Black Audi Birding: A Netherlands Spectacular 21st January 2025

Thursday, 23 January 2025

A Netherlands Spectacular 21st January 2025

c Richard Tyler

Monday the 13th of January and I was mulling over whether to join some of my twitching colleagues and go with them to Cornwall the following Friday in an effort to see a Booted Eagle that was showing well near Marazion. In all honesty having already seen one this year on the Berkshire/Oxfordshire border, close to my home I was far from enthused about making a taxing middle of the night drive to the far end of Cornwall.

However the birding fates took a hand and any thoughts of eagles rapidly diminished when, later on that Monday much more sensational birding news arrived on my Birdguides App reporting a Spectacled Eider, a drake no less, in full breeding plumage being discovered at Ooosterend on the island of Texel, North Holland in The Netherlands.

It did not matter a jot that the bird was not in Britain. This was a must see. No question. An enigmatic and fabled duck that lives permanently amongst the ice floes of the Arctic Circle and is rarely encountered south of there. Even their wintering area remained unknown until the mid 1990's. There was no denying that this was a bird that fired the imagination, one of romance that chose to inhabit the vast desolate northern extremes of our world and to all extents and purposes remained an unobtainable dream for most birders.Now sensationally here was a one and only chance of a lifetime to see a species that is only accessible and with great difficulty in Alaska and north east Russia.

I called my regular twitching mates who were planning to go and see the eagle on the weekend suggesting a change of plan but failed to raise much if any enthusiasm so.I called other colleagues but drew a blank there also as they had either already made other arrangements or had no space in their cars.

Finally I was left with Les, a world lister who was ultra keen to go as he had never seen a Spectacled Eider and, getting on in years, was unlikely to unless he managed to see this bird.

So it was the two of us and I set about working out the logistics of getting to Texel and back in the shortest time possible. Neither of us fancied flying so it would be by car and ferry.Due to work and social commitments I could not get away until Monday the 20th. A long time to try the patience of the twitching gods but I just had a feeling the duck would remain at Texel although the delay would inevitably bring the unwelcome prospect of enduring a nervous few days. There was however no alternative.

I was now fully committed to go to Texel in both mind and body. After some deliberation we opted to take a Stena ferry from Harwich as Les lives in Epping in Essex some ninety minutes from Harwich. There was an overnight ferry on the 20th at 2230 that would get us to The Hook of Holland at 0800 the next morning. A two hour drive north to Den Helder and we could get another hourly ferry to Texel. The eider was at Oosterend, which is at the southern end of Texel only a ten minute drive from the ferry terminal.We could have four or five hours with the eider before having to retrace our route to catch a ferry back to England that night.

However Stena insisted that once the bookings were paid for the money was not refundable so I opted to wait until Sunday the 19th before fully committing ourselves in case the duck disappeared.It has happened more than once before!

So a tense wait ensued as each day we checked the Birdguides app and each day the eider was reported as present. My hunch was proving correct and our hopes rose as each day passed.

Looking at the images of the eider appearing on various social media outlets certainly did not help my equanimity. It was a stunner and equally fascinating were the images of the unprecedented numbers of people lined up on the seawall each day coming to see the eider which had so caught the imagination of both birders and non birders in such a big way.On Sunday the 19th of January it was estimated there were over a thousand people looking at the eider from the top of the seawall at Oosterend and it has arguably become the biggest twitch ever in Europe with an estimated 6000 people having already come to view it from all over Europe and Scandinavia.

Monday the 20th came and via the wonders of the internet I confirmed our bookings on the various ferries out and back including overnight cabins and car, paid for our tickets and in the early evening collected Les and made our way to Harwich. After navigating our way through the confusing and ill lit series of roads in the port we eventually found ourselves in a queue of cars waiting to board the very large Stena Brittanica.

Once on board and having found our cabin in a maze of very long corridors we retired slighty dazed to the extensive and predominantly deserted restaurant area to gather ourselves for what was to come. Presumably being off season the vessel was hardly full and after a nightcap we retired to a comfortable but basic cabin to sleep away the night.I could see no point in paying for anything more sophistocated than a basic cabin as for the most part we would be asleep.

