June 7 was one of the days that we went ringing the delta spoonbills this year. At two different locations even. Left Middelburg early, first picked up two people in Goes and then someone at the carpool place near Yerseke. Then on to Bergen op Zoom to be at the jetty at the Kreekrak locks at 8:00 am.

There we met the people of the Brabant Landscape who took us by boat to the island where spoonbills breed, among other birds.

This island in the Markiezaatsmeer near Bergen op Zoom was originally called Steenvliet, but after a dredging machine was installed there during the delta works it was renamed Spuitkop. It is an uninhabited island where rarely anyone comes, even the forest rangers don’t come there often.

Last year, for the first time, a white-tailed eagle successfully nested, but unfortunately not this year.

Last year there was a fox on the island, which meant that this year the number of nests had been approximately halved from over 200 to just over 100 nests. They are apparently very shocked by this. It appears that some of the spoonbills from the Markiezaat have emigrated to the colonies near Antwerp and small new colonies in Dutch and Belgian Limburg. We were able to deduce this from various ring readings. See here again the usefulness of ringing birds.

The catching and ringing went smoothly.

We were able to ring a total of 37 spoonbills there.

Then back to the boat and on to the Philipsdam where spoonbills also breed on Slaak Island in the Krammer Volkerak.

We are met there by someone from the Zeeuws Landschap with a boat.

Here too, catching and ringing went well and here too we were able to ring 37 young spoonbills. So a total of 74 on this day!

Then quickly leave the island and go home.

Finally. During a second visit to Spuitkop on July 1, we found tracks that resemble wolf tracks. DNA research must now show whether this is correct or whether a large dog somehow ended up on the island.

Photo’s: Kees Vliet Vlieland