Wallcreeper in the Netherlands!
On Monday November 22nd, a Wallcreeper was discovered in the ENCI quarry on the St. Pietersberg near Maastricht in the south of the Netherlands. This quarry is famous for its pair of breeding Eagle Owls. Due to a trip abroad I was not able to go in the past week, but today I finally had my change. Yesterday winter arrived in the Netherlands with the first snow of the season causing chaos on the roads. Due to the bad weather the Wallcreeper was not reported yesterday. Today the roads have cleared and I make my way south, wondering if the bird is still there and if I am able to see it as most birders have visited the site last weekend.
As I park the car, another birder returns and has good news: the bird is in view right now! I hurry over to the northern viewpoint and within a minute have my first glimpse of the Wallcreeper! Soon the bird shows itself even better and during the one and a half hours that I am on site, the bird does not leave the western quarry wall and shows itself beautifully! What an amazing bird! Let’s hope it stays for the winter, like its predecessor 19 years ago in Amsterdam. By the way, the two Eagle Owls were also present and were resting on their usual spot on the western quarry wall underneath the two pine trees.
This bird is the second record of a Wallcreeper in the Netherlands. As said, the first record was 19 years ago in Amsterdam. A small video can be seen below showing the Wallcreeper on the quarry wall.
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