Netherlands Nature Notes
These are the birds on the Damson tree (I only found out it was one when the fruit started dropping) outside the window at the moment:
The Short-Toed Treecreeper
Female Chaffinch
Oh, and here comes the male coal-tit. We have both coal- and blue-tits, but they’re a bit pissed-off because the ball of fat and the peanuts have run out and the pet shop doesn’t have any more yet, and they’re having to make do with a honey and sunflower seed stick. Spoiled, that’s what they are.
The main problem in attracting birds to the garden is stopping them from becoming so tame that they’re prey for cats, ours and the many other neighborhood moggies. Luckily our three cats are belled, we’ve trimmed the lower branches of the tree and I can keep an eye out most of the time sitting here at the pc. The magpies have become so cheeky they come down and blatantly steal the cats’ food in the morning – they particularly like Felix chunks in jelly – but none of our cats have had the gumption to take one on as yet despite lots of threatening chatter from Sophie, the little female. She’ll get a nasty surprise if she does.
We also have several flocks of green parakeets in the neighborhood: they’ve become feral in Amsterdam and parts of the Randstad, having bred from excaped pets – I’ve seen them in the big tree down the block, but no luck as yet in enticing them into the garden. Any tips gratefully recieved.
If you’re interested in the domestic wildlife of the Netherlands, an excellent place to start is Hania and Hans Arentsen’s Garden Ssafari, also available in Dutch.
Read more: Europe, Netherlands, Environment, Birds, Wildlife
