The Dwingelderveld is currently the scene of an impressive bird game. Bird lovers can indulge themselves, because no fewer than three snake eagles conquer the nature reserve. “They have been our regular guests for a few years,” says Eric Menkveld of Natuurmonumenten with a smile. “But every year it remains a spectacle to see them.”
Although the snake eagle mainly occurs in the south and east of Europe, where the species also breeds, a handful of the Netherlands has been flying to the Netherlands in recent years. “I have never seen them here with a branch in their claws,” says Menkveld. “The birds that now rejoice the Dwingelderveld are relatively young, only about two years old. They will only start breeding around the age of four.”
In the Netherlands, a snake eagle has never brooded.
Vogelde expert Hans Dekker also leads to the skies with his binoculars. “They are really a bit of adolescent birds that try to impress each other occasionally. They balls with a certain awkwardness, but the real action is still not forthcoming.”
On the basis of a special feature, the ‘balaclava’, experts can estimate the age of the birds. “With young birds you can already see some black at the beak base, while the black part in the adult specimens continues to the chest,” Menkveld explains. The balaclava is therefore a useful tool to determine in which phase of their lives the birds are located.
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