Checking my phone I saw a text indicating two good friends of mine Duncan and Richard from the neighbouring county of Gloucestershire were on the same vessel as us and also on their way to see the Spectacled Eider. I sent a message back and we arranged to meet the next morning in the restaurant for breakfast.

Once off the ship, passing through Dutch immigration was quick and easy at the port and with some trepidation I drove into the dark and very misty surrounds of the Hook of Holland. It's been a while since I drove in Europe so driving on the other side of the road, in less than good visibility and in the rush hour was not my idea of a stress free re-introduction to driving on the Continent but I was soon into the swing of things and we made good time heading north on good roads as the dark of night receded. However as daylight increased I could see that the mist had failed to disperse and the flat lands of the Netherlands were shrouded under a grey and depressing pall of mist that reduced the visibility considerably.

Already on edge coping with the driving conditions the added worry of the duck not being visible due to fog was to put it mildly unwelcome. There was nothing we could do now but hope it would work out for the best.

On arriving at Den Helder we just about made the 1030am ferry to Texel which was a bonus as we thought we would probably miss it and have to wait for another hour. Although the crossing is only around twenty five minutes, the ferry vessel, owned by the islanders is large and can take up to 300 vehicles and over a thousand foot passengers at a time.Boarding is also unique as to save time two lanes of cars are boarded at the same time.Not something I have encountered before but it all went smoothly

On driving off the ferry at Texel we made a ten minute drive to get to the road that runs below and parallel with the bund that protects the low lying fields from the North Sea. We joined a line of cars parked along the road and getting our gear together walked up a series of steps onto the top of the bund and looked out to a cold, grey and choppy North Sea and a decidedly bleak and misty horizon.

Visibility was as they say in the Shipping Forecast - Poor.

It was cold too, a brisk wind blowing in our faces but primed with thermals we were well insulated.

Now for the main event.

Where was the Spectacled Eider?

There seemed surprisingly few birders present where we stood at a point on the seawall called Ijzeren zeekap and a couple of approaching Dutch birders indicated there was currently no sign of the eider but they had seen it fly off in our direction. My spirits sunk but we got our scopes set up and looked out to sea as if we knew what we were doing.There appeared little to see but what else can you do but scan in hope of a miracle.

We were joined by two other birders from England and after a few minutes one spoke two immortal words

Got it!!!

A surge of adrenalin and mild panic consumed me

Where? I enquired

It's right in front of us but a fair way out.

I looked out through my scope and at first saw nothing but sea, waves, mist and grey cloud.With no points of reference such as buoys or such like it was impossible to give precise directions.

Then through my scope a bird came into view on the sea - a Black necked Grebe which I told my new acquaintance about but where was the eider?

Here, look though my scope, that will give you some idea where it is

I looked and saw the eider riding up on the crest of a wave. It was closer than I had thought although still a good way offshore but at least I had seen it.

Then by using a couple of poles sticking out of the sea as markers we narrowed down the area the eider was in and remained on it, just about visible in the gloomy conditions. Fairly far out I could make out the salient features that identified it as a Spectacled Eider as it bobbed up and down in the waves.

Photography for now was out of the question as the eider was too far out and the conditions far too dull.I concentrated on just watching it as it dived, using its wings to propel itself under the water.

Over an extended and disjointed period as the bird came and went in the waves I saw its black wings, black breast and underbody and white upperparts but it was the pale green head, I concentrated on, noting the large white patches around its eyes, described as creating the impression of spectacles or goggles and giving the duck its name and unique appearance.Its yellow bill was pretty natty too

It was no easy task keeping on it as it bounced up and down in the waves or disappeared underwater but it restricted itself to an area of a couple of hundred metres offshore from the bund. and rarely moved away from there.

