Birds in April:
March and April are the months when bird migration really gets going. That is when the vast majority of birds return from their wintering grounds. Species that many birdwatchers have not seen for at least six months are reappearing. Like old friends who suddenly show up at the door after a long journey. Hundreds of thousands of waders fill wetlands and the Wadden Sea, while barn swallows, sand martins and house martins skim low over the water and also through the district. The swallow house on the allotment garden complex ‘Aanschot’ was the best visited house in the Netherlands in 2022. That is why an extra swallow house has now been installed.
Warblers, mockingbirds and nightingales are singing everywhere again, the wagtail happily jumps through the grass and the chance of seeing an osprey (probably not in our neighborhood) is present again in April. In addition, in the second week of April, the first nightingales return to our country.
Barn Swallow.
Arrives from week 9 (early March). Has brilliant plumage and performs fast, graceful flights.
The barn swallow is a striking appearance due to its blue-black plumage with metallic sheen with long outer tail feathers and it is also notable for its great agility in flight when hunting flying insects.
The barn swallow breeds in rural areas with sufficient water. Couples build their nests of mud mixed with saliva in a variety of human structures, such as barns and bridges.
House martin.
Arrives from week 11 (March)
A small black and white songbird that feels at home among people.
It builds a bowl-shaped nest against rock walls from clay and sand. But houses made of brick and concrete are also fine and the house martin has become a real culture follower with us. House martins eat huge amounts of mosquitoes and other flying insects, which are caught in mid-flight.
Yellow wagtail.
Arrives from week 10 (March).
With its bright yellow plumage, it is a cheerful appearance in our fields.
They prefer open agricultural areas. They regularly bob the tail up and down with fierce jerking movements.
Mockingbird.
Arrives from week 15 (April).
Pale yellow passerine known for its very loud singing, peppered with imitations of other species. The mockingbird’s habitat is usually typically open area rich in thickets and shrubs. The availability of the ‘former’ agricultural area, with hedges and hedgerows, forest edges with mantle and fringe vegetation is unfortunately decreasing, so this bird is having an increasingly difficult time.
If it does not hibernate, it will arrive from week 11 (March).
The great blue heron is a large, gray bird with a long white/grey neck. It has a black band through the eye, which ends in a crest, a yellow dagger-shaped beak and high, brown legs.
He can often be seen in our Aanschotse Beemden, but also at the ponds in our neighborhood.
Nightingale.
The upper side is evenly brown in color, while the rump and upper side of the tail are reddish brown. The underside is light gray. The eye is remarkably large and black and the legs are light in color. His singing is resonant, versatile, very characteristic and often audible at night. The body length is 16.5 cm.
Furthermore, it is a bird that hides inconspicuously in dense undergrowth, often with nettles, from where it also sings (very beautifully).
Fitis
This belongs to a group of small brown-green songbirds that are very similar in appearance. Within this group, the warbler is difficult to distinguish from the chiffchaff. But the warbler’s song is unmistakable: a soft, melancholy whistling, descending tune. The warbler breeds on the ground or low in vegetation, usually in dry to humid semi-open landscapes with sufficient shrubs. It aggressively defends its territory against conspecifics. It forages for food in bushes.
Hopefully you can recognize these birds during a walk through our neighborhood or our Aanschotse Beemden.
Green Play and Environment working group.