Birdwatching Holland

Visiting The Netherlands / Holland? Set out birding with an experienced guide.
He knows the birds, he knows the places, he knows how to get there.

 


Almut and family (Germany) - review on 'Texel' February, 2023

We spent a beuatiful day in February with Emile on Texel. He showed us the wonderful birdlife in a very friendly manner and in excellent German. We even discovered a Black Guillemot. Our children also had a lot of fun that day.We would love to come back.

Many greetings from Germany


Maureen Houlahan (Arizona USA) - review on 'Oostvaarders Lakes' May, 2023

We had a great day birding with Emile in Oostvaardersplassen.  Emile picked us up at our hotel in Amsterdam and guided us on a very productive route through Oostvaardersplassen. Which for the rest of us means it is newly reclaimed land from the sea some 70 years ago but is now pasture and forest. A beautiful and interesting place. And more importantly, very birdy! He is considerate of requests and even brought along mid-day coffee and cookies!  Emile was so good at getting us on the bird. Rather than just naming off the birds, he would make sure we saw it, described it, and were able to identify it ourselves with that “aha!” feeling when you recognize and identify a “lifer”.  We highly recommend Emile if you want a great day of birding in the Netherlands.  We saw 50+ species, and 38 lifers!
 

Ethan Yawney (Canada) - review on 'Oostvaarders Lakes & birding around Amsterdam' February, 2023

We had a great time birding with Emile for two days in February 2023. The visit to Oostvaardersplassen was wonderful. And we visited various hotspots around Amsterdam, too. Emile is a great guide. We were able to visit a variety of habitats. We also enjoyed learning more about the local birds and the local culture. One highlight was spotting several White-tailed Eagles attacking a Black Swan. It was a truly amazing sight. If you're going to Amsterdam and you want to enjoy seeing the local birds/birding hotspots, I would highly recommend that you book a tour with Emile.

To see the photos from our trip visit https://www.flickr.com/gp/155363900@N04/o25p7Wt9d8


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.

kesstrel shoveler wigeon
barnacle geese guillemot teal


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).