Pestvogel / Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus, Oosterend, Texel, 22-01-2015
With good searching and of course a little luck you can see a wide variety of winter visitors and wintering birds on Texel. Several hundred Bewick's Swans and a few thousand Tundra Bean Geese have changed the northern tundra for the fields and meadows of Texel. In this period Red-breasted Mergansers and Goldeneyes mainly show up in the Wadden Sea. Some other species that are now to be seen in large numbers; Brent Geese, White-fronted Geese, Ruffs, Golden Plovers, Fieldfares and Redwings.
In the Marsdiep at the estuary of the Mokbaai swims for several weeks a rare Long-tailed Duck. This arctic species hibernates in large groups at sea, often far from the coast. At several places along the North Sea and Wadden Sea coast are Snow Buntings reported. At The Slufter roams like every winter a group of several dozen Horned Larks. The smallest falcon in Europe, the Merlin can be usually see very tricky. This fast and fierce hunter can sometimes sit for hours on a field and then usually go unnoticed.
Noteworthy is the observation of two Waxwings in Oosterend. These beautiful residents of the taiga are foraging on berry-bearing shrubs. In invasion years sometimes a few tens of birds visit Texel.
Kleine Zwaan / Bewick's Swan Cygnus bewickii, 6 ad, met 2 Knobbelzwanen op de achtergrond / with 2 Mute Swans in the background, Den Burg, Texel, 17-01-2015