Category Archives: Europe

The first Dutch Black-Tailed Godwit eggs of the season were found on last Sunday by 12-year-old Tom Kuijpers in Schipluiden, South Holland. In the following days more early eggs were discovered by volunteers.

More than half of the world Black-Tailed Godwit population breeds in the Netherlands. The typical Dutch landscape – meadows, grazing cows and clean water – are an ideal breeding area for the Godwits. The birds breed in open grassland with a plentiful food supply.

Each spring, volunteers search Dutch pastures and fields for Godwit nests. The nests are marked so that farmers will not disturb the area and the birds have the best opportunity to raise their chicks.

The organization Land van Wijk & Wouden has promoted the cause of the Godwit in the area between Zoetermeer, Leiden and Alphen aan den Rijn. Because of their measures, the Godwit population in this area has stabilized, while in the rest of the Netherlands the population has fallen dramatically.

Source: Eerste Grutto-eieren

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The Dutch bird protection agency Vogelbescherming has urged Dutch citizens to leave birds in peace during the spring breeding season. In France and Belgium citizens are removing nests of birds such as swallows from their barns and homes amid fears of the H5N1 bird flu virus. Vogelbescherming emphasizes that such actions are totally unnecessary because swallows are not in the risk group of birds thus far affected by the virus. According to the group, there is no reason to fear these birds.

Swallows are on the Dutch list of threatened birds, and any unnatural disturbance of their nests during breeding season could prove fatal for the species in the Netherlands. Swallows will be returning to the Netherlands in the coming weeks from their winter homes in Africa. Swallows are very beneficial to humans because they are huge consumers of flies and mosquitoes.

Last week Vogelbescherming spoke out against potential mishandling of stork nests due to bird flu fears. Like swallows, storks do not play a role in the spread of H5N1 so far and thus should not be disturbed.

Source: Vogelbescherming: hetze tegen zwaluw voorkomen

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In mid-April, the breeding season for Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-Backed Gulls will begin. This is especially noted in my current hometown, Leiden, the Netherlands. The gulls are known to cause a great nuisance for the residents of Leiden.

Not only is the great amount of noise caused by the birds in the breeding season a big problem, but their behavior can turn aggressive. Because the birds are protected by the Dutch Flora and Fauna Law, they cannot be harmed or disturbed, and certainly not hunted.

As a result of the many complaints received each year with regard to the gulls, the city of Leiden has tried experimental methods to reduce gull-annoyance in past years. For example, models of birds of prey were hung in various parts of the city. In 2004 the city stretched wires over certain buildings and areas that were known to be favored by the birds for their nests. This only resulted in the birds finding alternative spots for their nests; in Leiden there are an estimated 100,000 possible places for gulls to nest.

Therefore it is up to the citizens of Leiden to try and reduce the nuisance caused by the gulls. The city recommends that the birds not be fed. The amount of garbage on the streets must be reduced. Garbage bags left on the street are a big attraction for gulls who are searching for food. Garbage is picked up four times per week in the city center, where the most gull-related complaints originate. Citizens may also place anti-gull wiring on their own rooftops, but as experience has shown this will do little to displace the greater gull population of Leiden.

In our neighborhood in the north part of Leiden we hardly notice the gulls at all. They land on our rooftop and those of our neighbors, but sitting benignly on our homes is hardly a nuisance. A few times we have even seen them on our bird feeder; while this was enough to frighten away the doves which usually hang around our terrace, it didn’t bother us at all. Last year, in fact, on a few occasions we bought some cheap loaves of white bread with the express intention of feeding the acrobatically flying gulls who hang out around the moat which encircles the center of Leiden. With the increased attention paid on the “annoying” birds, however, that’s probably not such a good idea anymore.

Source: Broedende meeuwen in Leiden

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