seen lately. There were loads of beautiful Black terns (it's closest relative). They were foraging in flocks, have a look at Luuk's weblog to see a picture of the Black terns: http://vogelverslagen.web-log.nl/mijn_weblog/2008/07/vaal.html

We didn't see the White-winged terns, however.

We visited some more bird areas (Saw a nice juvenile Little owl and some breeding plumage Sanderlings) and then we decided to have another try at Camperduin. There's a hut (without a roof though...) built as migration point where we settled ourselves. Within half an hour we were succesful! Incredible, I discovered the bird at really close distance, only about 150m away. We had splendid views, better than this you probably won't see a Balearic Shearwaters in the Netherlands. We followed the bird until we lost it behind the dike. We just couldn't believe it and we were really happy with this sighting.

To read something about their identification: http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/gg/SWSW/id_guide.html (sroll down to the Balearic Shearwater identification article)

The hide:

The dike where the bird vanished (called Hondsbossche zeewering):

As I already said, Balearic Shearwaters are really hard to see in the Netherlands. The only place where you probably have a reasonable chance to see one is Camperduin. But only if you are willing to put time and effort into it. There's another thing, which makes it more complicated to see one: Balearic Shearwaters are rare on worldscale, and they become rarer and rarer everyday! The total population is probably about 2000 breeding pairs, they breed on the Baleares (Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera and Cabrera). Predation by feral cats and rats takes a large toll at the breeding grounds. After breeding the birds leave the Mediterranean Sea and forage in the Atlantic. Adult mortality is also unusually high, probably due to long line fishing. The birds live close to the shores, closer than other close relatives. They have learned to follow fishingships to profit from fish discards, but with long-line fishing this trait is not very profitable to the birds... Read this interesting article to get a better insight into the problems Balearic Shearwaters are facing: http://bycatch.env.duke.edu/species/balearic-shearwater

If things aren't changed the bird might go extinct within 40 years!

Although the birds become rarer, chances of seeing one in the Netherlands might paradoxically increase. The birds are actually cold water specialists. The cold waters are much more productive in food for the Balearic Shearwaters than the warm parts of the oceans. Since the temperature in the oceans is increasing due to Global Warming, the birds have to travel further north to get their food: http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2006/09/balearic_shearwater.html

See also:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/09/20/balearic_shearwater_feature.shtml

But things are probably more complicated than this and a lot of research is still needed:

http://rom.ex.ac.uk/documents/Bios/sb312/Votier%20et%20al.%202008%20Biology%20Letters.pdf

For more overall information and some pictures:
http://www.birdguides.com/species/species.asp?sp=011074

and:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balearic_Shearwater

Spring Migration in Breskens

Breskens is the best place in the Netherlands to view migrating birds in spring. On days when the winds are good (East/ South-east, 4 Beaufort scale) and the temperature is nice, birds pass in impressive numbers. The best time is the last two weeks of April en the first two weeks of May. This year the winds were extremely good and it rained rarities. Also commoner birds like swallows, swifts and meadow pipits were seen in high amounts and more than 100 species were observed while migrating every single day! That's why Frank and I decided to have another try at the Breskens migration point (it was our 4th time this year). Our main goal was to get a good view of red-footed falcons. Normally Red-footed falcons are quite rare in the Netherlands but occasionally they can show up in larger numbers. There seemed to be a small invasion going on and they were reported from many places in the Netherlands.

After a 2,5 hour drive, Frank and I arrived in Breskens. There were not as many birders as the days before (on good days there can be more than 150 people, today there were not many more than 50) and there were not many birds either. We got some really good species, but views were bad and numbers low. And although we got the Red-footed falcons we didn't go home completely satisfied. Maybe we got spoiled by al the good stuff we got the week before, or maybe we were a little jealous on our friends who decided to try their luck at other places (and were more succesfull), who knows....

Anyway, the best things I saw today were 2 (maybe three) Red-footed Falcons, 1 Red-rumped swallow, 2 Black Kites, 1 Osprey, 1 Montagu's Harrier, about 10 Hen Harriers, a few Hobbies and a few Merlins and 1 very nice Short-eared owl.

Candy of the day (translated directly from Dutch and probably not a proper English expression, but I like it anyway) was a Cattle egret in summer plumage in an area called "De Braakman". Frank got the sighting through his pager and since it was on the way back we decided to have a go at it. It's discoverers were still present and they pointed the bird to us. Otherwise it might have been quite difficult because the bird sometimes vanished into some pine trees which appeared to be a new Grey heron, Little egret and Spoonbill breeding colony! It collected sticks and small branches and apparently was building a nest. Wheter it was paired or not, we couldn't tell. We saw only one bird. Nevertheless a nice sighting. Also my first Cattle egret in breeding plumage in the Netherlands.

You can find the total results of the counts of today on the migration database Trektellen.nl , but don't forget to change the date to the 10th of May.