When it moved from one end to the other it precipitated a migration of twitchers, toggers and mildly interested public along the top of the bund to position themselves opposite it and we found that by anticipating in which direction it was headed we could position ourselves to intercept it as it arrived in front of us.

Duncan on the right with some of our Dutch friends

I estimate that there were probably no more than a hundred people present at any one time although there was a continual coming and going of folk

Gradually as the time passed it came slightly closer and I could admire the green on its head and those striking white circular patches around its eyes It rarely associated with two large rafts of Common Eider that were present but when it did get close to them I could see it was smaller and swam lower in the water.

We had arrived at around noon and had plenty of time to enjoy the bird before needing to head back to the Hook of Holland at 4pm. After an hour the eider settled to preen and idle on the sea but annoyingly was just beyond my camera and lens' capabilities to do it justice, especially in the weather conditions and that is how it remained for the time we had to spend with it.

Duncan and Richard joined us for the last hour or so and we togged away happily chatting to the many Dutch birders who are invariably friendly, helpful and embarrassingly usually speak good English. Together we did our best to watch and take pictures of this ultra rare bird.

My efforts can only be described as record shots but Richard with his more sophisticated equipment, returned the next day and his luck was in as the eider came close for a brief spell which allowed him to achieve some superb images before it flew back out to sea - see below.

My thanks to Richard Tyler for allowing me to incorporate his superb images above in my blog

Everyone was in no doubt about the uniqueness of this bird's presence and I am certain this is what has precipitated such interest.It has been featured on Dutch TV and various radio stations and people have travelled from many countries in Europe to savour this once in a lifetime event.

There are but five other records of this duck occurring in the Western Palearctic and all have originated from much further north. Three of these records are from Finnmark in northern Norway and the remaining two are from Svalbard including the last time it was recorded which was in 2012.

Spectacled Eiders conduct their lives in areas largely inaccessible to man or rarely visited and to have a chance to see them one would have to travel to Alaska and specifically Utqiagvik formerly know as Barrow. This particular bird off Texel is the furthest south that one has ever been recorded and for it to be found south of the Arctic Circle and as far south as the Low Countries is unprecedented

Spectacled Eiders breed on the coasts of Alaska and north eastern Russia and winter exclusively in gaps in the sea ice in the Bering Sea. Until 1995 their moulting and wintering area was unknown giving them an enigmatic reputation but it is now known that they head for sheltered areas of the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas to moult out at sea before going to their wintering areas further south in the Bering Sea.

How on earth this individual has ended up in Texel is beyond comprehension.and for sure no-one will ever find the answer.Whether it will find its way back to the Arctic is yet another conundrum. In my more fanciful dreams I ponder if it will maybe find its way to our side of the North Sea. The resultant twitch would be equally as impressive as the one currently on Texel.

That time came when we felt we had seen enough of the eider and anyway the weather had begun to close in. With an hour to spare before we had to head south we went with Duncan and Richard, who were staying for another day, to explore the hinterland of wet grass fields and flashes of water behind the seawall. Richard was keen to find a Black Brant that had recently been reported amongst the flocks of Dark belled Brent Geese feeding on the fields behind where we had been viewing the eider, so after enjoying some very nice Welsh cakes made by Duncan's wife we went in convoy to have a look.

There were a couple of thousand Dark bellied Brent Geese scattered over the fields and we drove around various tracks to view the flocks spaced over a fairly large area. At first we drew a blank although I found a couple of Greenland Whitefronts but eventually Richard found an adult Black Brant in amongst its commoner companions and I followed up with a couple of Pale bellied Brent also amongst the flock The brent flocks also harboured a small number of Russian White fronted Geese and the inevitable Greylags and Egyptian Geese.

We bade our farewells to Duncan and Richard and had a quick look at some areas of water alongside the road further west. A varied assortment of ducks such as Wigeon, Pintail, Shoveler and Teal were on the pools and a nice flock of Avocets were sheltering under a bank but best of all were seven Spoonbills, one of which obligingly fed in a water filled ditch right by the road.