Went back this morning for better views of the SPECTACLED EIDER. What. A. Bird. ~600 twitchers managed to connect, with the first foreigners from Germany and Belgium joining in. Probably a 3cy male, based on grey (not white) tertials.

F*ckin Spectacled Eider on Texel!! Stressful drive from Groningen, but managed to tick it in the last light. #351 (CSNA) or #341 (IOC) for my Texel list, but definitely the most memorable one yet!

Very relaxed twitch of the 1st Pacific Diver for The Netherlands this morning! Particularly interesting how the birds' appearance changed with behaviour and distance (see the differences between both clips attached).

Found yday evening, this Crag Martin went to sleep on a church on Texel, allowing me to catch up all the way from Schiermonnikoog! 2nd for Texel, 11th for NL and more importantly #350 for my Texel list!!

What an amazing beast! Dark-sided flycatcher, present for its second day at Meijendel, The Netherlands. 1st for NL and 3rd for WP.

Last bits include a group pic during the mystery bird competition on Saturday eve, a beauty of a juv Honey Buzzard on Saturday, a self found Purple Heron (only my 3rd ever on the isle!) and twitched Dotterel, both on Sunday.

On Saturday, we twitched 2 Zitting Cisticolas (only the 4th island record), refound the Long-billed Dowitcher 13 days and 20 km's apart. Best find of the camp was probably the juv Rosy Starling, but the Turtle Dove we found is almost as rare nowadays!

Past weekend on Texel, the bird division of the Dutch youth nature club (NJN) held its yearly late summer camp at my house. Always a great weekend, this one being no exception! On Friday, we refound a Barred Warbler and 2 Red-backed Shrikes, which were also present on Saturday.

As if the Dowitcher wasn't enough, @Tim__Schipper and I continued to find this Great Snipe, which showed in a field until dark! 61st record for NL and the 5th for Texel (my 2nd)!

This Long-billed Dowitcher was found 2 days ago in the Mokbaai on Texel. A long overdue new species for the island. This evening, I could tick it right away after my holiday, thanks to @Tim__Schipper keeping the bird in view. #348 (CSNA taxonomy) or #340 (IOC) for my Texel list!

Amazing views of this Stone-Curlew on Texel today! Only the 9th island record and the first twitchable since 2011.

The first documented Aythya hybrid ever for Texel! Found this Tufted Duck x Pochard today at the Horsmeertjes. Also a Cattle Egret in full summer plumage fresh in, only my 3rd ever self found on Texel (~5-10 records per year but very rare only a few years ago)

What a bird! Great Spotted Cuckoo on Texel today. First island record, 30th for NL and #347 for my island list. Thanks to @ThomasvanderEs for organising the excursion into the prohibited valley where the bird was.

Found the first 3 Dotterels (2m 1f) of the season today on Texel! Also one of the first records nationally. They're relatively late compared to last years, see graph from Vogels op Texel 2022.

I found this American Golden Plover near Den Oever today! Not assessed by the Dutch rarities committee since 2022 but with ~3 records per year nationally it remains a very good bird.

Het jaarverslag van @VWGTexel 2023 is verkrijgbaar. Vogels op Texel is weer een prachtig werk vol foto's en statistieken over vogels op Texel. Dank aan @Tim__Schipper en @KoenStork en vele anderen. Verkrijgbaar voor €12,50 in Natuurcentrum De Marel en het Vogelinformatiecentrum

Finally succeeded in seeing a Raven on Texel today, after 5/6 painful dips! Very happy with the views of this #346 for my Texel list! Video by @Tim__Schipper

Great two days of patching #dpwc2024. Some new additions in the form of regular spring migrants (ao Bluethroat) but highlights included Short-eared Owl, this Bittern and a Crane! Only my 2nd visual of a Bittern on Texel ever! Total now stands on 111.

Enjoyed the Canadian ringed Ross's Goose and its mate today near Lemmer with @RodnyStolk. First proven record of vagrancy in Europe!

Great morning on the patch yesterday, with this Mealy Redpoll and a White-tailed Eagle (@Recordshotmyars); only my second self-found ever on Texel. With the arrival of a female Marsh Harrier, the total now stands on 101 species for the year! @PatchBirding #dpwc2024