Some heavily cropped pics of the leucistic Zitting Cisticola I saw in the late morning at the 'halve maan' in Ostend.

Yesterday morning a 1cy Black-winged Kite was found a few km from my door. Although it was not seen in the afternoon, I still decided to give it a go in the early evening. Luckily it was still present and quite busy eating its prey. Not more than a scarcity these days, but still...

Ik wou er toch ook eens één gezien hebben. Toch wel een zeer mooie rups. En groot! Net iets korter dan mijn wijsvinger. Wolfsmelkpijlstaart, Baai van Heist.

Full video of the Soft-plumaged Petrel off Porthgwarra via this link on Mike Mckee’s site. (Rated 18).

michaelmckee.co.uk/videos/SPP_P...

Very simple! ;-) A birder knows only 3 seasons. Summer does not exist. From 15 March till 15 June = spring, from 15 June till 15 December = autumn and finally from 15 December till 15 March = winter. Only in the latter period you are allowed to take a day off once in a while.

eBird Checklist - 17 Jun 2025 - Zeebrugge - Westdam--P&O - 1 species (+1 other taxa) Submitted by Davy Bosman.

Recordshot of the skulking and flighty female Eastern/Western Subalpine warbler I found yesterday evening (June 17th) in the outer harbour of Zeebrugge. Not Moltoni's, coz it made a few teck calls. More record shots here: ebird.org/checklist/S2...

Maybe the same individual that I have seen this winter in the Zwaanhoek.

bsky.app/profile/belg...

Amazingly I had a 2cy ♀ Smew today on a small pond in a meadow in June in Bredene!!!! It is a rare bird at the Flemish coast even during the winter!!!

ML634335431 - Iberian Chiffchaff - Macaulay Library Macaulay Library ML634335431; © Davy Bosman; West-Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen, Belgium

What I find especially interesting about this bird, is that its full song follows the same pattern as the one I found in Bredene. Chiff-notes followed by two inflected notes and then a trill. I wonder if that might be linked to some specific regional variation?
macaulaylibrary.org/asset/634335...

Not that it really matters, but still...it would have been better that they sported some Belgian bling then.

Dat is inderdaad ook het enige wat je kan doen als individu. Zo veel mogelijk voor eigen deur vegen. Ook al is het maar een druppel op een hete plaat!

Dat is omdat leidinggevende figuren (profs, politiekers, ceo's,...) doen alsof ze de zaakjes onder controle hebben, maar achter hun rug hun vingertjes even hard gekruisd houden als gij en ik. Hopend dat het zichzelf wel zal oplossen of dat op zijn minst het plebs hen niet komt lynchen !

Thx Adam. Jamie already made me aware on Twitter. Please send more Kent Americans our way! Acadian Fly, Yellow or golden-winged warbler, Cliff Swallow,...any will do, but preferably wild ones the next time.

Went back to see if the second bird was back and it was. And it finally gave superb views. Turned out to be a common reed warbler.

Photo of the site with Filip De Ruwe

Today I came across at least one Blyth's Reed Warbler in the outer port of Zeebrugge. Possibly 2 together, but the other one was less obliging, and for now out of sight uncertain.

Pic by Filip De Ruwe

Birding friends of mine were surprised by this fly-over Ferruginous Hawk yesterday at raptor watchpoint Chartreuse in Bruges. Also ST Eagle, Osprey, 2+1 HBs, 1 Hobby and 2 Black Kites.

Ah...you are on Ouessant. Good luck, Paul.

Lesser Kestrel and Kestrel enjoying the Belgian sun

The 4th Lesser Kestrel for Belgium—an adult male (!)—is currently feasting on crickets on an airfield managed by the administration and @natuurpunt.bsky.social, kindly opened to birders for the occasion. The 1st twitchable, a few days after our 1st twitchable Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. #BirdingBelgium

The 2nd Blue-cheeked Bee-eater for Belgium put on a show last Sunday, but left early in the afternoon. It was the 1st twitchable for the country, as the previous one was a flyover. Symens & Ducastel discuss the 2017 record, its ssp. id and wider European context: www.natuurpunt.be/sites/defaul...

A decent week of wader migration (mainly ringed plovers) was topped of yesterday eve by this scarce Glossy Ibis at the Zwaanhoek in Oudenburg. Also, in May, I encountered at least 43 Temminck's Stints so far, including a personal record breaking group of 15 individuals!

We had a good morning too at the migration watchpoint 'De Fonteintjes' in Zeebrugge:
www.trektellen.nl/count/view/7...
Highlights: black-winged kite, a lingering White-winged Black Tern and an adult male red-footed falcon. Better pics here sooner or later: waarnemingen.be/locations/31...

ML634338368 - Iberian Chiffchaff - Macaulay Library Macaulay Library ML634338368; © Davy Bosman; West-Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen, Belgium

Yesterday I made a longer recording of it singing.

macaulaylibrary.org/asset/634338...

The Iberian Chiffchaff was still present for its third day.

I had a group of 5 purple sandpipers in Oostende this morning. One was in complete or at least near complete summer plumage. A rare sight in Belgium. I was a first for me.

In the late afternoon on my way to the shop I decided to quickly take a look in the local park of my hometown. Good idea as I came across this singing male Iberian Chiffchaff!
ebird.org/checklist/S2...

Birding paper! In the last Dutch Birding issue, we published a detailed paper on the ID of Great Egret taxa in non-breeding plumage. We analyzed photos of hundreds of individuals to find key criteria distinguishing the four taxa. A short illustrated summary can be found in this thread. #birding

Is there any more news on this one? If so, I missed it. If 1 DNA analysis erases years of build-up field ID criteria, the least you can do is replicate it, right? Is a replication in proces?

Not a bad day! Decent passage of purple herons, a short-toed owl and an osprey. But best bird of the day, for me, this crane flying over 't Pompje in Oudenburg at 19h26.

A 2cy Caspian Gull on the beach this afternoon.