Birding 19th May 2009, Kronslootpark, Almere

Neil J Bourke, Almere Plot: Kromslootpark langs the A6, Almere. After buckets of precipitation, and a somber morning at home, doubtingwhether to go out to Amsterdam, or not, and what about flying lessons forJim, no, not on such a rainy morning, and will I go to the Rode Hoed thismorning or not… The afternoon broke clear and bright with patchy areas of cloud. The birdswould be as happy as the dove when the rain stopped after 40 days and 40nights, and would resound all round the park, surely! Muddy entrance hinders us at first but all plastic wellington boots canhandle even the most unfriendly terrain. Is that a purple Heron, or two,yes over the very first plain there are two purple herons in a courtshipflight. We could go home now I thought. And all round a cacophony of summervisitors, from Willow warblers, to Cuckoos, to reed warblers, chiffchaffs,whitethroats, swifts, barn swallows, house martins, reed buntings, andgarden warblers, and some not exotic as green finches, something with theabbreviation “WH” coots, black headed gulls, carrion crows, cormorants,gadwell, (pair) mallard, with soup ducks, grey geese, wrens, blackbirds,wood pigeons, long tailed tits, great tits, blue tits, chaffinches, pair ofgoldfinches, (same place as last Thursday) startling, blackcap, widgeon,(pair) just like last Thursday, great spotted woodpecker, buzzard, muteswan. An admirable list in any one’s books. But let me mention also theHobby, which was sighted not once but several times, and one time eatingsome small prey on the wing, what a sight? Now this is noteworthy indeedand it is only Thursday that we saw him / her last, but it always remains athrill to see it. My wish is to see the Hobby hunting low down (it wasalways high over the treetops today) and for instance chasing dragonfliesover one of the water features in the park. Nevertheless my excitement could hardly be contained when I heard a newsound (to me at least) and staring into the reeds from where it came, Ispied a light coloured bird most unlike the SBNB’s (small brown nondescriptbirds) so prevalent in undergrowth, and with the aid of binoculars the trueidentity was unveiled, namely my First sighting (I purportedly heard onelast year with Wim C in the Oostvaardersplassen) of a bearded tit. Anotherone to chalk down. WOW. With the aid of my secretary, Vivienne, I was able to walk unhinderedthrough the park as Vivienne wrote down the names of the birds as wewalked, a very convenient method of bird counting, and one, which I think Iwill continue using as long as I can. Maybe with some training I may beable to dispatch Viv on her own to the park to do the counts whilstcatching up on some much needed theory on birds back in my library. Question: Why so few song thrushes, Robin, magpies, collard doves,dunnocks, wrens, in the park? Where have all the ducks gone?Another question: where were all the marsh warblers today, and why don’t Ihave meadow pipits, and sky larks, and tree larks, and all the other birdsthat Wim has? The golden oriel keeps avoiding the “park” as well.