When I embarked on my 2025 Rotterdam Big Year little did I realise how hard it was going to be. Turns out you need full dedication and a lot of stamina to finish a Big Year successfully, even in a small area like Rotterdam. I learnt a lot about myself and about birding. Since the readers of 10000birds don’t care about my inner stirrings I will focus on the birds. Even Canada Goose trumps my psychological insights, I admit.
This post’s title – a blatant rip-off of a much better article – gives away the year’s result: I did not see my target 200 birds in Rotterdam. Turns out that spending significant time in Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and the United States is not good for seeing summer migrants in some Rotterdam marsh. The universe may be indifferent to my failure, but it granted me Jeff Kingma who got me this picture of a Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush while we were birding Bukit Fraser.
Even when birding in the right season, I managed to do it outside the municipal borders of Rotterdam. Still, the Sedge Warbler I saw in De Groene Jonker was nice.
For those interested in beating my record (yes, at 104 it still is a record!), here is my list. If anyone has bested me already or is planning to do so, I would be very interested to learn about that effort.
- Common Firecrest
- Fieldfare
- Stock Dove
- Barnacle Goose
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Eurasian Green Woodpecker
- Peregrine Falcon
- Long-tailed Tit
- Short-toed Treecreeper
- Dunnock
- White Wagtail
- Goldcrest
- Mandarin Duck
- Spotted Flycatcher
- Common Kingfisher
- Common Chiffchaff
- Eurasian Blackcap
Hoek van Holland – Beach, Pier, Kapittelduinen and Hoekse Bosjes:
- Eurasian Wigeon
- Ring-necked Pheasant
- Eurasian Oystercatcher
- Common Redshank
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Sanderling
- Purple Sandpiper
- Great Black-backed Gull
- Northern Gannet
- European Shag
- Eurasian Sparrowhawk
- Common Buzzard
- Eurasian Kestrel
- House Sparrow
- Rock Pipit
- Cetti’s Warbler
- Water Pipit
- Hawfinch
Kop van Zuid – Parkstad:
- European Starling
- Caspian Gull
- Egyptian Goose
- Rock Pigeon
- Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Black-headed Gull
- Herring Gull
- Rose-ringed Parakeet
- Eurasian Magpie
- Eurasian Jackdaw
- Carrion Crow
- Common Gull
- Graylag Goose
- Mute Swan
- Gadwall
- Mallard
- Common Pochard
- Tufted Duck
- Common Goldeneye
- Great Crested Grebe
- Common Wood-Pigeon
- Eurasian Moorhen
- Eurasian Coot
- Great Cormorant
- Grey Heron
- Great Spotted Woodpecker
- Eurasian Jay
- Eurasian Blue Tit
- Great Tit
- Eurasian Wren
- Song Thrush
- Redwing
- Eurasian Blackbird
- European Robin
- Common Chaffinch
- Harlequin Duck
- Water Rail
- Whimbrel
- Bar-tailed Godwit
- Arctic Tern
- Eurasian Goshawk
- Brambling
- European Greenfinch
- European Goldfinch
- Common Shelduck
- Northern Shoveler
- Green-winged Teal
- Smew
- Common Sandpiper
- Eurasian Linnet
- Northern Lapwing
- Eurasian Curlew
- Eurasian Spoonbill
- European Golden-Plover
- Green Sandpiper
- Eurasian Skylark
- Barn Swallow
- Meadow Pipit
- White Stork
- Great Egret
- Greater White-fronted Goose
- Common Merganser
- Little Grebe
Chance encounters in Maashaven, Museumpark, Parkkade, Provenierswijk and Westersingel
- Little Gull
- Canada Goose
- Common Tern
- Mediterranean Gull
- Red-crested Pochard
- Yellow-legged Gull
All in all an interesting year; I have seen some really marvelous birds, even rather exotic ones, like Harlequin Duck. Most importantly, I thoroughly explored my home town’s green spaces.
The secret of success is to set yourself an achievable target. Aim at 100 this year Peter. Must admit I’m greatly impressed by the harlequin, even if it was a rather dull female. (The drakes are stunners).