It’s that time of the year. The time of looking back and wrapping up. Spotify wrapped we know for years, but this year also banks joined in (you paid the largest amount to… insurances!). I even saw mastodon.au wrapping up 2024.
For the second year in a row I do a #ObsWrapped. Until 19 December 2024 I logged 2.354 #nature observations of birds, insects, flowers, fungi, moss and lichen. 2.172 of those observations concerned #birds.
The observations were mostly in the Netherlands, but I spotted wildlife in Germany, Italy and Iceland (🥰) too.
Five (edit: plus one) of the observations in 2024 I would like to share:
Black-bellied Dipper
I’m not a twitcher, but I did twitch this Black-bellied Dipper in January. I saw people reporting this winter guest several days in a row within a half-hour drive. It was windy and cold, but the bird wasn’t startled by the attention. It moved up and down the stony shoreline of a pond. I had plenty of time and opportunity to observe the bird and even hear it sing. It was a great way to start the new year.
Tawney Owl
I do not see owls often. So, seeing or hearing one is special. I am fond of the memory of me and my daughter going to the woods on a February evening. The winter weather was very mild and we sat on a bench listening to the sounds of the woods.
At one moment we heard two Tawney Owls up in the trees. We used an app to identify the sound (to be sure). The app also recorded the gasps and commentary when we saw the owl’s shadow flying over. Just magic.
One month later I managed to see an Tawney Owl in daylight. His hiding places was snitch by 6 noisy jays.
Puffin
Together with my daughter I went to Iceland at the end of June. We both love nature and we spent a week along the west and south coast. Incredible nature, and a birders paradise. So many Redshank and Artic Terns and other species everywhere.
One goal was to see the Atlantic puffin. We booked at trip to a cliff near Ingolfshofdi. Absolutely wonderful experience to see puffins flying around and landing near their nests. As a bonus we got also another lifer (to see and identify a bird for the first time): the Great Skua.
Red Fox
I regularly visit the dunes near Zandvoort for a walk and birding. In the dunes there are many red foxes. Most of them are not shy because some people feed them. I have seen red foxes walking by a couple of times in the past.
But in November I almost finished my walk when I saw two ears above the tall grass. It was a red fox resting on top of a dune. It was relaxed and let me take photos. At one point it approached me to check out my backpack. After a short time it moved on again.
Wolf
The number of wolves in the Netherlands are rising. So are the problems some people seem to have with these beautiful animals. It’s clear adjustment takes time. The wolves can be found in the eastern part in the country.
In November I went to the Veluwe to witness the sunrise and to see wildlife. Of course I hoped to see a wolf, but I didn’t count on it. During the morning, I saw female red deer and ravens. And after three hours suddenly a wolf was spotted in the distance. We could watch it for a couple of minutes. What a great experience. Another lifer.
ps. I screened the observations list and saw I had 19 lifers in 2024.
pps. I add one more to the list. Because I enjoyed a meeting with a mouse in the field. I sat down to watch it eat the seeds of a nettle for a long time.
