Songbirds
You might hear these little birds before you see them. They are small in size, but their recognisable song is unmissable.
Still, you can see them swirling up from time to time if you pay attention. Have you spotted them yet?
Reed warbler
The sedge warbler is a small bird, with yellowish-brown plumage, dark stripes on its head and back and a striking l...
Still, you can see them swirling up from time to time if you pay attention. Have you spotted them yet?
Reed warbler
The sedge warbler is a small bird, with yellow-brown plumage, dark stripes on its head and back and a conspicuously light brow stripe. It likes to nest in tall reeds and a dense herb layer, where it is well hidden from any birds of prey. Fortunately, it is not shy and therefore still easy to see. When singing, the male climbs to the top of a reed cane, and then flies through the air singing for a bit, before lowering himself again like a parachute. It is a scratchy song, wild and full of imitations of other birds. In the weeks surrounding the breeding season (early May and again in June), you can hear the song of reed warblers all day long. Can you hear them around you?
Yellow wagtail
The yellow wagtail lives up to its name. The male has a bright yellow throat and breast, blue-grey head and a white eye-blue stripe. They regularly wiggle their tails up and down with quick, jerky movements and flutter impetuously through the air above the female during courtship, or run circles around her. The call is simple but distinctive: a high, single 'tswie'. Yellow wagtails like to frequent open agricultural areas, yet they are not found much in Waterland anymore. The yellow wagtail is on the Red List of Dutch breeding birds. Its numbers have declined 50-75% in the Netherlands since the 1960s.
Skylark
The skylark is light brown, with yellow and brown stripes and a contrasting white belly. It can raise a short, blunt crest by which it can also be recognised. In spring, you can hear the skylark's exuberant song from long distances. During courtship, they make beautiful song flights. First they fly up to 100 metres into the air, only to fly down and land near the female, singing loudly. Unfortunately, the skylark is not doing well. They have declined by up to 95% since 1960 and are therefore also on the red list of Dutch breeding birds. These little birds arrive in the Netherlands between February and April and leave again between September and November.