Frans Kapteijns became happy when he saw this bird and he tells why

Very rare bird in Rosmalen
Frans and Jeanny Hollander saw a special bird land in their garden. He kept hopping around for at least half an hour. So they had some time to take a picture, but they couldn’t figure out which species this would be. I think this is indeed a special bird. Seeing the photo made me very happy, because I think they photographed the rare wryneck! Wrynecks were common breeding birds in parts of the country in the early twentieth century, but hunting made these birds increasingly rare. Fortunately, we see that since 2014 there has been a small revival. These beautiful birds belong to the woodpecker family, just like the great spotted woodpecker. They also nest in tree hollows, preferably in birch trees. Unlike great spotted woodpeckers, you only see this woodpecker species sitting against tree trunks during the breeding periods. They are more often active on the ground, especially outside the breeding period. In search of ants, their staple food. In the spring they come from their wintering spots, south of the Sahara in Africa, to the Netherlands.

Greengrocer sees foam near tree
Greengrocer Henk sent me a photo of foam under the trunk of his old lime tree. He is curious what this is. Henk saw a phenomenon that we have seen more in recent years than the years before. We call this tree foam. In recent years we have had more heavy rain periods and then we see this phenomenon more. Tree foam is created because rainwater runs down the trunk of a tree and absorbs all kinds of substances that are present on the tree. These substances – such as proteins from algae – create this foam. Anyone who has ever walked on the beach has probably also seen this phenomenon. But much bigger. Then you see huge foam flakes. The same thing happens with trees, in miniature. The protein saponins ensure that the tree foam remains longer on the trunk or at the bottom of the foot of a tree. Early Birds has placed a nice video about this phenomenon on YouTube. This is seen here†

Lots of little critters on a terrace
Corrie van Rooij-Kerkhof suddenly sees a lot of small animals on her terrace. She wonders what kind of creatures these are. This phenomenon has also become more and more common in recent years. I think this has to do with the warming of our climate. These critters are small beetles that do not yet have a Dutch name. Its latin name is aphodius contaminatus. These are small dung beetles. They therefore belong to the family of the leaf blade beetles, just like the dung beetle and the May beetle. Just like last year and the year before, this year again I receive a lot of reports about hundreds of these small dung beetles. People see them flying while cycling, just like Maria, or see them in large numbers on walls. These small dung beetles fly out of the grasslands en masse around September or October and are then looking for dung. Horse manure is especially popular. The fact that there were so many small dung beetles this year and last year may have to do with the changed – warmer – climate. People who want to read more about this, hereby a link†

Swam as hard as a rock
Monique Santegoets saw a fungus on a dead tree and wondered what kind of fungus this is. She also mentioned that the fungus felt as hard as stone. People have been able to see this fungus more and more in recent years because we see more and more real forest in the Netherlands. In addition to living trees, a real forest also has fallen trees and dead trees. Before, everything was cleaned up, but that doesn’t belong in a real forest. Dead trees are part of a beautiful real forest. That includes the perpetrators. Those are often fungi. In this case a real tinder fungus. True tinder fungi are both parasite and saprophyte. The name tinder fungus is based on the fact that the mushroom flesh was used in the past in the manufacture of tinder or tinder. This is a strip of meat from the real tinder fungus. This is highly flammable material. People used to use this for smoldering fire.

Great tits have closed nest entrance
Ria van de Loo saw that great tits occupy a nest box in her garden, but to her surprise, these great tits closed the opening of the nest box. She thought they were doing this against the cold, but I think this is more meant to keep out competitors. Cold does not bother the great tit family, especially if there are no eggs yet. If there are eggs, mainly the female takes care of heating. Females have a breeding spot that is essential to keep those eggs warm. Such a breeding spot ensures that there is a constant temperature of about 35.4 degrees. They develop these brood spots a few days before laying their last egg. At the place where the breeding spots are, a huge number of blood vessels come together.

A large black bird at the Galgenwiel in Waalwijk
Angelique Kosters-Louer saw a large black bird with a yellow beak a few times near the Galgenwiel in Waalwijk. People who spoke to her said that this is a cormorant. She wonders whether that is correct, because in her opinion these birds only occur near the sea or large open waters. In principle Angelique is right, but that used to be. As more and more cormorants feel at home in our country, the population is growing. Researchers have found that the population of cormorants has grown ten-fold since the 1970s to about 21,000 breeding birds. This means that they also look for new fishing spots, big or small. After all, all these birds also need to eat. When this is no longer possible on the coast, because of too much competition, the somewhat weaker brothers and sisters go inland. Looking for food, in their case fish. If they succeed, they will breed in that area themselves. I myself have seen such a breeding area near the Flaes in the Landgoed De Utrecht.

Group of migratory notches foraging in the garden
Kepen breed sporadically in the Netherlands. They mainly come to our country to hibernate. In early spring they return to the far north, to the Scandinavian and Western Russian areas. Jozef van der Heijden saw a number of Kepen in the garden. They made a stop there to recuperate.

In winter – until about the beginning of March – notches can mainly be seen in fields along forest edges, beech forests and parks with beech trees. The seeds of the beech are one of the main food sources for this finch. The male sings his territorial song ‘Kè-èèhhp’ or ‘Chèèèèèp’. In flight you hear ‘kup-kup’. Kepen bread in the southern tip of Norway from mid-May, from early July in the north around Stavanger. In the Netherlands there are only a few breeding pairs. This bird usually has one, sometimes two clutches per year with five to seven and sometimes four to eight eggs. The incubation period is eleven to twelve days. The young leave the nest when they are eleven to thirteen days old.

Is this a bee or a wasp?
In Nettie’s photo you see a wasp species. She wonders which wasp it is. I think this is a French wasp. You can clearly see a yellow-black wasp and so this wasp, just like the lemonade wasps, belongs to the family of the pleated wing wasps. French field wasps on the one hand have many characteristics of the common wasps, but there are also differences. They have very characteristic orange feelers, a somewhat flattened slender body and the color black is more present in these wasps than the yellow. They are not aggressive at all, although they can sting. They make smaller nests than other wasps. The fact that they are not aggressive towards humans has to do with the fact that they mainly prey on insects. They are not interested in sweets at all. Queens of the French wasp often overwinter in trees or loose wood, but also in houses.

Nature tip
On Saturday 16 April, a walk will be organized through the Kampina nature reserve. This lasts from seven to nine o’clock in the evening and has been given the title ‘The deer in the evening twilight on the Kampina’.
Roe deer are shy and prefer to look for food at dusk and dawn, because then it is still quiet in the area. You often see them at the forest edges and if you are very careful and quiet you have the chance that they will stop. And even if you don’t see them, there are traces that reveal their presence. Come along and discover the world of the deer!

This walk is aimed at adults. Older children are also welcome when accompanied by an adult. With your participation you support the work of Natuurmonumenten.

More information:
• Registration is required, this can be done via this link†

• The starting point is the car park on Annadreef in Lennisheuvel.

• Bring binoculars.

• Wear sturdy walking shoes.

• Wear clothes that suit the weather.

• Always check yourself for ticks afterwards.