Rolf (Bern, Switserland) - My review of the wonderful birdwatching tour to Texel, 14 February, 2022
The weather was perfect. The Texel / Waddenzee tour with Emile was just great. Emile is a fantastic guide and host. He picked me up with his car at Amsterdam Railway Station.
We drove up to Den Helder where we took the ferry to the island of Texel. There, Emile showed me the best places for bird watching, using his telescope. We could observe all the geese that stay in the North of Holland during wintertime.
We saw lots of: White-fronted, Tundra Bean, Greylag, Canada, Barnacle, Brent and Egyptian Goose: it was just sensational!
We saw around 30 different species, including rarities like Guillemots and the Black Guillemot in winter plumage.
Thank you once more for this interesting day.
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Bill (USA) - review on 'birding around Amsterdam, September 2019'
Emile,
Thank you once again for a tremendous day of birding while I was in Amsterdam. Travelling from the US on business, I only had one day to dedicate to birding. Your planning where to go, and knowledge of what we were seeing (and hearing) was a huge contributor to the success of the day. Even dodging the predicted rain showers worked out perfectly.
The variety in habitat was wonderful, as was the range of birds that we were able to see. I greatly enjoyed the shoreline with multiple views of a few life birds. Beyond the life birds - I had seen both black-backed gulls in the US, but I had never before had such a good opportunity to study the back and leg differences that distinguish the two species.
I got many great pictures, with the Kestrel and Northern Lapwing, being two of my favorite new species. In fact, I got decent pictures of every new species we saw! I credit your quick spotting, and your patience as I clicked away, for enabling me to capture those memories.
I am including a link to my Facebook post, which has links to my ebird lists.
https://m.alpha.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158733446158906&id=565978905
I hope to visit the Netherlands again, and will certainly call you again when I do.
Bill
Arun, (California USA) - review on 'birding Texel, May 2019'
I went on a birding trip with Emile to Texel Island and had the most amazing time. The trip was a whole day affair and we saw well over 60 species in just one day. Texel is beautiful and the trip was just great.
You can see a post and some pictures from this trip at http://www.natlogs.com/2019/06/a-trip-to-europe-texel-island-part-5.html
Emile is very knowledgeable and he knew all the perfect spots for birding. He managed the logistics of the trip and made it very convenient. His easy manner and depth of knowledge made it a great experience.
If you have the opportunity to explore the Netherlands, I certainly recommend going on a birding trip with Emile. Thanks Emile, for a great birding trip! - Arun, (California USA).